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

Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Full Event Schedule

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All Times Pacific;

Reminder-Race is on NBCSN.

Indycar activities in bold italics.

Friday, September 24

7:30 AM Gates Open
9:00 AM – 9:20 AM Historic Formula Atlantic Challenge Practice
9:45 AM – 10:45 AM IMSA Practice
11:10 AM – 11:30 AM Stadium SUPER Trucks Practice
12:35 PM – 1:00 PM Global Time Attack Practice
1:20 PM – 2:35 PM IMSA Practice #2
3:00 PM – 3:45 PM INDYCAR Practice #1
4:00 PM – 4:20 PM Historic Formula Atlantic Challenge Qualifying
4:30 PM – 5:30 PM NTT INDYCAR SERIES All-Driver Autograph Session (INDYCAR Paddock – Open to all race attendees)
4:45 PM – 5:55 PM IMSA Qualifying
6:15 PM – 6:35 PM Super Drift Challenge Practice
6:45 PM – 8:15 PM Formula D Super Drift Challenge Competition #1

Saturday, September 25 

7:30 AM Gates Open
9:00 AM – 9:45 AM INDYCAR Practice #2
10:05 AM – 10:35 AM Stadium SUPER Trucks Race #1
10:40 AM IMSA Race Pit Set Up
11:05 AM – 11:20 AM Global Time Attack Competition #1
12:05 PM – 1:20 PM INDYCAR Qualifying & FIRESTONE FAST 6
1:30 PM IMSA Pre-Race Ceremonies Begin
2:06 PM – 3:46 PM IMSA SportsCar Grand Prix of Long Beach (100 min)
4:30 PM – 4:50 PM Historic Formula Atlantic Challenge Race #1
5:30 PM – 5:50 PM Super Drift Challenge Practice
5:30 PM Vince Neil Concert Presented by Acura and ASM Global
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM Formula D Super Drift Challenge Competition #2

Sunday, September 26

7:30 AM Gates Open
9:00 AM – 9:30 AM INDYCAR Warm Up
10:10 AM – 10:25 AM Global Time Attack Competition #2
10:45 AM – 11:05 AM Historic Formula Atlantic Challenge Race #2
11:10 AM – 11:20 AM Acura NSX Hot Laps
11:25 AM – 11:40 AM Mothers Exotic Car Parade
11:54 AM INDYCAR Pre Race Ceremonies Begin
12:05 PM Indy Cars to Grid
12:38 PM “Drivers Start Your Engines”
12:39 PM INDYCAR Pace Laps
12:45 PM – 3:00 PM ACURA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH (Season Finale of the 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES – 85 Laps)
3:30 PM – 4:00 PM Stadium SUPER Trucks Race #2

TIME CERTAIN SCHEDULE – All sessions, except as noted, to start and finish on schedule

Subject to Change without Notice

Download 2021 Event Schedule here (PDF)

2022 Schedule- The Good, The Bad, and The Meh

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The 2022 Indycar schedule which had a rather low key release yesterday- an internet story posted between the final warmup for the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey and the Indy Lights race- is not atypical of recent schedule releases. The schedule has some good, some bad, and some things that just make you shrug your shoulders. I think most of the scheduled was dictated by available slots on NBC.

The schedule:

The Good

From a selfish standpoint, this schedule is one where I could attend every race with no logistical issues whether or not I go to Florida for the winter.

Iowa returns to the schedule with a double header. The twin bill adds one more oval race to the schedule.

Fan favorite Iowa Speedway returns with two races in 2022

Toronto stays on the schedule as they make a third attempt to hold the Honda Indy. The pandemic has caused the race to be cancelled in 2020 and this year.

Fourteen of the races are on big NBC. The channel consistency makes it easier for fans to find the race and not wonder which channel to find.

Long Beach returns to its traditional spring date. I think this is a more natural time slot for the second oldest race on the calendar.

Texas’ new early date will have cooler temperatures than the June date has endured. It might change the racing, although as long as the PJ-1 compound is on the surface, not much will change.

Detroit is not a double header. I like this change, although the racing at Belle Isle has been quite good in the last two events.

