HELIO CASTRONEVES

The IndyCar Series speeds into its season finale at Sunday riding a myriad of gains that have America's top open-wheel series feeling confident about its future.

Colton Herta cruised to an easy victory at Laguna Seca on Sunday while Alex Palou moved one race closer to the IndyCar championship.

Alex Palou recovered from first-lap trouble at Portland International Raceway to win for the third time this season and reclaim the IndyCar points lead.

The IndyCar championship flipped leaders Saturday night when Alex Palou was collected in an early three-car accident that moved Pato O’Ward to the point following O’Ward’s runner-up finish to winner Josef Newgarden at World Wide Technology Raceway.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be the busiest track in motorsports this weekend.

Helio Castroneves walked into an empty, mostly quiet Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday morning. The four-time Indianapolis 500 winner knew it wouldn't last long. With drivers from NASCAR's top two series and the IndyCar Series all in town for a rare crossover weekend, Castroneves expected things to quickly shift into high gear at the busiest venue in motorsports.

Helio Castroneves earlier this year became the first foreign-born, four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500.

Josef Newgarden is the toast of Nashville.

Helio Castroneves might skip trying to scale the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge the way he climbs fences when he wins at other race tracks.

There was a special gathering in Indianapolis this week: Helio Castroneves, A.

IndyCar has signed a multi-year extension with NBC Sports that guarantees a majority of the racing schedule will air on its main NBC channel.

Michael Shank will use IndyCar's monthlong break to work on the long-term future of his race program.

Ray Evernham and Tony Stewart took great care in extending invites to the made-for-TV league they had co-created. Never did they expect the reigning Indianapolis 500 winner to be in the field for the inaugural race. Helio Castroneves has no full-time job this season so joining SRX was a no-brainer.

Helio Castroneves is trying to get back into the IndyCar Series fulltime.

Americans get a head start on summer with a massive increase in airport traffic and crowds flocking to beaches and tourist destinations.

At 46, the Brazilian race-car driver also became the fourth-oldest driver to win the Indy 500. Castroneves crossed the finish line less than a half-second ahead of 24-year-old Alex Palou.

This year, celebrities were back and fans were everywhere and they were treated to a win by one of the most popular drivers in Indy 500 history.

The Indianapolis 500 has welcomed back 135,000 fans, the most at any sports event in the world since the pandemic began 18 months ago.

Helio Castroneves has joined the exclusive club of four-time Indianapolis 500 winners.

Scott Dixon slammed the brakes on IndyCar’s current youth movement by winning his fourth Indianapolis 500 pole by a mere 0.03 seconds in qualifying.

Team Penske had an uncharacteristically slow first day of Indianapolis 500 qualifying and Will Power will have to avoid being bumped from the 33-car field when the lineup is finalized.

When Helio Castroneves arrived at for testing Thursday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he went right to Team Penske garage, said hello and quickly moved along.

Wayne Taylor replaced his entire lineup for the move to Acura and hired Albuquerque, as well as his oldest son, Ricky Taylor, Helio Castroneves and Alexander Rossi. It was WTR's fourth Rolex win in five years and fifth overall, one behind Ganassi's record six victories. Albuquerque won in 2018 driving a Cadillac and Ricky Taylor won in a Cadillac for his father's team in 2017. “We decided we wanted somebody as fresh as possible in the car,” Ricky Taylor said. “He was so hungry for this, especially with the whole story of leaving Wayne Taylor.

Wayne Taylor left General Motors after 28 years at the end of last season to become a factory Acura program. "We won it with Ricky, and Jordan won the GT class with Corvette, and then the Wayne Taylor Racing program won it overall. Albuquerque won in 2018 driving a Cadillac; Ricky Taylor won in a Cadillac for his father's team in 2017. AdWhen Taylor switched to Acura, he released van der Zande, who was grabbed by Ganassi as the team returned to sports car racing after a one-year hiatus. “Looked like we had the race won right there.

The seven-time NASCAR champion is beginning a new chapter of his career — at 45 years old — in unfamiliar race cars. He was tabbed to start the most prestigious sports car race in America for his Action Express team and Johnson had just one goal for his first stint in the Cadillac. 48 over to teammate Simon Pagenaud and then turned to Kamui Kobayashi, the two-time reigning winner of the Rolex 24, for an animated debrief. AdElliott seemed despondent after his first run in his first sports car race. 31 Action Express entry had slipped to last in his class after the driver change between Elliott and Mike Conway.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Formula One driver Kevin Magnussen will move to the IMSA sports car series in 2021 driving for Chip Ganassi Racing. “If you are in professional racing anywhere in the world, you know the name Chip Ganassi and what it represents in motorsports,” Magnussen said. Van der Zande is a two-time Rolex 24 at Daytona winner, most recently in January when teamed with Ganassi driver Scott Dixon. Lineups for the 2021 IMSA season are rapidly coming together with a flurry of announcements over the last week. “We have not been shy about our attack on the IMSA GTD championship for 2021,” team co-owner Jimmy Vasser said.

Marco Andretti packs up his gear following practice for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)INDIANAPOLIS The horsepower boost sent speeds skyrocketing over 233 mph early on Fast Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Andretti Autosport cars quickly jumped to the top of the board with Marco Andretti logging a lap of 233.491 miles per hour (375.77 kilometres per hour). It's the fastest lap in a practice which is considered unofficial since Sebastien Bourdais went 233.116 mph in 2017. The first thing you need is speed and then you need to put the four laps together," Andretti said.

Scott Dixon, of New Zealand, pulls out fo the pits during a practice session for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)INDIANAPOLIS Scott Dixon, already off to a tremendous start to the IndyCar season, quickly set the pace on the first day of practice for the Indianapolis 500. Dixon turned a lap of 224.047 mph (360.57 kph) around Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the two-hour session for veterans. He has won the Indy 500 once in his career. The day was scheduled to conclude with a 150-minute open practice session.

Two-time and defending champ Josef Newgarden, who won the second race of the Iowa doubleheader, has yet to turn 30. Pagenaud, who like Newgarden drives for Team Penske, won the first Iowa race on Friday night. The natural ebb and flow of sports dictates there must be a wave of youngsters waiting to replace them. Not surprisingly, Ferrucci was fired by his Trident Racing team. Take the doubleheader this weekend, where Herta and VeeKay were in contention Friday night before a caution flag waved.