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
The quest is over at last. Will Power not only took a huge step toward his second Indycar championship, he made history today by winning the pole fo the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey. Oower is now the all time career leader in earned poles with 68. Mario Andretti had held the record for 29 years, Andretti greeted Power in the pits to congratulate him.
Indycar photo by Joe Skibinski
Reflecting on his achievement, Power said, “Tremendous milestone. To be out there with an iconic guy like Mario is amazong. When I think about the era he raced i, how dangerous it was and how much more of a risk it was, it just blows my mind I’m there with Mario.”
Power’s title hopes recieved a boost in Round 1 when second place Josef Newgarden spun in turn 8 and stalled the car,ending his day. Newgarden will start last. Scott Dixon, who also trails Power by 20 points, just missed advancing to the next round. He was 0.087 seconds slower than teammate Marcus Ericsson.
Rookie David Malukas led Group 1 and Felix Rosenqvist led Group 2. neither advanced to the Fast Six. Alexander Rossi led the second round, while Power finished third.
In the Fast Six Power took the lead early and held on. Rookie Callum Ilott will start second, 0.02 seconds behind Power.
Ilott starts a career best second tomorrow
Notes
Two time Laguna Seca pole sitter Colton Herta did not get out of round 1 and will start 18th tomorrow. Herta had won the last two races here.
David Malukas will start seventh after leading group 1. Christian Lundgaard starts 16th. Lundgaard has five point lead over Malukas for Rookie of the Year.
If Power wins tomorrow, he will tie Michael Andretti for third place in career victories with 42.
Winning a race from pole has been difficult this season.Only Scott McLaughlin has done it. Mclaughlin won at Long Beach and Portland after qualifying first.
I remeber at the end of the 1977 Indianapolis 500, when A.J. Foyt won his fourth 500, thinking I would never see anything inracing more historic. Shows how much I know.
Alex Palou led the pre qualifying practice session for the Firestoine Grand Prix of Monterey this morning with a fast time of 1:11.3847. Alxander Rossi was second fastest at 1;11.6920.
Points leader Will Power was third, 0.33 seconds behind. Josef Newgarden, second in points was fourth, and Scott Dixon, third in points, was sixth.
There was one red flag for Pato O’Ward about halfway throught the session.
Early in the session, thre rrokies were up front. Callum Ilott led, followed by David Malukas and Christian Lundgaard. It was a fun glimpse at the future of Indycar.
Callum Ilott
Lundgaard finished the session in seventh, Ilott was ninth, and Malukas tenth.
Colton Herta looks to dominate at his home track again
Today’s Schedule All Times Pacific
:45 – 8:00 T&S On Track 8:15 – 8:45 Qualifying Spec Racer Ford 9:00 – 9:15 Warmup US Touring Car Championship 9:30 – 10:00 Qualifying 1 and Qualifying 2 Indy Lights 10:15 – 11:15 Practice 2 NTT INDYCAR SeriesPeacock 11:30 – 12:00 Race 1 Spec Racer Ford 12:25 – 1:20 Race 1 Indy LightsPeacock 2:05 – 3:20 Qualifying NTT INDYCAR SeriesPeacock 3:30 – 4:00 Autograph Session Indy Lights 3:35 – 4:25 Race 1 US Touring Car Championship 4:40 – 5:10 Race 2 Spec Racer Ford 5:25 – 6:35 Two Seater Rides
Good morning from cloudy California. A brief rain shower may occur in about an hour, but it should have no impact on today;s action. Qualifying today could give us a better idea of who may take possession of the Astor Cup tomorrow.
:45 – 8:00 T&S On Track 8:15 – 8:45 Qualifying Spec Racer Ford 9:00 – 9:15 Warmup US Touring Car Championship 9:30 – 10:00 Qualifying 1 and Qualifying 2 Indy Lights 10:15 – 11:15 Practice 2 NTT INDYCAR Series Peacock 11:30 – 12:00 Race 1 Spec Racer Ford 12:25 – 1:20 Race 1 Indy Lights 2:05 – 3:20 Qualifying NTT INDYCAR Series Peacock 3:30 – 4:00 Autograph Session Indy Lights 3:35 – 4:25 Race 1 US Touring Car Championship 4:40 – 5:10 Race 2 Spec Racer Ford 5:25 – 6:35 Two Seater Rides
Will Power can help hgis title hopes with another pole
Drivers described the track as slippery with high tire degradation yesterday. We could see qualifying rounds with minimal laps run.
Team Penske looks to be the favorite for the pole as of yesterday, with all three cars in the top 11 in practice. Colton Herta can never be counted out at this track either.
