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
12:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET(Green Flag 12:30 PM) Gallagher Grand Prix NBC, Peacock
Today’s Gallagher Grand Prix at IMS will set the stage for the final run for the series title. Marcus Ericsson leads Will Power by eight points. Power starts fourth, Ericsson 25th. Ericsson could drop as low as third since Josef Newgarden, 34 points behind, starts fifth. I don’t think the outlook is that dire for Ericsson.
Felix Rosenqvist looks for his first win from the pole position
I think he will finish in the top 10 and minimize his points loss. I think either Power or Newgarden will have a problem and not finish well.
The big question is can Arrow McLaren SP show some consistency and have another strong finish? Felix Rosenqvist starts on pole, and Pato O’Ward, last Sunday’s Iowa winner, starts third. Rosenqvist has yet to win from pole. O’Ward seems to do better when he does not start on the pole.
Only Scott McLaughlin has a win from the pole this year. he did that in the first race of the season at St. Pete. The second place starter has won six times in 2022.
Rossi’s day at last?
I look for a battle between O’Ward, Rosenqvist, Power, and Alexander Rossi for the top spot. I think Rossi prevails, ending a couple years of frustration, and handing Michael Andretti a lovely parting gift.
Felix Rosenqvist denied Will power a shot at history by winning the pole for tomorrow’s Gallagher Grand Prix. It was Rosenqvist’s second pole on the IMS road course, and his second of the season. Of more significance, Alexander Rossi, who will join AMSP in 2023, will start second, and Rosenqvist’s current teammate .Pato O’Ward, starts third. It is possible the three drivers will all be teammates next season.
Power remains one pole behind Mario Andretti with 66 career poles. he has four more opportunities this season to tie Andretti. Power is also one win behind Michael Andretti for third place in career victories with 41. He has a chance to get that mark tomorrow.
Rosenqvist doesn’t consider IMS his best track, but one that he and the team have worked to improve their performance here.
“I’ve been struggling a little bit here in the races historically. I just feel like we’ve worked very hard as a team to improve this track as we go here twice a year, and at some point last year we were like, guys, we need to improve at the Indy GP because we’re struggling. Since then every time we come back here I feel like we’re just getting better and better. We had a test here a couple of weeks ago where I think we found some really good things, and we were pretty sure where we wanted to start today in terms of setup, and yeah, it’s just been a smooth day.”
Notes
The two rookies battling for Rookie of the Year both made the second sound. Christian Lundgaard, who leads David Malukas by four points, advanced to the Fast Six and will start sixth. Malukas will star 11th.
Points leader Marcus Ericsson shut off his car in turn on his first out lap when the crew noticed a problem on the telemetry. Ericsson will start last Saturday.
Professionals– Josef newgarden, Alexander Rossi, and Alex palou entered today with some baggage, but all three ust went about their business. Rossi qualified second, Newgarden fifth, and Palou seventh, just missing the Fast Six.
Newgarden was cleared to race after this morning’s practice. Rossi announced in June that he would leave Andretti Autosport to drive for AMSP next season. Palou is embroiled in a dispute as to whom he will drive for in 2023.
Ed Carpenter Racing continues to show signs of improvement in their road course program. Both Conor Daly and Rinus VeeKay made the second round. Daly led his group in round 1. VeeKay will line up eighth and Daly 10th.
Alexander Rossi led the lone practice session for the GMR Grand Prix at IMS with a lap of 1:10,091. Josef Newgarden was second quick. Newgarden showed no ill effects from his crash last Sunday but still needs to be evaluated before he is allowed to continue the rest of the weekend.
The session run without interruption, although several drivers had some off track excursions and some half spins.
INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, July 29, 2022) – IMSA is returning to famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.For the first time since 2014, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will be back at the Racing Capital of the World on the weekend of Sept. 15-17, 2023, as the headline event of a full weekend of IMSA sports car action billed as the “IMSA Battle on the Bricks” around the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course. The two-hour, 40-minute WeatherTech Championship event will be held on Sunday, Sept. 17 with live NBC network television coverage. “Indianapolis Motor Speedway is hallowed ground in the world of motorsport, and we are honored to bring IMSA and the WeatherTech Championship back to IMS,” IMSA President John Doonan said. “There has been mutual interest and many conversations between IMSA and IMS leadership for quite some time to bring our brand of premium endurance sports car racing back to the Speedway and our collective fans. As we launch an exciting new era in 2023 and introduce GTP as our top category of prototypes alongside many of our other successful categories and sanctioned series, the timing is right for a full weekend of IMSA action in Indianapolis and on NBC next fall.” In addition to Sunday’s WeatherTech Championship race, the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge will headline the action on Saturday, Sept. 16 with a four-hour, bumper-to-bumper traffic jam of production-based race cars. The weekend also will include other IMSA-sanctioned single-make series to be announced later.“ Our reputation as the Racing Capital of the World will be further enhanced by the IMSA Battle on the Bricks, as IMSA will join the major series competing at IMS in 2023,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said. “IMSA features some of the most evocative manufacturers and machines in global motorsports, so a return to IMS is a perfect fit for our loyal fans. We can’t wait to see exciting new GTP prototypes compete on the road course in yet another full weekend of action at the Speedway, complete with great racing in other classes and the Michelin Pilot Challenge.” The IMSA Battle on the Bricks weekend will be a three-day festival showcasing the pinnacle of sports car racing. With 18 different manufacturers currently competing in IMSA and unparalleled fan access to the garage area throughout the weekend, race fans in the IMS infield can get up close and personal with their favorite sports cars, drivers and teams. Fans also will be able to camp in the IMS infield, access not available during any other race weekend. Powered and primitive spaces will be available to purchase throughout the infield for public camping.Add in IMSA’s signature pre-race Fan Walk – allowing all fans in attendance the opportunity to roam the starting grid moments before the command is given to start engines – prior to the WeatherTech Championship and Michelin Pilot Challenge races, and it will be a can’t-miss weekend for race fans.The WeatherTech Championship race marks the return of top-level IMSA competition to the Speedway for the first time since 2014, when co-drivers Christian Fittipaldi and Joao Barbosa claimed the Brickyard Grand Prix victory for Action Express Racing in their No. 5 Corvette Daytona Prototype. The first IMSA race at the Speedway was a three-hour GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series event in 2012 won by Starworks Motorsport co-drivers Alex Popow and Sebastien Bourdais.Looking forward, IMSA will return to IMS in 2024 and 2025, as well, for longer endurance races. Fans who purchase race tickets or infield camping in 2023 will have first access to secure those spots for the 2024 IMSA endurance race.Please visit IMSA.com and IMS.com for more information about the IMSA Battle on the Bricks.
NASCAR practices run in between the Indycar sessions.
Indycar once again gets to be a guest in their own house. The Gallagher Grand Prix, a part of Brickyard Weekend, is somewhat a leftover from the pandemic years when Indycar scrambled to build a schedule.
There are just four on track sessions for the series, which completes its entire program around 2:30 tomorrow afternoon.
The IMS road course has been dominated by Team Penske drivers, who have have won eight times on this layout. Will power leads the way with five, including his victory in the 2021 race on this weekend. He is the heavy favorite again.
The NTT Indycar Series has had great momentum this season with really good racing and improved attendance at most tracks. I hope the off track drama involving Alex Palou and his Chip Ganassi Racing Team, and to some extent McLaren, can be shoved completely out of the way for a couple days.
I think that may be hard, as all eyes will be on Palou’s performance and the team’s strategy. Palou has finished sixth, sixth, and 13th in his last three races and is 44 points behind leader Marcus Ericsson.
A Change at the Top?
Will Power trails Ericsson by just eight points and he has a good chance to retake the top spot tomorrow. In May, Power finished third and Ericsson fourth in the GMR Grand Prix. Power also won the pole for that race.
Will Power can take the points lead at a track where he has dominated
The results in May gave Power the points lead, which Ericsson took over two weeks later by winning the Indianapolis 500. How ironic should Power take the lead for the second time at the same track.
Will Newgarden Race?
Late Thursday afternoon, the Indycar medical staff cleared Josef Newgarden to drive in this morning’s practice only. He will undergo another evaluation afterwards to determine if his weekend can continue.
Newgarden is third in points, 34 points behind. Missing a race would be a severe blow to his title chances, but the health and safety of the drivers has to take priority here.
Rookie Battle Tightening
Christian Lundgaard’s DNF Sunday and David Malukas’ eighth place finish shrunk Lundgaard’s lead to just four points in the rookie standings. I think Malukas will take the lead after tomorrow’s race. He has matured quickly after a difficult start to the season.
Consistency from AMSP?
Pato O’Ward had a win and a second place last weekend. Felix Rosenqvist finished seventh Sunday after crashing out of Race 1 at Iowa. The team has had difficulty stringing successful weekends together. If O’Ward is to make a run at the title, a series of strong results is imperative.
Notes
I think this is Power’s race to lose. The end of the season is setting up with some intramural team battles. Team Penske has Power and Newgarden , Ganassi has Ericsson, Scott Dixon, and Palou is still in the mix.
Tomorrow will be Alexander Rossi’s last race for Andretti Autosport at IMS. It’s sad to see his time at the team end on such a sour note. Rossi won the Indianapolis 500 as a rookie in 2016 with Andretti.
IMS has scheduled a major announcement at 11 AM this morning in the Dex Imaging Media Center. I suspect a new series is coming to the track in 2023.
Newgarden crashed on while leading on lap 235 of Sunday’s HyVee Salute to Farmers 300. He was released from the track medical center, then later lost conscious and received a cut to the back of his head.
Santino Ferrucci remains on standby should Newgarden not be allowed to continue after tomorrow morning’s practice.
One driver is now off the table with speculation building over who gets to drive the Ganassi 10 or the Andretti 1 next year. Callum Ilott and Juncos-Hollinger have a new two year agreement. Ilott a rookie, is 21st in points, but has qualified well on the road courses. He finished 11th and 12th last weekend at Iowa after starting 22nd in both races.
As for why he chose to stay at juncos-Hollinger Racing, Ilott said,
“At the end of the day Ricardo and Brad have put a lot of investment in from the beginning, gave me the opportunity to come out here. The trust in them and the trust in me, vice versa, I really respected that. We did the deal quite early on this year to continue. I’m a man of my word. Of course, there was a lot of interest from other people, but I was very honest from the very beginning if anyone approached me, Look, this is what the situation is. But, yeah, I’m very happy to continue. I think we’ve got a lot of momentum. Also there’s interest for engineers and people to join as well. I think as a team we’ll grow, hopefully quickly. It could be slowly, but we’re definitely on the right track to improve.”
Ilott at Mid Ohio
The team has done a great job as a one car team, but they are looking to expand. Co-owner Brad Hollinger announced,
“We’re targeting (a second car) next year right now. Ricardo can allude to that a little bit more for that. We’re happy to say that is the game plan for sure. In terms of drivers, I’ll turn that over to Ricardo.”
Juncos added,:
“It is quite difficult, INDYCAR, right? One of the key components is the system, the engineers, how you apply all that. We’re going to prioritize the quality. Having one car, you still can perform quite okay. No question the second car will put us to the next level. That’s intention. But, like I said, we need to make sure is properly first, not just do two cars just because, because otherwise can be the whole program damaged. We’re working very hard to see how we’re going to put the program together. As of today, we don’t know that yet, but that’s clearly the way to go.”
Ilott is looking forward to having an experienced teammate.
“I mean, from my side, I would like someone to teach me what I haven’t been taught. Obviously that’s a hard one to learn what you don’t know in a sense. So, yeah, if someone was super experienced and can teach me some stuff on the oval, someone who can develop the team. Otherwise I think they’re going to have a tough time competing against me for speed. Otherwise, yeah, help develop the team as much as possible, see what I can get out of them. That’s my personal side of things.”
Juncos explained why his team chose not to form a technical alliance with a larger team.
“If we are doing good now with one car team, no technical alliance, if you can add a second car, I think we’re going to be doing our own things. I’m quite happy and secure doing that more than a technical alliance. Also there is no one that I can see willing to align with us on the technical area as well.”
The team has performed quite well this year considering they are the only single car team on the grid and the driver is a rookie. It will be interesting to see how much they improve in 2023.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 