It was announced that in order to place some teeth into the NTT INDYCAR SERIES management agenda of inclusiveness, a new team focusing on African American involvement in motorsports is entering the Road to Indy series starting competition next year. This team effort will be mentored by Team Penske’s state-of-the-art operations in order to help it get off the ground successfully. The team is named FORCE Indy and will be managed by Coach Rod Reid, NXG Youth Motorsports President and CEO. Force Indy will initially field an entry in the USF2000 series, which has the lowest barriers to entry of the Road to Indy ladder, and will look to advance all the way up to the NTT IndyCar series as the program develops. The Cooper Tires USF2000 series is the first official step in the Road to Indy feeder series program, followed successively by Indy Pro 2000, Indy Lights, and finally the full-season ride in the NTT IndyCar series.

That's it, only two races at one venue. Indianapolis Motor Speedway plays host to two races for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES each year, one dedicated road course known as the Grand Prix, and the INDY 500. It is planned to be able to reinstate the Month Of May back at IMS with the GMR Grand Prix on May 15th, and the Indy 500, "The Greatest Spectacle In Racing" on May 30th, 2021

They’re back! The stars and the cars of the NASCAR Cup Series returned with a roar to the heart of Los Angeles on Sunday. They practiced and qualified for today’s Busch Light Clash At The Coliseum for the second time, bringing smiles to the faces of NASCAR fans everywhere who’ve eagerly awaited the start of its 75th Anniversary season. ---- In front of a large, enthusiastic crowd in one of the most iconic venues in sports, Martin Truex Jr. earned his first NASCAR Cup Series victory in more than a season in a rough-and-tumble all-thrills Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum Sunday night at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. ---- Truex’s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota held off Austin Dillon’s No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet by a mere .786-second leading the final 25 laps of the 150-lap annual non-points exhibition event marking the start of the NASCAR season. It was the former series champion Truex’s first career Busch Light Clash victory. ---- Dillon’s new teammate, two-time series champion Kyle Busch finished third in the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet – the three top-finishers feted on a podium with medals; reminiscent of the Olympic Games the venue has also famously hosted. ---- “Just really good race car, the guys did a really good job with this Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry," the New Jersey native Truex said, “Last year was a pretty rough season for us with no wins, to come out here and kick it off this way, just really proud of these guys. ---- “Tonight, was just kind of persevere, not give up and just battle through and we found ourselves in the right spot at the end. Sometimes they work out your way and sometimes they don’t. Tonight, it went our way.” ---- The iconic HOLLYWOOD sign on the hills overlooking Turn 3 and the downtown Los Angeles skyline just beyond Turn 2 provided a unique setting to this event. ---- It was a packed house at the 100-year-old Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the race – lots of new fans mixed with the most loyal long-timers dressed in their best NASCAR fan t-shirts, driver jackets and hats excited to watch the NASCAR Cup Series show exactly the kind of high-drama short track action that has made the 75-year-old sport an American treasure. ---- The track was purpose-built inside the stadium bringing the sport to a new market, which appears to have whole-heartedly embraced. ---- And while this may be a pre-season exhibition, frustration was often in mid-season form Sunday night. ---- The race was slowed 16 times for cautions. Dillon had a late race run-in with Bubba Wallace, their cars colliding. Wallace got the worst end of the contact and was knocked from contending for the win to instead finishing 22nd in the 27-car field – despite leading 40 laps and challenging Truex as the race wound down. ---- “Obviously, Bubba knocked me through the corner," Dillon said. “I was going to hit him back. Didn’t mean to turn him like that but when it gets down to the end, I think everybody knows what’s going on and that’s what you see at places like this and [North Carolina short track] Bowman Gray Stadium." ---- Dillon acknowledged that Wallace may be upset with him and said they would talk. ---- Hendrick Motorsports teammates Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson rounded out the top five. Tyler Reddick was sixth in his debut in the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota. ---- New Englander Ryan Preece, 32, making his first start in the No. 41 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing led the most laps (43) but fell back with 24 laps to go, telling his crew there was some sort of electrical problem. He finished seventh. ---- Denny Hamlin, who won his Heat Race earlier in the day in his No. 11 JGR Toyota, finished ninth with driver William Byron in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet rounding out the top 10. ---- The four Heat and two Last Chance Qualifier races Sunday afternoon provided plenty of drama in setting the field for the Main Event under the lights – and under the fire of the Coliseum’s famed peristyle (torch). Both RFK Racing Fords – driven by team co-owner Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher were among the eight cars that didn’t qualify. ---- Joining the RFK drivers on that list of DNQs are Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Harrison Burton, Ty Dillon, Corey LaJoie, Cody Ware, J.J. Yeley and B.J. McLeod. ---- The NASCAR Cup Series next moves east to Florida for the Feb. 19 regular season-opening DAYTONA 500 at the Daytona International Speedway (Sunday, Feb. 19, 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). ---- ... notes from The EDJE

Scott Dixon Slays As Will Power Survives Commonwealth Based Race At Honda Indy Toronto Canada, New Zealand, and Australia are all still active members of the Commonwealth Of Nations ... Britain and its dominions agreed they were "equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations". The term "Commonwealth" was officially adopted to describe the community. [ht: Wikipedia] The reason that this point-of-order came to light in conjunction with this Honda Indy Toronto race is that Scott Dixon, upon winning at this venue a fourth time in his career, stated that he considers Toronto to be his "home" track since New Zealand, Dixon's birthplace, is a Commonwealth member nation - so is Australia, Will Power's birthplace. A great day for points movement for Chip Ganassi Racing drivers with a win by Dixon, the maintaining in the season points lead by Ericsson (tacking on a few points to the margin between him and Penske's Will Power), and a couple of leap frog position moves - Alex Palou moves Newgarden to P4 and takes over P3 with Scott Dixon winning, he moves from P6 over Pato O'Ward to P5. https://theedje.blogspot.com/2022/07/scott-dixon-slays-as-will-power.html