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

Ilott Nips Palou in Practice 3

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Callum Ilott edged Alex Palou for top honors in the third session of The Thermal Club Million Dollar Challenge. Palou grabbed fast time early as he did yesterday, but Ilott, arguably the best Indycar driver not driving full time in Indycar, passed him before a 50 minute stoppage to repair broken asphalt in turn 5 halted action.

Ilott and Palou are the only drivers to turn a lap in less than 99 seconds.

Indycar extended the session by 15 minutes, but the extra time was chewed up by red flags for Romain Grosjean, who spun and stalled, and Kyle Kirkwood, lost control in turn 8 and made rear contact with the armco. The damage was not serious, and Kirkwood returned for the final 15 minutes of practice.

The final two hour practice session begins at 4 pm Eastern, followed by qualifying at 8 Eastern.

Results:

Palou Stays on Top

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Today’s schedule: All times Eastern

Alex Palou repeated fast time in Friday’s second practice session as the Indycar concluded five total hours of testing at The Thermal Club.

Combined Session results:

Notes

The qualifying rounds have been shortened to 8 minutes from the originally scheduled 10 minutes at the requests of teams and drivers. High tire degradation was the reason for the change.

Felix Rosenquist continues to fit in well with his new team as he was in the top 10 all day.

Callum Ilott is doing a great job for Arrow McLaren filling in for David Malukas.

Chip Ganassi Racing and Arrow McLaren appear to be the strongest teams so far this weekend,

Qualifying, Heat Groups Set for Thermal

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Groups have been set by random draw for the Thermal Club $ Million Dollar Challenge.

GROUP 1:

Newgarden

McLaughlin

Power

Dixon

Herta

Kirkwood

Lundgaard

Rosenqvist

VeeKay

Grosjean

Canapino

Ferrucci

Siegel

Robb

GROUP 2:

Palou

Armstrong

Lundqvist

Simpson

O’Ward

Rossi

Ilott

Ericsson

Rahal

Fittipaldi

Blomqvist

Rasmussen

Braun

Group 1 will be Heat 1; Group 2 will be Heat 2.

The Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge Fast Facts 

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From Indycar:


 Race weekend: Friday, March 22 – Sunday, March 24
Track: The Thermal Club, 3.067-mile, 17-turn road course (counterclockwise) in Thermal, California

Race distances: (Two Qualifying Heats) 10 laps / 20 minutes) | (Sprint for the Purse) Two Segments (10 laps/ 30.67 miles each) with 10-minute halftime after Lap 10
Push-to-pass parameters: 40 seconds of total time for each qualifying group, heat race and both segments of the final.
X: @TheThermalClub, @INDYCAR, #ThermalChallenge, #INDYCAR
Instagram: @TheThermalClub, @INDYCAR, #ThermalChallenge, #INDYCAR
Facebook: @ThermalClub, @INDYCAR, #ThermalChallenge, #INDYCAR
TikTok: @IndyCar, #ThermalChallenge, #INDYCAR
YouTube: @INDYCAR
Event website: www.thermal.ccINDYCAR website: www.indycar.com
2023 race winner:NTT INDYCAR SERIESInaugural Event
Qualifying record:NTT INDYCAR SERIESInaugural Event
NBC Sports telecast: Races, 12:30 ET Sunday, NBC (live). Leigh Diffey is the play-by-play announcer for NBC’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe.
Peacock Live Streaming: All NTT INDYCAR SERIES Open Test sessions, qualifying session, heat races and the final Sprint for the Purse will stream live on Peacock, NBC’s direct-to-consumer livestreaming product.
INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside turn announcers Ryan Myrehn and Jake Query. Michael Young is the pit reporter. The Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge, Saturday’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES Open Test sessions and qualifying session air live on SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation 218 and SiriusXM NBC Sports Audio 85, racecontrol.indycar.com and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.
At-track schedule (All Times Local):

Friday, March 22
9-11 a.m. –
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Open Test, Peacock2-5 p.m. –
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Open Test, Peacock

Saturday, March 23
9-11 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Open Test, Peacock
1-3 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Open Test, Peacock
5 p.m. – $1 Million Challenge heat race qualifying (two groups / 12 minutes each), Peacock

