The Week That Was: June 13, 2022
Image via Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment
Didn’t get to watch all of the action motorsports on two and four wheels that made it to TV this week? We’ve got you covered! Here’s a quick summary of everything that went down over the past few days:
Newgarden Claims $1 Million IndyCar Bonus at Road America
Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden scored his third win of the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series season on Sunday at Road America, taking the lead from polesitter Alexander Rossi with better pit stops and building a lead of more than three seconds over Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson of Chip Ganassi Racing at race’s end. Because Newgarden’s three wins have all come on different track types (road, street, and oval), he claimed a $1 million bonus from People Ready and IndyCar. Andretti Autosport cars completed the top five with Rossi, Romain Grosjean, and Colton Herta.
Ericsson retained the points lead over the Penske duo of Will Power and Newgarden, but it wasn’t all positives for the Ganassi team. First, Jimmie Johnson found himself off track on the first lap after a battle with Tatiana Calderon went awry. Then, just past the halfway point, Ericsson and teammate Alex Palou made contact, ending Palou’s day; the defending series champion hinted at intra-squad discord, vowing that “(he) can play that game too.”
Honda Remains Atop Pro Motocross as Roczen, Lawrence Win in Thunder Valley
With a 2-1 from Ken Roczen and a 2-2 from Jett Lawrence, Honda’s factory squad swept a Lucas Oil Pro Motocross event once again on Saturday from Thunder Valley Motocross Park. Roczen, who opened the season with a second place overall finish to teammate Chase Sexton at Fox Raceway and finished fourth at Hangtown, now sits just five points behind Sexton in the overall 450 standings. First moto winner Eli Tomac of Monster Energy Star Yamaha was second on the day and remains third in points.
Lawrence, meanwhile, finished 1-2 overall with his brother Hunter for the second time this season after Hunter won the second 250 moto to post a 4-1. Just like in the larger 450 class, a Monster Energy Star Yamaha rider took the first moto, with Levi Kitchen winning on the way to a 1-5 day and third overall. Jett and Hunter Lawrence now lead the standings with 139 and 127 points, respectively, while Jo Shimoda, Kitchen, and Justin Cooper are separated by just one point in the battle for third.
Reeder Climbs From 29th to First Formula Drift Win in Englishtown
In what will likely be the most surprising final battle of the 2022 season, Travis Reeder took his first career Formula Drift win over Rome Charpentier in a battle of Chevrolet LS-powered BMW M3s at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey. After qualifying 29th, Reeder survived One More Time battles with Nick Nobak and Kazuya Taguchi in the first two rounds, got a bye in the Top 8 thanks to Ryan Tuerck’s wreck in the previous round, and stared down Chelsea DeNofa in the Top 4 before defeating Charpentier—who had taken contact from Reeder in the first run and would’ve been declared the winner himself if he hadn’t been able to continue.
Both Reeder and Charpentier are firmly within the top 10 in series points thanks to their final appearances, while Matt Field continues to lead Fredric Aasbo by four points atop the standings. Field survived contact of his own from Mike Power in the first round and only fell to Charpentier in the Top 4, while Aasbo was felled by DeNofa in the Top 8.