This article was not written by Speed Trap Magazine Staff
Press Release from INDYCAR
WEST ALLIS, Wis. (Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024) – In a wild race that featured more twists than a pretzel factory, Scott McLaughlin held off six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Scott Dixon to win the second race of the Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250s doubleheader Sunday.
New Zealand native McLaughlin earned his series high-tying third victory of the season in the No. 3 Gallagher Team Penske Chevrolet, finishing .4558 of a second ahead of fellow Kiwi Dixon in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Colton Herta placed third in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian.
SEE: Race Results
“That was the most fun race I’ve had in INDYCAR,” McLaughlin said. “It was a blast. We just stuck with it. The car wasn’t quite good at the start, and we just tuned her up, and it was awesome. A lot better in traffic today, which helped a lot.
“Yeah, burn the house down tonight. That was awesome. I’m pumped.”
Santino Ferrucci finished fourth in the No. 14 Phoenix Investors Chevrolet of A.J. Foyt Enterprises, mirroring his result in the first race Saturday. Marcus Ericsson ended up fifth in the No. 28 Delaware Life Honda of Andretti Global, his best result since placing fifth July 7 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Defending series champion Alex Palou will carry a 33-point lead over Will Power into the next race, the season-ending Big Machine Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway on Sept. 15. Palou finished 19th in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, while Power placed 10th in the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet in a day of disappointment and lost chances for both.
McLaughlin, who started sixth, passed Colton Herta on Lap 218 to take the lead for good. That decisive dive under Herta in Turn 1 came after a feisty three-lap joust between the two young stars, as McLaughlin took advantage of fresher Firestone Firehawk tires and traffic in front of Herta to erase Herta’s seven-second lead in just 14 laps.
It appeared Alexander Rossi might have a chance to challenge McLaughlin after the Kiwi took the lead, as Rossi was gaining ground quickly in his No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. But Sting Ray Robb crashed his No. 41 Goodheart Vet/Pray.com Chevrolet of A.J. Foyt Enterprises in Turn 2 on Lap 228, triggering the last of six caution periods.
All five cars on the lead lap at the time had to decide whether to pit for fresh tires or stay out, and the entire quintet dove to pit road on Lap 230. McLaughlin powered away from the field on the restart on Lap 239, and Dixon passed Rossi for second in Turn 1.
Then Herta and Dixon engaged in a spirited fight for second, racing side by side, inches apart, in Turns 3 and 4. Dixon finally passed Herta for second on Lap 241 and set his sights on McLaughlin, but never got closer than six-tenths of a second. McLaughlin took the checkered by leading his race-high 85th lap.
“I think had it gone a few more laps, it looked like he was starting to burn off his fronts (tires) a little bit,” Dixon said. “But congrats to McLaughlin. Pretty sweet to have a Kiwi 1-2 there.”
McLaughlin’s victory was just one of the thrilling ebbs and flows in the race, which featured a series track record 13 lead changes on the historic 1.015-mile Milwaukee Mile oval.
Perhaps the one lead change that appeared probable early in the race didn’t happen. Palou held on to the championship lead despite one of his most challenging days of the season.
Palou finished 29 laps down after an electrical problem on the pace laps sent his car to the pits and the garage for repairs. Power placed 10th as the last car on the lead lap, losing a chance to gain more ground and perhaps take the championship lead after spinning in Turn 4 on a restart on Lap 131 while running in the top five.
“It was not a great day, but it could have been a lot worse,” Palou said. “It could have been a lot better, obviously. On to Nashville.”
Said Power: “A long shot now. God gave us a chance then, but kind of let it go. That’s the season, man. You just can’t have those mistakes.”
McLaughlin is the only other driver mathematically eligible for the title at Nashville, 50 points behind Palou. But it should come down to a two-driver duel for the Astor Challenge Cup at Nashville between two-time season champions Palou and Power, as McLaughlin will be eliminated if Palou starts the race.
Palou, strategist Barry Wanser and the entire Chip Ganassi Racing crew stayed calm and avoided catastrophe when Palou’s car stopped at the exit of pit lane at the start of the pace laps with an apparent electrical problem. The car returned to the track but then had to return to the paddock for more diagnosis and repairs, and Palou returned to the track at speed on Lap 37, 28 laps down.
“We couldn’t really do anything,” Palou said. “We tried everything to try and not lose many laps.”
Palou was the most notable of a handful drivers struck by mechanical misfortune in this race. Another was Race 1 winner Pato O’Ward, who finished 24th after completing just 87 laps due to a gearbox problem.
The race took an eventful tone right from the start. Besides Palou’s car shockingly sitting silent at the exit of pit lane, NTT P1 Award winner Josef Newgarden was eliminated from the race in a three-car incident on Lap 1. The race start was called off because the rear of the field wasn’t in order, and the No. 8 American Legion Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of rookie Linus Lundqvist hit the rear of the No. 11 Ridgeline Lubricants Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of teammate Marcus Armstrong, who then pinballed into Newgarden’s No. 2 Snap-on Team Penske Chevrolet, punting it into the inside wall.