Sunday, March 24
9:24 a.m. – $1 Million Challenge Heat Race 1 “Drivers Start Your Engines”
9:30 a.m. – NBC on air
9:31 a.m. – $1 Million Challenge Heat Race 1 (10 laps / 30.67 miles / 20 minutes / Top 6 advance to Sprint for the Purse),
NBC
9:58 a.m. – $1 Million Challenge Heat Race 2 “Drivers Start Your Engines”
10:05 a.m. – $1 Million Challenge Heat Race 2 (10 laps / 30.67 miles / 20 minutes/ Top 6 advance to Sprint for the Purse),
NBC
10:52 a.m. – $1 Million Challenge Sprint for the Purse “Drivers, start your engines”
10:59 a.m. – $1 Million Challenge Sprint for the Purse (Two 10-lap segments with 10-minute halftime after Lap 10), NBC (Live)

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Notes:· The Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge will be the first non-championship NTT INDYCAR SERIES race since 2008. With a total payout of over $1.7 million, it is the largest non-Indy 500 purse for an INDYCAR SERIES event in over two decades. More information on the weekend format can be found HERE. There have been 10 INDYCAR SERIES exhibition races held since 1946, including the Marlboro Challenge All-Star race, which was held by CART from 1987-1992.
NON-CHAMPIONSHIP INDYCAR RACES 1946-PRESENT
YEAR     RACE                                TRACK             WINNER         
1957       Race of Two Worlds         Monza             Jimmy Bryan           1958       Race of Two Worlds         Monza             Jim Rathmann 1966       Fuji 200                        Fuji Speedway   Jackie Stewart
1987       Marlboro Challenge      Tamiami Park  Bobby Rahal
1988       Marlboro Challenge   Tamiami Park     Michael Andretti
1989       Marlboro Challenge      Laguna Seca  Al Unser, Jr.
1990       Marlboro Challenge          Nazareth        Rick Mears
1991       Marlboro Challenge     Laguna Seca   Michael Andretti
1992       Marlboro Challenge      Nazareth    Emerson Fittipaldi
2008       Nikon Indy 300            Surfers Paradise    Ryan Briscoe*
Note: The 1981 and 1982 Indianapolis 500 only counted for the USAC INDYCAR SERIES championship and was considered a non-championship event for CART teams.· Qualifying heat races will return to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES for the first time since the series conducted heat races at Iowa Speedway for the 2012 and 2013 events at the track. Two drivers entered have won heat races in their career: Graham Rahal won heat races in both 2012 and 2013 at Iowa while Scott Dixon won a heat race at Iowa in 2013.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES QUALIFYING HEAT RACESYEAR   TRACK                  LENGTH      WINNERS
2012     Iowa Speedway   30 Laps       Graham Rahal (1st), Tony Kanaan (2nd), Dario Franchitti (Dash)
2013     Iowa Speedway   50 Laps       Scott Dixon (1st), Graham Rahal (2nd), Helio Castroneves (Dash)·

INDY NXT by Firestone points leader Nolan Siegel will make his NTT INDYCAR SERIES “debut” at The Thermal Club. The California native was the INDYCAR developmental series’ Rookie of the Year in 2023 and tested for Dale Coyne Racing in January. The 19-year-old is scheduled to make starts at Long Beach, Indianapolis 500 and Toronto. 

Thermal Club Event Hopes to Give Indycar a Boost

thepitwindow1 Comment

I don’t know if this is exactly a race preview. After all, the misnamed Million Dollar Challenge is 90% a test session with some racing added at the end. The weekend includes nine hours of testing and three hours of a condensed race weekend.

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this competition. there are many pros and cons to staging a program like this.

Pros-

More Indycar exposure on NBC,

An early season weekend filled with more than just testing, filling a hole left by Texas dropping off the schedule. There is still a 28 day gap to Long Beach.

The smaller teams will get a chance to sort some things out.

Cons-

How hard will teams actually race? With 16 races remaining on the schedule, how much risk to equipment is a team willing to tolerate?

This track appears to be one where passing is difficult.

Ticket prices are exclusionary. Even though the price has dropped from $2,000 to $500, the lower price would barely get a fan into an F1 race. Southern California is not the most economical place to visit, either.

Still, I am intrigued by the concept. Some of the ideas might be tried out in qualifying somewhere. I like the push to pass in qualifying idea. Perhaps the series might try to make P2P available for the final five minutes of the first three rounds of qualifying ay a regular race somewhere.

I remember the heat races that were tried at Iowa a few years ago were not that popular with fans or drivers. They were pretty much follow the leader affairs.

I do like the no fuel saving aspect, and that tires cannot be changed during the race.

Let’s see how it works out. At least Indycar is doing something different.

