Category: Auto Racing

Race Preview- Gallagher Grand Prix

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Today’s schedule. All Times Eastern

8 a.m.-6 p.m.: Public gates open

9-10:30 a.m.: Gallagher Grand Prix (NTT INDYCAR SERIES) Practice 1 Peacock

11-11:50 a.m.: INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix Practice

12:30-2 p.m.: Gallagher Grand Prix NTT P1 Award Qualifying Peacock

2:20-2:40 p.m.: INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix Qualifying

5 p.m.: INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix Race (35 laps) Peacock

Reminder- Saturday’s race is on USA Network and Peacock

Tomorrow’s Gallagher Grand Prix is the 15th Indycar race on the IMS road course. For some reason, Indycar has chosen to lump all road course events into one statistical group rather than keeping separate stats for each event.

No matter how they do it, Team Penske has dominated the IMS road course. Simon Pagenaud, who remains sidelined this weekend, is the only driver to have won the May race twice with two different teams, Schmidt Peterson and Penske. Rinus VeeKay has won once, Colton Herta won in May of 2022. Scott Dixon and Alex Palou each a road course victory. The other 10 races belong to Penske.

Tomorrow’s race may be the last of the second IMS grand prix. Talk is getting stronger that NASCAR is going to return to the oval in 2024 and that this Indycar race will instead be a race at Milwaukee. I for one will not miss this race. I thought it redundant to return to the same venue and have a race of the same length as the one in May.

But here we are, the first of the final four races of the season. There is still remnants of a battle for the title, and a tighter contest for the last Leaders’ Circle spot. The number 60 of Meyer Shank and the 30 for Rahal Letterman Laningan are three points behind the 29 of Andretti Autosport, who holds the final spot.

Lundqvist Gets Another Chance

Linus Lundqvist impressed everyone in Nashville two weeks ago, and he stays in the 60 for one more week. This may be his last race of 2023, unless another team, possibly Rahal, enters him at Portland or Laguna Seca.

I think he will have a great weekend and finish well this weekend.

Palou Marches On

Alex Palou will win Saturday and have a chance to sew up the championship at Gateway in two weeks. Palou’s last two races at Iowa and Nashville have placed the title in his grasp. Buried deep in the field at Iowa and running on the razor’s edge of fuel in Nashville, Palou somehow managed two third place finishes.

Palou’s first goal is to finish ahead of Josef Newgarden, the only driver who can realistically catch him. The schedule favors Palou as Newgarden is strong on ovals but has struggled on road courses.

My coverage this weekend will not be in real time as I will be taking in this event as a Fan. Look for updates during the day, mainly in the form of results, and a wrapup piece the next two evenings.

Gallagher Grand Prix Fast Facts

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My preview will be up tomorrow. In case you missed it, my story from yesterday:

The Storyteller’s Story-IMS Museum Looks Back as it Moves Forward

The Storyteller’s Story- IMS Museum Looks Back As it Moves Forward

From Indycar:

Race weekend: Friday, Aug. 11-Saturday, Aug. 12
Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course (clockwise)
Race distance: NTT INDYCAR SERIES 85 laps / 207.3 miles | INDYNXT by Firestone 35 laps / 85.365 miles / 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: 150 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation
Firestone tire allotment: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Five sets primary, four sets alternate 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: Two new sets to be used during the one-day event. A carryover set from the Nashville event may be used during the first practice.
X (formerly known as Twitter): @IMS, @IndyCar, #GallagherGP, #INDYCAR
Instagram: @indianapolismotorspeedway, @INDYCAR, #GallagherGP, #INDYCAR
Threads: @indianapolismotorspeedway, @INDYCAR, #GallagherGP, #INDYCAR
Facebook: @indianapolismotorspeedway, @INDYCAR, #INDYCAR
TikTok: @indianapolismotorspeedwy, @INDYCAR, #INDYCAR
YouTube: @IMS, @INDYCAREvent website: www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/
INDYCAR website: www.IndyCar.com
2022 race winners: NTT INDYCAR SERIES
Alexander Rossi (No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS/AutoNation Honda)
INDY NXT by Firestone (Race in May 2022)Linus Lundqvist (No. 26 HMD Motorsports)
2022 NTT P1 Award winner (NTT INDYCAR SERIES): Felix Rosenqvist (No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet), 1 minute, 10.2265 seconds, 125.030 mph
2022 INDY NXT by Firestone pole winner: Linus Lundqvist (No. 26 HMD Motorsports) 1:16.4266, 114.887 mph.
Qualifying records:NTT INDYCAR SERIES Will Power, 1:07.7044, 129.687 mph, May 12, 2017 (Set in Round 3 of knockout qualifying)
INDY NXT by FirestoneLinus Lundqvist, 1:11:5149, 115.780 mph, April 16, 2021
USA Network race telecast: Gallagher Grand Prix, 2 p.m. ET Saturday, Aug. 12, USA Network (live). Leigh Diffey is the play-by-play announcer for USA’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Kevin Lee and Dillon Welch are the pit reporters.
Peacock Live Streaming: All NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice sessions and qualifying will stream live on Peacock, NBC’s direct-to-consumer livestreaming product, while the USA Network’s race telecast of the Gallagher Grand Prix will be simulcast on the streaming service. The INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix will be streamed on Peacock, with practice and qualifying being shown on INDYCAR LIVE.
INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside analyst Davey Hamilton. Jake Query, Nick Yeoman and Michael Young are the turn announcers. Ryan Myrehn, Brad Gillie and Brett McMillian are the pit reporters. The Gallagher Grand Prix race (2 p.m. ET Saturday), the INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix (4:45 p.m. ET Friday) and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES and INDY NXT by Firestone practices and qualifying sessions air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM 160, racecontrol.indycar.com and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA
.At-track schedule (all times local):
FRIDAY, AUG. 11
9-10:30 a.m.: NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice (75 minutes), Peacock
11-11:50 a.m.: INDY NXT by Firestone practice, INDYCAR LIVE
12:30 p.m.: Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (three rounds of NTT INDYCAR SERIES knockout qualifications), Peacock
2:20-2:40 p.m.: INDY NXT by Firestone qualifying, INDYCAR LIVE
4-4:30 p.m.: NTT INDYCAR SERIES final practice (30 minutes), Peacock
4:55 p.m.: INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix “Drivers, start your engines”
5 p.m.: INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix (35 laps/55 minutes), Peacock
SATURDAY, AUG. 12
2 p.m.: USA Network on air
2:23 p.m.: “Drivers, start your engines”
2:30 p.m.: Gallagher Grand Prix (85 laps/207.3 miles), USA Network (Live)
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Championship facts:· Alex Palou leads the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship with four races to go for the second time in his INDYCAR SERIES career. Palou also led the championship with four races to go in 2021 when he won the title. Palou has led the point standings after nine of the 13 races this season.· There are eight drivers still mathematically eligible for the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship: Alex Palou, Josef Newgarden, Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson, Scott McLaughlin, Pato O’Ward, Will Power and Christian Lundgaard.
Any driver who trails the points leader by 162 points or more following the race will be eliminated from contention.· Since the first INDYCAR SERIES race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course, the winning driver has won the INDYCAR SERIES championship twice: Simon Pagenaud in 2016 and Scott Dixon in 2020-Race 1.· Since 2008 when INDYCAR SERIES racing unified under the NTT INDYCAR SERIES banner, the eventual series champion has won the 14th race of the season four times. The most recent occurrence was in 2021 when Alex Palou won at Portland. Other drivers to win the 14th race of their championship season were Ryan Hunter-Reay (2012), Dario Franchitti (2009 and 2010) and Scott Dixon (2008)
.Key championship point statistic: Since 2008, the largest deficit overcome by the eventual champion was 59 points by Dario Franchitti in 2010. Scott Dixon overcame Juan Pablo Montoya’s 54-point lead in 2015. The top two drivers in the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship standings are separated by 84 points.
Point differential: The 84 points that separate Alex Palou and Josef Newgarden is the largest point margin with four races to go since 2008. Before this season, the average lead with four races to go since 2008 was 35.7 points.