After that melee, the race settled into a pattern of nonstop action. There were a season-high 763 on-track passes – a season high and the most on record in an INDYCAR SERIES race at the Milwaukee Mile – and 56 passes in the top five, another track record. Ferrucci once again put on a show with 63 on-track passes, the most of any driver in one race this season.
The following article was not written by Speed Trap Magazine Staff
Press Release from INDYCAR
WEST ALLIS, Wis. (Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024) – Pato O’Ward won the first race of the Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250s on Saturday, and Will Power tightened his NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship duel with Alex Palou with two races remaining this season.
O’Ward earned his third victory of the season in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, beating the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet of Power to the finish by 1.8215 seconds. O’Ward’s seventh career victory came after three consecutive finishes of 15th or lower since late July, effectively removing him from the title race.
SEE: Race Results
“We had a really tough weekend last week in Portland, and this is a great way to bounce back,” O’Ward said. “We have another opportunity tomorrow. The car was fantastic. It was getting a little gnarly there at the end, but glad I could bring it home for the boys. They were fantastic on pit stops. Strategy was amazing.”
Live coverage of the second 250-lap doubleheader race on the 1.015-mile oval starts at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday on USA Network, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network. Palou will seal his third championship in four years if he wins and leads the most laps. Otherwise, the title race will go to the season-ending Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on Sunday, Sept. 15 at Nashville Superspeedway.
Conor Daly finished third Saturday in a stirring drive in the No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, his best race since a career-best result of second in June 2016 at Detroit. Daly thrilled the crowd with 51 on-track passes, the most of any driver in a race this season, using every available racing line on the track.
Santino Ferrucci placed fourth in the No. 14 Phoenix Investors Chevrolet of A.J. Foyt Enterprises, with championship leader Alex Palou rounding out the top five in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Palou’s lead to second place Power, which was 54 points entering this race, was trimmed to 43 points.
The top five finishers in Saturday’s race each were from different teams, just the second time that has occurred this season. The other time came at the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding in March, also won by O’Ward.
This was a race of varied pit strategies and plenty of action on the lead lap and in lapped traffic as the NTT INDYCAR SERIES returned to the historic oval for the first time since 2015. There were a season-high 667 on-track passes and 326 passes for position – the most on record at the Milwaukee Mile.
Various “undercut” and “overcut” ploys were tested by teams during early stops in hopes that perhaps either fresh Firestone Firehawk tires, racing in less traffic or an opportune caution could deliver a win.
Instead, O’Ward won on pace after starting sixth in the 27-car field. He took the lead for good under caution on Lap 195 when Power made his final pit stop. O’Ward’s last stop came on Lap 186, handing the lead to Power.
Two laps later, the last of three caution periods was triggered when the front left wheel dislodged from Colton Herta’s No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian when it wasn’t tightened during his pit stop on Lap 185.
Power and a group of three other leading cars had to make their last stop under that caution, and O’Ward cycled to the front, where he would stay. O’Ward led a race-high 133 laps.
After his final stop under that caution, Power cycled into third place behind O’Ward and Ferrucci. Power eventually passed Ferrucci for second, with Daly passing Ferrucci for third on Lap 224.
A thicket of lapped traffic slowed O’Ward, and Power pounced to within .3 of a second on Lap 236. But Power never was able to make a passing attempt for the lead, and O’Ward threaded a needle in 150-mph traffic to pull away from Power over the closing laps.
“It was getting wiggly,” O’Ward said of his car’s handling under pressure from Power. “It was reminding me a little bit of like qualifying, just getting a bit on the nose (loose handling). The car was changing a lot from the start of the race to the end of the race.”
Said Power, who won last Sunday at Portland International Raceway: “The car was all over the place with adjustments as you go through the run. I’m stoked to get on the podium. One more (place) was what we needed, but Pato was super good and strong, and he got through that traffic really well. Alex was super consistent, so it’s hard to drop that points gap, but we’re doing everything we need to at the moment. We’ll keep digging.”
The metronomic Palou rebounded from the 12th starting position for his 13th top-five finish in 15 races this season. He was in trouble early, mired in mid-pack, and just missed a two-car accident on Lap 147 that eliminated Indianapolis 500 winners Josef Newgarden in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet and Marcus Ericsson in the No. 28 Delaware Life Honda of Andretti Global from the race.
But as he seemingly does with the consistency of sunrise and sunset, Palou found a way to drive into the top five despite falling a lap down in seventh when the final caution flew during his out lap after his final stop. Palou and a handful of other drivers got the wave-around during that final caution, returning him to the lead lap.
“A little bit unlucky with that yellow,” Palou said. “We were a bit aggressive to try and get the lead. Not the luckiest of days, but a top five. The car was amazing.
