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

Ericsson Unveils Ticket for 107th Running of Indianapolis 500 February 10

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The Indianapolis 500 ticket unveil moves to another new venue as Marcus Ericsson will unveil the ticket for the 2023 race Friday, February 10, during the second intermission of the Indy Fuel hockey game at Indiana Farmer’s Coliseum.

Ericsson, winner of the 106th running of the 500 in 2022, is a former hockey player and will get to see his image on the ticket for the first time. The revealing of the ticket means fans will soon have tickets in their possession.

Daly to Attempt Daytona 500

Conor Daly will attempt to qualify for next weekend’s Daytona 500 mile race. Daly will drive car 50 for The Money Team, a team owned by boing legend Floyd Mayweather. Daly will compete for one of four open spots in the field. Daly may race for The Money Team up to six more times in 2023.

Indy NXT Broadcast Times Set

The broadcast start times for the Indy NXT series have been set. All races are on Peacock. The 14 race schedule features two ovals and three doubleheaders.

Wrapping Up a Busy Week

thepitwindow

Alexander Rossi photo by James Black, Indycar

Yesterday seemed awfully quiet after a week of nonstop IMSA and Indycar activity.

The Spring Training at Thermal Club wasa hit with the drivers and car owners. There is some talk of a race at the facility, but I think it is a long shot. It is a private club, and a lot of infrastructure work needs to bring it up to Indycar and FIA standards. I think the race would be mainly for the club members, not the average fan. It could be Indycar’s version of the F1 Miami Grand Prix without the fake harbor.

I hope some club members had their interest piqued and want to invest in a team in some way. For now, let’s leave this track as a Spring Training site, and maybe allow a limited number of fans in next year.

Rolex 24 Gallery

Some photos taken by a pure amateur at the Rolex 24. As I said earlier, the GTP cars are beautiful and it is nice to have cars with distinct looks and sounds.

01 Cadillac
24 BMW
Turn 1 action.
Turn 3
On the banks
The Vasser Sullivan Lexus fought hard to earn a podium.

Kirkwood Leads Final Test

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Photo from @FollowAndretti

Kyle Kirkwood led the fourth test session at The Thermal Club this afternoon. Kirkwood finished second, third, and first in the three sessions he ran. His team needed to change a clutch yesterday afternoon, and Kirkwood missed the second round. Kirkwood’s time of 1:38.8279 was the third fastest overall for the two days.

Kirkwood spoke about his excitement to be with Andretti this season.

“My entire goal last year was to take a car that everyone knows
is usually mid pack or towards the back and put it up front.
That was always a goal of mine. That was exciting for me.
It’s also exciting to be in a fast car and be fast in a fast car.
There’s benefits to both. I’m just as excited as I was last
year, to be honest. I’m definitely leaving this place in a happier spot than most
of the events last year.”

The Spring Training event at The Thermal Club seems to have been a big hit with the drivers, but they expressed doubts about holding a race there. Kirkwood thinks it would be a lot like Barber, with few passing opportunities..

Results:

Ericsson Leads Session 3

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Marcus Ericsson of Chip Ganassi Racing led the third Spring Training session as lap timnes continue to improve. 13 drivers had times in the 1:38 range. Yesterday’s leader, Colton Herta, was 14th. Kyle Kirkwood, who missed the second round yesterday afternoon, was third fastest nthis morning. Kirkwood was second quick Thursday morning.

The session ended about 90 seconds early when Felix Rosenqvist suffered his third off road of the two days of practice.

Results:

The final test session begins at 4:30 PM eastern.

Testing Continues- Can Herta Be Caught?

thepitwindow

Indycar photo by Joe Skibinski

Today’s schedule at Thermal Club:

  • Test 3: Friday, 9:00 – 11:30 a.m. PT
  • Test 4: Friday, 1:00 – 4:30 p.m. PT

Timing and scoring on Indycar.com

Marshall Pruett will also post some video on YouTube

I will have a wrapup tonight and session results throughout the day.

Some news broke last night regarding the Indianapolis 500. If you missed it , here is the link:

    Double Points Get the Checkered Flag

    Double Points Get the Checkered Flag

    thepitwindow5 Comments

    Call it Irony, if you will. I just finished watching Hallelujah! the Leonard Cohen documentary, on Netflix. I turn to social media and find another reason to shout Hqllelujah!

    Indycar informed the team owners that double points will not be awarded at the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500. Qualifying points for the fast twelve are still in effect. Well, one step at a time.

    Double points were first awarded in 2014, at the 500 and the other 500 mile races at Pocono and Fontana. In 2015 double points went to the winner of the 500 and the season finale. In 202 the last race of the year went back to single points.

    Oddly double points for winning the 500 never helped a driver to the championship. The extra points, despised by many and scorned by others, hurt those who had a bad Memorial Day weekend more than they helped the 500 winner finish atop the standings. The gaps in points made it difficult for a driver to get back in the hunt.

    With double points in effect, the largest gap from first to 33rd was 110 points. Starting in 2023, the largest gap will be 60 points, a more reasonable deficit to come back from with 11 races remaining.

    I am glad to see the extra points go. Now let’s work on throwing a yellow flag when it needs to be thrown, regardless of pit situations, and keep the red flag hidden except for safety and rain.

    Herta Sweeps Day 1 as Times Drop in Session 2

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    Colton Herta posted the fast time in the afternoon session of Indycar’s open test in California. His teammate Kyle Kirkwood, second in the morning round, did not participate in the second session. The team was replacing the clutch on the 27 Auto Nation Honda.

    13 cars cracked the 100 second mark.

    The results:

    Tomorrow’s schedule is similar to today’s. Session 3 begins at noon Eastern time.

    Herta Quickest in Session 1

    thepitwindow

    Photo from @FollowAndretti

    Colton Herta led an Andretti 1-2 in the opening test session of 2023 at The Thermal Club near Palm Springs, California. Kyle Kirkwood was second in his Andretti Autosport debut Herta had the only lap under one minute,forty seconds.

    From photos and videos I have seen, the track looks beautiful and the mountain backdrop provides a spectacular setting.

    The results:

    Session 2 began at 4:30 Eastern time and runs until 7:30.

    2023 Begins- Thermal Club Open Test

    thepitwindow

    The NTT Indycar Series begins its 2023 season with a two day open test at the Thermal Club near Palm Springs, California. All teams will have 11 hours of test time on the 2.9 mile, 17 turn track beginning at noon Eastern today.. There is talk of having a race here someday, but a lot work will be needed to bring the track up to race quality.

    The schedule:

    Session start times:  All times Pacific

    • Test 1: Thursday, 9:00 – 11:30 a.m. PT
    • Test 2: Thursday, 1:30 – 4:30 p.m. PT 

    • Test 3: Friday, 9:00 – 11:30 a.m. PT
    • Test 4: Friday, 1:00 – 4:30 p.m. PT

    Live streaming is not available, but timing and scoring will be on the Indycar app.