 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Notes: The Gallagher Grand Prix will be the 15th INDYCAR SERIES event conducted on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Active race winners expected to compete are Alex Palou, Alexander Rossi, Colton Herta, Rinus VeeKay, Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden and Will Power.

ACTIVE RACE WINNER WINS SEASONS
Will Power 5 2015, 2017, 2018 (GMR Grand Prix); 2020 (Harvest Grand Prix-2); 2021 (Gallagher Grand Prix)
Scott Dixon 1 2020 (GMR Grand Prix)
Colton Herta 1 2022 (GMR Grand Prix)
Josef Newgarden 1 2020 (Harvest Grand Prix-1)
Alex Palou 1 2023 (GMR Grand Prix)
Alexander Rossi 1 2022 (Gallagher Grand Prix)
Rinus VeeKay 1 2021 (GMR Grand Prix)
Five NTT P1 Award winners have won on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course from the pole: Will Power won the 2015, 2017 and 2018 GMR Grand Prix and the second Harvest GP race in 2020 from the pole.  Simon Pagenaud also won the GMR Grand Prix from the pole in 2016
.ACTIVE POLE WINNER POLES SEASONS
Will Power 5 2015, 2017, 2018, 2020 (GMR Grand Prix and Harvest Grand Prix-2)
Felix Rosenqvist 2 2019, 2022 (Gallagher Grand Prix)
Christian Lundgaard 1 2023 (GMR Grand Prix)
Pato O’Ward 1 2021 (Gallagher Grand Prix)
Romain Grosjean 1 2021 (GMR Grand Prix) Rinus VeeKay 1 2020 (Harvest Grand Prix-1)

Five drivers have competed in every INDYCAR SERIES race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course – Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden, Simon Pagenaud, Will Power, and Graham Rahal. All but Pagenaud are entered this weekend.Team Penske has eight wins on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020-Race 2, 2020-Race 3, 2021-Race 2). Chip Ganassi has two wins – with Scott Dixon in 2020-Race 1 and Alex Palou in 2023-Race 1.
Andretti Autosport, Ed Carpenter Racing and Arrow McLaren SP are the only other teams to win at the track. Andretti Autosport won the GMR Grand Prix with Colton Herta in May, while Ed Carpenter Racing won in 2021-Race 1 with Rinus VeeKay and Arrow McLaren SP won the inaugural race in 2014 with Simon Pagenaud when it was known as Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
.Five NTT INDYCAR SERIES Rookie of the Year contenders are entered – Marcus Armstrong, Agustin Canapino, Linus Lundqvist, Benjamin Pedersen and Sting Ray Robb. All but Lundqvist raced in the GMR Grand Prix in May.Milestones: Scott Dixon will attempt to make his 319th consecutive start, which would break a tie with Tony Kanaan for the INDYCAR SERIES record streak … With his next win, Dixon will extend his INDYCAR SERIES record for consecutive seasons with at least one win to 19 … With his next win, WillPower will tie Michael Andretti for fourth on the INDYCAR SERIES all-time victory list.

INDY NXT by Firestone Notes:
HMD Motorsports’ Christian Rasmussen returns to Indianapolis looking to solidify his grip on the INDY NXT by Firestone championship. The 23-year-old Danish driver earned his third victory in 2023 by winning Aug. 6 on the streets of Nashville. Rasmussen leads rookie teammate Nolan Siegel by 45 points, with Hunter McElrea of Andretti Autosport 59 points behind the leader.Push-to-pass could play a key strategic role at Indianapolis as INDY NXT by Firestone drivers will have a bank of 150 seconds to use an added 50 horsepower to assist in overtaking, similar to the drivers in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. The maximum amount of time for each press of the overtake system is 15 seconds.Matteo Nannini, Reece Gold, Nolan Siegel and Louis Foster became first-time winners earlier this season. Will another talented prospect like Jacob Abel, James Roe, Kyffin Simpson or Ernie Francis Jr. score a first INDY NXT win in 2023 in Indianapolis? 
 

