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

Road America- Birthplace of Rookies on Pole

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Louis Foster took the pole for tomorrow’s XPel Grand Prix in the car that he crashed last Sunday night. It was the second straight year that a rookie has won the pole at Road America. Linus Lundqvist won the pole in 2024.

Foster earned the first pole for RLL Racing since 2023 in Portland when Graham Rahal started at the point. Rahal was also in the Fast Six today, and he will start sixth.

RLL drivers have flirted with the pole before in 2025. Rahal nearly started first in the Sonsio Grand Prix at IMS.

With Robert Shwartzman winning the pole for the Indianapolis 500, two rookies have poles halfway through the season. I am sure someone will find another time that this has occurred.

Notes

It was not the day Team Penske hoped for. Scott McLaughlin was the only driver to advance to the Fast Six while Will Power will start eighth and Josef Newgarden will start 10th. Newgarden got intom the second round when Scott Dixon received a penalty for impeding another driver.

Points leader Alex Palou starts second and Kyle Kirkwood, thiSaturday usually draws a large rd in points, starts third. Second place Pato O’Ward starts 11th.

Today’s attendance was arguably the largest Saturday crowd I’ve seen here. I watched qualifying from the top of hte hill at turn five. The area looked like it normally does on race day.

Results

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Prepares To Introduce Innovative New Car for 2028

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From IndyCar:

 INDIANAPOLIS (Saturday, June 21, 2025) – INDYCAR is providing a status update on the new race car the series will introduce and implement for the 2028 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, which was also shared with team owners today at Road America. Extensive planning and collaborative design work continues for the new chassis, with thorough on-track testing scheduled for early 2026.
Dallara will produce the chassis, which will feature a look designed to appeal to a new generation of fans while keeping styling cues recognized by all as an INDYCAR SERIES car. Dallara has produced chassis for the series since 1997 and has been the series’ exclusive chassis supplier since 2008.
“The time has come for a new NTT INDYCAR SERIES chassis,” INDYCAR President J. Douglas Boles said. “The DW12 served the series so well, as it provided a combination of phenomenal, wheel-to-wheel racing and critical enhancements to safety. But recent significant updates to the car – from the aeroscreen to the hybrid power unit – have helped advance the need for a completely new car. We are pleased by what our engineers and Dallara have collaboratively designed and believe it will appeal to the fans and paddock while also upholding our standards of safety and enhancing INDYCAR’s on-track competition well into the future.”
Three areas – competition, powertrain development and safety – are pillars of the engineering, design and development of the new car.
The new car will enhance the ultra-competitive nature of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES by being even better suited for racing on all four types of circuits the series visits – superspeedways, short ovals, street circuits and permanent road courses. Evolution of the new chassis has included work by Dallara and recently developed simulation technology, aimed at enhancing overall raceability.
Working in tandem with Dallara and other component suppliers, the overall car design includes a projected weight reduction of 85-100 pounds compared to the current INDYCAR SERIES chassis.
Plans also include a move a 2.4-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 internal combustion engine, which is expected to provide more torque and power over the current engine formula.Xtrac, an exclusive supplier for INDYCAR since 2000, will continue to provide transmissions for the new chassis. Development for 2028 includes a gearbox that will shed 25 pounds from the currently used unit and one that will share components with a future INDY NXT by Firestone gearbox – streamlining components for teams also involved in INDYCAR’s development series.
Low-voltage hybrid engine technology, introduced to series competition with a successful launch in July 2024, will continue to evolve in the new car with longer deployment, more horsepower gain and overall improved performance.
Performance Friction Corporation (PFC) once again will be the exclusive supplier of brake system components for the series, as it has since 2017.Safety also will continue to be a focus of Dallara’s design, in close collaboration with INDYCAR technical and medical response officials.
The new car will bolster safety to new benchmarks with an ergonomic driver cockpit to improve seating position, an integrated aeroscreen and a new roll hoop. The existing chassis was retrofitted with the aeroscreen upon that revolutionary safety device’s introduction in 2020.
Renderings and more information about the new car, along with additional partners, will be announced at a later date.This new car update and plan continues the upward trajectory of North America’s premier open-wheel series.
Recent milestones include FOX viewership results of a 27% year-over-year gain while averaging 2 million viewers for the 2025 season, a partnership renewal with longtime tire supplier Firestone, the announcement of the INDYCAR Grand Prix of Arlington in partnership with the Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers and city of Arlington, Texas, starting in 2026 and the acquisition of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach by Penske Entertainment.
The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES race is the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR. Coverage of Round 9 of the 17-race 2025 championship begins at 1:30 p.m. ET Sunday, June 22 on FOX, FOX Deportes and the FOX Sports app. Coverage also available via the award winning INDYCAR Radio Network on SiriusXM channel 218 and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA. 

