Hinchcliffe gets his 1st win of ’18
Less than two months after failing to qualify for the Indianapolis 500, James Hinchcliffe roared from behind to seize one of the more satisfying victories of his IndyCar career.
Hinchcliffe passed Josef Newgarden with just more than 40 laps left to win at the Iowa Speedway in Newton on Sunday, his first victory of the season.
Hinchcliffe, who followed his disappointment at Indy with three finishes of 10th or worse in four starts, also picked up his first win since Long Beach in 2017 and his second win at Iowa.
He now will head to his hometown track, the Streets of Toronto on Sunday, with more momentum than he has had in a long time.
“This is such a good feeling after what happened in May. We knew we had it in us, and to come here and do it like that . ... I’m just so stoked,” Hinchcliffe said. “To miss (the Indy 500) is a huge blow for every single member of the team ... but if anything, it fueled us. It made us want to perform better, push harder.”
Spencer Pigot was a careerbest second, followed by Takuma Sato in his first podium since a stunning win at the Indy 500 in 2017.
Newgarden dominated much of the race, as he did in winning at Iowa two years ago, leading 229 of the 300 laps before Hinchcliffe seized control as Newgarden dealt with lap traffic.
Newgarden finished fourth.
Formula One: Sebastian Vettel took advantage of a bad start and poor first lap for Lewis Hamilton to win the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, England, and extend his lead in the championship standings.
Vettel had been hindered by neck pain in the last practice, and wasn’t sure whether he’d be able to compete in Saturday’s qualifying session.
“I will feel it a little bit tonight. It doesn’t matter. It held up. The race was fantastic,” Vettel said after grabbing his fourth win of the season.
Vettel moved even with Alain Prost with his 51st F1 win, trailing only Hamilton (65) and Michael Schumacher (91). Vettel, who led Hamilton by one point going into the 10th of 21 races, now leads by eight.
Hamilton started in pole position but Vettel streaked ahead and his Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen compounded Hamilton’s misfortune when he bumped into him, sending the British driver off the track and leaving him last.
Hamilton managed to fight his way back to finish second after a Ferrari-Mercedes duel developed with Valtteri Bottas leading until Vettel hit the front again with five laps to go.
The German finished 2.264 seconds ahead of Hamilton for his fourth win of the season, denying Hamilton what would have been a fifth straight win in his home race.
NHRA: Matt Hagan won his second straight Funny Car race at the NHRA New England Nationals at Epping, N.H.
Hagan made it to the winner’s circle with a run of 4.156 seconds at 292.01 mph to take down Tim Wilkerson in the final round. Hagan secured his third win in 2018 as he has earned victories at New England Dragway in backto-back years.
Steve Torrence (Top Fuel) and Chris McGaha (Pro Stock) also were winners in their respective categories at the 13th of 24 events this season.