The Storyteller’s Story- IMS Museum Looks Back As it Moves Forward

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It is rare that we learn the story behind the storyteller. The teller of tales does not usually reveal his or her background. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum is giving fans a lokk at its origins before it begins a new chapter in its life.

The IMS Museum has told the story of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500 for 67 years. In November the museum will close for a massive upgrade to bring the archives and collection intothe 21st century.

I vaguely remember the original museum. The six cars were displayed in the ticket office. I went to the building to pick up tickets, and I noticed the cars. They were fun to look at, but the museum was kind of an afterthought to getting the tickets. When the mnuseum moved to the current location in 1976, it became more impressive. The IMS Musuem always seemed a step behind other museums. That situation wioll change in 2025.

Fans coming to pick up tickets saw this display

Their current pair of exhibits, 1956 and Our Collection, Your Favorites, tells the story of the museum’s rather humble beginnings and brings to the floor many of the gems that are seldom on display.

1956

The cars that made up the original collection make up the bulk of this exhibit. The Marmon Wasp, of course is there, and Wilbur Shaw’s Boyle Maserati. The Maserati was purchased by Karl Kizer, the museum’s first curator.

It is arguably one of the greatest cars to ever run at the speedway With Shaw drivinbg, it won twice, and the car was leading in 1941 when a wheel collapsed. After World war Two, Ted Horn drove the Maserati to three top five finishes. Mauri Rose drove it in and Bill Vukovich took his rookie test in the car.

The most recent addition to the original museum was the Cummins Diese, which ran in1951.

Another addition wasthe Tucker tordpedo, the first rear engine car to qualify for the 500

In addition to cars, the museum also housed the Borg Warner Trophy and the Stark &Weyzel original Rookie of the Year Award.

The Borg warner trophy as a young man
Only three Rookie of the Year winners on this trophy went on to win the 500- Parnelli Jones, Mario Andretti, and Mark Donohue. This trophy was discontinued after 1977.

Our Collection, Your Favorites

Next door to the 1956 exhibit is the fan favorites display. A chart on one wall shows the voting for the 15 cars in the room. I am shocked that the Fuel Injection Special and the Belond Exhaust Special didn’t make the cut, but I wonder if the choices were limite to cars not regularly in the showroom.

A car I have only seen on display one opther time is the Ferrari from 1952, driven by alberto Ascari

The car used wire wheels, one of which collapsed during the race, ending the italian make’s only 500 appearance.

Jim Clark’s 1964 Lotus, the car that started the switch to rear engine cars, makes a rare showing

A fan favorite collection would not be complete withou a Miller entry. Two made it out of the basement.

1935 Miller V8
1928 Miller front drive 1.5 cubic inch engine

One of my favorites, the Dowgard driven by Tony Bettenhausen in 1958.

I had a nice morning remembering the time when the Speedway and I were just getting to know each other. It was fun seeing cars I had never seen race, as has been the case in recent exhibits. I don’t feel so old now.

As the museum prepares for its transition, I think this exhibit is important in the process. In 10 years visitors will probably have no idea of how the collection began. I think at the reopening of the new iteration of the the iMS Museum, the 1956 display should be repeated and maybe expanded.

I have some photos wihich I will post on The Pit Window later today.

Lundqvist Stays With Meyer Shank for Gallagher Grand Prix

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From Meyer Shank Racing:

Indianapolis, Ind. (8 August 2023) – After making an impressive NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut with Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) last weekend at the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix in Nashville, Linus Lundqvist will return behind the wheel of the No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda for Saturday’s Gallagher Grand Prix (2:00pm ET, USA Network, SiriusXM Ch. 160).