The Ganassi team, who =tested here last Monday, ended practice 10th (Ericsson), 14th (Palou), and 17th (Dixon), In a post practice statement, Dixon said they decided to try something new in practice. Seems a bit late wigth a championship on the line. I hope they find their way back,
I’ll be back after the morniung practice with a summary ab=nd to set up the qualifying rounds.
Josef Newgarden fired the first shot as the battle for the series title began this afternoon at Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca. Newgarden’s lap of 1:11.410 beat Colton Herta by 0.41 seconds.
Andretti Autosport finished second, third, and forth. Herta was followed by Romain Grosjean and Alexander Rossi.
Callum Ilott was fifth fastest.
Points leader Will Power was seventh. The other title contenderrs, Marcus Ericsson and Scott Dixon, were 10th and 17th. The Ganassi team tested here Monday.
Dixon explained, “We came with a pretty different setup than what we did at the test. WE just wanted to try a few different things. We could see that the 8 car already backed up some of those, so mit looked like he moved in a positive direction. Still, all of us outside the top 10 is not ideal. We’ll work out of here and see, make what we can out of it. It’s going to be a pretty high (degradation) race.”
David Malukas, second nin the rookie of the year battle, was ninth, and rookie leader Christian Lundgaard had the 15th fastest lap.
Asked if his quick time is representative of his advantage over the field,, Newgarden said,
“It’s hard to say. I didn’t even really put together my best lap, and I’m sure that was the case for the majority of the field. It’s always hard to read off the first session. I think we’ll tighten up tomorrow. But just the early read is good. I felt like we made really good use of our short time that we had today and short set of tires that we had. We didn’t have a lot to work off of. So I feel good early, but I feel like it’s early days.”
Good morning or good afternoon, wherever you are. We are two hours from the first Indy Lights practice, followed by the first Indycar practice.
Some news items to catch up on.
Not a huge surprise, but Scott mcLaughlin has signed a multi year deal with Team Penske. The second year driver has three poles and three wins this season.
In a huge boost to the Indy Lights Series, HMD announced their intention to field eight Indy Lights cars in 2023. There have been years when the Lights field barely had eight cars. HMD currently runs points leader Linus Lundqvist, who should wrap up the championship this weekend.
Lundqvist said he wants to finish his championship “on a high.”
I’m hearing the chances of Colton Herta getting a super license exemption to race in Formula 1 are slim.
Championship Strategy
Josef Newgarden said he will approach this weekend mostly like any other.
“…you treat it to be the same as always, working on trying to maximize the car trying to make your points like oh, this is gonna be the same regardless.”
About the decision to test at Portland instead of Laguna Seca, Newgarden said,
“We tried a different strategy I think it worked for us at Portland for sure. But you know what time is gonna tell if that was the right decision or not. I think we feel good confident about that.”
Kirkwood on Moving On
Kyle Kirkwood
Kyle Kirkwood reflected on his time with A. J. Foyt Racing and moving to Andretti autosport next year.
“It’s bittersweet, because, and I really, I really wanted to win with this team. It’s great. The guys really like a family atmosphere, you kind of feel the heritage within the team. . So I’m gonna go into powerhouse team , like Andretti Autosport. Knowing I’m gonna have a good car atalmost all events and so it’s, it’s good for that sense. But it’s also it’s also bitter in the sense that it kind of feels like a moment leaving a family. So we’ll definitely be emotional. But I mean, no matter what, it’s good for everyone.. , One thing I can definitely take away from the season is we’ve definitely developed the car better, especially on street courses. But we definitely progressed on everything, got the car in a better spot, whoever fills into that number 14 car is gonna be in a better spot than where I was at the end of the season, which is nice to know from just my own knowledge.
Working with really good .teammates is the main thing I’ve never really had a teammate to push me in the past couple years. And given the lineup stays the same, it’s gonna be a ton of fun working with all of them, because I know they’re all stellar drivers and they’ll all push me to do better and, and actually be very valuable stuff and whatnot. So that’s something I’m extremely lucky. “
Kirkwood doesn’t necessarily feel pressure jumping into the 27 car. “Rossi has obviously done very well, because eight wins in that car over a few seasons almost won a championship. So while there is pressure, it’s obvious that the cars would be good, but I think people understand that I’m coming in just after a rookie season and coming out with a new team and stuff. So I can’t be expected to be right out of the gate. It’s gonna stay right but as it goes along the road, it’s probably gonna pressure me to get up to his level, if not better him. So yeah, there’s a little bit of pressure involved, but there’s always pressure “
8:30 – 8:45 T&S On Track 9:00 – 9:30 Practice 1 Spec Racer Ford 9:45 – 10:15 Practice 1 US Touring Car Championship 10:30 – 10:45 OEM Laps 11:45 – 12:15 Practice 2 Spec Racer Ford 12:15 – 1:15 NTT INDYCAR Autograph Session 12:30 – 1:00 Practice 2 US Touring Car Championship 1:15 – 2:05 Practice Indy Lights 2:30 – 3:45 Practice 1 NTT INDYCAR Series Peacock 4:00 – 4:30 Qualifying US Touring Car Championship 4:45 – 5:30 Two Seater Rides
I hate writing the preview for this particular race because it means the season ends in two days. 2022 has been a year of great racing and a tight championship points battle. But, the year end review has to wait ntil we see how the final chapter plays out.
