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500 Field Update- How Many Beyond 33?

February 15, 2021February 18, 2021 thepitwindow4 Comments

We are just 104 days from the 105th running of the Indianapolis 500, and the entry list for the race stands 29 confirmed cars and drivers. This is a great number for this time, and while bumping is not guaranteed yet, it seems more possible then it ever did in 2021. Here is a rundown of who has committed:

Chevrolet

Team Penske (4)-Josef Newgarden, Will Power, Simon Pagenaud, Scott McLaughlin

A. J. Foyt Racing (3)- Sebastien Bourdais, Dalton Kellett, Charlie Kimball

Carlin Racing (1)- Max Chilton

Arrow McLaren SP (3)- Pato O’Ward, Felix Rosenqvist, Juan Pablo Montoya

Ed Carpenter Racing (3) – Ed Carpenter, Rinus VeeKay, Conor Daly

Paretta (1)- Simona De Silcvestro

Honda

Andretti Autosport (5)-Colton Herta, Alexander Rossi, Ryan Hunter-Reay, James Hinchcliffe, Marco Andretti

Chip Ganassi Racing(4)- Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson, Alex Palou, Tony Kanaan

Dale Coyne Racing (1)- Ed Jones, 2 TBA

Meyer Shank Racing (2)- Jack Harvey, Helio Castroneves

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (2)- Takuma Sato, Graham Rahal

Other entries may come from a third Rahal entry,

Other entries may come from a third Rahal entry, Dreyer and Reinbold with one or two cars, and possibly a sixth Andretti entry. These possible additions would get the field to 33 or 34.

It would be great to have at least 35 cars and have a bit of a battle for the final two spots. How qualifying is set up this year remains to be seen. I will discuss my ideas in a later post.

Notes: Castroneves Swaps Barber for Nashville; Alonso Injured

February 13, 2021 thepitwindow

Three time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves has changed his six race schedule with Meyer Shank Racing. Castroneves will now race at the Music City Grand Prix August 8. He will not drive in the Honda Grand Prix of Alabama. The other races on his slate this year remain- the 105th running of the Indianapolis 500, the IMS road course race August 14, Portland, Laguna Seca, and Long Beach.

Castroneves’s number 06 car will carry sponsorship from Transcard at Nashville.

Alonso Fractures Jaw

Fernando Alonso fractured his jaw in a cycling accident Thursday. The two time world F1 champion was hit by a car. He suffered a broken jaw and underwent surgery. Alonso expects to be ready to drive in the F1 season opener. he is driving for Alpine, the former Renault team in 2021. Formula 1 begins with the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix March 28.

1930: Program Has a Familiar Format

February 12, 2021February 12, 2021 thepitwindow

Note: The Pit Window offers condolences to James Hinchcliffe and his family on the loss of James’ father. Please keep the hinchcliffe’s in your thoughts.

Looking for a bargain at a memorabilia show is fun. Finding one is even better. The show at the Dallara factory last month. turned up a couple of beauties. I purchased programs from the 1930 and 1932 Indianapolis 500 Mile Races for $5 each. These programs are the first ones in my collection outside the Hulman era of Speedway history. Eddie Rickenbacker had bought the track in 1927 from the Carl Fisher and his group. I expected the contents to be completely different from the programs in my lifetime. To my surprise, the format was very similar to what we see today and throughout the Hulman ownership. While there were some tweaks to the content, it seemed like a very familiar program.

Still, there were a few things missing which I found odd. There is no recap of the 1929 race, nor does Ray Keech, the 1929 winner, appear anywhere except in an advertisement. He is even omitted from one of three pages of cameos of previous winners. Keech was killed in a racing accident June 15, just two weeks after the 500.

There is an interesting essay by C. F. Kettering talking about a coming fossil fuel shortage. It warns that fossil fuel supplies will be exhausted in 15 years at the current rat of consumption. I didn’t realize energy consumption was such a concern at that time. It is a very prescient and still relevant article.

The memorial page, which thankfully we don’t see very often any more, only has a tribute to Gaston Chevrolet, who died 10 years earlier in a racing accident. The page seems to have come from the 1921 program.

