Lundgaard Leads RLL with First Career Pole at IMS

NTT IndyCar Press Release: This article was not authored by Speed Trap Magazine Staff

INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, May 12, 2023) – Christian Lundgaard capped a resurgent Friday for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, winning his first career NTT P1 Award in qualifying for the GMR Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Lundgaard turned a best lap of 1 minute, 9.3321 seconds in the No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda to become the first Danish driver to win an INDYCAR SERIES pole. He edged Felix Rosenqvist by 27 ten-thousandths of a second, as Rosenqvist will start second after a best lap of 1:09.3348 in the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. It was the closest gap ever between the top two drivers in the Firestone Fast Six format.

SEE: Qualifying Results

“This 45 Hy-Vee Honda has just been fast all day,” Lundgaard said. “I was hoping for this, but I wasn’t quite expecting it, so it’s awesome to be here right now.” Lundgaard’s previous best career qualifying performance was third as a rookie last season on the streets of Nashville. His best qualifying spot through the first four races of the season was sixth in late April at Barber Motorsports Park. This was the first pole for Rahal Letterman Lanigan since Takuma Sato took the top spot in August 2020 on the World Wide Technology Raceway oval.

Lundgaard led all three RLL drivers in the top eight, as Jack Harvey will start fourth (1:09.4220) in the No. 30 Kustom Entertainment Honda and Graham Rahal eighth (1:09.4711) in the No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Honda. It was a sudden and significant rebound for the team, as Lundgaard entered this race 12th, Rahal 16th and Harvey 23rd in the championship standings. The team’s best finish this season is sixth, by Lundgaard last month at Barber and by Rahal in March at the season opener at St. Petersburg. “Now we have a shot at it (victory),” Lundgaard said. “We’re leading the field to green, so that’s where we want to be. So, we’ve just got to stay there for the rest of the race. “Every time we come here to IMS, at least this way (road course), we’ve been quick. So, coming into this year, I was confident. The last time I drove on this track (last July), I finished second. I was second in both practice sessions this morning, so I wanted to up it one, and I did.” Live coverage of the 85-lap race starts at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday on NBC, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

Swedish driver Rosenqvist fell just short of earning his second NTT P1 Award of the season and first this year on a road course. But tight competition was the story of the day, as the margin of .2979 of a second between the top six was the fourth smallest in the history of the Firestone Fast Six format. “It just came down to nailing a lap at the end,” Rosenqvist said. “I made a mistake, just a little wobble there. I just went for it – all or nothing. Big congrats to Christian. Scandinavian front row – that’s always cool.” 2021 series champion Alex Palou will start third after a best lap of 1:09.3780 in the No. 10 The American Legion Honda, with Harvey next to him on Row 2. Pato O’Ward qualified fifth at 1:09.5422 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.

Long Beach winner Kyle Kirkwood rounded out the Firestone Fast Six at 1:09.6292 in the No. 27 AutoNation Honda. Championship leader Marcus Ericsson will start seventh, just missing the Firestone Fast Six in Round 2 with his best lap of 1:09.4419 in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. While the rocket ride toward the top by RLL captured attention, another big story was the struggles of many of this season’s race winners and title contenders and past winners of this race and past season champions.

Two-time series champion Josef Newgarden (starting 13th), 2022 GMR Grand Prix winner Colton Herta (starting 14th), 2023 Barber winner Scott McLaughlin (starting 16th), and Andretti Autosport’s top championship contender this season, Romain Grosjean (starting 18th), all were eliminated in the first round of qualifying. Reigning series champion Will Power made it through to the second round but was eliminated in that session. He will start 12th in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.

The NTT IndyCar series visited Barber Motorsports Park for the 4 installment of IndyCar racing in 2023. Scott McLaughlin took the win after a late mistake and technical issue occurred with Andretti driver Romain Grosjean. Grosjean started the race on pole after an incredible qualifying. However strategy coupled with a bit of luck led McLaughlin to the top of the podium. McLaughlin utilized a 3 stop strategy which most opted to forgo given the history of success with this strategy at Barber.

Driver Thoughts

McLaughlin spoke to NBC.com and stated, “I call it a happy driver strategy. I was a lot happier doing [the three stops]. My team advanced me to Victory Lane, we had great fuel and went past Grosjean on a little bit of strategy. I feel really pumped about it. Super pumped… May is going to be an awesome time for us, I can’t wait. To end April like this before the best race in the world, just super proud of my team and with Chevy we had great fuel mileage and a hell of a strategy.” McLaughlin led the race for 24 laps. Grosjean whom led for 57 laps seemed to have his strategy perfected. However, after running wide in Turn 5 on lap 72 Grosjean was no able to recover.

He stated, “This hurts,” referring to another 2nd place finish after leading the race. “The three-stop never wins at Barber, but today it did. The pits stayed open on that yellow, and it gave Scotty and Will a chance to go three. I just got unlucky with that yellow, but (team co-owner and his strategist) said ‘Don’t have your head down. That was one of the best drivers I’ve ever seen. I gave it all, but congrats to Scott. He deserved the win.”

