Good morning from the great northwest- side of Indianapolis, that is. Marti was transferred to rehab yesterday afternoon, so i will be covering the final three from races from home. I will miss dinner at Homegrown Smokers in Portland tonight.

Indycar has a hectic schedule today with a 75 minute early practice, qualifying an hour and 45 minutes later, then a 30 minute race prep session. Qualifying will be key for the title contenders. The closer to the front you are, the better chance you have of avoiding a turn 1 catastrophe.

Today’s schedule: All times Pacific. All of today’s sessions are live on Peacock. Qualifying will re air on NBCSN at 11:30 pm Eastern.

https://thepitwindow.blog/2021/09/10/portland-grand-prix-preview-return-to-the-west/

Notes

Callum Ilott will drive in the final three races of the season for Juncos-Hollinger Racing. Last year’s T2 runner up has to be considere3d a strong candidate for this seat full time in 2022. He was originally slated just for this weekend, but Ilott was able to clear his schedule to run all three Indycar races. The continuity will be helpful to the team as they prepare to go fulltime next season.

Today and tomorrow there will be ceremonies to commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11. The details can be found here:

INDYCAR To Commemorate 9/11 Through Charitable Activations, Special Race Weekend Ceremonies

Indy Lights points leader David Malukas won the pole for Race 1, which runs immediately after Indycar qualifying. The race airs on Peacock. Kyle Kirkwood, who trails Malukas by 3 points, starts fifth.

Marshall Pruett of Racer magazine confirmed today what I had been thinking. The IMS road course will serve as a backup if one or both of the California races cannot go on as planned. Get ready for Harvest Classic 2.0. I hope it doesn’t come to that.