The Week That Was: March 21, 2022
Image via Chris Jones/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 Steals Victory, Johnson Impresses in IndyCar Texas Thriller
Long-disliked for producing single-groove racing, Texas Motor Speedway struck back at its haters with a vengeance in Sunday’s NTT IndyCar Series action, especially in the late stages. Thanks in part to significant efforts in practice from multiple drivers and teams, a higher groove wore in that facilitated plenty of passing and dramatic moments as the race went on.
In the end, it was Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden who scored the organization’s 600th victory at the finish line, slipping past teammate and St. Petersburg winner Scott McLaughlin on the last lap after the previously dominant McLaughlin had to defend while hitting lapped traffic coming to the stripe. Marcus Ericsson, Will Power, and Scott Dixon completed the top five, while Jimmie Johnson’s IndyCar oval debut saw him score his first top 10 in the series with a popular sixth place finish.
Ferrari Dominates F1 Opener in Bahrain Amid Red Bull Heartbreak
Charles Leclerc gave Ferrari its first Formula 1 victory since the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix—and Carlos Sainz made it the team’s first 1-2 finish since that very same race—with a statement victory in Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix. Outside of some trading the lead back and forth with defending champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull in the early stages of the race, Leclerc went mostly uncontested until a safety car for the battery issues of Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly. He would retain the lead despite pitting for a new set of soft tires under the yellow flag, and go on to extend the advantage to 5.598 seconds at race’s end.
It wasn’t to be such a positive end result for Red Bull, with both Verstappen (from second) and teammate Sergio Perez (then up to third with Verstappen’s retirement) suffering fuel system issues achingly late in the running. As a result, Lewis Hamilton scored an unlikely third place in the Mercedes, with teammate George Russell behind him in fourth and F1 returnee Kevin Magnussen completing a dream weekend for Haas in fifth. Both Alfa Romeos and Alpines also scored points.
Tomac, Lawrence Extend Supercross Points Leads With Indianapolis Victories
Eli Tomac’s first season with Monster Energy Star Yamaha appears all but guaranteed to result in his second career Monster Energy Supercross 450 title. After stalking GasGas rider Justin Barcia for much of the main event, Tomac managed to get past and score his sixth victory of the season to extend his points lead to 51 over Barcia and Jason Anderson, his replacement at Kawasaki.
In the 250 East class, Jett Lawrence landed his fourth win in five tries thanks in part to his third holeshot of the season, outdueling Cameron McAdoo to extend his own points advantage to 125-114 over the latter. McAdoo led five laps on the way to a runner-up result, while RJ Hampshire completed the podium.