AUGUST 3, 2022

(Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)
Alexander Rossi (No. 27 Andretti Autosport NAPA AUTO PARTS/AutoNation Honda) won the Gallagher Grand Prix on Saturday on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course to snap a 49-race winless streak. It was his first victory since capturing the NTT INDYCAR SERIES race June 23, 2019 at Road America, 1,133 days ago. This was Rossi’s eighth career victory. “It’s a relief, man,” Rossi said. “It’s been so many things for so long. Thankfully something came our way.” Rossi crossed the finish line 3.5441 seconds ahead of rookie Christian Lundgaard, who earned a career-best second place in the No. 30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Shield Cleansers Honda. Will Power finished third in the 85-lap race in the No. 12 Team Penske Verizon Chevrolet and took the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship lead with just four races remaining. Power holds a nine-point lead over Marcus Ericsson, who rallied from starting last in the 25-car field to finish 11th in the No. 8 Chip Ganassi Racing Huski Chocolate Honda. Watch the Race Highlights here. Next up? The Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on Sunday, Aug. 7 on the streets of Nashville, Tennessee. Live race coverage starts at 3 p.m. ET on NBC and the INDYCAR Radio Network. (Thank you to INDYCAR Media)

(Formula1.com)
Max Verstappen (No. 1 Oracle Red Bull Racing) won the 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix from P10 with pitch-perfect execution of Red Bull’s strategy, while Lewis Hamilton (No. 44 Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team) finished second ahead of pole-sitting teammate George Russell (No. 63 Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team). Russell led on soft tires and pitted on Lap 15, soft-shod Verstappen pitting from P5 a lap later to force Carlos Sainz (No. 5 Scuderia Ferrari) to pit from the lead. Charles Leclerc (No. 16 Scuderia Ferrari) meanwhile stayed out in the lead, extending his first stint until Lap 22. Russell led again but was passed by Sainz on Lap 31. So, from P4, Verstappen forced the issue with a second stop for mediums on Lap 39. Crucially, with that stop, Verstappen had pulled off an undercut on Sainz and had an advantage on Leclerc too, the Monegasque starting on mediums to swap for the same compound after a lengthy first stint – and from the lead pitting from hard tires well after Verstappen. The Dutchman cleared his rival with ease soon after that and it became clear that hard tires weren’t the answer; Leclerc falling to P6 as he switched again for softs while Verstappen won by 7.8s. And that was despite a 360-degree spin that almost cost Verstappen at the final corner and forced him to make another overtake on Leclerc. Hamilton started seventh on mediums, cleared the Alpines, pitted for mediums and stayed out long enough to ensure he could finish the race on softs, which ensured he could pass the likes of Sainz and then Russell to finish second. Watch the Race Highlights from Hungary here. (Thank you to Formula1.com for the recap)

(Photo by James Black/Penske Entertainment)
Tyler Reddick (No. Richard Childress Racing 8 3CHI Chevrolet) won the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard on Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Reddick prevailed in overtime in the NASCAR Cup Series race on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course after starting from the pole. The win came with the backdrop that Reddick announced July 13 he is leaving RCR after the 2023 season to drive for 23XI Racing – co-owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin – starting in the 2024 season. This was Reddick’s second career Cup Series victory, both coming this month. He won the road race July 3 at Road America. “Certainly, it was a little bump in the road, but we’ve gone out and won a race fair and square a couple weeks ago,” Reddick said of his announcement to leave RCR. “If we changed nothing and we keep working really, really hard, we’d find our way back to Victory Lane. “Just really glad to be able to do it here in Indianapolis. This is one really special place to race. Really excited to kiss the bricks here in a little bit.” Austin Cindric was second in the No. 2 Team Penske Discount Tire Ford, with Harrison Burton third in the No. 21 Wood Brothers DEX Imaging Ford. Ross Chastain crossed the finish line second in the No. 1 Worldwide Express Chevrolet, but NASCAR penalized him for missing Turn 1 on the final restart and gaining track position by taking the access road past Turn 1. Chastain was credited with 27th place. Watch the NBC race highlights here. (Thank you to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the recap)

