Briscoe pulls away late for dream win at Indianapolis

Chase Briscoe put on four new tires in a late pit stop Saturday, then held off AJ Allmendinger and Austin Cindric over the final five laps to win the first Xfinity Series race on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course.

Briscoe, an Indiana native, beat Justin Haley by 1.717 seconds.

“I have dreamed of coming to this race track and just getting to race here,” Briscoe said. “To win here is unbelievable. I can’t put it into words. To get our sponsors in victory lane and driving for StewartHaas at Indianapolis. It doesn’t get any better than that.”

It’s Briscoe’s second win in a row, his third in the past four races and fifth of the year.

Formula One

All 20 F1 drivers are going to show their support for the fight against racism before a race Sunday in the seasonopening Austrian Grand Prix, although they will do so individually on the grid rather than with a collective gesture.

“All 20 drivers stand united with their teams against racism and prejudice, at the same time embracing the principles of diversity, equality and inclusion,” the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association said Saturday. “Each individual has the freedom to show their support for ending racism in their own way and will be free to choose how to do this ahead of the race start.”

World champion Lewis Hamilton has spoken widely about racism in recent weeks after the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd. Hamilton, the only Black driver in F1, attended a Black Lives Matter march in London. On Thursday, Hamilton called out other F1 teams for not doing enough to combat racism, and said the sport still needs to push for more diversity.

IndyCar

IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway are making an active effort to increase diversity throughout the industry with a $1 million donation to a new “Race for Equality & Change” initiative. The initiative will support both internal and external programs.

“As our country has grappled with systemic issues related to race, equality and access to opportunity, we’ve been doing a lot of listening, learning and reflecting,” said Mark Miles, President and CEO of Penske Entertainment Corp.

“‘Race for Equality & Change’ will create a more diverse and inclusive INDYCAR community that fundamentally transforms our sport.”

IndyCar does not have any Black drivers. Bubba Wallace is the only Black full-time Cup Series driver in NASCAR.