The rest of the usual pages are there- Order of the Day, a timing chart, a page with the Speedway principals, and a race day scoring chart.

1930 Speedway administration. Notice the banner. The wing and wheel was still a few years away.

The track had a different look in 1930. The first and second turns look more like one curve than they do today. The photo reminded me a bit of Gateway’s track, although the curve is not as severe.

The race began at 10 am. The prerace ceremonies consisted largely of bands, three marches and the national anthem, and bombs-lots of bombs. Between 9:45 and the start of the race at 10, nine bombs went off, one every few minutes. The winning driver would receive the princely sum of $20,000. Thqat was actually not too bad for a depression era race.

Two ads that won’t be in the 2021 program, or any program in the near future were for Goodyear tires and bricks.

What i like about this ad is the photo of the grid beginning the pace lap.

What would a 500 program be without an order form for the following year’s race?

Driver cameo pages appear at random places throughout.

Thirty eight cars started the race. Billy Arnold took the lead on lap 3 and kept it for the rest of the day. The 198 laps led is a record unlikely to be broken. Harry Butcher started 38th and finished 14th, although he was 72 laps behind.

The 1930 program seems as if it was slapped together in a hurry. It was still fun to get a glimpse of how the speedway operated before the Hulman era began.

Kimball Joins Foyt for May in Indy

February 11, 2021 thepitwindow

Photo of Charlie Kimball by Joe Skibinski, Indycar

Charlie Kimball will return to A. J. Foyt Racing for two races in 2021, entering the GMR Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 15 and the 105th running of the Indianapolis 500 May 30. Kimball brings his Tresiba sponsorship to car number 11 this season.

In a full time ride with Foyt in 2020, Kimball had best finish of eighth in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg finale. He ended 2020 18th in the final standings. The COVID-disrupted scheduled cost Kimball and the team valuable input from Sebastien Bourdais, who was cheduled to begin the year with Foyt and help get the cars set up. Bourdais is with the team full time for the new season.

Kimball will be attempting to qualify for his 11th 500 mile race. In 2020 he finished 18th after starting 29th. He finished third in 2015 and fifth in 2016 and has two other top 10 results in the 500.

Today’s announcement brings the confirmed entry list for the Indianapolis 500 to 28. Dale Coyne with Rick Ware Racing should announce their two drivers fo May, which raises the total to 30. Getting to 33 should not be an issue. I’ll discuss the field and possible entries more next week.

In a teleconference this afternoon, Larry Foyt said he was happy to get to work with Kimball again.

“Charlie was awesome to work with last year. We know Charlie and we trust Charlie.”

KImball hopes to build on how last season ended with Foyt.

“The results at St. Pete showed the progress we made as a team. We hope to be able to build on results of that last race.”

Kimball added, “I’m very comfortable heading back to Foyt. I feel I have unfinished business. We have built a solid foundation”

Kimball regrets that series races at long Beach and Toronto were cancelled last season.

Foyt said there are no plans to run a full time third car in 2021.

“We’d love to have Charlie full time, but going to 3 full time cars would have to be a really good situation. We are just focused on results this year.”

In the past few years, Foyt said the team has had ” too many changes, no consistency in drivers or engineers. I feel like its all headed in the right direction now. The Indycar field is really strong. Getting top 5s and top 10s is the goal.”

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Indycar field is really strong. getting top 5s and top 10s is the goal.

Force Indy Taps Myles Rowe for Debut Season

February 10, 2021 thepitwindow

Photo: Miles Rowe, from Indycar

Force Indy, the USF2000 team which will begin this season with assistance from Team Penske, will have 19 year old Myles Rowe as its driver. The team is one of the steps in Indycar’s Race for Equality and Change.

Previous posts

https://thepitwindow.blog/2020/12/03/force-indy-penske-drive-for-diversity/

https://thepitwindow.blog/2020/12/03/african-american-led-ownership-group-to-compete-in-road-to-indy/

The release from Indycar:

Myles Rowe was named as Force Indy’s inaugural driver in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship during the 2021 season, starting April 15-18 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama.

“It’s a blessing, for sure,” Rowe said. “I didn’t expect to get started in open-wheel in this way. It’s definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I’m very grateful for it.”

Force Indy is a new USF2000 race team set to compete in the 2021 series. For 30 years, USF2000 has been the formative step in the ladder system, which culminates in scholarship opportunities in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. This program has grown into a proven pipeline for open-wheel racing’s future stars.

The Force Indy team looks to benefit from the tutelage of the legendary Team Penske, winners of a record 18 Indianapolis 500’s and 16 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championships, as part of the Race for Equality & Change initiative.

Rowe tested a USF2000 car in late July 2020 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as part of the Race for Equality & Change program.

“We vetted many deserving young men and women and chose Myles based on his ability and performance, inside and outside of the cockpit,” Force Indy Team Principal Rod Reid said. “He understands Force Indy’s mission of building a diverse team of talented individuals. He’s a great fit for the team.”

Since age 4, Atlanta native Rowe has been fascinated with all things racing. He’s a winner in the 2018 Lucas Oil Formula Car Race Series. In 2016, he was awarded two “Search for the Champion” grand prize championships from the Federal-Mogul Motorparts’ iconic Champion® brand.

At age 12, Rowe won the Procup Karting Championship during his first full season of racing. He’s competed in the TAG Junior category in the Superkarts USA, World Karting Association and the United States Pro Kart Series.

“I’ve been working hard for this moment with all of the practice I’ve put in since I was 12 years old,” Rowe said. “So, when the opportunity came forth, it was a relief, honestly.”

When he’s not racing, Rowe is a junior at Pace University, studying film and screen studies.

Force Indy is a race team created specifically to develop talent with a diverse group of individuals, outside as well as inside the cockpit. The foundation of Force Indy is the racing background of Reid and a mentorship alliance with Team Penske—the most successful team in motorsports history.

The team leadership brings years of experience from grassroots racing to the Road to Indy ladder system. The organization concentrates on developing skills that promote success at the highest level. Force Indy’s vision is to see motorsports grow ethnically, educationally and across gender.

Looking For a Few Good Oval Drivers; Ferrari Says No

February 8, 2021 thepitwindow

The full time grid for the 2021 NTT Indycar Series is pretty much set with 24 cars. Andretti Autosport will field one less car, but an additional car at Team Penske and another entry at Chip Ganassi Racing gives the field a net gain of one car. Two teams are still looking for someone to drive the oval portion of the schedule.

Dale Coyne Racing with rick Ware will Romain Grosjean in the 51 for the road and street courses. The team has not announced who will drive at Texas and in the Indianapolis 500. Grosjean has not ruled out driving at Gateway. Carlin Racing needs a driver for Texas and Gateway.

Cody Ware will probably drive some ovals for Coyne/Ware, but whether he is in the 51 or the part time 52 remains to be seen. It is possible that Santino Ferrucci returns to the team for the 500. In Ferrucci’s two Indianapolis appearances with Coyne, he has finished 7th and 4th.

Carlin Racing has the same situation as 2020. max Chilton will drive the road and street races as well as the 500. Conor Daly may return to drive for the team at Texas and Gateway. Daly will drive the number 20 for Ed Carpenter on the road and street races. Last year Daly won the pole at Iowa for Carlin. He earned four top 10s in his five races with Carlin.

In addition to the 24 full time entries, races other than the 500 will have additional cars. Helio Castroneves will run six races for Meyer Shank Racing. Dale Coyne with Rick Ware Racing said they will have a third car at 4-5 races besides Indianapolis. Dreyer and Reinbold may also enter some events.

