Author: thepitwindow

I'm a retired educator and lifelong racing fan. I hope to return to fostering greyhounds in the near future. Living mainly in Indy and wintering in Florida. I attend about 10 Indycar races a year as well as some sports car events

Lundgaard In, Rossi Out at Arrow McLaren for 2025

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Musical chairs continue at McLaren, as the announces they have signed Christian Lundgaard for 2025. The current Rahal Letterman Lanigan driver replace Alexander Rossi, who will leave the team after not being able to reach an agreement.

The announcement from Arrow McLaren:

Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team announced today that its 2025 driver lineup is confirmed with the addition of Christian Lundgaard who will join Pato O’Ward and Nolan Siegel in the team’s three-car lineup following the close of this season.

Christian, who is currently 11th in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship standings, will pilot the No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, as the team mutually parts ways with Alexander Rossi, who is in his second season with the team and finished ninth in the championship in 2023.

Christian, 22, has had a strong start to his campaign in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES earning a win, two poles and three podiums throughout his early tenure. He made an immediate splash as the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Rookie of the Year with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, which he’s raced with through his three seasons in INDYCAR.

A native of Hedensted, Denmark, Christian remains the only Danish driver in INDYCAR SERIES history to boast a race win after a dominant performance on the streets of Toronto in 2023.

Before launching a professional career in North America, Christian was an Alpine development racer competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship where he earned two wins and nine podiums across the 2020-21 seasons. He also raced with Alpine in the 2019 FIA Formula 3 Championship and produced a win, two podiums and two poles.

The trio of Pato, Nolan and Christian will make up one of the youngest teams in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. Each driver has proven success on his resume that warrants a promising outlook for the Arrow McLaren team in the seasons to come.

Christian Lundgaard, Driver, NTT INDYCAR SERIES, said:

“I’m excited to have my plans set for 2025 and beyond, and I’m thrilled it’s with Arrow McLaren. I have a lot of respect for Zak, Gavin, Tony and the team, and I think Pato, Nolan and I will work well together. I’m focused 100% on finishing this season strong with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. We have a lot of the season left, but this is a huge weight off my shoulders that will hopefully let me compete at my best the next nine races.”

Alexander Rossi

Alexander Rossi, Driver, Arrow McLaren, said:

“My time at Arrow McLaren, while it’s been only short two seasons, has been rewarding in many ways. I’m grateful to have been part of the team’s internal growth. The No. 7 crew is fantastic, and I’ve built a lot of long-lasting friendships with the team. Zak, Gavin, Tony and I had many conversations over the last several months on my future with the team. We were not able to come to terms on a new deal, so the mutual decision to part ways is amicable. I’m very confident with current discussions in the paddock to land a new spot. I’ll have good news to follow soon, and meanwhile I’m focused on a top-five finish in the 2024 championship and a strong conclusion to my time in papaya.”

Gavin Ward, Team Principal, Arrow McLaren, said:

“Alexander has been an incredible teammate, and we’re grateful for our two seasons we’re racing with him. We wouldn’t be where we are today without him. Ultimately we couldn’t meet in the middle on terms, but we absolutely wish him the best and will do all we can the second half of the season to get him in the top five in the championship.

“Christian has had proven success in his few seasons racing in the series, and he checks the boxes for what we’re looking for in speed and potential alongside Pato and Nolan. The three make up the youngest trio on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES grid, and we know that direction has been paying off for our F1 counterparts with Lando and Oscar.

“We’re looking toward our long-term goal of sustained high performance, and I believe with these three drivers and the ongoing support of Arrow and all our amazing partners, we’re taking a good step in that direction for 2025.”

SOWERY TO MAKE SERIES DEBUT WITH DCR AT MID-OHIO

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By INDYCAR | Published: Jun 26, 2024

From Indycar

INDY NXT by Firestone veteran Toby Sowery will take over driving duties of the No. 51 Dale Coyne Racing with RWR entry for The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the 2025 Civic Hybrid on July 5-7 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Sowery will make his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES start at the Ohio track after getting his first taste of the series during a test with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing last year at Sebring International Raceway.

British driver Sowery is racing in the LMP2 class of IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup, where he finished second at the Rolex 24 At Daytona and also raced in the 12 Hours of Sebring in his debut LMP2 season. In addition to competing in the Fanatec GT World Series, he has also raced and won in LMP2 in the Asian Le Mans Series this year.

“Racing in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES is an exciting challenge for anyone, and I’m extremely fortunate to be given this opportunity by Dale (Coyne),” Sowery said. “This race adds to an already incredible season for me filled with two amazing programs in IMSA and Fanatec GT World Challenge.

“Dale Coyne has been fundamental to INDYCAR in giving drivers opportunities to prove themselves, and I am eager for this challenge. It’ll be a difficult step to make having only one day in the car over a year ago, as well as adapting to the hybrid system, but I’m up for it.”

Sowery competed in INDY NXT by Firestone in 2019 and finished third in the championship after seven podium finishes, including a win at Portland International Raceway. He returned to the series for a partial season in 2021, finishing on the podium three times.

After being crowned champion of the inaugural Radical World Finals in 2022, Sowery returned to INDY NXT in 2023 to compete in two rounds, scoring a podium finish at Barber Motorsports Park.