Will Power’s Amazing Day

Tema Penske driver Will Power had an amazing day at Barber, “It was an extremely good day. When I saw so many people saving fuel there, and we’d talked about doing a three-stop, I felt it was better to do that, and my guys made the call. We were just super-fast when we got clear air; that was the key to getting up to third. I had a really fast car, it was a pity we didn’t start further up. Chevy did a great job with the engine. We’re on another championship run, we’re just chipping away here, we’re going to get a win here soon. We’ve gotta keep at it and improve in qualifying. I’m enjoying this a lot.”

Full Race Results are Below

Kyle Kirkwood drives to his first career win at the 2023 Acura Long Beach Grand Prix. The temporary street circuit provided fans with 85 laps of close quarters racing. The teams required a perfectly crafted race strategy to make it the full race distance. All but 11 made it the full 85 laps with the others either falling behind on time or having mechanical/off-course issues.

Kirkwood started the race from pole and led the race for 53 laps in commanding fashion. The majority of the field made 2 pit stops. There was nothing unexpected here. There were a number of on track incidents the biggest being an early spin out by the No. 5 car driven by Pato O’Ward which essentially cost him any chance of getting back into the podium positions falling a lap behind the lead pack.

Early Success

The win came on Kirkwood’s 20th overall start in the NTT IndyCar Series at 24 years of age. Kirkwood stated after the race, “This is amazing, man. What a day. The calmest day I’ve had in two years, and it was a win. I was so happy with just the pole yesterday, but I’m over the moon right now. This is incredible for the whole team. We had a stellar day for the whole team with Andretti Autosport.” After lap 56 Kirkwood was not challenged for the lead again. Andretti Motorsport teammate Romain Grosjean narrowly lost out on pole to Kirkwood in the closing seconds of qualifying. He finished 2nd place in the No. 28 DHL Honda.

Grosjean had a great weekend in Qualifying and the Race

Grosjean seeming had an opportunity to make a later charge to potentially take the win. However, there was a fuel management risk with the car the prevented him from pushing. This resulted in him having to settle for second. Grosjean stated after the race, “I had to save a lot of fuel and I wasn’t allowed to use it. It sucks. I just wanted to push the button but I wasn’t allowed to. I didn’t even want to go for the win, it would’ve been taking too much risk. Kyle deserved the race. He drove a brilliant weekend. I wish I had a win for my birthday, but P2—I’ll take it.”

In third place Marcus Ericsson finished out the podium in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Josef Newgarden was favorited to win the race having won here last year. Newgarden led the race for 27 lap but fell short after gettign stuck behind traffic due to a caution and fuel concerns towards the end of the race. At the end Newgarden was only able to salvage a P9 finish leaving him 4th in the championship standings. Marcus Ericsson took the championship lead by 15 points over O’ward. Kirkwood moved up to 5th in the championship.

The NTT IndyCar Series Highlights

Full Race Results

The NTT IndyCar Series heads to Long Beach for the Long Beach Grand Prix this weekend in sunny California. Action kicks off tomorrow April 14th 2023 with free practice 1. This weekend is a co-sponsored event between the NTT IndyCar Series and the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship. You can find the full weekend schedule below.

ACURA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH WEEKEND START TIMES

(All times are Pacific Time)

Friday, April 14

7:45-8:15 am: Porsche Carrera Cup practice
9-10am: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
10:15-10:35am: Historic Motor Sports Association (HMSA) practice
11:15am-11:55am: Porsche Carrera Cup practice
12:10-12:30 pm: Stadium Super Trucks practice
12:45-2:30 pm: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
3-4:15 pm: NTT IndyCar Series practice
4:30-5 pm: Porsche Carrera Cup qualifying
5:10-6 pm: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship qualifying
6:30-6:50 pm: Super Drift Challenge practice
7-8:30 pm: Formula D Super Drift Challenge, Race 1

Saturday, April 15

7:45-8:05 am: HMSA practice
8:45 a.m.-9:45 pm: NTT IndyCar Series practice
11:20-11:40 pm: HMSA, Race 1
12:05-1:20 pm: NTT IndyCar Series qualifying
2-4 pm: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race
4:30-5 pm: Stadium Super Trucks, Race 1
5:15-5:55 pm: Porsche Carrera Cup, Race 1
6:30-6:50 pm: Super Drift Challenge practice
7:00-8:30 pm: Formula D Super Drift Challenge, Race 2

Sunday, April 16

9am-9:30 pm: IndyCar warmup
10:45-11:05 pm: HMSA, Race 2
Noon: Driver introductions
12:38 p.m. – Command to start engines
12:45 p.m. – Green flag for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach (85 laps/167.28 miles)

For more information on tickets and news visit IndyCar or IMSA for their respective information.