“Looking forward to tomorrow. I’m happy that we got a good solid day. Hopefully we can be a step above everybody tomorrow.”
The following article was not written by Speed Trap Magazine Staff
Press Release From INDYCAR…
PORTLAND, Ore. (Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024) – Will Power and Team Penske made their point Sunday by winning the BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland: The race for the Astor Challenge Cup is far from over.
Power earned his series-leading third victory of the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season in the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet and gained ground on championship leader Alex Palou with three races remaining. He drove to a 9.8267-second victory over the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of Palou on the 12-turn, 1.964-mile road course at Portland International Raceway.
SEE: Race Results
Two-time series champion Power, who started second, earned the 44th win of his Hall of Fame career on the heels of disappointing consecutive finishes of 12th in July at Toronto and 18th last weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway.
“Very rewarding,” Power said. “I came here determined, so did the whole team. We wanted to get qualifying right and then execute in the race. It’s not a last-ditch effort, but really if Palou finished ahead of us today, it was going to be very difficult.
“We’re going to keep fighting ahead here. A couple of bad races before this, but let’s see if we can get a championship.”
Josef Newgarden completed the podium by finishing third in the No. 2 TireRack.com Team Penske Chevrolet, with Colton Herta fourth in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian. Marcus Armstrong rounded out the top five in the No. 11 American Legion Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
Two-time and defending series champion Palou leads Power by 54 points – the maximum number a driver can earn in one race. Herta slipped from second to third, 67 points behind Palou, after finishing fourth in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian.
The three remaining races are all on ovals – the Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250s doubleheader Aug. 31-Sept. 1 at the Milwaukee Mile and the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on Sept. 15 at Nashville Superspeedway. The INDYCAR SERIES hasn’t raced at the Milwaukee Mile since 2015 or Nashville Superspeedway since 2008.
Power has 10 career victories on ovals, including in 2014 at Milwaukee and last month at Iowa Speedway; Palou has none among his 11 career wins.
“We’ve been very, very good on ovals – very solid,” Power said. “Obviously, they’re two ovals that we haven’t raced at in a long time, so it’s anyone’s game. I hope we get it right. We’ll do our best and take the fight to Alex.”
Power wasted no time taking the fight to Palou at the drop of the green flag. He passed NTT P1 Award winner Santino Ferrucci entering Turn 1 on the first lap and was out front and in control for the rest of the 110-lap race except for pit stops. Power led a race-high 101 laps.
Palou passed Ferrucci for second on Lap 8 and, like Power, stayed in that spot for most of the remainder of the race except for pit stops. Ferrucci, who earned AJ Foyt Racing’s emotional first pole since 2014, finished eighth in the No. 14 Phoenix Investors Chevrolet.
Two-time and defending series champion Palou’s best chance to pass Power came on Lap 26 when Pietro Fittipaldi exited the pits in the No. 30 Localiza Rent a Car Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing directly in front of Power after serving a drive-through penalty. That slowed Power and allowed Palou to pull right up to Power’s gearbox in Turn 7, but Power parried the move and kept the lead.
Quick work by the Team Penske pit crew on Power’s first stop all but sealed the win, especially since there were no caution periods after a first-lap fracas involving Kyle Kirkwood, Scott Dixon and Fittipaldi. Power’s first stop, at the end of Lap 32, lasted 6.9 seconds. Palou made his first stop one lap later, but it took 9.2 seconds.
From there, Palou slipped back as varying tire strategies unfolded over the final two pit stops. Power started on the Firestone Firehawk primary tires and was able to use the quicker Firestone alternate red-sidewall tires in all three pit stops. Palou aggressively used a set of alternate tires in NTT P1 Award qualifying Saturday and was forced to the less-grippy primary tires for his final stint, ensuring Power’s cruise to victory.
“Maybe we were a bit wrong with the strategy there,” Palou said. “Went too aggressive in qualifying yesterday and really didn’t have any good used alternates. It was tough work there on primaries having to catch Will, but the 12 deserved it today. They were very, very fast. Happy with the P2 today.”
The top eight drivers in the standings are still mathematically eligible to win the Astor Challenge Cup as season champion, but it’s looking more and more like a three-driver race for the title between Palou, Power and Herta.
The drive for a seventh title by Dixon probably was derailed when he crashed the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda into the guardrail on Lap 1 after contact from Fittipaldi. Dixon was forced into the dirt earlier in the lap amid tight traffic by the No. 27 AutoNation Honda of Andretti Global’s Kirkwood, and Dixon was hip-checked by Fittipaldi’s car shortly after returning to the racing surface.
Dixon finished last in the 28-car field – his lowest finish since being taken out in a crash and placing 32nd in the 2017 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. He is fifth in points, 101 behind Palou.
The first race of the Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250s doubleheader is at 6 p.m. ET Saturday, Aug. 31, with live coverage on Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network. The second race is at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday, Sept. 1, with USA Network, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network providing live coverage.