“I’ve been following Toby’s career for quite some time now,” Team Owner Dale Coyne said. “He’s shown that he can quickly adapt to whatever car he is driving and has a successful track record to prove it. We realize coming into the weekend at Mid-Ohio with no prior testing of the car in its hybrid form might be a steep learning curve, but we’re confident he will get up to speed quickly, and we look forward to seeing what he can do.”

Earlier in his racing career, Sowery won the MSV Formula 3 cup Championship (2014) and the MRF Series Championship (2014/15). He is a two-time BRDC McLaren Autosport Finalist (2015, 2016).

Sowery competed in the BRDC British Formula 3 series in 2016, where he finished third in the championship, and returned to the series in 2017 to finish fourth in points. He was also runner-up in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia series in 2017.

Sowery has four starts at Mid-Ohio in INDY NXT by Firestone, with four top-10 finishes, including a best finish of second.

Fellow British driver Jack Harvey will team with Sowery at Mid-Ohio in DCR’s No. 18 Honda. Live coverage of the race Sunday, July 7 starts at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

    Thoughts on the 2025 Schedule

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    Next year’s Indycar series schedule is the same, yet different. There are no new venues, but there is one less oval race. Several events have been moved, and just slightly.

    Milwaukee lost one of its races. I am glad it is still on the schedule, but I am not thrilled with the second race’s replacement, The Thermal Club. If you drop an oval, replace it with an oval. I will give the points paying version of Thermal Club a chance to see if it works, but replacing an oval with flat road course which appears to have very little personality doesn’t seem to be a great trade off.

    World Wide Technology Raceway moving to June will allow for slightly improved weather conditions, but coming right before Road America may hurt attendance at both places. Some fans may have to choose between the two. I do like having an oval race closer to the Indianapolis 500.

    While Laguna Seca will have its third date in three years, going to Portland afterwards makes sense with a week to travel in between.

    I like ending the season with two ovals. Ovals are a fairer way to decide the championship.

    The worst thing about the schedule is the August 31 end date. Take a bit of a ratings hit and run through September. Saturday races are fine with me. Fox could promote the races on their football broadcasts.

    It’s not the best schedule I’ve ever seen, but it’s not the worst either. I think this early end date will be a thing as long as Fox holds the contract.

    Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey Wrap Up

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    Photo by Kyle McInnes

    Yesterday’s race ay Weather Tech Raceway was an entertaining one with battles for the lead, differing strategies, and tire calls that looked questionable at first, but proved correct at the end. Alex Palou once again put on a clinic at a track he has come to dominate the last four years.

    Yesterday’s win was not a typical Palou beatdown. He was beaten to the second corner by Kyle Kirkwood on lap 1 and didn’t take the lead until lap 25. Although he lad 48 laps, he had to fight for the lead, and his laps in front were spread over four segments.

    Some thoughts:

    Delayed Yellow

    Marcus Armstrong spun and stopped on track on lap 74. Indycar withheld throwing the yellow so that several cars who were on an alternate strategy could make pit stops. I’ve talked about my dislike for this procedure before.

    This delayed yellow policy is dangerous and gives the pitting cars an advantage. At some point another car is going to collide with the disabled car. Indycar has been fortunate that an incident hasn’t occurred yet.

    Josef Newgarden, who had cycled to second place because of pit stops, needed one more stop. Because of the delayed yellow, which was thrown while he was in the pits, allowed him to keep his position. He did not have a second place car yesterday. He spun with two laps to go and finished 19th, a little lower than where he should have finished.

    I don’t care if it was Newgarden or some other driver, as he was not the only one still needing a final stop, but this policy is unfair. If a yellow is needed, just wave the flag. Race control should not concern itself with whether cars need to pit or not. That is a team decision. If a yellow comes out, well, that’s the way it goes.

    Off Road Adventures

    At times this weekend I thought I was watching the Baja 1,000. I don’t recall seeing so many cars go off track in one race weekend. Christian Lundgaard went airborne as went through the sand trap at the corkscrew.

    The dust clouds were commonplace all three days. may=be the track’s new pavement is still slick. Fortunately, most drivers recovered and kept going.

    Malukas, Siegel Debuts

    David Malukas and Nolan Siegel had successful debuts at Laguna Seca. Malukas drove his first race of the season for his new team, Meyer Shank Racing, and finished 16th. he ran in the top 10 most of the day.

    Nolan Siegel, in his first drive for Arrow McLaren, ironically in the car Malukas was supposed o run this season, finished 12th after starting 23rd and recovering from a spin and stall on lap 41.

    Strategies

    I love a race where pit strategies differ. On Palou’s first stop, the team decided to stay on primaries and save the alternates for the final stint. It seemed questionable at the time, but worked out as Palou was able to pull away once he regained the lead.

    Colton Herta and Alexander Rossi just missed on fuel strategy, and they had to hold back to save fuel.

    In two weeks at Mid-Ohio, the hybrid era begins. I am looking forward to seeing how the addition of this power component affects the dynamics of the racing and strategy.

    VeeKay leads Warm Up

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    Photo by Kyle McInnes

    In a wild warmup session in which Aj Foyt Racing suffered setbacks, Rinus VeeKay of Ed Carpenter racing led the field. Pole sitter Alex Palou was fourth fastest.

    Sting ray Robb spun in turns5/6 and made contact wi9th the tire barrier, causing extensive damage. Santino Ferrucci received a five minute stop and hold penalty for impeding Romain Grosjean. Ferrucci/Grosjean confrontations are a continuing thing, and Indycar needs to step in. This will not end well.

    Results