The Bad

The start of the season is not to my liking. One race a month with three weeks between races is not a good way to build a strong viewer base. I have no problem with St. Pete in February, but Indycar continues its pattern of having the opening race, then a three week gap until the next weekend. This trend now extends to race three.

If there are just two races in June, spread them out. May is packed with events on all but one weekend, and the two June races follow immediately. Teams have five straight weekends of races and Indianapolis 500 qualifying.

While I am happy that Texas will run during cooler weather, the date conflicts with the Sebring 12 Hour Race. Many Indycar drivers also run that event since the teams need an extra driver. Either the Indycar drivers will miss Sebring or there will be some red eye flights out of Florida late Saturday night. I know some fans who will be torn between which event to attend. I’m saving up for my private jet starting now.

July has four events with five races, followed by just two races in August and two more in September.

Once again, the season ends too early. September 11 should be when the stretch run for the title begins. Indycar should schedule races for September 25, October 9, and the finale October 16.

The Meh

Two races, Detroit and World Wide Technology (Gateway) are on USA network. I would like to know why those races were chosen for the alternate network. Will the races on USA rotate year to year?

Toronto’s return is assigned to Peacock exclusively. Does this mean the series thinks this race’s spot is still tenuous? Again will the race that gets on peacock rotate from year to year? Are some races more equal than others?

Three Indycar races at IMS are too many. The third race, part of the Indycar/NASCAR doubleheader, should go to another venue. The double header was a nice showcase this year, but I think the concept will get old quickly. Indycar shouldn’t be the undercard to NASCAR’s minor league seies.

I appreciate how difficult it must be to put a schedule together with all the parts that must fit together, but sometimes I wonder why there have to be such huge gaps in the calendar.

The rest of the week we will talk about the season finale and the championship with possibly some driver announcements thrown in.

Herta Holds Home Court; Palou on the Brink of a Title

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Colton Herta leaves the pits after a stop. Indycar photo by Chris Jones

Some rambling thoughts on a race with some entertaining parts:

Colton Herta’s win in today’s Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey was pretty much a foregone conclusion, but there was some entertaining action behind the front two.

Herta’s two wins this year have come from the pole position. In his two victories Herta has led 188 of 195 laps.

Romain Grosjean put on quite a show, in moving from 13th on the grid to third at the end. He made some excellent passes, especially in the Corkscrew, and his altercation with Jimmie Johnson was probably the highlight of the race. Grosjean caught Johnson at the top of the hill leading to the Corkscrew, but he appeared to misjudge his speed. His car got airborne as the two collided, and Johnson was forced to go off track in the turn. How Grosjean did not have damage to nd his race I don’t know.

Indycar photo by Chris Jones

Grosjean is now just 20 points behind Scott McLaughlin for Rookie of the Year honors although he has run three fewer races.

Alex Palou started fourth and seemed content to run the entire day in second place after he fell into the position. Alexander Rossi collided with Herta in an attempt to take the lead. The two touched wheels and Rossi spun into the dirt and stalled. A lap later Will Power, who started third, pitted with an engine issue.

Palou is now very close to winning the series title next week at Long Beach. He extended his lead over Pato O’Ward to 35 points. Josef Newgarden, the only other driver who is still in contention, is 48 points behind. Newgarden needs to get the maximum 54 points while Palou finishes 25th or worse. An 11th place result next week will give Palou the title if O’Ward wins the maximum number of points. Palou is taking nothing for granted next week. After the race, he said,

“INDYCAR you cannot relax at any moment. We just keep
doing what we’ve been doing, race hard, race smart, and
hopefully we can get that championship without needing to
finish 11 or anything. We will try and get the best result as
possible.”

Another nice run for Ed Jones today with a 10th place finish. Jones is ending his time with Dale Coyne Racing on a high note. He has qualified and raced well except for Gateway.

Simon Pagenaud ‘s eighth place was his best finish in a while. This has been Pagenaud’s best weekend of the year.

Oliver Askew has done enough this weekend to earn a ride somewhere for 2022. In just his second race for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, the former Indy Lights champion qualified fifth and came home ninth. I’m not sure theses last three races are an audition for RLL, but I’m sure someone in the paddock has noticed what he did.

