Musings From the Weekend: I Got Nothing

Here is a rundown of what got me thinking...

The Philadelphia Eagles are Super Bowl champions. Supercross saw a number of injuries. Jett Lawrence is out after tearing his ACL in Arizona. Eli Tomac is banged up. Hunter Lawrence was injured in his heat race from Tampa. Jorge Martín suffered a few fractures after a hair-raising accident testing in Sepang. NASCAR had a Hall of Fame ceremony. Dubai hosted a pair of races while the Asian Le Mans Series announced a return to Buriram for next season. Here is a rundown of what got me thinking...

I Got Nothing

It is the evening of Super Bowl Sunday, and I got nothing. 

I got some things. Bits of some things actually. It is really nothing though. 

Looking at this weekend for the last month or so, I didn't have anything on my mind. There were a few ideas that had been floating around surrounding the opening of 2025 and news broke that drew a response. There are a few things in the next few weeks that will come up and require a write up or at least take up some brain space. This weekend was one where I had nothing pinned down. There was no grand topic I wanted to touch, nor did anything stand out that was going to happen. 

Do I want to talk about promos? That can wait.

Do I want to talk about Mike Wallace? NASCAR's decision could warrant a response, but it is a singular issue and it will likely be forgotten soon. 

Do I want to talk about the Daytona 500? Eh. A preview is coming during the week. There is excitement for it. Controlled excitement as there will notable names fighting to make the race, but with this format it is not the most exciting. It is limited when 36 of 40 spots are locked up before a qualifying lap is run. 

I already spoke about the major NASCAR rule changes. Do I want to talk about the unnecessary point that will be awarded for fastest lap in each race? I think calling it unnecessary says enough. Who cares? When has fastest lap ever meant anything? Are drivers going to chase it? Unless a driver is three laps down in 28th, teams aren't going to be chasing it. If they are, who cares? They are running 28th and three laps down. 

Do I want to talk about all the money the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum made last week in auctions? 

A little bit. 

I get it. It made nearly $88 million selling two cars, a Mercedes-Benz W196R that Juan Manuel Fangio drove to a victory in a non-championship Buenos Aires Grand Prix and Stirling Moss used in the 1954 Italian Grand Prix, and the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans winning Ferrari 250 LM. But boy, how do you sell those gems?

Apparently, both cars spent most of their time in storage. If you are upset about these being sold to private collectors and likely never seeing them again, well, they were already in a private collection and not on display for the general public. Nothing has changed in that sense other than someone else wanted it and paid the price for it. If you have $88 million in your basement, why is it in your basement? But, remember, you are not going to get possession of those cars again. 

The Mercedes was a gift from the manufacturer in 1965, in honor of the Speedway's contribution to motorsports and in honor of Mercedes' only Indianapolis 500 victory with Ralph DePalma 50 years earlier.

The Ferrari was purchased from Luigi Chinetti's North American Racing Team after its final race in 1970. 

I guess there was going to be a time to cash in. It doesn't mean it wasn't going to be difficult to decide. 

The museum, which re-opens this spring after being closed for over a year for renovations, has said it is re-focusing its collection on cars that competed in the Indianapolis 500 and at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

I understand focusing the collection, but it isn't a bad thing to have gems like this. Gems like this aren't going to be coming around again, whether it be something historic or a modern car that will soon become a piece of legend. Manufacturers aren't gifting these type of vehicles away. Audi isn't giving up R8s, R10s or R15s. Red Bull isn't going to be leaving a present on the doorstep at 16th and Georgetown. There is a point of cherishing what you have and think twice before you give up something special. 

I don't know if the museum could have found a different way to make $52 million on the Mercedes and nearly $36 million on the Ferrari while retaining possession. With cars like that, you should find a way to get those on the floor permanently. Those aren't irrelevant race cars. That isn't the 21st-place finisher in the 1983 Indianapolis 500. These are cars of consequence, pieces of art compared to most of the products of the 2020s, not mass-produced spec chassis. They might not have raced at Indianapolis, but their importance far exceeds this place and it is good to show that to everyone who passes through those doors. 

These aren't the only cars the IMS museum is selling. At the end of the month, in Miami, it is selling a Ford GT40 Mk II, a Benetton B191 that Michael Schumacher drove in the 1992 South Africa Grand Prix and the Spirit of America Sonic I, which set the land speed record of 600.601 mph at Bonneville in 1965, among a number of other vehicles. 

Again, it is hard to turn down $88 million. The Speedway is likely going to add another $30 million for selling the rest of these cars in Miami. Considering the museum has been closed since November 2023, forgoing whatever revenue it draws from 363 days of tickets at $15, and the renovation cost $89 million, making over $110 million clearing the basement is a no-brainer, but just consider what is being sold and that you will never get it again.

I guess I had something on my mind after all. Something from nothing I guess. I will do better next week.

Winners From the Weekend

You know about the Super Bowl, but did you know...

The #25 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca of Malthe Jakobsen, Michael Jensen and Valerio Rinicella won the first 4 Hours of Dubai. The #26 Bretton Racing Ligier of Jens Reno Møller, Theodor Jensen and Griffin Peebles won in LMP3. The #96 2 Seas Motorsport Ben Barnicoat, Anthony McIntosh and Parker Thompson won in GT.

The #20 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca of Olli Caldwell, Kriton Lendoudis and Alex Quinn won the second 4 Hours of Dubai. The #15 RLR Sport Ligier of Nick Adcock, Ian Aguilera and Chris Short won in LMP3. The #99 Herberth Motorsport Porsche of Ralf Bohn, Alfred Renauer and Robert Renauer won in GT.

Malcolm Stewart won the Supercross race from Tampa, his first career victory in his 109th career start. Max Anstie won the 250cc class.

Coming Up This Weekend

The 67th Daytona 500

Formula E is back for its third round, its first doubleheader of the season, in Jeddah.

Asian Le Mans Series ends its 2024-25 season with a doubleheader at Yas Marina.

The World Rally Championship plays in the snows of Sweden.

Supercross heads to Detroit. 

104th Indianapolis 500 Qualifying Preview

Three practice days are in the books and now the 33 drivers entered for the 104th Indianapolis 500 will hit the track to set the grid for the race. For five hours and 50 minutes, these drivers will jockey to see who will crack the top nine and get to return tomorrow for a run for pole position while the other 24 drivers will settle into their respective grid positions and strategize how to tackle the start of race day. 

What can be taken away from these practice days? Who is a favorite for pole position, who could be in the Fast Nine and who will be bringing up the rear? Let's go over what in preparation for another qualifying day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Who is in Play For the Fast Nine?
Five of the six Andretti Autosport cars and the current IndyCar championship leader. 

Leading the way is Marco Andretti, who has been in the top three all three days and he topped Friday practice overall at 233.491 MPH. Andretti was fourth on the no tow report on Friday. Scott Dixon was also in the top three on the all three practice days and he was second on the no tow report yesterday.   

Ryan Hunter-Reay was in the top three of the no tow report all three days and Hunter-Reay topped it on Friday at 232.124 MPH. Jack Harvey had the second best no tow report average behind only Hunter-Reay with Harvey's no tow results being fifth, first and eighth.

