News

7:15 AM ET Team owner and 2009 Formula One world champion Jenson Button expects the new Extreme E off-road racing series for electric SUVs to see an influx of manufacturers in the next year or two. Button’s JBXE team is partnered by Lotus Engineering, a subsidiary of the British sportscar maker, in a series that

May 30, 2021 Associated Press FLORENCE, Italy — Swiss motorcycle rider Jason Dupasquier has died following a crash during Moto3 qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix, the Careggi Hospital in Florence announced Sunday. He was 19. “Despite the best efforts of circuit medical staff and all those subsequently attending to the Swiss rider, the hospital

2:15 PM ET ESPN News Services Scott Dixon‘s perfect Indianapolis 500 fell apart when the six-time IndyCar Series champion ran out of gas before his first pit stop Sunday. The pole sitter was on track for a regularly scheduled stop when Stefan Wilson crashed as he entered pit road to bring out a caution 33

3:25 PM ET ESPN News Services Written off as too old to race full time, too old for a fourth Indianapolis 500 win, Helio Castroneves at long last joined that exclusive club in a popular victory for the old guys. Then Spider-Man scaled the Indianapolis Motor Speedway fence for his trademark victory celebration at the

7:08 PM ET INDIANAPOLIS — On Saturday morning, roughly 24 hours before the start of the 2021 Indianapolis 500, an impromptu meeting of Indy’s most exclusive club took place as the drivers meeting of this year’s 33 competitors was being adjourned. A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears, the only four-time winners over 104 years

7:00 AM ET INDIANAPOLIS — Whenever the big, traditional sporting events pop up on the living room TV, from the Kentucky Derby to the Masters to those midweek midafternoon “WTH are they doing?” Olympic events, everyone loves that one guy in the room who is suddenly the expert on that sport, even though no one

May 28, 2021 ESPN News Services “This Is Us” actor Milo Ventimiglia will serve as the honorary starter for Sunday’s Indianapolis 500. Ventimiglia will wave the green flag and start the 105th running of the race. Ventimiglia plays family patriarch Jack Pearson on the show and is a three-time Emmy nominee for best actor. “Milo’s

12:46 PM ET INDIANAPOLIS — Dear smart watch and pedometer manufacturers: I don’t want to tell you how to run your business, but you’re missing out on a sponsorship opportunity during Sunday’s Indianapolis 500. And I don’t mean slapping a sticker on any of the 33 race cars that will be roaring down the frontstretch

9:48 AM ET Associated Press MUGELLO, Italy — Swiss rider Jason Dupasquier was airlifted to a hospital after a crash during Moto3 qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello on Saturday. The 19-year-old was involved in a crash with riders Ayumu Sasaki and Jeremy Alcoba toward the end of the session, which was immediately

11:01 PM ET Associated Press CONCORD, N.C. — John Hunter Nemechek made it through a late crash, then held on to the lead on a restart 10 laps from the end to win the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday night. Nemechek used a three-wide pass to gain the lead

6:07 PM ET ESPN News Services Scott Dixon ran to the top of the board in the final practice before Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 and called it a day with 45 minutes remaining in the session. “Hopefully it runs this good in the race,” Dixon said after his lap at 228.323 mph put the six-time IndyCar

7:53 AM ET INDIANAPOLIS — Every May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Gasoline Alley looks and feels like the world’s coolest high school cafeteria, a sociological hierarchy that is visibly obvious to anyone lucky enough to stroll these most hallowed of motorsports grounds. The freshmen — or in this case, rookies — travel in packs,

1:20 PM ET Retired Formula One world champion Nico Rosberg said he respects Naomi Osaka’s decision to shun French Open press conferences for mental health reasons and added that she is “ballsy,” but recognised opponents could find it unfair. The German made considerable use of sports psychology as he battled and beat Mercedes teammate Lewis

5:50 PM ET Associated Press With a reduced-capacity sellout crowd of 135,000 fans expected for Sunday’s race, the Indianapolis 500 is set to become the largest sporting event since the coronavirus pandemic began in early 2020. Indianapolis Motor Speedway worked with the Marion County Public Health Department to determine that 40% of venue capacity will

7:03 AM ET Alyssa RoenigkESPN Close Alyssa Roenigk is a senior writer for ESPN whose assignments have taken her to six continents and caused her to commit countless acts of recklessness. (Follow @alyroe on Twitter). At the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, all eyes will be on Paretta Autosport. Because for the first time in motorsport

