Ken de la Bastide: Indy Car made right call in disqualification for Team Penske
Apr. 30—Last week Indy Car penalized three Team Penske cars for misuse of the push-to-pass mechanism during the opening race at St.Petersburg, Florida.
The penalty stripped Josef Newgarden of the victory and teammate Scott McLaughlin was removed from a third-place finish.
The team of Will Power was penalized 10 championship points.
The positive that came out of the penalties is the Indy Car Series is owned by Roger Penske. It's safe to say there was not favoritism in assessing the penalties.
The penalty gave Pato O'Ward the victory.
The series ran this past weekend at the road course in Alabama, and McLaughlin bounced back with the victory.
Colton Herta leads the points standings by one over Power followed by defending champion Alex Palou, Scott Dixon and Feliz Rosenqvist.
The series is off until May 11 for the road-course race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway followed by the Indianapolis 500.
Anderson's Greg VanAlst continued his drive for the ARCA Menards championship with a quiet run at the Monster Mile at Dover.
He trails Andres Perez by a single point heading to Kansas Speedway this weekend.
It was a busy weekend for VanAlst because the team made the return trip from Delaware to Anderson on Friday night.
VanAlst's 12-year-old son Ryder competed in his first Champion Racing Association Sportsman Late Model race Saturday at Anderson Speedway.
Ryder started on the pole position and drove to a fifth-place finish.
What was most impressive was during the race he spun on the back straight and had to start from the tail of the lead-lap cars.
He didn't get frustrated by the spin and worked his way back up through the field for the top-five finish.
During the three Spring Fling features for the CRA Sportsman Late Models, Street Stocks and the Vores Compact Touring Series, fans were treated to exciting races.
None of the three races was determined until the checkered flag waved.
This weekend, the CRA JEGS All Stars tour for Pro Late Models returns to Anderson Speedway for the first time since 2022.
The Pro Late Model drivers will compete in a 100-lap feature, and Muncie's JP Crabtree, second last weekend, is expected to compete.
IN OTHER RACING NEWS
The entry list for the 76th running of the Little 500 on May 25 has 42 cars with several more expected before race week.
There are currently nine rookies entered and five former winners.
Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863.
