| INDIANAPOLIS (Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023) – Alex Palou was honored for his second NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship during the Victory Lap Celebration on Sept. 21, the headline of an incomparable 2023 season for Chip Ganassi Racing. Palou dominated this season to earn another title to join his 2021 championship for Chip Ganassi Racing. He won a series-high five races in the No. 10 The American Legion Honda, with a total of 10 podium finishes in 17 races. Palou finished eighth or better in all 17 races this season and became the first INDYCAR SERIES driver to clinch the championship at least one race early since Sebastien Bourdais in 2007. Spanish driver Palou won the Astor Challenge Cup for the title by 78 points over teammate and six-time series champion Scott Dixon, earning the 15th INDYCAR SERIES championship for Chip Ganassi Racing and the organization’s third in the last four seasons. Palou was one of six members of Chip Ganassi Racing to receive special honors at the ceremony, which took place at the Gallagher Pavilion at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Marcus Armstrong of New Zealand received the Rookie of the Year Award as the top-finishing first-year driver in the standings. Armstrong scored five top-10 finishes in just 12 starts in the No. 11 Ridgeline Lubricants Honda to surpass full-time rookie Agustin Canapino of Juncos Hollinger Racing by 34 points in the standings. Team owner Chip Ganassi accepted the Championship Owner Award, and Palou’s chief mechanic, Ricky Davis, was presented the Pennzoil Chief Mechanic Award. Additional season honors for the Ganassi team included the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Team Manager award to Barry Wanser and Blair Julian. The awards haul was a reward for a dominant year by Indianapolis-based Chip Ganassi Racing. The team achieved the unprecedented feat of taking the top two spots in the driver standings and winning the Rookie of the Year title in one season. While Palou’s winning margin in the driver standings was the largest since 2016, the Manufacturers Award race came down to the final laps at the season finale Sept. 10 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Chevrolet edged Honda by just 16 points to win its second consecutive engine manufacturer title and eighth overall since it returned to the series in 2012. Mark Stielow, General Motors director of motorsport competition engineering, accepted the award on behalf of the Chevrolet team. A successful first season with a rebrand and Firestone sponsorship for INDYCAR’s development series also was recognized at the Victory Lap Celebration, as Christian Rasmussen of HMD Motorsports was honored as 2023 INDY NXT by Firestone champion. Rasmussen won a series-high five of the 14 races this season in the No. 6 HMD Motorsports with DCR entry. He beat Andretti Autosport’s Hunter McElrea to the title by 65 points. Danish driver Rasmussen’s HMD teammate, Nolan Siegel, was named INDY NXT by Firestone Rookie of the Year. Siegel, from Palo Alto, California, finished third in the series standings with two victories. |
Category: Auto Racing
Some Indycar Notes and Thoughts
Yesterday’s signing of Kyffin Simpson by Chip Ganassi Racing was a surprise and leaves me with some concerns. His age, for one, is concerning. Another concern is that he was 10th in the IndyNXT series this past season with just two podiums. I have never figutrd out how some IndyNXT drivers leapfrog over others with bretter performances to Indycar.
Simpson has won in sportscars and by all accounts has talent. Indycar is a different game. I hope he is ready.
Juncos Has a Problem
The firestorm of threats and insults hurled at Callum Ilott after the Indycar finale at Laguna Seca is completely unacceptable. This is the second time this year that fans of Agustin Canapino have been angered by Ilott husting their driver’s race.
Yes, we all get angry when a driver ruins our favorite driver’s race. But death threats are not acceptable under any circumstances.
Juncos Hollinger Racing did not help the situation with a weakly worded statement attempting to condemn the comments. The mild statement looked even worse the day after when the Minnesota Vikings posted a strongly worded condemnation of fans ‘ comments regarding one of their players who apparently made a misplay during the game.
How can Ilott continue to drive for a team which will not give him their full support? I hope Ricardo Juncos sits down with Callum and talks this out. I have left jobs when I didn’t have full support of my employer.
Carpenter Short List
Monday at Barber Ed Carpenter racing will test IndyNXT champion Christian Rasmussen and Oliver Askew in a tryout for the 20 car for 2024.