The NTT Indy Car season started off in Florida this past weekend for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The race started off catastrophically as the cars didn’t make it past turn 3 before a massive pile up involving over 25% of the field brought the race to a halt. You can see the event unfold in this clip posted by NBC.

The events unfolded when 6 time IndyCar champion made incidental contact with Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist causing a chain reaction that involved 8 cars. The drivers involved were Helio Castroneves, Simon Pagenaud, Santino Ferrucci, Devlin DeFrancesco, Sting Ray Robb and Benjamin Pedersen. Felix commented on the incident, “It felt like he didn’t see I was there,” Rosenqvist said. “I never expected him to swerve out. I just tried to get out on the first couple of turns. I was just hanging there and he didn’t know I was there. It sucks. I thought we had a really good chance today. I’m really bummed about it. That’s just not the way you want to start.”

Amongst the carnage the Benjamin Pedersen flew into ran square into the side of No. 29 DeFrancesco and sent him airborne and spinning down the track. Helio Castroneves exited his car with a very obvious limp suggesting he was seriously injured. However after receiving xrays it was found that he did not break any bones. Kyle Kirkwood also was sent airborne after making contact with Jack Harvey. Harvey had complained about wrist pains but passed a medical examination.

Ericsson was able to avoid the on track drama and secured his 4th win.

February is here which means it is almost time for the start of the NTT IndyCar Series season opener. Bona fide preseason test sessions haven’t been a topic of focus since 2020 but this week IndyCar will have its first full-field open test of the preseason at Thermal Club. Thermal Club is a motorsports country club that provides 200+ wealthy car enthusiasts a professional grade race track experience to test out the limits of their cars. Membership fees start at $5 million making this club exclusive to the most wealthy in the culture.

The course features 17 turns in a 2.9 mile layout and will be a combination configuration of the North and South Palm circuits. It sits on a 470 acre lot and features some of the most luxurious homes in the area. Thermal is the first of three full field open testing events for the preseason.

Driver Colton Herta tried doing some YouTube research on Thermal recently but gave up stating, “It’s difficult to watch some of the onboards because it’s not really professional drivers, and they have like the cones set out on the track, where to turn in and where to get on the brakes, so it’s kind of irrelevant,” Herta said. “Yeah, I watched a little bit before I got too bored and turned away. But the track walk will be important. That’s going to be the biggest thing.”

Herta also said his main concern was having enough runoff area as drivers knock off the offseason rust because “you do tend to drop a wheel here and there, have a spin if you’re getting back in the car for the first time in a few months.”

Other drivers had mixed feelings with some saying the testing session wasn’t really relevant to the series while other expressed excitement with just getting back in the car. IndyCar limits the amount of pre season testing that can be conducted so for many this was just an opportunity to get out and get a feel in for the car as a baseline. Time will tell if this track develops into a driver favorite for testing and potentially racing one day but for now it will remain and idea with room for growth.

NTT IndyCar: This press release was not authored by Speed Trap Magazine Staff

Verizon has renewed a multi-year extension of the company’s partnership with Team Penske in the NTT IndyCar Series. The sponsorship will extend for all 17 races in the series for the 2023 campaign which will be vital as Will power fights to earn his third NTT IndyCar Series title. The Verizon colors first adorned the No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet in 2009 during Power’s initial, part-time season. The technology, communications, information and entertainment leader has remained the primary sponsor of Power throughout his 15-year career with Team Penske, with this new agreement extending the relationship into the future.

 “Verizon has been a true partner of Team Penske since our first season together in 2009,” team owner Roger Penske said. “They have been an integral part of our success in INDYCAR competition. Verizon is a terrific fit for our INDYCAR team and the INDYCAR SERIES as one the world’s technological leaders. Their cutting-edge approach means a bright future for our partnership.”

Power cemented his place in INDYCAR SERIES lore in 2022. A consistent season was transformed into a historic one as he passed Mario Andretti for the most pole positions in series history in the season finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. A third-place finish in that race lifted Power to his second career title in a season in which he completed all 2,268 laps of competition. Throughout the partnership between Verizon and Penske, Power has raced to 41 wins and 68 pole positions, ranking fifth and second in team history, respectively.

“Very few drivers are lucky enough to have the support of one partner for as long as I’ve had the opportunity to work with Verizon,” Power said. “They have been instrumental in my career, a career that would likely have looked much different without them. I still have things I want to accomplish, and I look forward to representing them and having my number 12 car with the Verizon logo in the winner’s circle.”

Verizon and Team Penske have a longstanding innovation history. From using Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband to analyze the performance of cars coming in and out of the first turn at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in preparation for the Indy 500 and being able to analyze performance data in near real time, to race fans being able to share, stream and tweet race moments via Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband at the Penske-owned Indianapolis Motor Speedway, innovation is at the forefront of this partnership.