Colton Herta and James Hinchcliffe have been in the top five of the no tow report on two of three practice days. Hinchcliffe was in the top ten for all three while Herta dropped to 17th yesterday. Hunter-Reay, Harvey and Hinchcliffe were the only drivers in the top ten of the no tow report all three days. Alexander Rossi topped the no tow report on day one before dropping to 24th on day two but rising to third on Friday.

Zach Veach has been good with no tow report speeds of 11th, 16th and seventh but Veach's overall showings are 27th, 15th and 15th.

Takuma Sato was in the top ten of the no tow report for two of three days and he was second overall on Thursday. Graham Rahal has been 14th, ninth and 16th on the no tow reports. Spencer Pigot is flirting with Fast Nine speed. Pigot was tenth and ninth on Wednesday and Thursday. He had been outside of the top twenty overall on the first two practice days but jumped to fifth overall on Friday.

Where are the Chevrolets?

Slightly lost and frustrated about it. Honda took nine of the top ten overall on Friday and the top nine no tow report speeds on the final practice day.

Leading the way for Chevrolet is the sleeper team of A.J. Foyt Racing. Charlie Kimball was sixth, 12th and tenth on the no tow report. Tony Kanaan was 12th and 11th the first two days before dropping to 27th. 

Ed Carpenter Racing's pace appeared to be encouraging. Conor Daly was ninth, fourth and second overall, but Daly's best no tow result was ninth on Wednesday, dropping to 21st and 27th the next two days. Rinus VeeKay was eighth and fourth on the no tow report the first two days. Ed Carpenter was sixth on the no tow report on day two, but he was 20th and 25th the next two days and his best overall showing was 20th. 

Team Penske has been shocking slow. Will Power has made every Fast Nine session, but Power was 23rd, 23rd and 11th overall over the practice days and his best no tow report speed was 21st. Josef Newgarden cracked sixth overall on day one, but Newgarden's best no tow result was 12th on Friday. 

Defending Indianapolis 500 winner Simon Pagenaud's best overall result was 12th, but Pagenaud was outside the top twenty the next two days. His best no tow showing was 18th on day one and day three. 

Who Should be Happy With Where They Are At?
Fernando Alonso should be happy the car is quick. Alonso was fifth and eighth overall on the first two practice day with the Thursday session cut short due to his accident in turn four. Alonso was eighth on the no tow report on Thursday. His results dropped to 25th overall and 31st on the no tow on Friday.

Speaking of Spaniards, Álex Palou was eighth, fifth and sixth overall, and Palou has been the top rookie on each day. He was one of four drivers in the top ten overall all three days with Andretti, Dixon and Daly. Palou's no tow speeds are encouraging, and consistent in 13th, 15th an 14th, by far the best Dale Coyne Racing driver each day. 

One of Palou's teammates, James Davison, has been 21st, ninth and 26th overall, and has looked strong. Davison no tow results show room for improvement. He was 31st, 30th and 24th, the worst average no tow result of the drivers to register on all three days.

Arrow McLaren SP's rookies have been holding their own. Oliver Askew jumped up to tenth overall on Thursday while Patricio O'Ward was seventh overall on the no tow report Thursday. O'Ward was 13th on the no tow report on Friday while Askew's best no tow result was 13th on Thursday.

Who Will be Happy There is No Bumping This Year?
Ben Hanley and DragonSpeed because the team was not able to shake electrical gremlins over the first two days of practice and was not able to officially participate in practice. DragonSpeed was allowed a 30-minute shakedown session after practice each day. Hanley was 33rd on Friday.

Hélio Castroneves has been woeful. Castroneves was tenth overall on day one but he was 16th and 19th the next two days and he has been 25th, 28th and 28th on the no tow report. His average no tow result is second worst among the drivers to register a time on all three days. If this was a year with bumping, Castroneves could be sweating more than he ever had in his previous 19 Indianapolis 500 qualifying sessions.

Rookie Dalton Kellet has not been the slowest guy on either day but the best Kellett has been overall is 28th. His no tow results were 29th, 22nd and 26th. 

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing had to sweat bullets last year with Sage Karam and I think the team would have one car in the bubble fight this year. Karam was not able to register a no tow lap on Wednesday and was 31st on Thursday and 30th on Friday. JR Hildebrand showed respectable no tow results in 15th and 17th on the first two days, but Hildebrand has been 32nd, 29th and 30th overall.

Max Chilton's overall results would suggest Chilton and Carlin would again be fighting to make the field of 33. Chilton's overall results were 29th, 32nd and 32nd. His no tow results are slightly better, ending up only 28th on day one, jumped to 19th on day two before dropping to 32nd on Friday.

Who Has Not Been Mentioned Yet?
Felix Rosenqvist, Marcus Ericsson and Santino Ferrucci.

Neither of Ganassi's Swedish drivers have shown the pace of Dixon. Rosenqvist was 14th, 24th and 20th overall. His first two no tow report results were 30th and 32nd, but he got up to 15th yesterday. Marcus Ericsson showed reasons for encouragement on Friday. Ericsson got up to tenth overall and fifth on the no tow report. He had been 24th and 25th overall the first two days and 19th and 29th on the no tow report.

Ferrucci has been middle of the road on both charts. His overall results have been 19th, 21st and 23rd with his no tow speeds at 26th, 27th and 20th. 

What is the Qualifying Order?
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing will lead the way. Graham Rahal rolls out first ahead of Takuma Sato. Rookies go early with Dalton Kellett and Rinus VeeKay scheduled to go out third and fourth. Jack Harvey and Scott Dixon are fifth and sixth ahead of the third RLLR car Spencer Pigot in seventh. Patricio O'Ward is the third rookie scheduled to take the track in the first eight cars.

Josef Newgarden and Will Power round out the first ten qualifiers. Sage Karam follows the Penske duo and precedes Alexander Rossi. Fernando Alonso will be the 13th qualifier ahead of Andretti Autosport drivers Ryan Hunter-Reay and Zach Veach. Marcus Ericsson goes out 16th. 

The middle qualifier will be Oliver Askew ahead of Felix Rosenqvist, Ed Carpenter, James Hinchcliffe and Ben Hanley.

All three Dale Coyne Racing cars will go out in arrow with James Davison the first to take to the track ahead of Álex Palou and Santino Ferrucci. 

Conor Daly, Charlie Kimball and Simon Pagenaud will be the next three qualifiers. 

Marco Andretti has a later than desired spot in 28th ahead of Tony Kanaan and Colton Herta. 

The final three qualifiers are Max Chilton, Hélio Castroneves and JR Hildebrand.

What is the Weather Forecast?
The good news is it appears the rain will hold off, but Saturday will one of the warmer qualifying days perhaps in Indianapolis 500 history. 

Temperatures will crack 72º F at 9:00 a.m. and continue to climb to 79º F at the start of qualifying at 11:00 a.m. Sunny skies will remain throughout the afternoon with temperatures increasing to 82º F at noon and another two degrees to 84º F at 1:00 p.m. 

