APRIL 27, 2016

(Photo by Shawn Gritzmacher/INDYCAR)
Simon Pagenaud (No. 22 Team Penske PPG Automotive Refinish Chevrolet Turbo V6) is flanked by second-place finisher Graham Rahal (No. 15 Team RLL MI-JACK Honda Turbo V6) and Josef Newgarden (No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Fuzzy's Ultra Premium Vodka Chevrolet Turbo V6) on the podium after the Honda Grand Prix of Alabama Verizon IndyCar race on Sunday. It was Pagenaud's second straight win in the series. The race came down to a side-by-side battle between Rahal and Pagenaud in the closing laps of the 90-lap/207-mile race around the 2.3-mile, 17-turn road course. After exchanging the lead, Rahal was chasing Pagenaud when on-track contact with a slower car damaged Rahal's car, and Pagenaud sprinted off to win by 13.7476 seconds. 

(Photo by Bret Kelley/INDYCAR)
Graham Rahal delivered another gritty, gutty performance on Sunday.

(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)
Josef Newgarden (No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Fuzzy's Ultra Premium Vodka Chevrolet Turbo V6) and Graham Rahal (No. 15 Team RLL MI-JACK Honda Turbo V6) hammer down the back straight at Barber Motrorsports Park during Sunday's IndyCar race.

(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)
Simon Pagenaud's Team Penske machine after winning the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park. "We are just on a roll," Pagenaud said. "The car is amazing and I am so comfortable driving that PPG car. We made it exciting at the end for the fans, which is great. I am happy there was some action." With the win, Pagenaud has accumulated 188 points in the first quarter of the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season and holds a 48-point advantage over Scott Dixon (No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Target Chevrolet Turbo V6).

(Photo by Shawn Gritzmacher/INDYCAR)

(crash.net)
Valentino Rossi (No. 46 Movistar Yamaha MotoGP YZR-M1) dominated the Gran Premio Red Bull de España MotoGP at Jerez. Jorge Lorenzo (No. 99 Movistar Yamaha MotoGP YZR-M1) was second and Marc Marquez (No. 93 Repsol Honda Team RC213V) finished third.

(FIA Formula E)
Lucas Di Grassi (No. 11 ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport) won the VISA Paris ePrix on Saturday, extending his lead in the championship. Jean-Eric Vergne (No. 25 DS Virgin Racing Formula E Team) was second and Sébastien Buemi (No. 9 Renault e.Dams) was third, leaving him eleven points behind Di Grassi.

(FIA Formula E)
Di Grassi is on a roll in Formula E.

(FIA Formula E)
Well, it was in Paris.

(Photo by Nigel Kinrade/LAT Photo USA © 2016, courtesy of Toyota Racing)
Red hot Carl Edwards (No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Xfinity Toyota Camry) did a bump-and-run on teammate Kyle Busch (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Banfield Toyota Camry) to win the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway on Sunday. "Kyle's an amazing teammate, and it's like he got really slow there at the end," Edwards said in Victory Lane. "Something happened that last lap. It was like his rear tires went off or something. He went down into (Turn) 1 and I dove it in and I got to him and I thought, ‘Man, I've got something.'" Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Lowe's Chevrolet SS) finished third. Get more NASCAR info here.

(Bob Thompson/Autosport)
Alvaro Parente (No. 9 K-PAX Racing McLaren 650S GT3) scored the win in Round 6 of the Pirelli World Challenge GT series at Barber Motorsports Park on Saturday. Pole-sitter Michael Cooper (No. 8 Cadillac Racing Cadillac ATS-V.R GT3) finished second and Johnny O'Connell (No. 3 Cadillac Racing Cadillac ATS-V.R) was third.

 (Pirelli World Challenge)
Michael Cooper (No. 8 Cadillac Racing Cadillac ATS-V.R) scored his first career Pirelli World Challenge GT win in Round 7 at Barber Motorsports Park on Sunday. Cooper came across the line 0.888 seconds ahead of Alvaro Parente (No. 9 K-PAX Racing McLaren 650S GT3) and 1.275 seconds ahead of teammate Johnny O'Connell (No. 3 Cadillac Racing Cadillac ATS-V.R) in third.

(John Thawley  ~  Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com  ~ 248.227.0110)
Michelin technical partner teams running in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will be equipped with the latest 2016 Le Mans-spec tires as they compete in this weekend’s Monterey Grand Prix at Laguna Seca (Mazda Raceway). The two-hour event will be the final contest before the Corvette, Ferrari, Ford and Porsche GTLM teams head to France for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June (18-19). The Ford GT, Corvette Racing, Risi Competizione Ferrari and Porsche factory teams will all be competing in the similar WEC GTE-Pro class at Le Mans. The BMW Team RLL team is the defending pole and race champions at Monterey, but will not be racing at Le Mans this year.

Brian France, NASCAR. Editor-In-Chief's Note: After completely blowing the Tony Stewart comments about fundamental racing safety - and fining him $35,000 to boot - and then, walking back on the subject by agreeing with Stewart and clarifying the rules, while refusing to rescind the fine levied on Stewart, Brian France has distinguished himself as a clueless, tone-deaf overlord who is squandering his family's legacy. I will have more, much more to say on this subject next week. -PMD

(Photo by Bret Kelley/IMS for Chevrolet)
Roger Penske will drive a special 2017 Camaro SS 50th Anniversary Edition pace car to lead the field for the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana. Penske, who is celebrating 50 years in racing and is by far the most successful team owner in American racing history, has sixteen wins in the Indy 500, a record that may never be broken. “Chevrolet and the Indianapolis 500 have a long, storied history and it’s an honor to mark the respective milestones of the Indy 500 race and the Camaro simultaneously,” said Mark Reuss, executive vice president of Global Product Development and Global Purchasing and Supply Chain. “It’s also a privilege to have Roger Penske perform the driving duties, as his team has helped Chevrolet earn four consecutive IndyCar manufacturer titles since 2012.” Four identically prepared pace cars will support the race, all with exclusive Abalone White exteriors featuring “100th Running of the Indianapolis 500” graphics on the doors and the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway wing-and-wheel logo on the quarter panels. They also incorporate the exterior cues and graphics that are unique to the Camaro 50th Anniversary package that goes on sale this summer (although those production vehicles will only be available in Nightfall Gray Metallic). And with 455 horsepower on tap, the Camaro SS pace cars will require no performance modifications to lead the racing field. It will be the ninth time a Camaro has served as the pace car and the 27th time for Chevrolet, dating back to 1948.

(Laguna Seca/Mazda Raceway)
The Masters USA international Formula One field will return to the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion on Aug. 18-21 as part of the renowned Monterey Classic Car Week celebration. The Formula One group consists of legendary cars from Lotus, March, Tyrrell, Hill, Williams, Penske, Ferrari, Shadow and Brabham. Featured drivers and cars include Australian Chris Farrell (1982 March); Tommy Dreelan (March 761); Richard Dean (March 701); Zak Brown (1980 Williams FW07); Charles Nearburg (1980 Williams FW07B); Erich Joiner (1983 WIlliams FW08C); Duncan Dayton (Lotus 79); Greg Thornton (Lotus 77) and Chis Locke (Lotus 77)... and many more.

Editor's Note: Ford has just released “The Cutting Edge” - the second of five chapters in “The Return,” which is a long-form documentary that follows the development of both the street car and race car versions of the Ford GT from the decision to build the cars to the return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Watch chapter one, "The Decision," here. (FYI: The Autoextremist makes a cameo appearance in chapter one.) -WG