APRIL 29, 2015

(Photo by Phillip Abbott/LAT for GM/Chevrolet Racing)
Josef Newgarden (No. 67 CFH Racing Hartman Oil Chevrolet) scored his first Verizon IndyCar Series win in the Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, on Sunday. Newgarden held off a hard-charging Graham Rahal (No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Steak 'n Shake Honda) to win by 2.2061 seconds at the end of the race. Newgarden, a 24-year-old from Hendersonville, Tennessee, delivered the first victory for CFH Racing since the merger of Ed Carpenter Racing and Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing; and the team's sixth win overall. It was Newgarden's 55th IndyCar start. (See more coverage in this week's "Fumes" -WG)

(Photo by Gregg Ellman/LAT for GM/Chevrolet Racing)
"This is the way I wanted to do it. I didn't want to win on some crazy incident, or on luck," Newgarden said after his first IndyCar win. "This team deserves it. They gave me an incredible car and let me get out there and rip with the thing and pass people on pure merit. And that's due to CFH Racing - they were just incredible today. We're going up against the giants, but I think this team can be a giant one day."

(Photo by Chris Owens/IndyCar)
Graham Rahal drove an inspired race, charging from fifth in the final ten laps on the 2.3-mile, 17-turn Barber Motorsports Park road course, and passing Scott Dixon on the final lap to claim his first podium finish since Belle Isle Race 1 last May. "The Honda did a great job for me today," Rahal said. "I passed a lot of guys and I hope everyone enjoyed the race because we were pushing to the last seconds. A few more laps and I think we would have had (Newgarden)."

(Photo by Phillip Abbott/LAT for GM/Chevrolet Racing)
Scott Dixon (No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Coca-Cola/Target Chevrolet) finished third in the Grand Prix of Alabama. Dixon has finished on the podium in all six IndyCar Series races at Barber Motorsports Park. Will Power (No. 1 Team Penske Verizon Chevrolet) placed fourth after an eventful day. Ryan Hunter-Reay (No. 28 Andretti Autosport DHL Honda) finished fifth.

(Photo by Andrew Coppley/HHP for GM/Chevrolet Racing)
Kurt Busch (No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Haas Automation Chevrolet SS) dominated the Toyota Owners 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia, on Sunday, leading 291 of the 400 laps. This was Busch's first win in nine races with crew chief Tony Gibson, his second win at Richmond and the 26th win of his Sprint Cup career. Kevin Harvick (No.4 Stewart-Haas Racing Jimmy John's/Budweiser Chevrolet SS) finished second for a Stewart-Haas 1-2, and Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Lowe's Pro Services Chevrolet SS) finished third. Get more info from NASCAR here.

(FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy/newspress)
Sweden’s Johan Kristoffersson (No. 3 Volkswagen Team Sweden Polo RX Supercar) dominated this weekend’s Bompiso Rallycross of Portugal, round one of the FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy. Reigning World RX Champion Petter Solberg (No. 1 SDRX Citroën DS3) clinched the runner-up spot and Timmy Hansen (No. 21 Team Peugeot-Hansen) finished third.

(Pirelli World Challenge Series)
Kevin Estre (No. 9 K-PAX McLaren 650S GT3), of Lochau, Austria, won Round 7 of the Pirelli World Challenge Series in the GT class at the - deep breath - MOMO Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park presented by Porsche, part of the Honda Grand Prix of Alabama weekend. It was the second win for Estre and his McLaren this season. The GTA win on Sunday went to Bryan Heitkotter (No. 05 Nissan GT Academy/Always Evolving/ReplayXD Nissan GT-R GT3), of Fresno, Calif. Colin Thompson (No. 11 Porsche of Bucks County/PenVal Porsche 911 GT3 Cup), of Doylestown, Pa., scored his second win of the weekend in GT Cup presented by MOMO. Rounds 6 and 7 of the GT/GTA, and GT Cup presented by MOMO class will air on CBS Sports Network on Sunday, May 3, at 2 p.m. Eastern time. Teams and drivers now head to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada, on May 15-17. 

(Concours of Elegance)
The Concours of Elegance 2015, which takes place at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh, Scotland, on September 4-6, will feature a tribute to Scottish motor racing heroes and a world-first gathering to celebrate the Ecurie Ecosse racing team, including the Jaguar D-type "Long Nose" Ecurie Ecosse racer, which finished second at Le Mans in 1957, just behind the winning Ecurie car. Sir Jackie Stewart has been named Concours of Elegance Vice Patron, alongside Patron, HRH Prince Michael of Kent and three of Stewart's Formula One world championship cars will be displayed on the lawns of the Palace. There will be a separate homage to some of Scotland’s motor racing heroes, including two Formula One cars driven by Jim Clark and Johnny Dumfries’ Le Mans-winning Jaguar XJR-9. Concours of Elegance will also see the first members of the Scottish Motoring Hall of Fame inducted at the event.

(Chevrolet)
Indiana native Jeff Gordon, the five-time Brickyard 400 winner and four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, will drive the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 pace car to lead the field to the green glag for the 99th running of the Indianapolis 500 mile race - “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" - on May 24th at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “Indy is hallowed ground for racers like me and I couldn’t be more thrilled to drive the Corvette Z06 pace car around the track that helped drive my success over the years,” Gordon said. ”The Indianapolis 500 is one of the most celebrated races of the year and an event I always dreamed of racing while growing up in California and in nearby Pittsboro. I’ve won five NASCAR races at IMS and the track will always be a special place for me, so to be able to participate in such a historic day will be something I remember for the rest of my life.” The Chevrolet name goes back a long way with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Chevrolet was founded in 1911, the year of the inaugural 500-mile race, and the Chevrolet brothers – company co-founders Louis, Arthur and Gaston – all competed in early Indy 500 races. Arthur Chevrolet competed in the 1911 race and Gaston Chevrolet won the "500" in 1920.

(VW)
The Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross team will challenge for this year’s driver and manufacturer titles in the Global Rallycross Championship with two Beetle GRC race cars, which debuted in the final races of 2014. The competition machine - designed and engineered from the outset as a GRC car - has a six-speed sequential gearbox with a fixed-ratio all-wheel-drive system that features multiplate limited-slip differentials at the front and rear. The Rallycross Beetles will be powered by a 2.0-liter  turbocharged and intercooled TSI® four-cylinder engine with 553HP and 465 pound-feet of torque. The car uses an all-around strut-type suspension, with ZF dampers and about 9.5 inches of travel to cope with the off-road portion of a typical rallycross course. The GRC Beetle has 14.0-inch diameter front and 11.8-inch rear vented disc brakes, with four-piston aluminum calipers. The 17-inch wheels are shod with 240/640-R17 Yokohama competition tires. Scott Speed will be returning to the team after recording three victories in the 2014 season and earning third in the 2014 driver’s championship. Teammate and GRC fan favorite Tanner Foust will again be racing the No. 34 Rockstar Energy Drink Volkswagen Beetle GRC.

(Chevrolet images)
Chevrolet has introduced its speedway aero kit to be used on high-speed ovals in the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series, with specific features developed exclusively for running at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500. “With the speedway configuration, the emphasis is on reducing aerodynamic drag, for greater speed, while maintaining sufficient downforce,” said Chris Berube, Chevrolet IndyCar program manager. “Innovative designs were used to develop the right combination of downforce and drag, along with engine performance.” Among the various aero tweaks is a high-efficiency upper rear wing - unique for the Indy 500 - which features low-mass rear wing pillars and a low-mass rear mainplane. Chevrolet race teams will compete with the road course aero kit on May 9 for the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis, on Indy’s infield road course, before converting their cars to the speedway aero kit for the Indianapolis 500 on May 24.

(Honda Racing images)
Honda also debuted its “Super Speedway” aero kit of aerodynamic upgrades and components that its Honda-powered teams will use at this year’s 99th running of the Indianapolis 500. The Honda Super Speedway Aero Kit, produced by Honda Performance Development - Honda’s racing arm in North America - includes a variety of individual aerodynamic components fitted to the existing Honda-powered Dallara Indy car chassis.