IndyCar back on track at Richmond
RICHMOND, VA. » IndyCar turned laps at Richmond Raceway for the first time in a decade during a Tuesday tire test that gave the series’ most recent two champions a look at both the Virginia track and new cockpit protection.
Reigning series champion Josef Newgarden turned his first laps ever at Richmond and got his first official session with the aeroscreen that will be introduced next season. Newgarden, who won his second title in three seasons last month, was not part of IndyCar when the series raced nine consecutive seasons at the track from 2001 through 2009.
Richmond returns to the IndyCar calendar in June next year and Newgarden predicted it will be a thriller on the 0.75-mile oval.
“Indy cars at short tracks are nuts, and that’s why I love short-track racing in an Indy car,” Newgarden said. “We’re probably going to be doing 185, 190 miles per hour around here which is very different than a stock car. It’s just a different type of racing. I love it. I wish we could fit in more short-track racing in Indy cars.”
Newgarden joined fivetime series champion Scott Dixon at the test, which consisted of Firestone bringing roughly 15 different tire compounds. Firestone is seeking a tire that degrades quickly during the race to allow for more passing and, in theory, a spectacle for fans, Dixon said.
Tiger to pen memoir
NEW YORK » Tiger Woods is writing what he describes as his definitive story in a memoir titled “Back.”
HarperCollins Publishers announced Tuesday it has acquired rights to the first memoir written by Woods. Still be determined is when it will be published.
The memoir will cover Woods from his youth as a golf prodigy to his rise as the youngest Masters champion and the only player to hold all four major championships at the same time. It will delve into his slide from injuries and his high-profile personal issues that led to divorce, along with his comeback from four back surgeries to win the Masters at age 43 for his 15th career major.
Murray advances
ANTWERP, BELGIUM » Andy Murray won a tour-level match in Europe for the first time in 16 months Tuesday as he beat Belgian wild card Kimmer Coppejans 6-4, 7-6 (4) at the European Open.
It was the two-time Wimbledon champion’s first victory on European soil since beating Stan Wawrinka at Eastbourne in 2018. He will face eighth-seeded Pablo Cuevas or Bolivian Hugo Dellien in the second round.
Tired Medvedev out of Kremlin Cup
MOSCOW » Daniil Medvedev has withdrawn from the Kremlin Cup because of fatigue, two days after winning the Shanghai Masters.
The fourth-ranked Russian was coming into the Moscow tournament as the No. 1 seed after beating Alexander Zverev in the Shanghai final on Sunday. He’s reached the final of his last six consecutive tournaments, including the U.S. Open, which has meant a busy playing schedule.
Russian news agency Tass quoted Medvedev as saying that he felt “drained psychologically and physically” after his Shanghai victory.