Road America Saturday- The Heat is On

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Today’s schedule all sessions on FS. Times Central

9 am- IndyNXT Practice 2

10 am- IndyCar Practice 2

12:30 pm Indy NXT Qualifications

1:30 pm IndyCar Qualifications

Weather from @Indycar_Wxman

if you are at the track, please stay hydrated. Although there is a breeze, it may n ot provide much relief. Stay safe, fans.

Temperatures for practice will not be too bad, but at qualifying time things could change. How will the cars react to very different conditions from yesterday/ Will the hybrid units have any issues?

I could see a second straight Team Penske front row lockout today. They were very strong Friday and at Road America the team is usually quite good.

The most puzzling result yesterday was Colton Herta in 23rd. Herta usually does well here, and he won the pole two years ago.

I plan to watch practice from turn 7. I’m unsure of my vantage point for qualifying, assuming I go outside for it. I will be back after practice with results and qualifying groups.

Nothing New at the Front

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Kyle Kirkwood turned the fastest lap in today’s only practice session for Sunday’s XPel GP at Road America. Kirkwood edged Devlin deFrancesco by0.1533 seconds and Will Power by 0.1914 seconds. Kirkwood has won the last two races, but he faces a stiff challenge from the Team Penske cars this weekend. All three Chevy powered drivers were within three tenths of a second or less of Kirkwood.

Two red flags interrupted practice. Santino Ferrucci went off course and needed a tow in. With less than five minutes remaining Alexander Rossi sopun in turn 1 and ended up in the sand trap. Less than a minute remained when the green was thrown.

In a post practice media availability Newgarden showed no ill effects from his crash at Gateway last Sunday. he attributed it to bad timing.

“I had nowhere to go,” he said.

Newgarden said that if fans want to see what an IndyCar can do, IMS and Road America are the two tracks that show the performance of the cars.

Notes

Team Penske cars looked very strong, finishing today third, fourth, and sixth.

The new bridge is very nice and much safer than the old tunnel. I have said since my first trip here in2016 that the tunnel was dangerous and needed to be either all pedestrians or all vehicles. It is now pedestrians only.

Heatb will be a factor tomorrow and Sunday. Some teams had hybrid issues in the heat at Thermal. Both Newgarden and Felix Rosenqvist don does not anticipate any issues this weekend.

Results

That will do it for me for today. Thanks for following along. I’ll be back tomorrow with morning practice results and qualifying groups. All sessions are on FS1 tomorrow.

Good Morning From Road America

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Welcome to a cloudy, cool day at the National Park of Speed. The threat of rain has diminished, but the clouds are expected to linger most of the day, with a high of around 78 degrees. Enjoy this balmy weather. The forecast for tomorrow and Sunday calls for highs in the low to mid 90s with heat indexes near 100 degrees. If you’re at the track, please remember to hydrate. A lot.

Things seem a bit subdued this morning, as many fans are recuperating from watching last night’s Pacers game. I watched from a restaurant in Elkhart Lake, and I could have sworn I was in downtown Indy. There will be a mad rush down I-65 Sunday after the race as people try to get back to indy in time to watch Game 7.

It hadn’t really dawned on me that 2025 is the 70th anniversary of Road America. As far as tracks go, this is an impressive age. IMS is 116 years old. The Milwaukee Mile dates to 1903. The free fan guide available at the track has a lot of information, including a nice two page history of the track.

There are some changes coming tothe track. The pedestrian bridge on the front stretch, built in 1961, will be replaced with a structure which will accommodate both pedestrians and golf carts. The North paddock area will be paved. Renovations will be made to suites and the press paddock.

On track, barriers on driver’s left at turns 4-5 and turns 13-14 will be straightened. The barrier bases will be removed and reconstructed.

The are at the kink just off the track surface has been redone with what is called “grasscrete. It’s a perforated strip f concrete which allows grass to grow through it. Its purpose is to eliminate dust thrown on the track and allow for a cleaner exit.

I’ll be back with more later. i am going out to explore the grounds and see what else is new here.

Road America Preview- The Search for Number 3

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IndyCar has sought a third engine manufacturer for awhile now, but with the announcement that that a new power formula has been pushed back to 2028, that quest is a bit moot right now. Still the number three still lurk throughout the paddock, as in who will be the third race winner of 2025?

This weekend will be the 11th race at Road America since the series returned in 2016. Two races took place in 2020. Last year was heonly time I have missed this event, and when I planned ny 2025 schedule, everything else revolved around a return to Road America.