While Simon Pagenaud continues to make gains in his recovery following an accident at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course last month, which saw the Frenchman have a manufacturer brake failure, he has not been cleared by the INDYCAR Medical Team to participate in this weekend’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Lunqvist will make his second INDYCAR race start and once again be joined by full-season MSR driver Helio Castroneves in the Brickyard weekend which will see the NTT INDYCAR SERIES run in conjunction with NASCAR. The quick two day weekend, will feature an 85-lap race on Saturday, the second time that the INDYCAR SERIES has run on the IMS road course this year.

Lunqvist is coming off a big INDYCAR debut weekend in Nashville, which saw the 2022 INDY NXT by Firestone Champion advance into the Firestone Fast 12 in Qualifying and go on to post the fastest lap of the race on Sunday. Unfortunately, contact with the wall ended his race early, but Lundqvist will be looking for redemption this weekend.

The Swedish racer has four starts on the IMS road course in INDY NXT competition, starting on the pole in three out of the four races. He has two wins on his resume, both of which he started on the pole.

Castroneves returns to the site of his 2021 Indianapolis 500 victory, but this time on the road course layout. Castroneves will be making his 13th race start on the IMS road course this weekend. The INDYCAR favorite has collected two podium finishes on the road course, finishing third in 2014 and 2nd in 2017.

The Gallagher Grand Prix at IMS will be a quick two-day weekend with practice and qualifying on Friday, August 11th and the 85-lap main event set for a 2:30pm ET green flag start time on Saturday August 12th. USA Network will begin coverage at 2:00pm ET and SiriusXM will host live IndyCar Radio coverage on XM Ch. 160.

Meyer Shank Racing Driver Quotes:

Helio Castroneves:

“The IMS road course is a place that has been very good for MSR, so I am looking forward to getting back to one of my favorite places. I think we learned a lot from the last race there in May, so that should help us this weekend. I’m ready to go!”

Linus Lundqvist:

“First I want to say a massive thank you to Mike and Jim for their trust to put me back in the car again. The Nashville weekend was great in so many ways. Obviously, a lot of impressions and a lot of new stuff for me going on that weekend and I was pretty disappointed with the way that it ended. It was my mistake and I enjoyed it up until that point. I think it also left me and the team wanting more, which I am grateful for another opportunity at Indy. I know it is going to be tough again, but now I have a whole race weekend under my belt. Hopefully we can string some good results together and find some good speed, but I feel like it is going to be a super weekend.”

Brickyard Weekend Schedule

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The schedule for this coming weekend at IMS. Indycar, Indy NXT, and the support races. All times Eastern

Friday, August 11

9 am: IndyCar Practice

11 am: Indy NXT Practice

12:30 pm: IndyCar Qualifying

2:20 pm: NXT Qualifying

4 pm: IndyCar Practice

5 pm: NXT Race

Saturday, August 12

9:35 am: Nascar Xfinity Practice & Qualifying

11:35 am: Nascar Cup Practice & Qualifying

2:30 pm: IndyCar Race USA Network, Peacock

5:30 pm. Nascar Xfinity Race

Sunday

2:30 pm: Nascar Cup Race

Music City Grand Prix Wrap Up

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Photos by Joe Skibinski, Indycar

Some not so quick thoughts:

We finally saw a good race on the Nashville track. At the beginning of the weekend, I was glad that this was the last race on this track. After the race, I’m sad to see this configuration go. I am not enamored with the new layout. We will probably be back to where we in 2021 with an awful race.

Kirkwood the Street Meister

Kyle Kirkwood has had an up and down season, but if the series were all street courses he would be leading the points. Kirkwood’s win today was his second win of his career, the other coming in Long Beach. The second year Andretti driver ha n average finish of 7.6 on the street courses and ana verage starting position of 6.8.He has advanced to at least the second round of qualifying at every street event.

Kirkwood has earned 166 of his 290 points on the street circuits.