There could be some cloud cover over the first two-plus hours of the session, but temperature could be as high as 88º F at the end of the session. Wind speed for today remains consistent at 5 MPH from the North.

The increased heat, along with the extra weight of the aeroscreen, will make it difficult to hold a consistent speed over a four-lap qualifying run. Drivers were struggling with grip during yesterday's practice session and one lift can ruin a qualifying. One bobble could write off a race car. 

The weather for Sunday calls for partly cloudy skies with a high of 82º F. Wind speed is expected to pick up to around 10 MPH from the Northwest. 

What is the Qualifying Weekend Schedule?
Today, there will be two 30-minute practice sessions. Half the field will go out at 8:30 a.m. ET with the other half going out at 9:00 a.m. ET. 

First day time trials begin at 11:00 a.m. and run through 4:50 p.m. The top nine at the end of the final qualifying run will advance to tomorrow's Fast Nine session. Tenth through 33rd at the end of today will occupy those positions coming to the green flag for the 104th Indianapolis 500 next week. 

Tomorrow, the Fast Nine competitors will get a 30-minute practice tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. with the Fast Nine session scheduled to begin at 1:15 p.m. 

After the Fast Nine, there will be a two-hour practice for the entire field of 33, starting at 3:30 p.m.

First Impressions: IndyCar iRacing Indianapolis 2020

1. Scott McLaughlin took victory from pole position in IndyCar's First Responders 175 from Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but this victory was unlike that could possibly happen.

There were four different leaders on the final lap of the race. Arrow McLaren SP held the top two positions with Oliver Askew leading Patricio O'Ward after teammate Lando Norris collided with the lapped car of Simon Pagenaud while leading. On the final lap, Askew and O'Ward were side-by-side with Marcus Ericsson making it three-wide entering turn three.

Ericsson came out with the lead but heading into turn four O'Ward rammed into the back of the Swede, taking both cars out of contention.

Askew re-inherited the lead with Santino Ferrucci on his rear, Ferrucci moved out of the slipstream to Askew's right but halfway down the straightaway he turned into the McLaren car, sending both cars tumbling toward the finish line.

With carnage unfolding to his right, McLaughlin buzzed through and took his second victory of this six-race series.

McLaughlin was the best driver in this series and perhaps should have already had a second victory under his belt. He had finishes of fourth, first, second, 24th at Motegi after being taken out while second and fourth prior to this result.

He was not mixing it at the front from the start but he ran a patient race and stayed out of the mess. It paid off.

2. Conor Daly was second! I feel like every iRacing event had two or three drivers that finished about eight to 14 spots better than they should have. Daly wasn't even close to the top five until the end where the leaders kept dropping like flies. However, like all video games, sometimes you just got to keep running. I know there have been plenty of Mario Kart races I have won or finished on the podium where I was fifth or sixth, miles in the distance at the start of the final lap only to have a string of blue shells, timely bananas and mushrooms play into my favor. Pagenaud was the blue shell, O'Ward was a green shell and Ferrucci was the banana.

3. Speaking of Ferrucci, his little stunt still got him third. It is a video game but it was a low-blow move to turn right into Askew in the middle of the straightaway. Call it desperation, call it stupidity, it was a spineless move, one suggesting if Ferrucci wasn't going to win than Askew wasn't going to win either.

4. Askew deserved better. Askew had a few rough races in this series. He has always shown speed but had trouble putting together a complete race outside of Watkins Glen. His mistake cost McLaughlin and Will Power at Motegi so he is not perfect but he had a clear shot at victory only to lose it because of a sucker punch from behind. He still finished fourth, his best result of the series.

5. O'Ward rounded out the top five but his move was marginally better than Ferrucci's. O'Ward barreled into the rear of Ericsson, purely a dump job in turn four. He wasn't even going to wait for the slipstream on the straightaway. He was looking for the easy way out and it cost him because he slid up the track following the path of the pirouetting Ericsson. His clear shot to the finish line gone. Good.

6. Every finisher from sixth on down, outside of Ericsson in 11th, I am not sure how they got there. I am going to do basic notes on them.

Sébastien Bourdais got to the front through strategy after the second caution of the race for Scott Speed turning Stefan Wilson into James Davison. Bourdais made a late stop for tires and through all the ruckus got sixth. Great for him.

Ryan Hunter-Reay and Zach Veach were not in the top ten at all until probably that final lap and were seventh and eighth, respectively. Andretti Autosport needed to end with good results.

Felix Rosenqvist benefitted from the second caution and moved up to second but got shuffled back and I am pretty sure he took tires late as well. It got him a ninth-place finish.

Scott Dixon rounded out the top ten and he wasn't mentioned once today.

Sadly, despite how well Ericsson drove and he made a phenomenal move to take the lead into turn three, he is the worst Ganassi finisher. It is 11th but it was shaping up to be significantly better.

Oh, and Alexander Rossi was 12th.

7. Graham Rahal was 13th and his race went pear-shaped when Lando Norris and Simon Pagenaud got together while battling for the lead. Norris nudged Pagenaud, Pagenaud spun, Rahal was third and had nowhere to go, suffered some damage and slid back. Rahal was competitive from the start in this one and it appeared it was going to be him and Pagenaud down the stretch before the cautions started coming.

8. Now it is time for the Norris-Pagenaud incident. It was a McLaren 1-2-3 with eight laps to go and they seemed to have a firm grasp on the top three. Norris led the way and, while both Askew and O'Ward attempted to wrestle the lead from the guest driver, Norris held on. Norris pulled away after Ericsson entered the battle with Askew and O'Ward and unless the trailing drivers could get organized Norris was set to go 2-for-2 in iRacing events.

However, the attack was not from behind but from ahead and in the middle of turn four, coming to two laps to go, Norris collided with a slow Pagenaud. Pagenaud said he was trying to make it to pit lane and did not mean it.

I don't believe Pagenaud.

After everything I saw today, I don't believe what anyone says their intentions were. There were cowardly moves made all over the place at the end of the race. There was a wide-open apron to get out of the way and make it to pit lane. There were also only two laps to go. No repairs were going to make a difference for Pagenaud at that time. By the time he would have exited pit lane the final lap would have started and he wasn't going to gain any positions. At that point in the race, Pagenaud should have stayed high in turn four and let the leaders through and then remained to the outside when the rest of the pack approached. Just ride it out with two laps to go!

Pagenaud timed it for the least amount of consequences. It wasn't the final lap, which would look downright dirty, but he did it late enough where it couldn't draw a caution and a string of replays. He stabbed Norris in the back in the middle of a crowded train station, a place where he could let the body fall to the floor but vanish into the sea of commuters and get out unseen, leaving Norris to slowly die.

9. After everything I saw today, I am worried bad habits carry over to the real world. That sounds absurd because the consequences are higher and who in their right mind would turn right into somebody in the middle of the front straightaway when going 220 MPH at Indianapolis but after running this event, I am worried the wires will be crossed in some of these guy's brains.

I am worried when the drivers get back on track, they will think back to these days playing this game and not be able to tell the simulation from the real thing. It might be preposterous but through these weeks on iRacing we heard about how much these drivers use it as a tool to learn things and apply it on the track. Who says that doesn't apply to pushing the boundaries of how much contact one can get away with?

IndyCar better be on high alert. The bold and brainless moves may bear little consequence in the simulation but it will not pass in the real world and if we ever get on track for the 2020 season and a driver is being more careless than he should be IndyCar better come down hard and fast on him to send a message.

10. I am going to hit a few other notable names:

Will Power was one of the top drivers at the start and then the pit strategy didn't fall his way. The cautions really took him out of it and somehow he was a lap down in 14th. Power didn't win a race in this series and there were probably five of them where he was one of the three best guys out there.

James Davison was really strong in this one and if it wasn't for Scott Speed, he was looking at a top five finish and potentially battling for the victory.

It was also nice to see Stefan Wilson out there and Wilson was looking at a top ten or top five finish. It is a little sad we didn't get to see more of Davison and Wilson throughout this series.

Sage Karam dominated the first race and then couldn't avoid trouble for basically the remainder of these five events. You have to first finish to finish first. He might be fast, but the speed didn't pay off nearly as much as he would have suggested.

11. We should tackle the entry list decisions because ultimately 29 spots were reserved while four spots were up for grabs. The issue was we had no clue who was locked before Wednesday's qualifying session, nor did we have an entry list of who was attempting to make the race.

IndyCar mostly kept its word that the full-time cars, the race winners (Sage Karam, Scott McLaughlin and Lando Norris) and the only other Indianapolis 500 to compete in this series (Hélio Castroneves) were locked in but there is something fuzzy about a few spots.

Felipe Nasr failed to qualify in the #31 Carlin entry, which is a full-time team. Dalton Kellett, who did contest all five prior iRacing events, drove an additional A.J. Foyt Racing car and Kellet was locked in. That is one discrepancy but Conor Daly was locked in and in real-life Daly would be in a third car for Ed Carpenter Racing. However, after Nasr failed to qualify, Daly took over the #31 Carlin entry.

We can say the #31 Carlin entry "bought" its way in and had Daly take over its car but that would mean Daly's non-full-time entry was locked in while the full-time Carlin car wasn't. This is splitting hairs but we have the time, we are still in lockdown.

Turning this into a Canadian affair for a moment because Kellett was locked in but Robert Wickens and James Hinchcliffe were not and neither Wickens nor Hinchcliffe qualified for this race. Both Wickens and Hinchcliffe attempted to run every race. Wickens missed the first race due to not getting equipment in time and Hinchcliffe had a few connection issues keeping him from starting two races but both drivers have been highly-competitive in IndyCar, both drivers have sponsors with ties to IndyCar, both are larger draws than Kellett but Kellett was locked in over those two.

It would have been nice if IndyCar had released an entry list before the qualifying session on Wednesday and an explanation that went along with it. I know it is a lockdown and IndyCar is operating with fewer hands on deck but let's not sacrifice transparency because of it.

12. Let's talk about the qualifying session itself because IndyCar did not promote it.

I understand not putting the qualifying session on television. It is difficult enough putting on one race a weekend without a full-fledged studio supporting the event but qualifying could have been streamed and the series didn't even have that.

It was also just a qualifying session, one-lap to decide the final spots and that is how it is done in the real world but this isn't the real world. None of it was going to be broadcasted on television but you could have had a ten-car sprint race to decide the final four spots between Scott Speed, Stefan Wilson, James Davison, R.C. Enerson, Robert Wickens, Kyle Busch, Spencer Pigot, Felipe Nasr, James Hinchcliffe and Kyle Kaiser for the final four spots.

The six guys who missed wasted their afternoon for four laps of qualifying. At least make it worth their while. It could have been a 20-lap race, something simple like that.

13. This was the "dream" race. It was supposed to be a non-IndyCar "dream track" but we have a narrow-minded congregation who can't see beyond 16th and Georgetown and think because its May only one track could host this video game race and nothing could have been better.

This was IndyCar's final show before the first race at Texas on June 6. Barring an additional iRacing event or a further delay to racing, IndyCar could have ended with a bang, a 39-car field that included the defending NASCAR Cup champion, Wickens, Hinchcliffe and possibly one or two more drivers who may have decided to pass on attempting to qualify on Wednesday but would have been committed to a guarantee to race on Saturday and IndyCar said no thanks.

This could have been different and brought together a few different faces at a track no one would have IndyCar experience at. Indianapolis will get its moment in August... hopefully, we didn't need this simulation today. Today could have been something we would not see this year or perhaps ever. Instead, we got more of the same.

14. I think it is time for a break. IndyCar had a great six-week period. We have another month until the scheduled season opener. Perhaps IndyCar can squeeze in one more iRacing event, maybe that final weekend of May could be used as a promotion for the start of the season at Texas on the first Saturday in June. That likely will not happen but we should not be concerned IndyCar is not hosting an event next weekend. We need a break. We need something to appreciate when it restarts.

Musings From the Weekend: Fool's Gold

Rain and weepers delayed the IndyCar race at Texas Motor Speedway until August 27th. Drivers invaded the grandstand with hero cards in hand. Lewis Hamilton won again in Montreal and took another chunk out of Nico Rosberg's championship lead. There were first-time winners in Michigan and Moscow. A 52-year old man won a race. A new manufacture won on a world stage. Formula One teams have to pack up and fly halfway across the world. Two drivers are late to Le Mans. Here is a run down of what got me thinking.

Fool's Gold
The 100th Indianapolis 500 didn't just feature a who's who of drivers and personalities on the grid but also brought out key motorsports dignitaries, including FIA World Endurance Championship CEO Gerard Neveu and ACO CEO Pierre Fillon. The visit of two of the most important men for world sports car racing increased talks of a potential round of the World Endurance Championship taking place at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the near future. However, I feel it would only be right to warn Mr. Neveu and Mr. Fillon. They may think they have just struck gold but likely haven't.

While the crowd of around 350,000 people looks spectacular, it is a mirage. The WEC thinks they have found its opening to the American fan base, despite having a capable home at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. The Austin event has not been growing at the rate the series would like and Circuit of the Americas has run into some financial difficult in the past year, most notable a reduction in spending that nearly cost it the United States Grand Prix.

The 6 Hours of the Circuit of the Americas has only been on the calendar for three years with the fourth edition scheduled for this September 17th. Last year's attendance over the two-day weekend was reportedly 58,400 spectators, an increase from 2014. For comparison, this year's WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps had a crowd of 56,000 people for race day. It doesn't appear Austin is that far off the other events on the WEC calendar but the track and the series appear not be seeing eye-to-eye with one another.

Austin might be shaky but the WEC should not expect their answer to be racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. While 350,000 people show up for the Indianapolis 500, most other crowds at the Speedway are immediate dismissed as not good enough even when the turn out is respectable. The Brickyard 400 no longer draws a crowd that rivals the Indianapolis 500 but it still draws 80,000-100,000 and is one of the best-attended NASCAR races each season. Carb Day gets a massive crowd but the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, held just two weeks prior, may get 20,000-25,000 people. The MotoGP Indianapolis Grand Prix saw over 67,000 people show up for the race and over 145,000 people over the entire weekend last year and the race did not return in 2016. When Grand-Am and then IMSA raced at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the crowds were poor but to be fair the race was held on Friday afternoon of the NASCAR weekend.

If the WEC is expecting that just because 350,000 people showed up for the Indianapolis 500, they will easily get 50,000 on race day alone is foolish. Indianapolis maybe one of the arteries for motorsports in the United States but it isn't anything but a motorsports haven where the community shuts down anytime the Speedway has an event. The crowd at Austin might be less than spectacular but the crowd at Shanghai was dreadful at the start and it has continued to grow each year. Even Spa-Francorchamps has grown to over 50,000 in attendance from a merger beginning. Circuit of the Americas might have more problems than just attendance but it is still a new circuit. It is still becoming apart of the fabric of the community.

It has yet to set in that Austin, Texas is a destination for motorsports in the United States. Unlike Indianapolis, Daytona, Watkins Glen, Sebring and Long Beach, Austin doesn't have decades of motorsports history that draws people out. It takes time. Consider Petit Le Mans. At first, it was just another endurance race in the United States and now it arguably could be the largest attendance motorsports event in the state of Georgia. Think about that for a second. Georgia. The state that use to have two NASCAR races, including the season finale for the Cup series and is home to Bill Elliott. Do you really think in the early years of Petit Le Mans anyone imagine it would grow to what it is today? Austin may be struggling but it should not be abandoned. Growth takes time and the market is still getting use to having a major international motorsports facility in its backyard.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway isn't necessarily going to be the solution for the FIA WEC. Many events have gone to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway only to leave a few years later wondering what went wrong. Neveu and Fillon should be warned that a race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway very well could have the same size crowd as Circuit of the Americas. Should the nugget of gold they think they have stumbled on turn out to be a nugget of disappointment, the only people they will have to blame are themselves.

Thoughts on Texas
Unfortunately, IndyCar will have to wait until August to complete its race at Texas Motor Speedway but I think it could be a positive for the race. First, the crowd looked really good on Saturday night but the weepers kept the race from starting. Sunday afternoon, with the threat of rain lingering, some made the trek out, others didn't. Weepers delayed the start again but 71 laps were complete.

IndyCar could have tried again today and raced in front of a couple hundred people and for a television audience around 100,000 but it decided to push it back and this allows many who bought a ticket and went on Saturday to return and could open the door for other people to purchase a ticket to watch the final 177 laps.

IndyCar isn't NASCAR where they race 38 out of 52 weeks and there is no room to reschedule a race and will occasionally have to wait until a Tuesday to complete a race if necessary. IndyCar has some room in case a race needs to be moved to a later date. Texas Motor Speedway gets a chance to promote this race again and the race now plays more heavily into the championship picture, as it is the antepenultimate round of the 2016 season. The final four races of the IndyCar season will now be run over five weeks. It will be a great way to build momentum heading to Sonoma, barring Simon Pagenaud doesn't clinch it at Texas or Watkins Glen, although Pagenaud clinching the title gives Eddie Gossage the chance to promote a potential coronation ceremony at his palace.

Josef Newgarden and Conor Daly will be allowed to restart the Texas race but both drivers will be significantly behind the eight-ball after their accident caused the final 30 laps run on Sunday to be behind the safety car. Newgarden suffered a fractured right clavicle and a small fractured in his right hand. Newgarden is already looking at surrendering a lot of points when the Texas race resumes but with two weeks until Road America, he might not be back in time and that would be a shame for him. I could see Ed Carpenter Racing just run one car until Newgarden returns considering how tight budgets are and how ECR has lost another car.

The amazing thing out of all this is, after the accident, IndyCar has jumped all-in to running aeroscreens for 2017. It's pretty progressive of IndyCar to basically say, "We're doing this." The FIA and Formula One seems to be hemming and hawing halo devices and aeroscreens. I figured IndyCar would just sit back and wait until the FIA figured something out but good on IndyCar for deciding what is best for the series. Hopefully we see IndyCar test one soon. I would hope the series would get into bed with Red Bull on this one and work in tandem. Yes, there will be plenty of people angry about this decision and saying it is the worst thing to ever happen to IndyCar and it will hurt racing and it will make the drivers less safe. People said all that about the domed skid and it all turned out to be bullshit. IndyCar will test aeroscreens and get driver feedback and all will be fine come the start of 2017.

Winners From the Weekend
You know about Lewis Hamilton but did you know...

Joey Logano won the NASCAR Cup race at Michigan. Daniel Suárez became the first Mexican driver to win a Grand National Series race. William Byron won the Truck race at Texas.

Thierry Neuville won Rally d'Italia Sardegna, his first World Rally victory since the 2014 Rallye Deutschland.

Gabriele Tarquini and Nick Castsburg won the WTCC races from Moscow Raceway and sweeping the weekend for the home manufacture Lada.

Coming Up This Weekend
The 84th 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Formula One makes its maiden voyage to the coastal capital Baku, Azerbaijan for the European Grand Prix.
World Superbikes will be at Misano.
V8 Supercars head to Hidden Valley Raceway in Darwin.

Marc Márquez Wins 2015 Indianapolis Grand Prix

For the ninth straight time, Marc Márquez has won in the United States. The Spaniard passed Jorge Lorenzo with three laps to go to pick up his third victory of 2015 and fifth consecutive victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Márquez has won every MotoGP race he has started in the United States. Márquez's victory is Honda's sixth consecutive Indianapolis Grand Prix victory. Márquez has five podium finishes this season.

Lorenzo came home in second, 0.688 seconds behind Márquez. It is Lorenzo's first runner-up finish of 2015 as he has four victories and a third. Lorenzo has four consecutive podiums at Indianapolis and seven in eight starts. His worst Indianapolis finish is fourth. Valentino Rossi had a hard fought battle with Dani Pedrosa for third and nipped the Spaniard by just under two-tenths of a second for the final podium spot. Rossi's podium streak is extending to 14 consecutive races dating back to last year's Japanese Grand Prix. It is the first time Rossi has had consecutive podiums at Indianapolis.

Andrea Iannone finished fifth with the Tech3 Yamahas of Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaró in sixth and seventh respectively. Smith has finished every race this season between fifth and eighth as he has finished sixth on five occasions. Seventh is Pol Espargaró worst career finish at Indianapolis. Cal Crutchlow finished eighth for the second consecutive year at Indianapolis with Andrea Dovizioso in ninth despite falling from tenth to 20th on the opening lap of the race. Danilo Petrucci rounded out the top ten. This is Petrucci first time scoring points at Indianapolis.

Suzuki's Maverick Viñales finished 11th. Yonny Hernández was 12th with Scott Redding and Aleix Espargaró in 13th and 14th respectively. Héctor Barberá rounded out the points as Nicky Hayden missed out on a championship point by just under a second. Hayden has finished 16th in three consecutive races. It is the first time Barberá has finished in the points at Indianapolis since his first MotoGP start at the track in 2010.

Valentino Rossi keeps his championship lead as the Italian has 195 points. Jorge Lorenzo is nine points behind his Yamaha teammate. Marc Márquez jumps up to third in the championship and trails Rossi by 56 points. Andrea Iannone is 66 points back of his fellow countryman. Bradley Smith rounds out the top five, 98 points back.

In Moto2, Álex Rins won from pole position as the Spaniard picked up his first career Moto2 victory. Runs held off Moto2 championship leader Johann Zarco by 0.482 seconds for the victory. This is Rins' second career victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as he won the 2013 Moto3 race from the Speedway. Italian Franco Morbidelli rounded out the podium, 0.888 seconds back of Rins. It is Morbidelli's first career podium in 31 career Moto2 starts.

Swiss rider Dominique Aegerter finished fourth from 11th on the grid. Defending Moto2 champion Tito Rabat rounded out the top five with another Swiss rider, Thomas Lüthi following him in sixth. Axel Pons scores a career best finish by coming home in seventh. His previous best was eighth at Barcelona last year. Belgian Xaiver Siméon finished eighth with Takaaki Nakagami in ninth. Álex Márquez, younger brother of Marc Márquez rounded out the top ten.

Malaysian rider Azlan Shah finished 11th. It's Shah's second finish in the points this year. He finished 15th at Mugello. Two-time winner this year Jonas Folger was 12th. Anthony West was 13th with Marcel Schrötter and Robin Mulhauser rounding out the points. It is Mulhauser's first career finish in the points. His previous best was 17th at Valencia last year.

Johann Zarco retains his Moto2 championship lead as he exits Indianapolis with 199 points. Álex Rins moves up to second in the championship with his victory as he trails the Frenchman by 71 points. Tito Rabat is three points behind Rins in third. Thomas Lüthi jumps up to fourth in the championship, as he is 90 points behind Zarco. Sam Lowes retired in today's race and dropped to fifth in the championship, 92 points back of Zarco.

There was a first-time winner in Moto3 as Belgian rider Livio Loi took victory by over 38 seconds over British rider John McPhee in race that started in damp conditions. German Phillip Öttl rounded out the podium. Loi's previous best career finish in 33 Moto3 starts was fourth in Argentina last year. His best finish this season entering Indianapolis was 12th in Argentina. McPhee and Öttl both scored their first career podiums as well. McPhee's best career finish was fourth in Japan last year and Öttl's was sixth at Aragón in 2013. Loi won from 26th on the grid, while McPhee start 18th and Öttl went from 34th, last on the grid to third.

Romano Fenati finished fourth while Isaac Viñales was the top Spaniard in fifth. Spaniards had won all seven previous Moto3/125cc races at Indianapolis entering this race. Enea Bastianini finished sixth with fellow Italian Niccolò Antonelli following him in seventh. South African Brad Binder finished eight ahead of Spaniards Jorge Navarro and Jorge Martin.

Frenchman Fabio Quartararo was 11th with Karel Hanika in 12th. Andrea Locatelli, Jules Danilo and Miguel Oliveira rounded out the points. Moto3 championship leader Danny Kent failed to score points as he finished a lap down in 21st. Kent's previous worst finish this season was fourth at Le Mans. The British rider had scored points in 19 consecutive races with last year's race at Barcelona being one of only two occasions he failed to score points in 2014.

Danny Kent's championship lead shrinks to 56 points over Enea Bastianini and 78 points over Romano Fenati. Miguel Oliveira is 87 points back with Efrén Vazquez rounding out the top five, 94 points back after Vazquez retired from today's race.

All three series will be on track next week in Brno, Czech Republic. Last year, Dani Pedrosa ended Marc Márquez's ten-race winning streak as Márquez finished fourth. In Moto2, Tito Rabat won and Aleix Masbou scored his first career victory in Moto3.

2015 Indianapolis Grand Prix Preview

After a month off for a summer break, MotoGP and the entire Grand Prix Motorcycle tour returns to the United States and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for eighth edition of the Indianapolis Grand Prix. Defending world champion Marc Márquez has four victories at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with each victory coming in the last four years. Honda has won the last five Indianapolis Grands Prix after Yamaha won the first two.

MotoGP
Valentino Rossi, the inaugural winner of the Indianapolis Grand Prix, leads the world championship standings with 179 points. The Italian has won three of nine races this year and he has finished every race on the podium. Despite winning the inaugural MotoGP race at Indianapolis, Rossi has struggled at Indianapolis having failed to make it back to the podium until last year when he finished third. Rossi's Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo is second in the championship, 13 points back. Lorenzo won four consecutive races (Jerez, Le Mans, Mugello, Barcelona) but has only one other podium this season. Lorenzo won the 2009 Indianapolis Grand Prix and has six podiums in seven starts at Indianapolis.

Ducati rider Andrea Iannone finds himself third in the championship, 61 points back of his fellow countryman. Iannone finished second at Mugello after starting on pole position and he finished third at the season opener at Qatar. His worst finish this season is sixth but his track record at Indianapolis is poor. In seven starts, he has three retirements and his best finish was fourth in Moto2 in 2010. In Iannone's two MotoGP starts at Indianapolis he has finished 11th and retired. Ducati has never won at Indianapolis.

Marc Márquez has won every MotoGP race he has entered in the United States with three victories at Circuit of the Americas, two at Indianapolis and one at Laguna Seca. Márquez also won his two Moto2 starts at Indianapolis. The defending world champion has had a difficult title defense. He retired in Argentina after leading majority of that race after he made contact with Rossi with two to go. He retired at Mugello and retired after three laps at Barcelona. The last two rounds have gone much more in Márquez's favor. At Assen, Márquez gave Rossi a run for his money and nearly pulled off a last-lap pass for the victory but came home second. At the Sachsenring, Márquez won from pole position. The Spaniard trails Rossi by 65 points with nine races remaining.

Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso and Tech3 Yamaha's Bradley Smith are tied for fifth in the championship on 87 points with Dovizioso owning the tiebreaker with three runner-up finishes while Smith's best finish is fifth. Dovizioso's finished in the top five in his first five Indianapolis appearances but his last two races have been his worst. The Italian has retired from three of the last four races with his lone finish in that timespan being 12th at Assen. Smith's worst finish in 2015 is eighth. His best Indianapolis finish is second in 125cc in 2009.

Dani Pedrosa has 67 points from six starts as he missed three of the first four races after having surgery on his arm. Pedrosa finished second to Márquez in German. Pedrosa has two victories and four podiums at Indianapolis. A point behind Pedrosa is LCR Honda's Cal Crutchlow. The British rider's best finish this season is third at Argentina but he has retired from three races this year. Crutchlow's best finish at Indianapolis is fifth.

Spaniards Pol Espargaró for Tech3 and Suzuki's Maverick Viñales round out the top ten with 64 and 57 points respectively. Pol won the 2009 125cc race at Indianapolis and has five podiums at the track. Viñales is the top rookie in MotoGP and has three podiums in four starts at Indianapolis but has yet to stand on the top step of the podium. Pramac Racing Ducati's Danilio Petrucci has finished in the points in every race and is 11th on 51 points. However, Petrucci has never finished in the points at Indianapolis. Suzuki's Aleix Espargaró rounds out the top twelve on 44 points and he won pole position at Barcelona.