Once again we see the Indy NXT champion without a ride while another driver from the junior series is already signed. I don’t know the solution to this issue, but it needs to be addressed. Right now, except for the honor, winning the NXT championship doesn’t carry any weight as far as moving up.
Askew, the 2019 Indy Lights champion, drove 13 races in 2020 for Arrow Mclaren SP with three top 10s and one podium. He had a hard crash at the Indianapolis 500 and after the next four races withdrew from the team with concussion like symptoms. He drove one race for Ed Carpenter Racing in 2021 and also drove three races for Rahal letterman Lanigan Racing later that year. Askew earned a top 10 result for RLL. The team decide to give the ride full time to Christian Lundgaard.
On the Move
The IMS Museum has begun to move the cars out of the basement in preparation for the renovation which begins in November. I thought it was exciting to see the cars on the news as they go to wherever it is they are being stored.
I think the museum could have made a bigger deal of this with maybe a staged procession and invited fans to watch. The cars that are permanently on the display deserve a ceremonial exit.
The Lionheart
Heartland International Film Festival, my second favorite Indianapolis event, will premiere The Lionheart, a documentary about Dan Wheldon, October 5, at Newfields. Tickets are $20. Go to https://www.heartlandfilm.org/festival to purchase tickets.
Simpson Joins Ganassi in Fifth Car
From Indycar. My thoughts later.
INDY NXT by Firestone standout Kyffin Simpson will jump to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES with Chip Ganassi Racing for the complete 2024 season, team officials announced Sept. 18.
Simpson, who joined CGR as a development driver in May 2022, competed in INDY NXT by Firestone for the past two seasons. This year, Simpson registered two top-three finishes, standing on the podium at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
Simpson, a native of the Cayman Islands, also competes in the European Le Mans Series, where he and his two teammates lead the LMP2 championship standings with three races remaining, thanks in part to their impressive 4 Hours of Le Castellet victory. This year, Simpson also captured sports car victories at IMSA’s Twelve Hours of Sebring race (LMP2 class victory; P3 overall) and the Asian Le Mans Series’ 4 Hours of Dubai race (LMP2 class; overall victory).
“It’s been incredible working with Chip Ganassi Racing as their development driver over the last couple years, and I’ve been able to learn so much,” Simpson said. “I am very excited to be making the next step to INDYCAR with this team.
“I had a great time at the test, and I can’t wait to get back in the car. It’s been my dream to race in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, and it’s an honor to make it happen now with one of the best teams in the series. I’m really looking forward to working more closely with the entire team and the drivers. I want to give all the glory to God, and I also want to thank Chip (Ganassi) and Mike (Hull) for giving me this opportunity, Ridgeline Lubricants and The American Legion for their support, and, of course, my family.”
Simpson drove an INDYCAR SERIES car for the first time in January 2023 with CGR at a Sebring International Raceway test.
At 18, Simpson is scheduled to be the youngest driver on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES grid next season.
Simpson will round out the Chip Ganassi Racing lineup for the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, joining six-time champion Scott Dixon, two-time champion Alex Palou, 2023 Rookie of the Year Marcus Armstrong and 2022 INDY NXT by Firestone champion Linus Lundqvist.
“We welcome Kyffin as a teammate to our INDYCAR program,” CGR Managing Director Mike Hull said. “He has been integrated into a Chip Ganassi Racing multiyear defined development program, which now provides the opportunity at open-wheel’s highest level. He has already tested an INDYCAR SERIES car, with more to follow as an INDY NXT by Firestone graduate. In addition, he is already a proven winner in IMSA at the 12 Hours of Sebring in LMP2 and on an LMP2 global stage in the ALMS and ELMS series.”
Before advancing to INDY NXT and sports car competition, Simpson won the 2021 Formula Regional Americas Championship after earning seven wins, two pole positions and 13 total podiums.
Penske Porsches Finish Where They Started
The team started on the front row, and while the finishing order flipped from qualifying, the Penske Porsches finished first and second un the inaugural TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks. Nick Tandy and Mathieu Jaminet were the winning drivers in the number 6. The pole car took the lead on the wild start, and the team cars stayed together virtually the entire race.