The first practice is at 4:30 pm eastern today on FS2.

Last Sunday’s amazing race at Gateway showed every indication that he winner would not be named Alex Palou or Kyle Kirkwood. Team Penske locked out the front row and took three of the first five starting spots. In the end, Kirkwood won his third race of the year, and second in a row. Palou has won at Road America, and Kirkwood had a track career best of fifth last season.

Like the Madison, Illinois oval, Road America has seen dominance by Team Penske. Last year they swept the podium. Will Team Penske salvage something from what has been a dismal year on Sunday?

Pato O’Ward is second in points depite not winning a race so far this season. In 2020 Race 2, he was nipped with two laps to go by Felix Rosenqvist. O’Ward is arguably the leading candidate for race winner number three.

Colton Herta was on the pole in 2023, but a questionable strategy call cost him a victory. He has been close, and this might be his weekend.

Weather may be a factor with high temperatures getting into the 90s on Saturday and Sunday.

I’m going with O’Ward to beak though this weekend. He will maintain his slight edge over Kirkwood in the standings, but Palou will still keep his healthy lead.

XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR Fast Facts 

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 Race weekend: Friday, June 20 – Sunday, June 22
Track: Road America, a 4.014-mile, 14-turn permanent road course (clockwise), in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
Race distance: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 55 laps / 220.77 miles | INDY NXT by Firestone: 20 laps / 80.28 miles or 55 minutes

Push to Pass parameters: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 200 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 20 seconds per activation. | INDY NXT by Firestone: A maximum of 50 activations total or 150 seconds of total Push to Pass time.
Hybrid energy deployment parameters: Unlimited activation, with a maximum deployment of 715 kilojoules (kj) per lap
Firestone tire allotment: Six sets primary (hard/black sidewall) and five sets alternate (soft/red sidewall) to be used during the event weekend. Teams fielding a rookie driver may use one additional set of primary tires. Teams must use one set of primary and one set of new (sticker) alternate tires for at least two laps in the race. INDY NXT by Firestone: Four new sets to be used during the race weekend.
X: @RoadAmerica @INDYCAR, @INDYNXT, #XPELGP, #INDYCAR #ROADAMERICAI
nstagram: @RoadAmerica, @INDYCAR, @INDYNXT, #XPELGP, #INDYCAR #ROADAMERICA
Threads: @INDYCAR, @INDYNXT
Facebook: @Road America, @INDYCAR, @INDYNXT, #XPELGP, #INDYCAR #ROADAMERICA
TikTok: @INDYCAR @INDYNXT, #INDYCAR
YouTube: @RaceRoadAmerica, @INDYCAR
Event website: www.roadamerica.com
INDYCAR website: www.indycar.com