Notes

“100 Days to Indy,” season 1 will begin streaming on Netflix April 4, It is currently streaming globally on the CW streaming app and Paramount +.

Season 2 premieres April 26 on the CW at 9 pm Eastern and Pacific.

Rock Legends George Thorogood & The Destroyers To Headline Miller Lite Carb Day Concert May 24 at IMS 

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From IMS. I guess Taylor Swift was busy that day.


 Special Guest Gin Blossoms To Open; Full Day of Entertainment Includes Kid Quill

INDIANAPOLIS (Tuesday, March 19, 2024) – George Thorogood & The Destroyers, who have been rocking together for more than five decades, will headline the Miller Lite Carb Day Concert on Friday, May 24 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as part of a full day of on- and off-track action and entertainment.
George Thorogood & The Destroyers will be joined by special guest Gin Blossoms, who will open the show. The Carb Day concert gates will open at 2 p.m. this year, allowing for additional entertainment, including Indianapolis recording artist Kid Quill.Tickets are on sale now at IMS.com, by calling 317-492-6700 or by visiting the IMS Ticket Office at the IMS Administration Building.
All general admission, concert pit and VIP Deck concert tickets include admission to the concert and to on-track activities that day at IMS, which include the final practice for the 108th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge and the INDYCAR Pit Stop Challenge.
“Carb Day is the unofficial start to summer and the kickoff to race weekend for many of our fans; they take the day off from work and spend it at IMS,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said. “From on-track action like the final practice and Pit Stop Challenge to hip DJs and cool rock concerts, it’s a day like no other at the Racing Capital of the World. George Thorogood & The Destroyers, as well as Gin Blossoms and Kid Quill, are a great addition to a full day of entertainment.”
George Thorogood & The Destroyers got their start on a small bandstand in Lane Hall at The University of Delaware on the evening of Dec. 1, 1973. Though the three-piece band – consisting of a guitarist, a drummer and their rhythm guitarist – had barely rehearsed, guitarist George Thorogood and drummer Jeff Simon had been bashing out covers of songs they loved – including “No Particular Place To Go,” “Madison Blues” and “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer” – in suburban Wilmington, Delaware, basements since they were teens.
The Lane Hall audience was wary at first.
“Then it was like somebody flipped a switch,” Simon said. “Everybody hit the dance floor all at once.”
Five decades, 15 million albums and more than 8,000 performances later, few bands can still rock the house like George Thorogood & Destroyers. And for Thorogood, Simon, and longtime Destroyers Bill Blough, Jim Suhler and Buddy Leach, their Bad All Over The World – 50 Years of Rock Tour is a celebration like no other.Gin Blossoms have undoubtedly left their mark on the rock music map. The Grammy-nominated band’s fusion of melodic rock, pop, folk and country elements has helped pave the way for the modern rock of today.
Boasting record sales of over 10 million, fans around the world are very familiar with Gin Blossoms’ five-time platinum breakthrough album, “New Miserable Experience,” containing gems like “Until I Fall Away,” “Found Out About You,” “Hey Jealousy” and “Allison Road.”Those hit tracks were followed by the Empire Records platinum soundtrack hit, “Til I Hear It From You.”
In 1996, the singles “Follow You Down” and “As Long As It Matters” hit the radio again in a huge way, making their “Congratulations I’m Sorry” record another platinum success. Their latest release, 2018’s “Mixed Reality,” shares that same timeless feel, packed with 15 songs.
Kid Quill’s sound is a hybrid of hip-hop, pop and alternative. He has grown a core fan base from touring throughout the early stages of his career. Over recent years, he’s performed at festivals such as Firefly, Electric Forest, Breakaway and Lollapalooza, where he broke the record for highest attendance at the BMI Stage.
As an independent artist, Kid Quill has amassed more than 200 million streams, became a global ambassador for the Indiana Pacers and was selected for Soundcloud’s First On Soundcloud Class of 2021. He will release new music leading up to his highly anticipated upcoming album scheduled for spring 2024.
Miller Lite Carb Day general admission tickets start at just $45. A limited number of concert pit package upgrades that include general admission are available for $75. A very limited supply of exclusive VIP platform tickets also is available for $275, including concert pit access, snacks, two complimentary drinks and dedicated bars.
Ticket prices will increase as the concert draws closer, so fans are encouraged to buy now.
The 108th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge is scheduled for Sunday, May 26. Tickets are on sale at IMS.com or by calling or visiting the IMS Ticket Office.