While the main focus is on who wins the championship, there are a couple other stories to watch this weekend.
The Astor Cup Goes To…
With just 20 points separating the top three drivers and Marcus Ericsson just 39 points behind, any of the four has a shot. Realistically, I think it is Will Power’s title to lose.
The chart Indycar posted yesterday shows ahy Power is in good shape.
YEAR
LEADER
SECOND
LEAD
CHAMPION
2008
Scott Dixon
Helio Castroneves
30
Scott Dixon
2009
Scott Dixon
Dario Franchitti
5
Dario Franchitti
2010
Will Power
Dario Franchitti
12
Dario Franchitti
2011
Will Power
Dario Franchitti
11
Dario Franchitti
2012
Will Power
Ryan Hunter-Reay
17
Ryan Hunter-Reay
2013
Scott Dixon
Helio Castroneves
25
Scott Dixon
2014
Will Power
Helio Castroneves
51
Will Power
2015
Juan Pablo Montoya
Graham Rahal
34
Scott Dixon (-47)
2016
Simon Pagenaud
Will Power
43
Simon Pagenaud
2017
Josef Newgarden
Scott Dixon
3
Josef Newgarden
2018
Scott Dixon
Alexander Rossi
29
Scott Dixon
2019
Josef Newgarden
Alexander Rossi
41
Josef Newgarden
2020
Scott Dixon
Josef Newgarden
32
Scott Dixon
2021
Alex Palou
Pato O’Ward
35
Alex Palou
2022
Will Power
Josef Newgarden
20
?
Not since 2015, the first year the final race went to a road course, has a driver come from behind to snatch a title in the final race of the season. Scott Dixon, tied for second with Josef Newgarden this year, accomplished the feat. Dixon won the title on a tiebreaker. Newgarden holds the tiebreaker, most wins over all contenders. Dixon holds the tiebreaker over Power.
Power simply needs to finish third to win the title, or stay ahead of the other contenders.
Qualifying
Saturday’s qualifying results will have a huge impact on who finishes where during the race.It should be the most intense qulaifying session of the season. Power has four poles this season, and a fifth would go a long way toward his championship.
The Other Title
David Malukas
The race for Rookie of the Year has also come down to the last race of the yhear. Christian Lundgaard’s once healthy lead over David Malukas is down to five points. Both drivers have had a podium, both Lundgaard and Malukas have had strong second halves of the season. I think Malukas has a bit more momentum right now, and I think he will end up with the rookie honor.
Last Rides
Alexander Rossi and the NAPA livery have been a fixyture on the circuit for seven years.
At least four drivers will be driving one final time for their current team. The saddest parting of all is Alexander Rossi, who will leave Andretti and the 27 car for Arrow McLaren SP. Rossi burst on the Indycar scene wit his shocking win at the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 as a rookie. It will be strange not seeing him in the 27 in 2023. Next year will be the second year in a row we need to get used to a different driver in a famliar Andretti livery.
Kyle Kirkwood will move from A. J. Foyt Racing to Rossi’s 27 at Andretti. This kove was virtually predetermined before this year began. I hope Kirkwood will have a better year next season with Andretti.
Alex Palou will most likely not be oin the 10 for Chip Ganassi next season. here he drives in the McLaren stable is still unclear. IT may be a while before we see Palou in an Indycar again.
Felix Rosenqvist may or may not be having his final Indycar ride for AMSP Sunday. His situation is unclea. He could even be with a different team in 2023. What I finsd sad is that Rosenqvist and Pato O’Ward have been arguably the best teammates at working together on the grid. Their cars are consistently equal each weekend. This pair of drivers are the fiercest competitors on track and they support each other.
Herta off to F1?
Is Sunday Colton Herta’s last Indycar drive for a while? A decision about his F1 super license will come early next week. If it is, we could se him leave with another dominating performance on a track his family owns, racing wise.ert
Will David Malukas return to Coyne? I would love to see what he could do in a second season there, but openeings at bigger teams will be beckoning. Malukas has shown steady growth throughout the year, and he could shine in 2023.,
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 