O’Ward’s fifth place seems surprising. He was fighting the car and the tires all day, yet pretty much maintained his spot in the top five. he will be a champion some year.

Scott Dixon charged into the top five on the first lap, then faded after colliding with Takuma Sato. I can’t remember the last time Indycar went into the season’s last race without Scott Dixon having a chance at the championship. Still, he will finish fourth in the standings.

Jimmie Johnson recorded his best Indycar finish, 19th. He showed some competitiveness, making a couple of passes for position and had that great battle with Grosjean.

I thought that NBC could have spent some time in the prerace show talking about the schedule for 2022. I didn’t like seeing it mentioned during the race when it cut away from on track action. You would think they would have given it more emphasis since 14 of the races will be on NBC.

Honda clinched the engine manufacturer’s title with Herta’s win.

Race Day at Laguna Seca-Tires and Title Hopes

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Alex Palou can move closer to the Astor Cup today. Indycar photo by Joe Skibinski

Today’s schedule: All Times Pacific

Today’s race will determine how many are still left to fight for the championship next weekend in Long Beach. Josef Newgarden and Scott Dixon are on the brink of elimination given their starting spots. Pato O’Ward should still be in the hunt after today, and points leader Alex Palou has things pretty much in his control. Anyone who leaves the track 50 or more points behind is out of contention.

The winner has started on pole here 15 times in the 23 previous races, and every winner has started in the top six. As unpredictable as 2021 has been, that tradition might get a bit of a shakeup today.

Tire degradation and grip are going to be crucial for success in the race. In the post qualifying media conference, Herta said about tires,

“My initial feeling is that it’s going to be a black race. You’re
going to want to get off those red tires. I guess the
important thing we’ll try to learn about is how long can we
make those tires last before the huge dropoff comes in.”

The race is 95 laps, five laps longer than the 2019 distance. Teams will likely make three stops. A two stop strategy would be very iffy.

Alexander Rossi added, “The tire deg is pretty aggressive. I don’t know what that
means (smiling). A lot of people are wanting to pit for new
tires, like in practice after 12 laps, and we got to go 25.
There’s going to be a lot of screaming on the radio from people.”

Rossi also talked about the tendency tooverdrive the track, which has resulted in numerous off course incidents so far this weekend.

“But also you can’t
underdrive. It’s one of those places, it’s a pretty fine line. I
think on street courses you’re rewarded for trying as hard
as possible most of the time. Some of the road courses,
it’s a little better. Like Indy GP, I feel it’s better to almost
underdrive. Here you have to be on the 100%, not 101%,
not 99%. ”

Indy Lights

Kyle Kirkwood led flag to flag in yesterday’s race and now leads David Malukas by eight points. He is on the pole again for Race 2 today. The Indy Lights season concludes at Mid Ohio October 1-3.

I’ll have a warmup summary and of course post race comments later today.

Herta Family Tradition Continues; Palou Fastest Contender

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Indycar photo by James Black

Some thoughts on a wild qualifying session:

This event should be renamed the Herta Family Invitational. Colton Herta’s pole today is the fifth for the family. His father Bryan won three straight pole from 1997-1999, and now Colton has two in a row. The elder Herta also won the race in 1998 and 1999, which almost makes the winner tomorrow a foregone conclusion. I don’t think it will be that simple, though.

Herta has three poles and five second place starts this season. His results from the front row have been mixed, and he has just one win.

It was an exciting, dramatic session to set the grid for tomorrow’s 95 lap race. The points leader just squeezed into the second round, the two cars that led the practice sessions did not advance, and off track excursions led to drivers losing positions.

It has been a long time since we have seen an all Andretti front row. Alexander Rossi moved to the front row due to Power’s penalty.

I feel bad for Scott McLaughlin, who looked to be in position to advance, but pitted when he had time for another lap. I’m sure it was a communication mixup.

Herta beat Power’s best lap by .027 seconds as time expired. Power’s lap was deleted because he did not slow for a local yellow.

Alex Palou was the fastest of the title contenders. After barely escaping Round 1, Palou made the Fast Six and he will start fourth. O’Ward was the only other driver with a chance at the title to make the Fast Six. O’Ward starts sixth after losing his fastest two laps when he spun off course. Josef Newgarden will start 17th tomorrow, his second consecutive ninth row start. Scott Dixon will start eighth.