He is the only Andretti Autosport driver to win in 2023.

The Andretti team has been strong ion the streets. The team has two wins, two poles, and four podiums in the five street races.

Linus Lundqvist- Sad Ending to a Great Debut

Linus Lundqvist’s Indycar debut weekend was going along at a fairy tale clip. The 2022 Indy NXT champion was a respectabkle 15th in Friday’s practice. He qualified 11th and ran as high as fifth in today’s race. Lundqvist had the fastest lap in the race- 1;16.7115 on lap 57.

It all ended 12 laps later as he slid into the wall in turn 11. Lundqvist had driver of the day completely sewed up just by starting the race.

I hope we can see him in another race his season, and Im sure the list of suitors for his services grew after these last three days. Lundqvist seemed to be very comfortable in the car.

Alex Palou- The Man Who Can’t be Stopped

Alex Palou and his crew seemed resign to dropping through the field near the end of the race. Because they had chosen to pit on the lap 13 yellow for David Malukas, Palou was going to need a splash of fuel in them last 10 laps.

Josef Newqgarden, his closest competitior in the pionts battle, sat right behind him waiting to gain more points. Lundqvisyt’s accident, and the three car pileup on the restart, saved Palou’s third place.

The points leader gained four points on Newgarden. At this point in the season, any extension of a lead is a good thing. Palou could still clinch the title at Gateway.

Television- Why I Like to be at the Track

I am probably spoile by attending 10 or more races each of the last few years, but I have now watched the last four races on television.

I am finding the NBC broadcasts frustrating,especially during commercial breaks. Thank goodness for Indycar radio, who is sometimes on a different break schedule.

What I have noticed this year is that the broadcasters have been too obsessed with so called cel;ebrities who attend the races. Flava Flav at Detroit, and Ric Flair today. These semi famous people received way too much air time.

I have also noticed a Josef Newgarden/Team Penske cslant to their coverage. It seemed as if the booth was rooting for mclaughlin to pass Kirkwood at the end.

I cannot wait to get back to the track next weekend.

Marbles

Why did Indycar not sweep the track of the marbles during the red flag? Did they not want to delay the restart any longer tha necessary. Kudos to the field for avoiding them the last five laps

Today’s Music City Grand Prix had all the elements of a good street race- untimely cautions, lead changes, different strategies, and cars surgin to the front. falling back, and coming back to the front. It’s sad that we have to start anew in 2024 in Nashville just as the drivers have learned how to drive this track.

Race Day at Nashville

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Today’s schedule: All times Eastern

8:30a: Gates Open

10a: Indy NXT Race Peacock, Indycar radio

11:40p: Driver Intros

!2L00 pm NBC, Peacock pre race

12:11p: Invocation

12:12p: Anthem

12:23p: Command

12:30p: Green Flag 3:30p: NBC, Peacock, Indycar radio

Super Truck Race 4:15p:

GR Cup Race

5:15p: GT America Race

Will we see another chaotic race? 2021 and 2022 saw an average of 8.5 caution periods, 1.5 red flags, and 43% of the races under yellow flag conditions. I think today will be a bit calmer, but there will be enough caution time to hamper someone’s strategy.

I look fo the winner to come from the first two rows this time. A win for Alex Palou would be huge as he would extend his large championship lead. Pato O’Ward and Colton Herrta are looking for their first win of the season, and Scott McLaughlin usually has a good tace when he starts up front.

How will Linus Lundqvist fare in his Indycar debut? He has exceeded expectations so far this weekend. I hope he has a clean race and finishes well.

Tire Selections

With yesterday’s limited practice time, it looks as if most of the field wants to get the alternate tires out of the way early. 2 cars are starting on the greens.

I will be back late this afternoon with a race wrap up. Enjoy the race.

Quick Thoughts- Nashville Qualifying

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Photo by Travis Hinkle

It was worth the wait. Qualifying for the Music City Grand Prix produced an entertaining show with a couple of surprises and some drama in the finaltwo rounds. In the end, Scott McLaughlin won the pole for the second year in a row.