The following article was not written by Speed Trap Magazine Staff
From INDYCAR Press Release…
MADISON, Illinois (Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024) – Josef Newgarden spun, and he won. But that was far from the only dose of excitement the Indianapolis 500 winner experienced Saturday night in capturing the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline at World Wide Technology Raceway.
SEE: Results
While Newgarden’s half-spin in traffic without contact in Turn 2 will be one for the ages, a late restart likely will play a role in determining the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship, and Newgarden was figuratively in the middle of it.
Actually, the Team Penske driver was leading the pack coming to the green flag. The pace constant and steady before there was contact behind Newgarden and second-place Scott McLaughlin.
Team Penske’s Will Power appeared to bump third-place Colton Herta, and then he checked up enough to have Arrow McLaren’s Alexander Rossi run into the back of him. Both cars smacked the inside wall, a crushing blow for Power, who entered the 260-lap race second in the standings with a shot as his third series title.
The benefactor was series leader Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing. At the sight of the green, the reigning series champion dove to the inside lane in a bid to advance from seventh place. That decision kept him out of the fray that became a four-car accident, and after the red flag period for cleanup, the Spaniard turned the opportunity into a championship moment. He finished fourth to add more points to his series lead.
The driver of the No. 10 Samaritan Purse Chip Ganassi Racing Honda will take a 59-point lead into the season’s final four races.
“The worst part (of the victory) is (Power) not making it home,” Newgarden said. “I hate that that happened at the very end. I watched it on the TV and it kind of looked like the green went (on) before I went – just momentarily – and it caused a big accordion (effect).
“So, I hate that that happened. That’s the last thing you want to happen with 10 (laps) to go is to create a mess.”
Power wasn’t pleased, and it cost him more than a chance to win. He ended up losing 17 points to Palou and dropped to fourth in the standings behind Herta and Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon. The driver of the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet led a race-high 117 laps.
“Where are you supposed to go?” said Power, who is now 66 points out of the series lead. “In between (Turns) 3 and 4 (the leader) he just waited, then he went. He went, he stopped. I knew that was going to happen. As soon as I checked up because (others) checked up, I knew I was going to get pounded (from behind).
“Man, disappointing. We had such a good car.”
Newgarden had a good car, too, as evident by his ability to recover from the spin while trying to pass Palou on the outside on Lap 196. But Newgarden’s pit crew also contributed mightily to his second win of the season. It changed four tires on the final stop in just over 5 seconds to get their driver out of the pits ahead of McLaughlin, who had been the leader.
“It was 1-on-1 with the teams on the pit stop,” said McLaughlin, who led 67 laps. “We lost track position.”
Newgarden had to hold off McLaughlin for one final restart, but this time he got away cleanly as McLaughlin said his No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet bogged down briefly.
Newgarden’s win wasn’t a surprise based on recent trips to this 1.25-mile oval. He won his first race in 2017 in his first season with Team Penske, and then he added three in succession in 2020, 2021 and 2022. Do the math: That’s five in nine tries (there were two races in 2020).
The win also became the 31st of his career, tying Paul Tracy, Dario Franchitti and Helio Castroneves for 10th place on the sport’s all-time list.
“I think the team needed (the win),” said Newgarden after leading 17 laps and won by 1.7260 seconds. “They’ve done a great job … on the 2 car specifically. They’ve given me race-winning cars throughout the year – even past Indy – and they haven’t materialized (into wins). So, it’s nice to get another one on the board.”
Rookie Linus Lundqvist charged through the lead group in the waning laps to grab his second top-three finish in the series. The leader in the Rookie of the Year standings passed Palou and Herta to grab the final spot on the podium. The driver of the No. 8 American Legion Chip Ganassi Racing Honda also finished third at Barber Motorsports Park in April.
Herta had the fourth car across the finish line, but his No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian was later penalized one position for a blocking attempt on Lundqvist. That gave fourth place to Palou with Herta fifth. Still, Herta moved into second place in the standings.
There was action all throughout the race, with an event-record 21 passes for the lead, a figure that smashed the previous mark of 13. Eleven drivers held the top spot as a multitude of pit strategies were in play, including a different one by each of the three Team Penske drivers.
Additionally, action throughout the field produced 676 on-track passes with 254 of those happening for position – both event records.
Herta, who started 25th in the 27-car field due to a crash in qualifying, got things going in a hurry. He sliced his way through a four-wide rush to the opening green flag, part of him grabbing six positions on the first lap.
Ed Carpenter Racing’s Ed Carpenter and Dale Coyne Racing’s Katherine Legge had early contact in Turn 1 on Lap 8, and a few laps later, on Lap 17, there was contact aplenty on the back straight.
A bobble by Carpenter’s teammate, Rinus VeeKay, started a chain reaction that saw Conor Daly and his Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet get turned from behind by Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood. Daly’s teammate, Romain Grosjean, also was collected. Grosjean and Dale Coyne Racing’s Jack Harvey also became part of the Power-Rossi trouble with eight laps to go.