Nicky Hayden will be riding an Open class Aspar Honda. The 2006 world champion has eight points this season with his best finish being 11th at Le Mans. That was his last finish in the points. Hayden has finished 16th, on the cusp of points, in the last two races. Hayden missed last year's Indianapolis Grand Prix due to injury. The Kentucky Kid has scored points in every Indianapolis race has started.

Moto2
Frenchman Johann Zarco leads the Moto2 championship with the same amount points that Rossi has in MotoGP, 179. Zarco has three victories this year and has finished on the podium in every race but the season opener at Qatar, where he finished eighth. Zarco has not had great results at Indianapolis. His best finish is fifth but he has finished outside the top ten on three occasions.

Defending Moto2 champion Esteve Rabat trails Zarco by 65 points. Rabat won at Mugello and has five podiums this year but he retired in the most recent race in Germany. Rabat won the 2013 Moto2 race at Indianapolis. British rider Sam Lowes is 72 points behind Zarco. Lowes won in Austin earlier this year. He finished 24th in his Indianapolis debut last year. Rookie Álex Rins is 76 points back of Zarco and he has four podiums but has yet to score a victory. Rins won the 2013 Moto3 race at Indianapolis. Swiss rider Thomas Lüthi rounds out the top five, 80 behind Zarco. Lüthi won at Le Mans but his only other podium this season was a third at Qatar. His best finish at Indianapolis is fifth.

Belgian Xaiver Siméon is sixth on 84 points and his coming off his first career win in Moto2 at the Sachsenring. He also finished second at Qatar. German Jonas Folger won at Qatar and Jerez and is seven points behind Siméon. Folger's two victories are his only podium this year and his next best finish is seventh. Folger finished third at Indianapolis in the 2009 Moto3 race. Franco Morbidelli is eighth on 62 points. Mika Kallio and Julián Simón round out the top ten, each tied on 47 points. Kallio won last year's Moto2 race at Indianapolis but his best finish in 2015 is fourth. Simón has two podiums at Indianapolis with second in the 2010 Moto2 race being his best finish.

Before Kallio's victory, Spaniards had won the last four Moto2 races at Indianapolis. Marco Simoncelli won the inaugural Moto2/250cc race at Indianapolis in 2009. The 2008 race was cancelled due to Hurricane Ike.

Moto3
British rider Danny Kent has won five of nine races this year, including the most recent round in Germany and leads the Moto3 championship with 190 points. Kent has finished on the podium in all but one race this year and his worst finish was fourth at Le Mans. Kent has made four starts at Indianapolis with his best finish being 12th.

Sixty-six points behind Kent is Enea Bastianini. The Italian has four podiums this year but has yet to score a victory. The 17-year old has yet to win in Moto3 in 27 starts. He has five runner-up finishes in his career. Portuguese rider Miguel Oliveira is 88 points behind Kent despite having won two races this year. Oliveira did not start in Germany and he also failed to score points in the first two rounds of the season.

Romano Fenati is 91 points back of Kent and won at Le Mans. Fenati finished second in last year's Moto3 race at Indianapolis. Efrén Vázquez won last year's Moto3 race at Indianapolis. It was his first career grand prix victory. He now finds himself fifth in the Moto3 championship, trailing his teammate Kent by 94 points. Vázquez has four podiums this year and is coming off a runner-up finish in German.

South African Brad Binder trails Kent by 115 points. His best finish this season was a third in Argentina. The top rookie in Moto3 is 16-year old Frenchman Fabio Quartararo, who is a point behind Binder. Quartararo has two runner-up finishes this year and he started on pole for his home race at Le Mans. Isaac Viñales, older brother of Maverick Viñales, has 64 points and his best finish this year was third in Argentina. Isaac has yet to win in 64 Moto3/125cc starts and has had two runner-up finishes.

Italians Niccolò Antonelli and Francesco Bagnaia round out the top ten with 60 and 55 points respectively. Antonelli's best finish this year is fourth while Bagnaia finished third at Le Mans. Rookie Jorge Navarro has 54 points in 11th. Twelfth is Aleix Masbou, who won the season opener in Qatar but his next best finish this season was eighth in Germany.

All seven Moto3/125cc races at Indianapolis have been won by Spaniards.

Predictions
Marc Márquez continues his winning streak in the United States. Valentino Rossi does not finish on the podium. Nicky Hayden finishes in the points. Álex Rins gets his first career Moto2 victory. The Moto3 winner will not be a Spaniard. At least one race is decided by less than a tenth of a second.

The Moto3 race will be at 11:00 a.m. ET with the Moto2 race at 12:20 p.m. ET. Fox Sports 1 will broadcast all three races from Indianapolis. The Moto3 race will be shown tape-delayed at noon ET with Moto2 following, also tape-delayed at 1:00 p.m. ET. The MotoGP Indianapolis Grand Prix will be broadcasted live at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Márquez Wins Tenth Consecutive in 2014

Marc Márquez is half way to a record after winning the Indianapolis Grand Prix from Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It is the Spaniard's tenth consecutive victory and fourth career win at Indianapolis between the three classes.

Marquez started from pole but fell to fourth on the first lap behind Valentino Rossi, Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo. The two Italians were fighting hard for the lead as Dovizioso made a pass on Rossi into turn one on lap six. Rossi continued to pressure the Ducati rider in the next two turns and slight contact with Dovizioso opened the door for Márquez and Lorenzo to blow by. Rossi would retake the lead later that lap and lead all the way to lap ten.

Márquez would take the lead once and for all on lap eleven and win the race by just over two seconds from Lorenzo who passed his teammate on lap fifteen. Rossi rounded out the podium, his first podium at Indianapolis since winning the inaugural race in 2008. With his third place finish, Rossi became the first rider to surpass 4,000 career points.

Not only does Márquez remain unbeaten in 2014 but unbeaten in the United States in MotoGP. He has won all five MotoGP races he has started in the United States with two wins at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca going along with his two victories at Indianapolis.

Dani Pedrosa went from eighth to fourth just over ten seconds behind his factory Honda teammate. The Tech3 Yamahas of Pol Espargaró and Bradley Smith finished fifth and sixth respectively. Dovizioso slid back after the early battle at the front to finish seventh. The Italian finished just over nineteen seconds over his factory Ducati teammate Cal Crutchlow. Crutchlow had a tough battle with fellow Brit Scott Redding for eighth. Redding was the top Open class bike. Fellow Open class rider Hiroshi Aoyama rounded out the top ten on his Aspar Honda.

Karel Abraham picked up his best finish of 2014 with an eleventh place finish. French rider Mike Di Meglio scored his first career MotoGP points with a twelfth place finish. Colin Edwards finished thirteenth in his final MotoGP race in the United States. It is the third time Edwards has finished in the points in 2014. Michael Laverty picked up his first points of 2014 by finishing fourteenth and his Paul Bird Motorsport teammate Broc Parkes rounded out the points in fifteenth.