4:59 AM ET British barrister Graham Stoker announced on Tuesday his candidacy to succeed Jean Todt as head of Formula One’s governing body, the FIA, with Denmark’s record nine times Le Mans 24 Hours winner Tom Kristensen in his leadership team. 1 Related International Automobile Federation President Todt, in office since 2009, is standing down

3:45 PM ET Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS — Jimmie Johnson was inside a sauna at 120 degrees and climbing as part of an hourlong sweat session preparing him to race on hot summer days. It’s part of a fitness program that calls for mental exercises to be completed while roasting inside the sweat bath, but Johnson

11:05 AM ET Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes cannot afford to have another race weekend like Monaco if he is to mount a successful title challenge against Red Bull’s Max Verstappen this year. 1 Related Hamilton lost the lead of the championship for the first time in 2021 last weekend after he finished seventh and Verstappen

3:00 PM ET ESPN News Services Will Power made the most of his second chance to make the Indianapolis 500, putting his Team Penske car into the field Sunday despite hitting the wall on his qualifying attempt. Power, who won the Indy 500 in 2018, brushed the wall with his right rear wheel in Turn

4:36 PM ET Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS — Takuma Sato will receive an overdue celebration this weekend for winning last year’s Indianapolis 500 in front of empty grandstands. Indianapolis Motor Speedway was empty aside from essential personnel last August when Sato won his second Indianapolis 500. The pandemic had prevented a crowd and it denied Sato

8:31 AM ET Formula One is willing to alter the circuit layout at the Monaco Grand Prix if there is a chance it will improve racing. Sunday’s race in Monaco featured just one overtake in 78 laps when Mick Schumacher barged past Haas teammate Nikita Mazepin at the Fairmont Hairpin on the opening lap. All

7:08 PM ET Associated Press BAYTOWN, Texas — Texas-based Steve Torrence beat Doug Kalitta in the Top Fuel final on Monday at the rain-delayed Mopar Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals at Houston Raceway Park. Torrence needed just a 4.00 to earn career win No. 43 after Kalitta’s Mobil 1/TRD dragster smoked the tires early. Torrence has

10:25 AM ET Max Mosley, the former president of motor racing’s governing body, the FIA, has died aged 81. Mosley headed up the FIA between 1993 and 2009 and played a pivotal role in pioneering improvements in safety standards after the deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

7:07 AM ET Mercedes will be unable to remove the front-right wheel nut from Valtteri Bottas’ Monaco Grand Prix race car until it returns to the team’s UK factory this week. Bottas was running in second position before he stopped for a scheduled tyre change mid-race, only for Mercedes to struggle to remove the tyre.

8:02 PM ET Associated Press BAYTOWN, Texas — Rain washed out most of the final eliminations Sunday in the Mopar Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals at Houston Raceway Park, forcing officials to postpone the event until Monday. Top Fuel finished all but one pair in the opening round, with No. 1 qualifier and points leader Steve

4:19 PM ET ESPN News Services Scott Dixon will start next Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 from a familiar spot for the six-time IndyCar Series champion: the front. Dixon posted a four-lap speed of 231.685 mph to edge Colton Herta (231.655) for pole position at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday. The 40-year-old Dixon is now the fifth

6:34 PM ET Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS — It has been 26 years since a Roger Penske car missed the Indianapolis 500 in one of the lowest points for the storied organization. Penske now owns the place, yet his team stunningly finds itself fighting for a spot in the field. Will Power, one of the greatest

8:25 PM ET Associated Press BAYTOWN, Texas — Funny Car points leader Bob Tasca III powered to the top spot right before the rain came, taking the No. 1 qualifying position Saturday in the Mopar Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals at Houston Raceway Park. Tasca had a 3.908-second run at 331.53 mph in a Ford Mustang,

2:21 PM ET MONACO — Ferrari’s initial inspection of Charles Leclerc’s car following his crash in Monaco Grand Prix qualifying has revealed no serious damage to its gearbox, but a final decision on whether fit a replacement, which could drop him from pole position to sixth, will be made on Sunday. Leclerc secured pole in

1:52 PM ET Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS — Chart-topping, platinum-selling country recording artist Jimmie Allen will perform the national anthem at this year’s Indianapolis 500. Allen will sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” before drivers are called to their cars May 30 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. NBC will telecast “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” for the third consecutive