Meyer Shank Racing’s David Malukas, who led 11 laps, was contending for the win when he took contact from Power with 21 laps remaining. The two were battling for the effective lead of the race in Turn 1. Malukas was in the bottom lane.
There won’t be much time to sort through the replays. The action resumes in six days in Portland.
The following article was not written by Speed Trap Magazine Staff.
Press Release From IndyCar….
MADISON, Illinois (Friday, Aug. 16, 2024) – Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin earned his second consecutive NTT P1 Award at World Wide Technology Raceway, and this time he gets the prime race starting position that goes with it.
A year ago, McLaughlin’s terrific qualifying run was tempered by a penalty for an unapproved engine change, knocking him nine places deeper in the starting order for the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline. That penalty proved to be significant as the NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver struggled in traffic, and he finished in fifth place.
Those fears won’t be present when McLaughlin takes the green flag in the No. 2 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet, but that’s not his focus. He seeks the third win of the season following victories at Barber Motorsports Park and Iowa Speedway, and he has a championship to chase.
SEE: RESULTS
“At the end of the day, tomorrow’s payday,” McLaughlin said of the 260-lap race that airs live on USA Network, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network. “We’ll make sure we’re on top of things.”
With a two-lap average of 179.972 mph, McLaughlin earned his fourth pole of the season and the ninth of his career, and this one puts him in a strong position to make a dent in the 83-point deficit he faces for the series title. Two drivers ahead of him in the standings, including series leader Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing, will have one of those nine-grid penalties that hampered him in last year’s race.
Palou qualified seventh at 178.363 mph in the No. 10 Samaritan Purse Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, and teammate Scott Dixon, who drives the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, will be moved back nine spots to begin the race. Dixon qualified 10th at 177.905 mph. The six-time series champion won last year’s race by 22.2 seconds.
Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist, who had the second-best qualifying performance at 179.796 mph, also will incur such a penalty.
Another benefactor of the post-qualifying movement will be David Malukas, who has scored a pair of top-three finishes at this 1.25-mile oval each of the past two years. The third-fastest qualifier at 179.503 mph will start a career-best second in Meyer Shank Racing’s No. 66 AutoNation/Arctic Wolf Honda.
Meyer Shank Racing has a technical alliance with Andretti Global, which had the three fastest cars in the recent eight-car test at this track. Kyle Kirkwood used some of that knowledge gained to earn the best oval qualifying performance of his career — sixth at 178.417 mph — in the No. 27 AutoNation Honda, the best oval effort of his career. Teammate Marcus Ericsson qualified ninth at 178.114 mph in the No. 28 Delaware Life Honda.
Colton Herta was bidding for his second consecutive pole and fourth in the past eight races when his No. 26 Gainbridge Honda spun lazily through Turn 1 on his second lap. The impact was relatively square with the rear, but the Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian driver was left with the 25th qualifying position. Dale Coyne Racing teammates Jack Harvey (No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda) and Katherine Legge (No. 51 e.l.f. Cosmetics Honda) did not post times.
“It just broke loose,” Herta said of the car. “(It’s) unfortunate. I think that first lap was decent – I don’t think it was going to get us the pole, but I think it could have got us in the top five. Second lap, I don’t if we wore the tires too much or what happened. (The grip) just let go pretty early and that’s all she wrote.”
Saturday’s race is the first of five races to end the season, and with 54 points available it could go a long way to setting the tone for the frenetic stretch run. Palou leads Team Penske’s Will Power by 49 points in pursuit of his third series championship in the past four years. Power, who qualified fifth at 179.262 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet, also is driving toward a third series title.
Dixon, Herta and Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward round out the top five in the standings. They are 53, 57 and 71 points behind Palou, respectively. O’Ward qualified 11th at 177.160 mph in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
Josef Newgarden (No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet) has won this event a record four times, and he will start Saturday’s race from the third position after posting a qualifying average of 179.424 mph. Besides Dixon, Power is the only other active driver to have won this event.
The following article was not written by Speed Trap Magazine Staff
From IndyCar
MONTEREY, Calif. (Friday, June 21, 2024) – Scott McLaughlin led the opening practice for the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey on Friday, as NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers worked to come to grips with the evolution of the asphalt since the legendary WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca was repaved last season.
McLaughlin was quickest at 1 minute, 7.6325 seconds in the No. 3 Good Ranchers Team Penske Chevrolet on the 11-turn, 2.238-mile circuit that includes the famous “Corkscrew” turn complex.
Practice Results
Numerous drivers spun or ventured off track while working to adjust to the lower levels of grip on the track this year compared to 2023, when the fresh asphalt offered more traction.
“Pretty good day in the Good Ranchers Chevy,” McLaughlin said. “The car was pretty hooked up from the get-go, and it really got on reds (Firestone alternate tires) when we turned it on. The track’s getting faster and faster, and I think it’s sort of coming to our car a little bit. More to come tomorrow.”
