Category: Auto Racing

A Lovely Parting Gift-Rosenqvist Wins Pole in Final McLaren Outing

thepitwindow

Felix Rosenqvist will start the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey on the in his last race for Arrow McLaren. He won the pole by 0.01 seconds over Scott McLaughlin, who was the last car to cross the line. Mclaughlin admitted that he dropped a wheel off the track in the first corner.

It was arguably the best qualifying of the year. Each round saw dramatic swings in the top six positions and the track record get slashed to bits. Christian Lundgaard ended the day with the record, 1:06.4610 in the second round.

The first three segments reflected the rest of the weekend with cars off track causing red flags. Ryan Hunter-Reay spun off track then came back onto the racing surface with 1:27 left inGroup1, Round 1. The other drivers were given one more timed lap, and positions changed wildly. Scott Dixon ended the session with the best time.

In Group 2 Helio Castroneves spun and stalled about three minutes into the round. Pato O’Ward seemed to be out of contention, but turned a quick lap to lead the group.

In the Fast 12 Christian Lundgaard set the track record to lead the group. O’Ward spun near the end of the session, eliminating what many thought was the car to beat for the pole.

Christian Lundgaard

The Fast Six was a fitting All Star ensemble to end the season. 500 winner Josef Newgarden, series champion Alex Palou, first time winner Lundgaard, Scott Dixon, Scott Mclaughlin, and Rosenqvist. All the drivers have races or poles in 2023.

The Fast Six was the only round of the weekend without an incident. It was a game of alternate tire strategy, and who crossed the line last as time expired.

Notes

Ironies-

Helio Castroneves will start last in his final race as a full time Indycar driver. He watched as his track record was soundly beaten.

Will Power, the career leader in poles earned with 70, made just none Fast Six this season. His only two poles this year came at the Iowa short oval.

Rookie Juri Vips had another strong qualifying effort. He qualified seventh but will start 13th after he serves his penalty.

Starting position is important here. 80% of the races have been won from the front row.

Results

These results are from qualifyi9ng today. they do not reflect any penalties.

Lundgaard Tops Practice 2 Amid More Disruptions

thepitwindow

Christian Lundgaard was the only driver to beat the track record in the second Indycar practice session. practice was delayed 25 minutes because of lightning in the area.

The weather delayed Indy NXT qualifying and thus pushed back the start of Iindycar practice.

Nine minutes into the session Pato O’Ward spun into the tire barrier and damaged the left front corner of his car. The red flag also few for Will Power, who spun without hitting anything at the top of the corkscrew and Santino Ferrucci, who appeared to lose an engine. Ferrucci may have a six place grid penalty assessed if the team needs to change the engine.

Green time has been at a premium this weekend. Today’s practice had just 35 minutes of green flag time. the longest segment was 16 minutes. The situation meant a crowded track where it was difficult for anyone to get a clean lap.

Teams fgot very little, if any, time on the alternate tires yesterday. Qualifying is going to be interesting.

Results

Qualifying Records in Danger at Laguna Seca; Spotter Guide

thepitwindow

Track records are expected to tumble toady in qualifying for both the NYYn Indycar series and the Indy NXT by Firestone series.

The Indycar record of 1:07.722 was set by Helio Castroneves in 2000 as he won his first career pole. Ironically, Sunday will be Castroneves’ final race as a fulltime Indycar driver.

Today’s schedule: Times Eastern

12:05-12:35 .m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Qualifying (Two 12-minute sessions / Session 1 determines the lineup for Race 1, Session 2 determines the lineup for Race 2), INDYCAR LIVE

1 pm-2 pm Indycar Practice 2 Peacock

3:35 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey Race 1 Peacock

5 pm-6:30 pm Indycar Qualifying  Peacock

Spotter Guide

Herta Fastest in Fast, Disjointed Practice

thepitwindow1 Comment

Colton Herta led Friday practice for Indycar’s season finale in a session interrupted five times by red flags. Herta”s time of 1;07.5382 is under the track record set in 2000 by Helio Castroneves. Pato O’Ward was second, and Alexander Rossi finished third. O’Ward also beat the track record.

Times were all on the primary tires. teams were just beginning to run the alternates when red flags near the end of the session prevented any significant runs on the alternate tires. Tire degradation of the primary tires appeared low.

“We didn’t get to do a proper run,” Herta said of the alternate, red-sidewall tires. “I think some of the teammates did, which is a good thing for me at least to understand what they do and how we can make the car a little bit better.

“But it’s really close. I feel really happy with how everything is. It’s a good-looking race car this weekend, and I hope to try to make it to Victory Lane with it.”

The newly paved surface proved quick as expected, but anyone going just a bit offline ended up off track. Romain Grosjean made contact with the tire barrier in turn4, damaging the left front suspension. Will Power had heavy contact and suffered a cut tire and rear end damage.

Scott Mclaughlin’s spin into the gravel with about three minutes left ended practice.

Indycar practices again tomorrow at 1 pm Eastern, then qualifies at 5 pm Eastern.

Results

Malukas Joins Arrow McLaren

thepitwindow

In one of the biggest non surprises of the week, David Malukas signed a multi year deal to drive for Arrow McLaren. The 22 year old driver will drive car number6, driven the last two seasons by Felix Rosenquist.

Malukas will complete his second year in Indycar Sunday deriving for Dale Cayne Racing with HMD Motorsports. His best finish in the series was a second place at World Wide Technology Raceway in 2022. He finished third at the track in August. Malukas also has several top 5s in the series.

The press release from Arrow McLaren:

“I can’t wait to race in papaya next season”

Arrow McLaren today announced that David Malukas has signed a multiyear deal with the team ahead of the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.  

The 21-year-old American-Lithuanian driver is one of the youngest in the paddock and has shown speed and potential over his first two seasons in the series with two podium finishes for Dale Coyne Racing with HMD.  

David, a multi-time karting champion, came to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES through INDY NXT, where he finished second in 2021 with a series record of 16 podiums. 

David will join Arrow McLaren drivers Pato O’Ward and Alexander Rossi in the team’s lineup and will race the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet for team partners NTT DATA, onsemi and SmartStop.

David Malukas, 2024 Arrow McLaren Driver, said: 

“I can’t wait to race in papaya next season. Arrow McLaren has been a threat to the top contenders all season long, and I’m excited to join the team and see what their Chevrolets can do. Pato and Alexander both know what it takes to win, so it will be fun racing alongside them and learning from them as well.” 

Gavin Ward, Racing Director, Arrow McLaren:  

“We’ve been extremely impressed with how quickly David has gotten up to speed in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. At 21, he’s already one of the strongest oval racers in the field and his competitiveness on road and street courses has been steadily improving. That speed combined with an excellent attitude and work ethic makes us thrilled to have him join the team.” 

Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing: 

“David is an up and comer in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, and based on what we’ve seen from him so far in his first two seasons, I’m confident there’s a lot of talent we can extract from him through the resources we have at Arrow McLaren. Beyond what he can do on a racetrack, he’s got a great personality and we’re excited to welcome him to the McLaren Racing family.”