Editor-in-Chief’s Note: As most longtime AE readers know, even though I have the utmost respect for the drivers and the technical staffs on the teams involved in the sport, I have been the harshest anti-NASCAR critic in the media by far. No one has even come close, in fact. I have frequently commented on the ridiculous length of the NASCAR schedule, which is the most absurd schedule in all of sport (and that’s saying something with the NHL and NBA around); the fact that NASCAR refused to adopt center-locking wheel hubs until this year, when the entire racing world has been using them for two decades at least; the same goes for on-board jacking, which would be far safer than the "jack-dance" they do now; and what about using refueling hoses instead of clinging to the use of the ancient gas cans? I also have advocated for more road races on the schedule, while at the same time reducing the total number of races (I have repeatedly said that the NASCAR schedule should be no more than 25 races, and that the repeat visits to the same tracks during the season was a complete joke). And, of course, that any “reimagined” NASCAR schedule should have Road America on it. (Sidebar? Even though I relentlessly beat the drum for Road America to be on the Cup schedule, I was blocked from being considered for the Road America board of directors because a certain board member - a narrow-minded prick who shall remain nameless - thought my anti-NASCAR commentaries would prevent the track from getting a NASCAR date.) So, after all of my anti-NASCAR columns, I see a lot of my recommendations were adopted by NASCAR, including adding Road America - “America’s National Park of Speed” - to the schedule. And what does NASCAR do? True to form, after just two Cup races, they delete Road America from the schedule in favor of a gimmicky street race in downtown Chicago. I didn’t comment about this initially because it is so predictable, so flat-out stupid and pathetic on the part of the NASCAR “brain trust” that I didn't want to bother. But thanks to reader Ron in Frisco, I am commenting on it now. Only NASCAR would abandon the finest natural-terrain road racing circuit in North America and considered to be one of the finest in the world - just ask Mario - in order to chase a pipe dream on the streets of Chicago. Remember, these are the same brainiacs who decided to have a ridiculously tiny oval paved inside the L.A. Coliseum and call it perfect. My prediction? NASCAR's Chicago street race will be an abject failure, if it comes to fruition at all. Despite all of the "radical" moves made by the NASCAR honchos in Daytona Beach of late to "change" their series for the better, they're still the same posse of rumbling, bumbling fools they have always been. And the litany of stupidity continues. Too many races along with a steadfast refusal to drastically reduce its schedule to align with the actual demand; too many races at tracks they shouldn't be racing on, while ignoring tracks they should be racing on; races that drone on excruciatingly, because, well, "that's the way we've always done it," and on and on and on. We have purposely reduced our coverage of NASCAR since the beginning of the year because I find that it is just too damn tedious to bother with. We may cover the road races, but the rest? No. And one more thing. The fact that the automobile companies continue to enable NASCAR by pouring endless amounts of cash into this clown show is an ongoing disgrace, which I have written about before and which I will devote an upcoming "Fumes" column to again. And that's the High-Octane Truth for this week. -PMD

(Porsche images)
The new Porsche 911 GT3 R was unveiled to the public at this year’s 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. Beginning in 2023, with the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Porsche customer teams can campaign the new racing machine in worldwide motorsport events that adhere to the GT3 regulations, including the North American IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). The machine is based on the latest 992-generation 911. Compared to its predecessor, the new 911 GT3 R features a larger engine producing up to 565HP, a more constant aerodynamic performance and an optimized vehicle balance. Development of Porsche's 911 GT3 R began in 2019, with priority given to further improving the drivability for drivers with various skill sets, as well as tapping larger performance reserves for different Balance of Performance (BoP) classifications. Another focus was on streamlining the handling of the race car for the teams and reducing the running costs. Porsche Motorsport now offers the new 911 GT3 R to North American customers at a price of $567,210 plus optional extras. In the United States and Canada, the new racer is only available through Porsche Motorsport North America.

(IMSA)
This is Ferrari’s new GT3-spec race car, which will debut in the 2023 Rolex 24 At Daytona. The machine builds off the legacy that the Prancing Horse has built using a mid-rear-mounted six-cylinder engine. The Ferrari 296 GT3 will replace the Ferrari 488 GT3 in worldwide competition next year. The 296 GT3 represents Ferrari’s future in GT racing, a sector that sees "the closest relationship with customers and the greatest transfer of technology solutions to production cars." The 296 GT3 grew out of the 296 GTB, the latest evolution of Ferrari’s two-seat, mid-rear-engine sports Berlinetta concept. The 296 GT3 will comply to global GT3 regulations. The 296 GT3 project concept began in 2020 with the first CFD simulations and simulator models. Then came indoor testing, which defined the car’s aerodynamic shape in the wind tunnel. Following endurance tests in Maranello’s 4WD Dyno, the first on-track shakedown came in April 2022. Since then, the new Ferrari has completed thousands of test miles preparing it for racing in 2023. The engine is a 120-degree turbocharged V-6. It is based on its road-going twin, as is the positioning of the turbos inside the vee. It results in significant benefits in terms of compactness, lower center of gravity and reduced mass, and also helps to achieve high power levels. The engine is lighter and more compact, having eliminated the external plenums and supports. Ferrari engineers defined an aerodynamic configuration within the homologation performance window by reducing ride-height sensitivities with the aim of improving handling and drivability. This yielded a gain of 20 percent in downforce on the 296 GT3 over the previous generation. The 296 GT3 also has a longer wheelbase than its road-going counterpart and a different suspension design to the 488 GT3. The braking system was also revised and upgraded, with newly designed calipers and discs. (Thank you to IMSA Media) 

Editor's Note: You can access previous issues of AE by clicking on "Next 1 Entries" below. - WG