Colton Herta, a winner in 2019 and 2021 at this track, was second at 1:07.7316 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda fielded by Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian. Reigning and two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou, who won here in 2022, was third at 1:07.7371 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
Two-time series champion Josef Newgarden was fourth at 1:07.8805 in the No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet.
“It’s quicker than it feels,” Newgarden said of the track. “It does feel like a lot less grip, but the lap time is not that bad compared to last year. So, it’s still really fast, but you’re tiptoeing more. Last year, the thing just felt like it was stuck on the track.”
Pietro Fittipaldi, grandson of two-time Indy 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi, produced one of his best outings of the season in the 75-minute session. He ended up fifth at 1:08.0025 in the No. 30 Eurofarma Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
Two drivers made highly anticipated debuts today in sunny, cool Northern California. David Malukas, making his season debut with Meyer Shank Racing after suffering a wrist injury during a mountain biking accident in February, ended up 25th at 1:09.0206 in the No. 66 AutoNation/Arctic Wolf Honda. Nolan Siegel, who signed a multiyear deal this week with Arrow McLaren, ended up 27th at 1:10.0019 in the team’s No. 6 Chevrolet.
Up next is practice at 1 p.m. ET Saturday, followed by NTT P1 Award qualifying at 5:15 p.m. ET Saturday. Both sessions will be live on Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
Live coverage of the 95-lap race starts at 6 p.m. ET Sunday on the USA Network, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
The following article was not written by Speed Trap Magazine Staff
From NTT IndyCar…
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Sunday, June 9, 2024) – The drought is over for Will Power.
Power earned his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory since June 2022 at Detroit – a span of 34 races – to lead a podium sweep Sunday by Team Penske at the XPEL Grand Prix of Road America presented by AMR. Power had won at least one race for 16 consecutive seasons from 2007-22 before going winless in 2023.
Two-time series champion Power, who started fifth, drove his No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet to a 3.2609-second victory over teammate Josef Newgarden in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet. Scott McLaughlin finished third in the No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet, 8.0148 seconds behind Power.
Power’s 42nd career victory, tying him for fourth with Michael Andretti for all-time INDYCAR SERIES wins, created one of the more emotional, cathartic victory lanes this season in the series. Power was embraced tearfully by his wife, Liz, who Power cared for during her serious illness last year, and his son, Beau, among other team members and friends.
“Massively special,” Power said of the win. “We’ve worked so hard to try to get wins. I worked really hard in the offseason. Obviously, last season was very stressful. Had half a mind at home and half at the track, so it was very difficult to perform at a high level there.
“Man, I’m just stoked. I’m very happy, man. That was very well deserved for the whole team. We worked so hard for that.”
This was the first podium sweep by a team in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES since Andretti Global drivers Colton Herta, Alexander Rossi and Ryan Hunter-Reay took the top three spots in September 2020 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Team Penske’s last podium sweep came in September 2017 at Sonoma Raceway with Simon Pagenaud, Newgarden and Power finishing in that respective order.
Power also took the championship lead by five points over Alex Palou, who finished fourth in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Kyle Kirkwood rounded out the top five in the No. 27 AutoNation Honda of Andretti Global.
The race started in chaotic fashion on Lap 1 when NTT P1 Award winner Linus Lundqvist’s No. 8 American Legion Chip Ganassi Racing Honda was hit from behind into a spin in Turn 1 by the No. 11 Ridgeline Lubricants Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of teammate Marcus Armstrong.
Newgarden narrowly escaped that incident, as the accordion effect of that fracas forced his nose to hit the rear of front row starter Colton Herta’s No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian, sending Herta’s car into a spin.
Kirkwood took the lead after that incident, with McLaughlin right behind. McLaughlin passed Kirkwood in Turn 1 for the lead on Lap 4 and stayed there until Lap 16, when Newgarden took the top spot after McLaughlin’s first pit stop.
By that point, Power had crept into the top five, and tire tactics began to unfold on the leaders’ respective pit boxes.
Newgarden completed the first 17 laps of the 55-lap race on Firestone Firehawk alternate tires, while McLaughlin and Power stayed on Firestone primary tires for their first two stops. INDYCAR rules state drivers must use both tire compounds for at least two laps in each road or street course race.
Alternate, red-sidewall tires had more speed but less durability. So, it appeared Newgarden was in good shape to drive to victory since he already used his alternate tires early in the race, while his two teammates had to run a stint with the alternate tires in the second half of the race.
The pivotal point came on the final pit stops by the Penske lead trio. McLaughlin came to pit road first, shedding his alternate tires for primaries at the end of Lap 42. Newgarden pitted one lap later, staying with a final set of primary tires. He exited pit road well ahead of McLaughlin, as the “overcut” strategy worked.