It took just two days for Linus Lundqvist to prove that he belongs in a full time Indycar seat. Friday’s practice was his first time in an Indycar at a race weekend. He finished 15th in the session. Today Lundqvist advnced to round 2 of qualifying. He starts 11th tomorrow. A top 20 finish would be great, but a top 15 is not out of the question.

Four drivers in The Fast Six also made the final round at Nashville in 2022. Besides Mclaughlin, Romain Grosjean, Pato O’Ward, and Alex Palou battled for the pole last year. Like McLaughlin, Palou also starts from the same spot he took the green flag from a year ago, fourth.

David Malukas is not sure which team he will be with in 2024, but he boosted his chances of a better seat today by earning a fifth place starting spot. It has been a tough year for the Dale Coyne/HMD driver. A day like today should help his barganing power. The next race at gateway is the site of his best career finish, second place.

It is rare to see Scott Dixon in the wall during qualifying. Dixon hit the wall with 18 seconds left in the round. the other five drivers were allowed one timed lap after the track was cleared. The timing of his accident may have kept WillmPower and Josef newgarden out of The Fast Six.

Notes

One the bigger shocks of the session saw marcus Ericsson starting in 20th. The team has been fighting brake issues this weekend.

Christian Lungaard rolls off 13th tomorrow. Lundgaard won the pole and the race at Toronto. It’s a disappointing result for a team that entered Nashville with a lot of momentum.

Mclaughlin’s pole helps Alex Palou by taking a point away from Josef Newgarden.

Reminder- Tomorrow’s coverage begins at noon eastern on NBC and Peacock with the green flag at 12:30.The IndyNXT race is on Peacock at 10:15 Eastern.

Results

1. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 01:14.6099 (101.327 mph)
2. (5) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 01:14.9395 (100.881)
3. (26) Colton Herta, Honda, 01:15.2416 (100.476)
4. (10) Alex Palou, Honda, 01:15.2462 (100.470)
5. (18) David Malukas, Honda, 01:15.8703 (99.644)
6. (28) Romain Grosjean, Honda, 01:15.9921 (99.484)
7. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 01:15.1384 (100.614)
8. (27) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 01:15.1641 (100.580)
9. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 01:15.4862 (100.151)
10. (7) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 01:15.5711 (100.038)
11. (60) Linus Lundqvist, Honda, 01:16.0715 (99.380)
12. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 01:16.7692 (98.477)
13. (45) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 01:16.0985 (99.345)
14. (6) Felix Rosenqvist, Chevrolet, 01:15.4638 (100.180)
15. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 01:16.1825 (99.235)
16. (11) Marcus Armstrong, Chevrolet, 01:15.5631 (100.049)
17. (06) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 01:16.2203 (99.186)
18. (77) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 01:16.0170 (99.451)
19. (21) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 01:16.3356 (99.036)
20. (8) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 01:16.0420 (99.419)
21. (14) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 01:16.6416 (98.641)
22. (30) Jack Harvey, Honda, 01:16.1193 (99.318)
23. (78) Agustin Canapino, Chevrolet, 01:16.6900 (98.579)
24. (51) Sting Ray Robb, Honda, 01:16.3907 (98.965)
25. (55) Benjamin Pedersen, Chevrolet, No Time (No Speed)
26. (29) Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda, 01:16.4369 (98.905)
27. (20) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Chevrolet, 01:17.2417 (97.875)

Ericsson Leads Brief Rainy Practice

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Marcus Ericsson paced a shortened practice in the rain as Indycar drivers prepared for qualifying for tomorrow’s Music City Grand prix in Nashville.

Practice was on hold for 40 minures as officials swept as much water as possible from the track. Cars went out almost on lone runs, some not taking to the course until just a few minutes reamined in the shortened time.

Qualifying begins at 2:45 Eastern time

The top six:

Qualifying Groups: