INDYCAR

Dennis Hauger’s near-perfect season in INDY NXT by Firestone continued Friday morning, as he led the opening practice for the Indianapolis Grand Prix.

Hauger was quickest at 1 minute, 14.2484 seconds in the No. 28 Rental Group car fielded by Andretti Global. Series rookie Hauger has won both races this season from the pole and has been quickest in every session but one practice at the season opener in March at St. Petersburg, Florida.

SEE: Practice Results

“Good start to the day,” Hauger said. “I feel like we still have some room for improvements, but overall it’s looking strong all session. Looking forward to seeing how it goes in qualifying.”

Series veteran Callum Hedge was second at 1:14.6287 in the No. 17 Abel Motorsports machine. Salvador de Alba ended up third at 1:14.7679 in the No. 27 Grupo Indi car of Andretti Global.

Rookie Lochie Hughes was the third Andretti Global driver in the top four with his best lap of 1:14.8332 in the No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championships car. Caio Collet rounded out the top five at 1:14.8453 in the No. 76 HMD Motorsports car.

The 50-minute session ended with slightly under three minutes to go after contact between veterans Myles Rowe and Josh Pierson in Turn 7 of the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course.

Rowe exited the pits in the No. 99 Abel/Force Indy car parallel with the No. 14 HMD Motorsports machine of Pierson. The two ended up racing side by side through the first six turns of the circuit before Rowe nosed ahead. Pierson tried to dive under Rowe in Turn 7, and the two cars made side-by-side contact and slid into the grass.

Pierson accepted blame for the incident on the team radio after returning to the pits.

Up next is qualifying at 2:30 p.m. ET today (FS2, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network), which will set the starting grids for both 35-lap races this weekend. Race 1 is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET tonight, live on FS1, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

NASCAR drivers are like any other athlete in sports in that they have contracts that keep them tied to their team for a certain period of time. 

However, information on what drivers make and how long their contracts are is often unknown due to how secretive NASCAR and the sport are regarding finances. Additionally, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are suing NASCAR so teams and their drivers have a fairer share of revenue, among other aspects.

Because driver contracts are sparse, it is often difficult to know when a star’s contract with a specific team is up. That said, there are ways to know which drivers are signed long-term with their respective teams or have no information available on their status. 

For example, a driver might be given a “multi-year” deal or extension or reworded as a “long-term” deal or extension, which essentially means the contract length is two years or longer, per Daily Downforce. However, some drivers’ contract information is unavailable, which leads to interesting conversations about their future as the “silly season” approaches. 

According to Daily Downforce, the drivers with no information available on their contract status are Brad Keselowski, A.J. Allmendinger, Riley Herbst, Cole Custer, Tyler Reddick, Cody Ware, Ty Gibbs, Ryan Preece, John Hunter Nemechek, and Shane Van Gisbergen.

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Drivers signed to a “multi-year” or “long-term” deal:

• Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Hyak Motorsports
• Josh Berry – Wood Brothers Racing
• Erik Jones – Legacy Motor Club
• Austin Dillon – Richard Childress Racing
• Kyle Busch – Richard Childress Racing
• Noah Gragson – Front Row Motorsports
• Todd Gilliland – Front Row Motorsports
• Zane Smith – Front Row Motorsports
• Ryan Blaney – Team Penske
• Joey Logano – Team Penske
• Chris Buescher – RFK Racing
• Justin Haley – Spire Motorsports
• Michael McDowell – Spire Motorsports
• Carson Hocevar – Spire Motorsports
• Ross Chastain – Trackhouse Racing
• Bubba Wallace – 23XI Racing
• Kyle Larson – Hendrick Motorsports
• Chase Elliott – Hendrick Motorsports
• William Byron – Hendrick Motorsports
• Alex Bowman – Hendrick Motorsports
• Denny Hamlin – Joe Gibbs Racing
• Chase Briscoe – Joe Gibbs Racing
• Christopher Bell – Joe Gibbs Racing

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Read the full article on Motorious

One of only 19 Carroll Shelby Limited Edition Viper Roadsters, this 9k-mile example boasts rare color, Shelby upgrades, and provenance.

A highly collectible piece of Viper and Shelby history is now available for sale: a 1996 Dodge Viper RT/10 Carroll Shelby Edition Roadster, one of only 19 specially modified units built in collaboration with Carroll Shelby and Fitzgerald Motorsports. With just 9,126 original miles and extensive documentation, this ultra-limited Shelby-modified Viper is a rare find even among collectors of modern American muscle.