Pipo Derani took the lead during a caution when he was the only car to follow IMSA’s direction to pass the GTD cars. With the Porsches closing in, Derani locked the wheels entering turn 1 and the 31 battled for a while before fading to fourth at the end.
The race had just 13 laps of the 113 circuits run, all in the first hour. Sebastien Bourdais spun between turns 1 and 2, causing front end damage and leaving a large piece of debris on the track.
After the first 75 minutes the race settled down. The track was very busy with 48 cars on a track less than three miles long.. Leaders continually fought through traffic.
The Winners
Class winners:
GTP
Nick Tandy/Mathieu Jaminet Penske Porsche
LMP2
Steven Thomas/ Mikkel Jensen Oreca
LMP3
Anthony Mantella/Wayne Boyd Duqueine
GTD Pro
Daniel Juncadella/Jules Gounon Mercedes AMG
GTD
Russell Ward/Phillip Ellis Mercedes AMG
Thoughts
The race was fun to watch. Traffic was continuous. Drivers have to be very precise to deal with slower cars.
This was my first IMSA sprint race. It had a lot more energy and sense of urgency than an endurance race. The tension was palpable.
I liked that the scoring pylon had the class color underneath the number. It made it easy to find a particular car’s overall standing and its class position.
This morning’s autograph session had drivers signing outside their individual garages. It made for shorter lines and fans could get the drivers they wanted. Indycar used to do this. I wish they would go back to this system.
One thing I noticed was a lack of local television stations at the track this weekend. I looked on a couple of station’s websites and found just one story on each site. I guess it’s more important to cover Indianapolis’ mediocre football team than an historic race at IMS.
Attendance was decent. I’m guessing it was around 30,000, which is good for an IMSA stand alone event.
Thanks for following along this weekend. This was my first time covering an IMSA event. It is quite different from an Indy race weekend.
I will have some more photos up this week.
IMSA Race Day
Today’s Schedule:
7:30 a.m.-4 p.m.: Public gates open
8-8:20 a.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Warm-up
9:40-10:20 a.m.: Porsche Carrera Cup Race 2 (40 minutes)
10:40-11:30 a.m.: Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Race 2 (50 minutes)
Noon-12:50 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Pre-Race, Open Grid, Fan Walk
1:10-3:50 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks Race (2 hours, 40 minutes) NBC, Peacock
Toay begins a new era for IMS as sports cars begin what should be a longer run than the three years of Grand AM had in the early 2010s. The series has been fun to watch on track the last two days.
As I watched practice yesterday morning, I thought how proper it looked to have sports on the road course. These machines just looked like they belonged here.
Last night’s Michelin Pilot Challenge turned out to be a heck of a race. The last hour featured fierce battles for the lead in both classes. There was a lot of contact between the leaders, but it was mostly hard racing. Daniel Morad won the GS class. Mikey Taylor won the TCR trophy. Robert Wickens lost the lead with just three laps to go, and finished second, less than a second behind Taylor. It was great to see Wickens racing at IMS again.
The track looks great at night. like that the entire track isn’t lit. I felt there was the correct mix of lighted and dark areas.
Notes
Following the warmup, there will be a special demonstration run with the last Ferrari to win Le Mans prior to this year, and a 1966 Ford GT.
I thought the grid walk before the race yesterday afternoon seemed less crowded than usual. I discovered the reason. Virtually everyone had crowded around the car of Robert Wickens. Several Indycar drivers were there, including Alexander Rossi, Marus Ericsson, Felix Rosenqvist, Jack Harvey, and Conor Daly.
I will try to have a quick pre race post and then a post after the race. Enjoy the race.
Front Row Sweep for Porsche
Matt Campbell was fast yesterday and even faster today. He led a Penske Porsche sweep of the front row for tomorrow’s TireRack,com Battle on the Bricks. (The event name needs some work, by the way)
Campbell was the first car to turn a lap in the 1:13s and he had a best lap of 1:13.672. Teammate Mathieu Jaminet, Acura driver Tom Blomqvist, and Cadillac driver Sebastien Bourdais also ran laps in the 1:13 bracket.
The 10 GTP cars were separated by 0.96 seconds.
Ben Keating won the pole in LMP2. The LMP 2 /LMP3 session was interrupted with seven minutes left when Bijo Garg ran head on into the tire barrier in turn six. Tine ran out on the session, but race officials allowed one more timed lap. Keating improved his time to seal the pole. Garg was leading LMP3 at the time of his crash. His time stood up.
Madison Snow won the pole in GTD and led the combined GTD and GTD Pro session in a Paul Miller owned BMW.
Klaus Bachler put the Pfaff motorsports Porsche on the GTD Pro pole.
Next uo today is the four hour Michelin Pilot Challenge which begins in an hour. Robert Wickens will start second. The race will be shown live on Peacock.
Photo Gallery
Some photos from this morning.
Saturday at IMS: IMSA Qualifies; Michelin Pilot Races into the Night
Today’s Schedule All times Eastern
7:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m.: Public gates open
8-8:15 a.m.: Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Qualifying 1
8:20-8:35 a.m.: Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Qualifying 2
8:55-10:25 a.m.: IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship Practice 2 (GTD/LMP3/LMP2)
9:10-10:40 a.m.: IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship Practice 2 (GTD PRO/GTP)
11-11:15 a.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge Qualifying (TCR)
11:20-11:35 a.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge Qualifying (GS)
11:50 a.m.-12:40 p.m.: Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Race 1 (50 minutes)
1-1:15 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship Qualifying (GTD/GTD PRO)
1:25-1:40 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship Qualifying (LMP2/LMP3)
1:50-2:10 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship Qualifying (GTP)
2:30-3:10 p.m.: Porsche Carrera Cup Race 1 (40 minutes)
3:30-4:10 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge Pre-Race (Open Grid/Fan Walk)
4:30-8:30 p.m.: Indianapolis Motor Speedway 240 for the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge (Four hours)
Fans at IMS get their first look at IMSA qualifying today. The five classes split into three groups-the two GTD classes, LMP2 and LMP 3, and GTP. The first two groups have 15 minutes each, and the GTP has 20 minutes. That is it. No knockout qualifying, just the fastest time .
I plan to explore the IMS merchandise shop today. I had just a brief look yesterday. IMSA also has a merchandise tent in the infield. I am having technical difficulties posting photos to my blog. I may just have to a separate post with just photos.
The day ends with a four hour Michelin Pilot Challenge race. The series qualifies this morning, each class getting 15 minutes on track. The Michelin Pilot Challenge also runs a four hour race at Daytona the day before the Rolex 24 hours.
I’ll be back after qualifying.
Here are a couple photos from yesterday.
Porsche Leads Practice 1
Matt Campbell and Porsche picked up where he left off in summer testing at IMS, driving the number 7 Team Penske Porsche to the top speed in in IMSA Weather Tech’s first practice session. His fast lap was 1:14.184. Porsche was very strong in the test at IMS.
Jack Hawksworth led the GTD Pro class in a Vasser Sullivan Lexus with a lap of 1:23.636. Hawksworth has driven this course when he competed in the Indycar series.
The other class leaders:
LMP2-Mikkel Jensen TDS Racing Oreca 1:17.231
LMP3-Garrett Grist JrIII Racing Ligier 1:20.737
GTD Patrick Gallagher Turner Motorsport BMW 1:24.019
The serioes has one more practice beginning at 8:55 tomorrow morning before qualifying starts at 1 pm.
Notes
Attendance was decent for a Friday in September. I have not heard any word on ticket sales, but I think the weekend will see a good crowd. The weather was just perfect for racing today and it is expected to continue the rest of the weekend.
The pit configuration is similar to Formula 1. The temporary grandstands behind the pits are not in place. IMSA teams have a lot of equipment. The walkway behind the pits is very tight.
Shortly after my last post in which I said I did not see anyone I knew, I did something about it. I went back to Pagoda Plaza and found two people I recognized from Twitter, @Indynathan and @GasolineAly. We talked for awhile and visited the Toronto Motorsports trailer. problem solved.
By the way Toronto Motorsports has an amazing diecast inventory of classic sports cars. If you come to IMS this weekend, check them out.
This will do it for me for today. Michelin Pilot Challenge has a practice at 7:15 this evening. I’m excited to see how this track performs at night. No lights have been added to the track.