The full time Grid (Road/street only drivers in bold, oval only drivers in italics:

A. J. Foyt Racing:

Sebastien Bourdais

Dalton Kellett

Andretti Autosport:

Alexander Rossi

Colton Herta

Ryan Hunter-Reay

James Hinchcliffe

Arrow McLaren SP:

Pato O’Ward

Felix Rosenqvist

Carlin Racing:

Max Chilton (road/street/ Indianapolis 500)

Chip Ganassi Racing:

Scott Dixon

Marcus Ericsson

Alex Palou

Jimmie Johnson

Tony Kanaan

Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan

Ed Jones

Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing

Romain Grosjean

Ed Carpenter Racing

Rinus VeeKay

Conor Daly

Ed Carpenter

Meyer Shank Racing:

Jack Harvey

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing:

Graham Rahal

Takuma Sato

Team Penske:

Josef Newgarden

Will Power

Simon Pagenaud

Scott McLaughlin

Ferrari Stays Home

In an announcement which surprised absolutely no one, Ferrari will not be the third OEM for Indycar. I never thought the Italian company was serious about their negotiations. Ferrari has a history of entertaining and exploring options as leverage to get what they really want.

Indycar is talking to other companies about becoming the elusive third OEM. Will there be one for 2023? The time window is closing rapidly. A third engine would pull some of the burden off of Chevrolet and Honda, especially for the Indianapolis 500. It will not necessarily create an expanded grid. This is a topic to explore whent the third OEM becomes a reality.

Back in a couple of days with a deep plunge into 500 history.

Grosjean Eager for Chance to Compete

February 4, 2021February 4, 2021 thepitwindow

” I think the excitement comes in the fact that in Formula 1, after turn one, you normally know what’s going to be the race result just because you know the pace of the car, Mercedes is going to pull away,maybe the Red Bull is going to be there. Some things can change, but nowhere as much in INDYCAR.”

Romain Grosjean summed up his excitement for joining Indycar as the newest driver in the series. He will drive car 51 for Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing. Grosjean watch more than 18 hours of Indycar races on YouTube over the Christmas holiday.

“Mid-Ohio 2018 I watched recently was Sebastien Bourdais had an issue in qualifying and started back of the field. He came back like a bullet from the gun and finished sixth just behind Scott Dixon. The race was not over. The strategy was the alternative one. He started on the black tire, went for the reds, just came back from the back. That’s not something you’re going to see in Formula 1 unless Mercedes qualified in the back, which never really happens. That was great to see.”

Dale Coyne talked about why the team had interest in Grosjean despite his lack of wins in F1.

“…we’re impressed what he did before he got to Formula 1. He won the GP2 series by 35 points. It was a year that I think nine drivers in that series made it onto Formula 1. It wasn’t a light year. He won six junior categories before that. He’s a winner. Formula 1, it’s difficult to be a winner unless you’re with the top two or three teams. So we’re going to get him over here with the fourth best team and show that he can still be a winner.”

Grosjean likes that in Indycar the driver has more input into the performance of the car.

“Well, this is something I’m very,very much looking forward to. I’ve been watching the races. The way you can follow the car in front of you, the way you can slide the tires, the way you can either try to play with your ‘push to pass’, the fact that the cars in qualifying are within 6/10ths of each other. This is all really exciting.You need to get the details right and so on. I think, yes, as you say, you don’t have the differential you can move, you don’t have the recovery and all the shaping and the braking, the systems you can have in Formula 1.I think the racing, yes, the car a little bit slower, but the racing looks much better from everything I’ve been seeing.”

Grosjean realizes he still has a lot to learn, and he wants to start sending his engineer, Olivier Boisson, data from iRacing to see if he has the right approach.

“I also told him that I can run on iRacing the INDYCAR. I can send him the data so he can see if it’s completely off the reality or not. I can learn the circuits in that aspect.”

The last five years of Foirmula 1 struggles habven’t dampened Grosjean’s enthusiasm for racing. h eis very excited to try a more competitive form of the sport in the United States.

Grosjean Joins Coyne/ Ware for Road/Street Courses

February 3, 2021 thepitwindow

Romain Grosjean will run the road and street courses in car 51 for Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing in 2021. The former F1 driver escaped serious injury in a fiery crash at the Formula 1 race in Bahrain in November. He had severe burns to his hands.