This example is #12 of 19, and one of just two finished in Viper GTS Blue with Stone White stripes, echoing the iconic Shelby Cobra color scheme. More than a cosmetic tribute, the Shelby Edition featured factory-approved performance upgrades, a unique VIN tag designation (RT/10-CS), and a full aesthetic reworking under Shelby’s direction.

Under the hood, the 8.0-liter V10, originally rated at 415 horsepower, was enhanced with Fitzgerald Motorsports upgrades including free-flow air cleaners, high-performance ignition wires, and a free-flow exhaust system, boosting output by an additional 35 hp. A 3.73:1 rear axle upgrade, corrected speedometer, and suspension tuning with a bump steer kit and sway bars made the roadster sharper and quicker than its stock siblings.

Visually, the car stands out with a Cobra-style front grille, striped composite hardtop, contoured rear spoiler, and staggered OZ Racing wheels with CS-branded center caps. Inside, you’ll find a Shelby-signed leather steering wheel, custom mats, Schroth racing harnesses, and a factory-style alarm system with remote operation features.

The sale includes:

• Shelby and Fitzgerald-signed authentication documents

• Original 1996 service and diagnostic manuals

• Shelby memorabilia and a detailed photo log of the conversion

• Two sets of keys and side window curtains

While scrapes on the front valance and a missing rear hub cover are noted, the car retains a clean CARFAX and collector-grade condition.

With its limited production, Shelby provenance, and enhanced performance pedigree, this Carroll Shelby Viper RT/10 isn’t just a car—it’s a piece of American automotive history. See it here.

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The Month of May is finally here which means the NTT IndyCar Series will spend the next three weeks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Instead of taking to the famous 2.5-mile oval, the drivers will first run the Sonsio Grand Prix on the 2.439-mile, 14 turn road course. 

Last week, Alex Palou took the win at Barber Motorsports Park in dominating fashion, leading 81 of the 90 possible laps, for his third win of the season. Now, Palou and the rest of the No.10 Chip Ganassi Racing crew look to continue their historic run tomorrow at Indianapolis, vying for their third win in a row on the IMS road course.  

It’s hard not to keep an eye on the Spaniard each and every race week. Even when it may seem like he is having an off day, he will come back and prove why that’s not the case. In qualifying on Friday, Palou claimed the top spot, his second pole of the season and in a row. Palou managed to set the fastest time of the weekend at 1:09:34, gapping the field by four tenths of a second. 

“The car has been really, really fast all day, but especially qualifying,” Palou said. “Qualifying was really, really good. I had a couple of moments there locking a couple of tires, especially in the Fast Six. I’ve been struggling. I think everybody has been struggling a little bit. I think the track grip is super high. It gives you a lot of confidence, so we start pushing, pushing, pushing, but we get to a point where the tire says ‘no’, which makes it really fun to drive, but then suddenly you get moments like that where. the tire doesn’t like it. We’re going to have to use that tire tomorrow, so it’s going to be exciting.” 

Despite the blistering lap and gaining tenth after tenth on each run, Palou, surprisingly, could not extract more from the car.

“I think the tires were already on the limit, like, you had two good laps,” Palou said. “In our case it was the second lap. Locking up  on the first one didn’t help, but we didn’t really lose a big first lap because we were always, like, two-tenths slower. Then after that the tires just started giving up.”

Making up half of the Firestone Fast Six (the final round in IndyCar’s knockout qualifying),was Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. The three car team of Graham Rahal, rookie Louis Foster and Devlin Defrancesco took second, third and fifth, respectively. The IMS road course has suited the RLL team for years and Friday’s qualifying result is a result of months-and-months of hard work. 

“Huge day for us,” Rahal said. “I’m really happy for these two guys [DeFrancesco and Foster], as well as everyone on our organization. It’s been a lot of hard work. Coming into this weekend, we expected to be good here, but I don’t think we unloaded necessarily in a good place this morning. Battling the rear of the car and it’s cool so it’s hard to tell conditions-wise. We battled hard today, with a lot of improvements and a lot of great feedback.” 

The RLL crew will look to maximize on the momentum as they look to have their best weekend of the season so far, as well as carry it into the Indianpolis 500, where improvement is much needed. 

