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The American Legion
Apr 21, 2021
One week after safely finishing his debut, Jimmie Johnson will head to Florida to compete in the next race of the 2021 NTT INDYCAR Series. Racing in the Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) No. 48 Honda, Johnson skillfully avoided a wreck on the opening lap and finished up 19th in the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham.
Next up for Johnson in a car
featuring American Legion branding prominently in its paint scheme is this weekend’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, where Johnson and his Ganassi teammates will compete in 100 laps through streets of downtown St. Petersburg and a section of runway of Albert Whitted Airport. The course features 14 turns on the 1.8 mile-circuit.
21 April, 2021
The past weekend saw the first IndyCar race of the season take place at Barber Motorsports Park with Spaniard Alex Palou taking a maiden win in the series.
Palou, racing for Chip Ganassi Racing in 2021 after a debut season with Dale Coyne Racing, managed to fend off champions Will Power and Scott Dixon. Palou became only the second Spaniard to win in the series; Oriol Servia being the first having won at Montreal in 2005.
Speaking after his win, Palou said: “It’s just amazing but I think it was part of the job. When you are part of a big team and a successful team like Chip Ganassi, they give you all the tools. You have everything you need to win, and that’s why you see so many successful drivers.”
Andretti navigates personal loss, loneliness of pandemic
By JENNA FRYERApril 19, 2021 GMT
Mario Andretti is loneliest at night, when he’s home alone in his sprawling Pennsylvania mansion, and there’s no one to talk to but Gonzo, his 34-year-old Amazon parrot.
One of the greatest racers of all time is struggling, not unlike so many people around the world during this pandemic that has devastated families and claimed more than 3 million lives.
His sister and his wife died months apart in 2018 and maybe those back-to-back losses, and the hardness toward death that is inherent to racers accustomed to losing fellow competitors, should have prepared Andretti for 2020.