The Week That Was: May 2, 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:
O’Ward Grabs First IndyCar Win of 2022 in Barber
Fresh off reports of a contract extension with Arrow McLaren SP, a refocused Pato O’Ward landed on top of the podium for the first time in the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series season at Barber Motorsports Park on Sunday. Holding off defending race winner and series champion Alex Palou and polesitter Rinus VeeKay, O’Ward’s victory enabled him to jump to fifth in the series standings four rounds into the season.
O’Ward would make the winning move on VeeKay after the final set of pit stops on Lap 62, trailing the Dutch driver out of the pits but making a daring pass to the outside in Turn 5 and never looking back. Palou would split the two of them after his own pit stop two laps later. Elsewhere in the field, Graham Rahal and Romain Grosjean brought drama of their own when Grosjean made contact with Rahal in the race’s closing laps, drawing Rahal’s ire in post-race interviews.
Tomac Locks Up Second Supercross 450 Title as Anderson Wins in Denver
For the second week in a row, two riders entered a Monster Energy Supercross event with a shot at mathematically clinching their class title, but only one could finish the job. This time, it was Eli Tomac’s turn to shine, as the Monster Energy Star Yamaha rider took his second career 450 championship in his first season with the team at his home event in Denver. Tomac would ride to a comfortable fifth place in the main event as his Monster Energy Kawasaki replacement Jason Anderson took the race win.
In the 250 West division, Christian Craig had the opportunity to lock up a second Yamaha title by winning the feature, but it was Honda’s Hunter Lawrence who took the checkered flag and prolonged the title battle through next week’s season-ending East-West Showdown in Salt Lake City. Lawrence, whose brother Jett won the 250 East title last weekend in Foxborough, is 18 points out of the lead going into the finale; he needs to finish fourth or better, plus get plenty of help from Craig, if he wants to equal his brother’s feat on the season.
Class 1500 Takes Top Two Overall Spots at BITD Silver State 300
The Best in the Desert Silver State 300 had an eyebrow-raising overall four-wheel podium on Saturday, as Trick Truck class winner BJ Baldwin took his second straight win to start the BITD season but was only third among the four-wheel entries on the day. Instead, it was the 1500 class entries of Cole Barbieri and Mitch Guthrie Jr.—the latter of whom entered a Polaris RZR XP Pro R in the fastest car class—who would be first and second on four wheels, separated by just 12 seconds at the finish. Justin “Bean” Smith would take the 6100 class win, while Vito Ranuio (Turbo Pro), Chris Blais (Trophy Unlimited), and Max Eddy (NA Pro) would top the premier UTV divisions.
Force, Salinas, Johnson on Top in NHRA Charlotte Four-Wide Action
John Force scored the record-extending 155th win of his NHRA Funny Car career, while Mike Salinas scored his second Top Fuel win of the 2022 season and Steve Johnson took his second straight Pro Stock Motorcycle Wally in the final four-wide race of the year at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte. Salinas’ victory came by .216 seconds over Cameron Ferre, appearing in his first career Top Fuel final, while Force scored his second straight Charlotte victory over teammate Robert Hight, defending series champion Ron Capps, and underdog Mike McIntire Jr. in the final round. Johnson’s second straight two-wheel victory propelled him to the top of the class standings.