2024 race winners:NTT INDYCAR SERIESWill Power (No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet)INDY NXT by FirestoneJamie Chadwick (No. 28 Andretti Global)
2024 NTT P1 Award winner:Linus Lundqvist (No. 8 The American Legion Honda) 1:45.1519, 137.424 mph
2024 INDY NXT by Firestone pole winner:Jamie Chadwick (No. 28 Andretti Global) 1:51.0333, 130.145 mph
Qualifying lap record: NTT INDYCAR SERIESDario Franchitti, 1:39.866, 145.924 mph, Aug. 19, 2000INDY NXT by FirestoneKyffin Simpson, 1:49.1028, 132.448 mph, June 17, 2023
FOX Sports telecasts: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 
Practice 1, 4:30 p.m. ET Friday, FS2 (live);
Practice 2, 11 a.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live);
Qualifying, 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live);
Warmup, 10 a.m. ET Sunday, FS1 (live);
Race, 1:30 p.m. ET Sunday, FOX (live), FOX Deportes.
Will Buxton is the play-by-play announcer for FOX’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Georgia Henneberry, Kevin Lee and Jack Harvey are the pit reporters. A Spanish-language telecast of the race will be available on FOX Deportes. 
INDY NXT by Firestone: 
Practice 1, 3:30 p.m. ET Friday, FS2 (live);
Practice 2, 10 a.m. ET Saturday, FS1;
Qualifying, 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live);
Race, 11 a.m. ET Sunday, FS1 (live). Kevin Lee is the play-by-play announcer for FOX Sports’ coverage of INDY NXT by Firestone alongside analyst Jack Harvey. Georgia Henneberry is the pit reporter.
INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside driver analyst Davey Hamilton. Nick Yeoman, Jake Query and Michael Young are the turn announcers. Alex Wolff, Drake York and DJ Clark are the pit reporters. The XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR race (1 p.m. ET Sunday), INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Road America (10:55 a.m. Sunday) and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES practices and qualifying sessions air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation 218, indycar.com/leaderboard and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA. All INDY NXT by Firestone practices, qualifying sessions and races are available on SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation 218, indycar.com/leaderboard and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.
At-track schedule (all times Central Time):
Friday, June 20
2:30-3:15 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Practice 1, FS2 (live)
3:35-4:50 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 1, FS2 (live)
Saturday, June 21
9-9:45 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Practice 2, FS1 (live)
10:05-11:05 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 2 (45 minutes of green flag or 60 total minutes), FS1 (live)
12:30-1 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Qualifying (two groups/12 minutes each), FS1 (live)
1:35-3 p.m. – Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (Three rounds of knockout qualifying), FS1 (live)
Sunday, June 22
9:02-9:27 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warmup, FS1 (live)
10:01 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Road America Command to start engines
10:06 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Road America (20 laps/55 minutes), FS1 (live)
Noon — Driver introductions
12:40 p.m. XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR Command to start engines
XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR (55 laps/222.64 miles), FOX (live). Spanish telecast on FOX Deportes (live
)NTT INDYCAR SERIES Notes:
There have been two winners in eight NTT INDYCAR SERIES races in the 2025 season. Alex Palou (Streets of St. Petersburg, The Thermal Club, Barber Motorsports Park, Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and Indianapolis 500) and Kyle Kirkwood (Streets of Long Beach, Streets of Detroit and World Wide Technology Raceway) have won this season.The XPEL Grand Prix at Road America, Presented by AMR, will be the 36th INDYCAR SERIES race held at Road America since it hosted its first INDYCAR event in 1982. Mario Andretti, Michael Andretti and Emerson Fittipaldi have three wins, the most by an INDYCAR SERIES driver at the track.Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden, Alex Palou and Will Power have won twice at Road America – most among active drivers. Other previous Road America winners entered include Alexander Rossi and Felix Rosenqvist.The driver who has gone on to win the championship has won at Road America seven times: Mario Andretti (1984), Michael Andretti (1991), Jacques Villeneuve (1995), Alex Zanardi (1997), Cristiano da Matta (2002), Sebastien Bourdais (2007), Scott Dixon (2020) and Alex Palou (2023).Scott Dixon and Will Power have competed in 12 previous races at Road America, most of any driver. Fourteen entered drivers have led laps at the track: Josef Newgarden 159, Alexander Rossi 70, Will Power 76, Pato O’Ward 43, Scott Dixon 43, Colton Herta 42, Scott McLaughlin 18, Felix Rosenqvist 18, Alex Palou 18, Marcus Armstrong 5, Graham Rahal 5, Marcus Ericsson 4, Kyle Kirkwood 3 and Christian Lundgaard 1.
Chip Ganassi Racing has won seven times at Road America (1997, 2001, 2017, a sweep of the 2020 doubleheader, 2021 and 2023), including four of the last six INDYCAR SERIES races at “America’s National Park of Speed.” CGR is one of three current teams with wins at the track.
Team Penske also has won seven times at Road America (1989, 1992, 1993, 2016, 2018, 2022 and 2024) while Andretti Global won in 2019.
Rookies Jacob Abel, Louis Foster and Robert Shwartzman will race an NTT INDYCAR SERIES car at Road America for the first time this weekend.
Milestones: Scott Dixon will attempt to make his 348th consecutive start, extending his record streak…Dixon passed Mario Andretti for the all-time in INDYCAR SERIES starts with his 408th start May 25 at Indianapolis and will extend his record with his 411th career start Sunday.
INDY NXT by Firestone Notes:The ultra-competitive INDY NXT by Firestone season continues with a visit to Road America. Dennis Hauger leads the point standings on the strength of four wins in the first six races, but the other race winner this season, Hauger’s Andretti Global teammate Lochie Hughes, is hot on the Norwegian’s heels for the title and the financial benefits to advance to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.Group qualifying will decide the starting grid on road and street circuits. Based on the best lap times from the practice session immediately preceding qualifying, the fastest driver in that session will choose which group will compete in the first of the two qualifying sessions. With 12 minutes allotted for each group (with a guarantee of one timed lap), the fastest driver between the two sessions will be awarded pole position with the drivers who finished behind that driver, in order and in that group, occupying the odd-numbered starting positions (3, 5, 7, etc.) for the race and the drivers who finished in order from the other group occupying the even-numbered starting positions (2, 4, 6, etc.). One driver and entrant championship point will be awarded to the fastest car in each qualifying group.