The Week That Was: May 16, 2022
Image via Walt Kuhn/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:
Herta’s Miracle Save Leads to IndyCar Victory on IMS Road Course
On an unpredictable race day where every team on the grid was challenged by changing conditions, Andretti Autosport’s Colton Herta scored his long-awaited first win of the season in Saturday’s GMR Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Herta’s race day started with perhaps the save of the year, as he would get fully sideways and recover the car while chasing down Arrow McLaren SP’s Pato O’Ward—who he would get past shortly thereafter.
The combination of nasty weather delaying the start and eight cautions turned the event into a timed race, throwing plenty of wrenches in the works for everyone. Herta would again pass O’Ward for the win after one of the final restarts, as O’Ward led a small group of drivers staying on alternate slick tires while Herta led the group of drivers who switched back to rain tires. Simon Pagenaud charged from 20th on the grid to second for Meyer Shank Racing, while Team Penske’s Will Power completed the podium and took over the points lead with his fifth straight top-four finish.
John Force Racing Sweeps Nitro Classes in NHRA’s Return to Virginia
Virginia Motorsports Park hosted its first NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series round in three years over the weekend, and it was all about John Force Racing when the final rounds hit. Brittany Force edged out her longtime Top Fuel rival Steve Torrence in the climactic round of the weekend, while Robert Hight took down Matt Hagan in the Funny Car race. In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Matt Smith took his first win on a Suzuki by beating rival Steve Johnson.
Force’s third win of the season came after she qualified first, and ended Torrence’s streak of two straight Virginia NHRA Nationals wins in the class. It also allowed her to grow her championship advantage to 81 points over Torrence in the Top Fuel standings. As for Hight, his own third win of the year broke a tie with Hagan for the most wins so far this year, and pulled him to within 15 points of Hagan for the championship lead.
Gutierrez, Hornsby Sweep GAS Action in Glen Helen
Ricky Gutierrez beat Mason McCarthy on Saturday and Ronnie Anderson on Sunday in Pro 2, while Robby Hornsby beat Kyle Knott and Maximilian Pinto in Pro Lite, to sweep the Pro truck classes in the second Great American Shortcourse event of the year at Glen Helen Raceway. The third and fourth rounds of the 10-round championship marked the series’ first race at Glen Helen since last fall’s season finale.
The Production 1000 UTV class would also see a weekend sweep, with Cole Gamma taking both victories. In Pro Buggy, Lorenzo Bonacci and Matthew Brister split the wins, with Brister’s Sunday triumph making him the first repeat winner of the season in the class. Jim Beaver eSports driver Connor Barry finished fourth in Production 1000 UTV on both race days.