Power waited until the end of Lap 44 to replace his alternate tires with a fresh set of primary Firestones. The deepest of the “overcuts” prevailed, as Power exited pit lane ahead of Newgarden.
Two-time series champion Newgarden made one final attempt to pass Newgarden at the start of Lap 46, but he couldn’t finish the move. Power then cycled to the lead on Lap 49 as slower drivers on alternate pit strategies made their final stops, and he was never challenged again.
“It was a really good team day,” Newgarden said. “Will did a great job, too. Look, he deserved to win that race, as well.
“We put together a great day. We just probably misstepped there at the end. I feel bad that I came in a lap early. I probably should have stayed out.”
The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES event is the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey on Sunday, June 23 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Live coverage starts at 6 p.m. ET on the USA Network, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
Full Race Results
XPEL Grand Prix Qualifying Results
1. (8) Linus Lundqvist, Honda, 01:45.1519 (137.424 mph)
2. (26) Colton Herta, Honda, 01:45.2913 (137.242)
3. (11) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 01:45.6592 (136.764)
4. (27) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 01:46.4498 (135.748)
5. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, No Time (No Speed)
6. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, No Time (No Speed)
7. (10) Alex Palou, Honda, 02:00.8290 (119.594)
8. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 02:00.8840 (119.539)
9. (7) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 02:00.9035 (119.520)
10. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 02:01.2671 (119.162)
11. (5) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 02:01.5141 (118.920)
12. (4) Kyffin Simpson, Honda, 02:01.6266 (118.810)
13. (45) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 02:02.3826 (118.076)
14. (77) Romain Grosjean, Chevrolet, 02:01.7626 (118.677)
15. (28) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 02:02.6460 (117.822)
16. (20) Christian Rasmussen, Chevrolet, 02:02.0944 (118.354)
17. (21) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 02:02.7088 (117.762)
18. (6) Theo Pourchaire, Chevrolet, 02:02.1745 (118.277)
19. (14) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 02:03.8144 (116.710)
20. (18) Jack Harvey, Honda, 02:02.9443 (117.536)
21. (78) Nolan Siegel, Chevrolet, 02:05.0248 (115.580)
22. (60) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 02:03.3098 (117.188)
23. (51) Luca Ghiotto, Honda, 02:05.1341 (115.479)
24. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 02:04.8213 (115.769)
25. (30) Pietro Fittipaldi, Honda, 02:05.6079 (115.044)
26. (41) Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, 02:04.8553 (115.737)
27. (66) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 02:09.6837 (111.428)
The following article was not written by Speed Trap Magazine Staff
From IndyCar…
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Friday, June 7, 2024) – No NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver has ruled Road America recently like Alex Palou, and that mastery continued Friday when he led the opening practice for the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America presented by AMR.
Two-time and reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Palou was quickest with a lap of 1 minute, 43.1709 seconds in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. The Spaniard won on this 14-turn, 4.014-mile road course en route to his season championships in 2021 and 2023.
SEE: Practice Results
“It’s a really great start so far,” Palou said. “It doesn’t mean anything; it just means that the car is really good, easy to drive. It’s great to be back here. A proper track for INDYCAR. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
NTT P1 Award qualifying is scheduled for 3:25 p.m. ET Saturday, preceded by practice at 11:10 a.m. (both sessions live on Peacock, INDYCAR Radio Network). Live coverage of the race will start at 3:30 p.m. ET Sunday on NBC and Peacock and 3 p.m. on the INDYCAR Radio Network.
Colton Herta was second at 1:43.2506 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda fielded by Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian, followed by Santino Ferrucci at 1:43.3618 in the No. 14 AJ FOYT RACING/SEXTON PROPERTIES Chevrolet of AJ Foyt Racing.
Two-time and reigning Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden rebounded from a 26th-place finish last Sunday at Detroit to end up fourth in this 75-minute session at 1:43.3812 in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet. Christian Lundgaard rounded out the top five at 1:43.3984 in the No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda fielded by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
Championship leader Scott Dixon, winner last Sunday at Detroit, was sixth at 1:43.5340 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
Luca Ghiotto was the quickest of the six rookies in the 27-driver field, 17th at 1:44.1009 in the No. 51 GAV Air Technology Honda of Dale Coyne Racing. INDY NXT by Firestone championship contender Nolan Siegel, named earlier today to substitute for Agustin Canapino at this race, was 26th at 1:45.1027 in the No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet.
Less than a second separated the top 17 drivers in the field on the fast, flowing, picturesque circuit, the longest on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES calendar.
Many drivers found the grass and gravel outside of Turn 14, a right-hander leading to the long hill up the front straightaway. Romain Grosjean made contact with the tire barrier adjacent to that turn in his No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, triggering a red flag 19 minutes into the session. He was unhurt.
The following article is a Press Release from the NTT IndyCar Series and was not written by Speed Trap Magazine Staff
DETROIT (Sunday, June 2, 2024) – Yet again, Scott Dixon created clarity from chaos to win an NTT INDYCAR SERIES race.
