Pair of Royal Purple news items highlight company’s 2014 racing program

By Jun 4, 2014, 11:15 AM EDT
0 Comments

You’ve probably seen premium synthetic lubricant manufacturer Royal Purple mentioned a fair bit throughout the year, with its involvement on Townsend Bell’s month of May program for the Indianapolis 500, its role as an associate sponsor for both Bell (AIM Autosport) and TRG-AMR North America in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, and additionally in the Red Bull Global Rallycross.

Two news items involving Royal Purple have popped up in the last week or so – here’s a quick recap.

—

Royal Purple has announced that it will be the official lubricant for Indiana-based Lingenfelter Performance Engineering. Beginning immediately, Royal Purple products will be used in all Lingenfelter-tuned vehicles, including the Chevrolet Reaper high-performance pick-up truck, C7 Corvette, Camaro and Cadillac CTS-V. Additionally, Royal Purple will provide its products to the Lingenfelter race team for road and drag racing campaigns. Royal Purple President Bryan Yourdon, Royal Purple sponsored driver Townsend Bell and Lingenfelter Performance Engineering CEO/owner Ken Lingenfelter stood with a specially wrapped Lingenfelter C7 Corvette at the 2014 Indianapolis 500.

—

source: Additionally, Royal Purple confirmed its sponsorship of Red Bull GRC driver Sarah Burgess, starting with this weekend’s X Games in Austin at the Circuit of the Americas. A native of Australia, Burgess has been drift racing for the past three years in the United States, most recently in the Xtreme Drift Circuit at the wheel of a 2013 Ford Mustang. She’s one of two female drivers competing in Red Bull GRC this season.

—

For more information on both items, check Royal Purple’s website.

IndyCar Power Rankings: Pato O’Ward moves to the top entering Texas Motor Speedway

By Mar 29, 2023, 6:00 AM EDT
0 Comments

The NBC Sports IndyCar power rankings naturally were as jumbled as the action on the streets of St. Petersburg after a chaotic opener to the 2023 season.

Pato O’Ward, who finished second because of an engine blip that cost him the lead with a few laps remaining, moves into the top spot ahead of St. Pete winner Marcus Ericsson and Alexander Rossi, who finished fourth in his Arrow McLaren debut. Scott Dixon and St. Pete pole-sitter Romain Grosjean (who led 31 laps) rounded out the top five.

St. Pete pole-sitter Romain Grosjean (who started first at St. Pete after capturing his second career pole position) Callum Ilott (a career-best fifth) and Graham Rahal entered the power rankings entering the season’s second race.

Three drivers fell out of the preseason top 10 after the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – including previously top-ranked Josef Newgarden, who finished 17th after qualifying 14th.

Heading into Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, here’s NBC Sports’ assessment of the current top 10 drivers through the first of 17 races this year (with previous preseason rankings in parenthesis):

NBC Sports’ IndyCar Power Rankings

1. Pato O’Ward (5) – If not for the dreaded “plenum event” in the No. 5 Chevrolet, the Arrow McLaren driver is opening the season with a victory capping a strong race weekend.

2. Marcus Ericsson (7) – He might be the most opportunistic driver in IndyCar, but that’s because the 2022 Indy 500 winner has become one of the series’ fastest and most consistent stars.

3. Alexander Rossi (10) – He overcame a frustrating Friday and mediocre qualifying to open his Arrow McLaren career with the sort of hard-earned top five missing in his last years at Andretti.

4. Scott Dixon (3) – Put aside his opening-lap skirmish with former teammate Felix Rosenqvist, and it was a typically stealthily good result for the six-time champion.

5. Romain Grosjean (NR) – The St. Petersburg pole-sitter consistently was fastest on the streets of St. Petersburg over the course of the race weekend, which he couldn’t say once last year.

6. Scott McLaughlin (6) – Easily the best of the Team Penske drivers before his crash with Grosjean, McLaughlin drove like a legitimate 2023 championship contender.

7. Callum Ilott (NR) – A quietly impressive top five for the confident Brit in Juncos Hollinger Racing’s first race as a two-car team. Texas will be a big oval litmus test.

8. Graham Rahal (NR) – Sixth at St. Pete, Rahal still has the goods on street courses, and Rahal Letterman Lanigan remains headed in the right direction.

9. Alex Palou (4) – He seemed a step behind Ericsson and Dixon in the race after just missing the Fast Six in qualifying, but this was a solid start for Palou.

10. Will Power (2) – An uncharacteristic mistake that crashed Colton Herta put a blemish on the type of steady weekend that helped him win the 2022 title.

Falling out (last week): Josef Newgarden (1), Colton Herta (8), Christian Lundgaard (9)