The fifteen point scorers were the only riders to finish the race. Aspar Honda's Leon Camier retired eight laps before the finish on debut. Camier was substituting for the injured former world champion Nicky Hayden. Andrea Iannone was solidly in the points before a mechanical failure ended his afternoon. Aleix Espargaró and Stefan Bradl had an accident with fifteen to go end their days. Other riders that failed to finish were Danilo Petrucci, Héctor Barberá, Yonny Hernández and Álvaro Bautista.

Márquez has 250 points through ten races and holds an 89-point lead over his teammate Pedrosa. Rossi is third in the championship, 93 back with his Yamaha teammate Lorenzo in fourth, 133 behind Márquez. Dovizioso rounds out the top five and is only other rider with triple-digit points. The Italian trails Márquez by 142 points.

With his victory, Márquez became the fifth rider to win ten consecutive races in 500cc/MotoGP class. The last man to do it was Mick Doohan in 1997. Giacomo Agostini won ten consecutive in 1970. John Surtees won eleven consecutive from 1958-1960 and Mike Hailwood won twelve in a row from 1963-1964.

Márquez is now halfway to the record for most consecutive victory in 500cc/MotoGP history. Giacomo Agostini won twenty consecutive races from 1968-1969.

The next round of the 2014 MotoGP season occurs next week from Brno, Czech Republic.

Márquez on Pole In Search of Tenth Consecutive Victory

Defending world champion Marc Márquez starts on pole as the Catalan rider looks for his fourth victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in as many years and tenth consecutive victory in the 2014 MotoGP season. This is Márquez's eighth pole position of the season. Joining Márquez on the front row will be Andrea Dovizioso. The Italian was 0.225 seconds back on his factory Ducati as he achieved his best starting position of the 2014 season. Jorge Lorenzo rounds out row one, a quarter of a second behind his fellow countryman on pole. Lorenzo has scored a podium in five of six Indianapolis Grand Prix with his worst finish being a fourth.

Just under a half second back of Márquez was the top Open class bike of Aleix Espargaró. He is looking for his first career MotoGP podium finish. He has two, fourth place finishes in 2014 coming at Qatar and in the Dutch TT. Valentino Rossi starts in the middle of row two. Ever since winning the inaugural Indianapolis Grand Prix in 2008, Rossi has failed to score a podium at Indianapolis. Pol Espargaró bookends the second row for the Espargaró family. Pol won at Indianapolis in the 125cc class in 2009 and has five podiums in six Indianapolis appearances.

Andrea Iannone starts seventh. The Pramac Ducati rider is coming off his best career MotoGP finish at Germany last month where he finished fifth. Factory Honda rider Dani Pedrosa starts eighth. He is the lone repeat winner at Indianapolis in the MotoGP class and has won the last two editions to fall on even years. Bradley Smith starts ninth. The Brit finished eighth last year at Indianapolis.

The LCR Honda and Open class Gresini Honda of Stefan Bradl and Scott Redding respectively will start tenth and eleventh. Redding finished third in Moto2 at Indianapolis last year. Cal Crutchlow joins his fellow Brit Redding on row four.

The first three to not advance past the first round of qualifying were Yonny Hernández, Álvaro Bautista and Colin Edwards. Hernández is two points away from setting a career-high in MotoGP. The Colombian had finished in the points in the first seven races of 2014 but has since failed to score in the following two. Bautista has retired from four of nine races but did finish third at Le Mans in May. Edwards will be the lone American in the MotoGP race as he looks for his first points Mugello in June.

Leon Camier starts sixteenth. Camier is riding for Aspar Honda in replacement for the injured Nicky Hayden. The Kentucky Kid is recovering from wrist surgery. Danilo Petrucci and Camier's teammate Hiroshi Aoyama round out row six. Avintia Racing teammates Mike Di Meglio Héctor Barberá start nineteenth and twentieth with Karel Abraham on the outside of row seven. Rounding out the field will be Paul Bird Motorsport's Broc Parkes and Michael Laverty.

In Moto2, Mika Kallio starts on pole with championship leader Esteve Rabat starting second. Rabat is the defending winner in Moto2. The most recent Moto2 winner, Dominique Aegerter starts third. The lone American in Moto2, Josh Herrin starts twenty-third. Herrin is still looking for his first points in his rookie season.

Moto3 championship leader Jack Miller starts on pole with Spaniards Efrén Vásquez and Álex Márquez, younger brother of Marc, joining the Australian on the front row. Spaniards have won all six Moto3/125cc class races at Indianapolis.

The action begins at noon ET Sunday with Moto3 followed by Moto2 at 1:00 p.m. ET and MotoGP at 2:00 p.m. ET. All three races can be seen live on Fox Sports 1.

Valentino Rossi Fastest in Indianapolis First Practice

After a month off, the MotoGP season restarts at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This will be the seventh edition of the Indianapolis Grand Prix and the winner of the inaugural Indianapolis Grand Prix was fastest. Valentino Rossi ran a 94.535 second lap on his factory Yamaha. The Italian was 0.0334 seconds quicker than fellow Yamaha rider, Tech3's Bradley Smith. A hundredth of a second behind Smith was Pramac Ducati rider Andrea Iannone with the second Tech3 Yamaha of Pol Espargaró fourth overall in the session, 0.143 seconds behind Rossi.

Championship leader Marc Márquez was fifth in the first session, 0.350 seconds behind Rossi. Márquez has won all nine races this season and he looks to accomplish a double-digit winning streak for only the sixth time in the history of 500cc/MotoGP. The last rider to win at least ten consecutive races was Mick Doohan in 1997 when the Australian won ten in a row. Honda has won four consecutive Indianapolis Grand Prix. Jorge Lorenzo was sixth, just a little over a half a second behind his factory Yamaha teammate. Lorenzo signed a new deal with Yamaha through at least 2016 earlier this week.

The top Open class bike was the Gresini Honda of Scott Redding in seventh. He was 0.161 seconds ahead of the second Open class bike of Aleix Espargaró in eighth. Factory Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso was ninth fastest with the Open class Pramac Ducati of Yonny Hernández rounding out the top ten.

Colin Edwards is the lone American at Indianapolis entered in MotoGP this year as Nicky Hayden is recovering from wrist surgery over the summer break. Edwards was eleventh fastest in first practice, 1.208 seconds behind his former teammate Rossi. This will be Edwards' final MotoGP start in the United States as he announced that he would retired at the end of this season. His best finish at Indianapolis is fifth which came in 2009. Edwards has only finished in the points twice this year with his last points finish being at Mugello three races ago.

Ducati rider Cal Crutchlow was twelfth followed by the Aspar Honda of Hiroshi Aoyama and the LCR Honda of Stefan Bradl. Karel Abraham rounded out the top fifteen while factory Honda rider Dani Pedrosa was sixteenth, 1.884 seconds behind Rossi.

Rounding out the session was Álvaro Bautista, Héctor Barberá, Broc Parkes, Danilo Petrucci, Michael Laverty, Mike Di Meglio and Leon Camier. The field was covered by 5.427 seconds.

Second practice for MotoGP will take place at 2:05 p.m. ET.