Dixon provided another master class in devising tactics on the fly with strategist Mike Hull and saving fuel in his No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, prevailing in a caution-strewn Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear on Sunday on the streets of Detroit.
Six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Dixon beat fellow Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Marcus Ericsson by .8567 of a second in Ericsson’s best result of the season in the No. 28 Delaware Life Honda fielded by Andretti Global. Marcus Armstrong finished third in the No. 11 Root Insurance Chip Ganassi Racing Honda for his first career podium finish.
“The team called it perfectly,” Dixon said. “We were on the right strategy. We won, man. How cool is that?
“It’s just always the variables. Trying to stay out of trouble, trying to keep your car on track. We had rain. It was all over the shop out there. You had no idea how the transitions were going to fall or even the strategy. So stoked for everyone on the team. That was cool.”
Dixon took the championship lead by 18 points from teammate Alex Palou with his second victory of the season, joining his win in April at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Dixon earned his 58th career victory, pulling him within nine wins of tying A.J. Foyt’s record of 67 career wins.
“For sure; I think it always is,” Dixon said when asked if he’s focusing on tying Foyt’s record of seven series championships. “Until you’re out of it, you’re going to keep chasing it. It’s a team effort.”
Kyle Kirkwood finished a season-best fourth in the No. 28 AutoNation Honda fielded by Andretti Global, while Alexander Rossi continued his strong recent form by rounding out the top five in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner Rossi has finished eighth or better in his last three starts.
Dixon and Hull once again made magic, electing to make their final pit stop under caution at the end of Lap 56 and hope enough yellow flags continued to fly to stretch fuel until the finish at Lap 100. The strategy worked to perfection, as there were two more caution periods after Dixon’s last stop to let him save just enough Shell 100% Renewable Race Fuel to reach the finish while parrying the charging Ericsson.
We’ve seen this movie before in Dixon’s legendary career – many times and recently.
Dixon pulled off an improbable fuel save to win in April at Long Beach and did the same last August at World Wide Technology Raceway, making one fewer stop than any other driver to win. That oval victory came one race after Dixon won on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course despite being punted into the grass and falling to the back of the field in Turn 1, using Hull’s strategy to get to the front and his trained right foot to stay there despite dwindling fuel.
Today in downtown Detroit, it appeared Dixon might cruise to Victory Lane until the last 13 laps of the race on the nine-turn, 1.645-mile temporary street circuit. Then Ericsson passed Kirkwood for third place and then set his sights on Armstrong while lapping nearly a second quicker per circuit than the fuel-sipping Dixon.
Meanwhile, Dixon was dealing with the turbulence and slower pace of the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of NTT P1 Award winner Colton Herta, directly ahead of him on the tail end of the lead lap. Just 1.6 seconds separated the top three on Lap 94.
Dixon finally got under Herta on Lap 95 for clean track and air. Ericsson had taken a look under Armstrong a few times but couldn’t complete that pass for second until Lap 99, falling 2.1 seconds behind Dixon at the white flag.
Still, Ericsson made the most of his final lap, cutting Dixon’s margin more than in half. Still, it wasn’t enough to catch “The Iceman” although Ericsson was thrilled to rebound from the Indianapolis 500, in which he was eliminated on Lap 1 after being caught in Tom Blomqvist’s spin.
“After the Month of May we had, it was really, really tough mentally,” Ericsson said. “I’m new in this team. I want to show myself as a top driver, as they hired me as. It was really important.
“We had so much pace. One more lap, and we might have been able to get that win. But great day.”
The first three-quarters of the race were pure chaos, with all eight caution periods and 47 caution laps in the first 73 laps. The longest stretch of green-flag racing during that span was 13 laps, making strategists’ heads spin on the pit wall as they mulled options on the fly while on the radio with drivers.
Add in a rapid change in tire strategy in the first 15 laps when the prevailing wisdom of the Firestone Firehawk alternate tire being the quicker rubber was proven wrong when Palou, who started on used alternates, lost grip far earlier than expected and to pit at the end of Lap 11.
Then toss the arrival of a passing rain shower on Lap 34, which caused strategists and pit crews to scramble up and down pit road as drivers and teams decided whether to pit for rain tires or stay out and gamble that the rain – which didn’t even appear on team radar screens – would leave the area quickly.
Dixon, Ericsson and Kirkwood were among the eight drivers in the 27-car field who never stopped for rain tires. That helped move them higher in the running order and get into position to earn top-five finishes, as their dice roll worked when the light shower left the area in a hurry.
That trio only made two stops the entire race. Dixon took the lead for the first time and for good on Lap 66 when 2023 Detroit winner Palou made the last of his five stops in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Two-time and reigning series champion Palou finished 16th, snapping his streak of 23 consecutive finishes in the top eight in points-paying events.
The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES event is next Sunday, June 9, with the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Live coverage starts at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.