Scott McLaughlin piloted the No. 3 Sonsio Chevrolet for Team Penske to fourth, breaking up an all-Honda Top Five. 

Another storyline to look out for is a new rule for this weekend only. drivers are now required to use two sets of the alternate, red compound tire and the primary, black, tire during the race. Normally, teams are allocated five sets of black tires and four sets of red (or green on street courses) tires. That remains un-changed for the IMS road course. The rule was set in order to drum up better racing at the Indy road course and give teams extra strategy options.

With perfect weather tomorrow, its all to play for to see who can stop Alex Palou. Will it be the RLL crew? Or will one of the three Team Penske drivers start May on the right foot? The green flag flies at 4:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

There was once a time in F1 history when NASCAR superstar Jeff Gordon was in consideration for a seat among the “best drivers in the world.” And this week, lead commentator for IndyCar on FOX and experienced Formula 1 journalist Will Buxton spoke with NASCAR legend Kevin Harvick on his podcast, Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, about Gordon’s potential forays into open-wheel racing, in both IndyCar and Formula 1.

“Jeff was going to come over to Team Cool Green in IndyCar and a run a season or two in IndyCar, and Dario [Franchitti, three-time Indy 500 winner] was going to go over to BAR [British American Racing] in Formula 1,” explained Buxton. “And the long-term plan was that the lineup for BAR in Formula 1 was going to be Jeff and Dario. And he was going to do a couple seasons in IndyCar to train himself up.

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“Now that would have been box office, and that would have broken F1 in America 20, 30 years before it finally broke through with Drive to Survive. You get Jeff Gordon racing in Formula 1 alongside Dario Franchitti — these two great all-time champions out of American open-wheel and stock car racing. And they’re racing as teammates in Formula 1? Boom. Job done. It would have been huge.”

Gavin Ward, Competition Director, Arrow McLaren, Kyle Larson and Jeff Gordon, Vice Chairman of Hendrick Motorsports

Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images

This deal supposedly was going to take place around 1999, right after Gordon had won three of the last four Cup Series titles. BAR competed in F1 from 1999 through 2005, never winning a Grand Prix but collecting 15 podiums with drivers that included Jenson Button and Takuma Sato.

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Gordon never had the opportunity to actually race in F1, but he did take part in a ride swap with Juan Pablo Montoya (who later left F1 for NASCAR), driving a Williams FW24 in 2003 at the Indianapolis Road Course, impressing the engineers with his pace.

Larson’s potential

On the show, they also touched on current NASCAR superstar Kyle Larson, who once called himself a “better all-around driver” than four-time F1 World Champion Max Verstappen due to the various different disciplines he competes in. Larson also ran strong as a rookie in the 2024 Indianapolis 500 before a late-race speeding penalty derailed his day. McLaren F1 team boss Zak Brown has even talked about wanting to get him in a car for an F1 test or a simple ride swap.

“I’d love to see the best that NASCAR have (go and) try and make the jump to Formula 1,” commented Buxton. “I’d love to see someone like a Kyle Larson not just attend the Indy 500, but go and attempt the Monaco Grand Prix or whatever. I’d love to see kids from IndyCar transition over to Formula 1 or from endurance racing or from Formula E — whatever it might be. I hate the fact that we have such a restrictive licensing system in place. It stops the possibility of transitioning.”

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He added that there’s no excuse that an F3 title is worth more on the super license scale than being a NASCAR Cup Series champion or being top-three in the IndyCar standings. The system prevented American IndyCar star Colton Herta from a possible F1 switch due to not having enough points to qualify for a super license.

Read Also:

Why Kansas is now the best race on the NASCAR Cup schedule

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Dryshine Automotive Detailing Products is proud to announce that driver Alex Tagliani has officially become the spokesperson for Dryshine, a Canadian company whose formulas have been created and manufactured in Canada for nearly 20 years.

Alex Tagliani has built an exceptional career, competing in nearly every category of auto racing. A renowned driver and entrepreneur, he has consistently pushed boundaries both on the track and in business. One of his notable achievements is the creation of Tag E-Karting and Amusement, the first amusement center to feature electric karts on a three-story track.

Building on his extensive experience and inspiring career, Tagliani remains actively involved with businesses, young talent, and educational institutions. With Alex Tagliani on board, Dryshine is aligning itself with a personality whose human and entrepreneurial values, commitment to community, communication skills, passion, good humor, and energy reflect the very principles Dryshine stands for. More exciting news will be shared soon.