The star of qualifying today was Oliver Askew. He took RLL’s third car to the Fast Six, led his Round 1 group, and will start between Palou and O’Ward. Today was Askew’s second career appearance in the Fast Six.

It was nice to see Simon Pagenaud have a respectable qualifying day. Pagenaud has struggled in qualifying all season. He made the second round today and will start ninth.

What happens to Newgarden’s car in qualifying? For the second week in a row, the two time champion was one of the fastest in practice, but did not make it out of Round 1.

McLaughlin Tops Practice 2; Palou Leads Title Hopefuls

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Indycar photo by Chris Jones

Rookie Scott McLaughlin recorded the fastest time in the final warmup before Indycar qualifying with a time of 1:10.875. For the second day, Colton Herta was second, this time 0.18 seconds behind. Team Penske placed all four cars in the top 10, with Simon Pagenaud fourth, Will Power fifth, and Josef Newgarden 10th.

Points leader Alex Palou was third quickest, the best of the top three title contenders. Newgarden was 10th and Pato O’Ward was 20th. Scott Dixon, still mathematically eligible, finished the session 18th.

Qualifying begins at 5:05

The top 10:

Qualifying Groups:

Group 1 Group 2

Colton Herta Scott McLaughlin

Simon Pagenaud Alex Palou

Felix Rosenqvist Will Power

Ryan Hunter-Reay Alexander Rossi

Josef Newgarden Alexander Rossi

Marcus Ericsson Ed Jones

Graham Rahal Jack Harvey

Romain Grosjean James Hinchcliffe

Scott Dixon Oliver Askew

Pato O’Ward Max Chilton

Sebastien Bourdais Callum Ilott

Jimmie Johnson Helio Castroneves

Takuma Sato Conor Daly

Rinus VeeKay

Dalton Kellett

Qualifying Day

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Today’s Schedule (All Times Pacific):

Teams have one more 45 minute practice session to get their cars ready. Colton Herta and Josef Newgarden said they each used just one set of tires yesterday. Both drivers said conditions were similar to when they tested at Weather Tech Raceway earlier in the year.

Today’s qualifying is arguably the most important session of the year for the top three in points. On a track where passing is difficult, starting position is important. Newgarden said, “… it’s important to start up front here. I think
it’s a little bit harder to pass here than at other places.”

He went on to add that it is still possible to move up if you have a good car, and the tire degradation isn’t too bad.

This morning’s practice to set qualifying groups is also important for the title contenders to get in a group where advancing to the second round is the least challenging.

Ed Jones has found some pace on the west coast. At Portland the Dale Coyne driver qualified eighth and finishes 11th. He was fourth in practice yesterday. Jones also finished sixth at Nashville. Despite his late season burst of speed, Jones likely will not return to this seat in 2022.

Indy Lights– Kyle Kirkwood is on the pole for Race 1 today. The race follows Indycar’s second practice. Kirkwood trails David Malukas by just four points with only four races remaining.

Newgarden Fastest on Slippery Dusty Track

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Josef Newgarden led the field in the opening practice for the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey. Defending winner Colton Herta was second, followed by points leader Alex Palou.

Helio Castroneves locked up and went deep into the dirt, narrowly missing the tire barrier with 18 minutes left in the practice round. Scott McLaughlin stalled on course with about 20 seconds left, and the red flag ended the session.

Weather Tech Raceway was quite slippery this afternoon, with several cars going off track and sending large dust clouds obscuring the vision of drivers behind the errant cars.

Newgarden and Palou were the only title contenders in the top 10. Pato O’Ward was 14th and Scott Dixon was 11th. Newgarden was the only Chevrolet in the top 10. His best lap was 0.08 seconds better than Herta’s fastest circuit. Palou was 0.26 seconds behind.

The top 10:

Date Change for St. Pete

The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the opening race of the Indycar Series, will be earlier in 2022 and 2023. In 2022 the race weekend is February 24-27, and in 2023 the season begins March 2-6. I understand the date changes are because of television network availability.