Grosjean began his Formula 1 career with Lotus in 2011. He had 10 podium finishes and was in the top 10 in the season standings in 2012 and 2013. The last five years Grosjean drove for Haas F1, a team that struggled constantly. He is looking forward to racing in a more competitive series.

Grosjean’s first test will be February 22 at Barber Motorsports Park, site of the NTT Indycar Series opener April 18.

Grosjean becomes the sixth former F1 driver in Indycar. He joins Sebastien Bourdais, Alexander Rossi, Max Chilton, Takuma Sato, and Marcus Ericsson in the series.

“Although, I’m not ready yet to take on the ovals! IndyCar has a much more level playing field than what I have been used to in my career so far. It will be exciting to challenge for podiums and wins again. My left hand is still healing, but we are just about ready to get back into the race car and to start this next chapter of my career, Grosjean said.”

Grosjean said it was a familty decision to not run the ovals this year, but he hasn’t completely ruled out running at Gateway.

“If I were 25 and single with no kids, I’d run the ovals,” he said.

Team owner Dale Coyne is thrilled with his new driver.

“We’ve been talking to Romain for some time now, even before his accident at Bahrain. He has shown interest in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES for the past several months and we’re very happy that he has chosen to pursue his career with us and excited to welcome a driver with his pedigree to America, the Series and our team. We feel that he’ll be a force to be reckoned with in the Series.”

Team co-owner Rick Ware added, “We’re thrilled to be entering our first full season of NTT INDYCAR SERIES racing with Dale Coyne Racing, and to have a driver of the caliber of Romain Grosjean to run the street and road courses makes it that much more exciting for us. We’re looking forward to this season.”

Ware said the team will announce its oval drivers and sponsors in a couple of weeks. it sounds as though there may be multiple drivers in the 51 for the ovals.

A third car, number 52, is entered for the Indianapolis 500, and “probably 4-5 more races,” according to Coyne. He has no plans for a third full time team.

Coyne begins testing at Barber Motorsports Park February 22 and will also test at Laguna Seca March 1. Coyne said the team will have four test days before the first race at barber April 18.

Back later with some quotes from the teleconference.

O’Ward Fastest in Sebring Test

February 2, 2021 thepitwindow

Pato O’Ward had the fastest time in yesterday’s Indycar test at Sebring, topping 13 other cars in his Arrow McLaren SP machine. Other teams testing included Team Penske, Andretti Autosport, Rahal Letterman Lanigan, and Ed Carpenter Racing.

O’Ward and Alexander Rossi were the only two cars to post laps under 52 seconds.

New Liveries

While the Arrow McLaren cars used their testing camo livery, the cars of Scott McLaughlin and Alexander Rossi unveiled new paint schemes for 2021. Will Power also had a variation os last year’s scheme on the 12.

McLaughlin. Photo by Chris Owens, Indycar

The times

RANK	CAR NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	ENGINE	QUICK LAP	DIFFERENCE	TOTAL LAPS
1	5	Pato O’Ward	Arrow McLaren SP	Chevrolet	51.790		124
2	27	Alexander Rossi	Andretti Autosport	Honda	51.928	-0.138	122
3	2	Josef Newgarden	Team Penske	Chevrolet	52.055	-0.265	138
4	26	Colton Herta	Andretti Autosport	Honda	52.061	-0.271	116
5	29	Oliver Askew	Andretti Autosport	Honda	52.240	-0.450	109
6	7	Felix Rosenqvist	Arrow McLaren SP	Chevrolet	52.258	-0.468	91
7	39	Takuma Sato	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	52.302	-0.512	139
8	20	Conor Daly	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	52.311	-0.521	123
9	15	Graham Rahal	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	52.356	-0.566	157
10	21	Rinus VeeKay	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	52.358	-0.568	99
11	12	Will Power	Team Penske	Chevrolet	52.362	-0.572	145
12	22	Simon Pagenaud	Team Penske	Chevrolet	52.378	-0.588	120
13	28	Ryan Hunter-Reay	Andretti Autosport	Honda	52.464	-0.674	106
14	3	Scott McLaughlin	Team Penske	Chevrolet	52.469	-0.679	130