Category: Auto Racing

Bommarito 500- A Dixon Masterpiece

thepitwindow

Good morning, Just a few notes on yesterday’s race. I will have a full weekend wrapup after I get home this afternoon and have a chance to watch the replay.

All my notes can be reduced to two words- Scott Dixon. I have seen many masterful drives from Dixon involving fuel saving, but Sunday was one of the best I’ve witnessed. It was brilliant strategy winning this particular race on three stops given the long green flag stretches, including the entire second half of the race.

Over the years I have said that in Dixon we are watching a legend at work. I appreciate seeing Dixon drive every race. It has been easy to dismiss his chances lately because of the strength of his teammate Alex Palou, but Dixon has won just one less race than Palou over the last two years. Dixon has won on an oval, street course, and road course in that time. Palou has yet to score his fist oval victory.

I believe Dixon has a shot at joining A. J. Foyt in the 60 win club. I don’t think he will catch Foyt’s mark of 67, but I can see him winning five more times before he retires.

Newgarden Eliminated

The stars aligned for Josef Newgarden to make significant headway in his quest to chase down Alex Palou for the championship, but wall contact on lap 210 knocked him out of the race. He finished 25th for the second straight race. Newgarden is out of contention for the title.

He has won at least four races for two consecutive seasons, and he has no Astor Cup to show for it. Newgarden’s issue is consistency. He is a master on the ovals, but his road and street course performances need to improve.

Palou Worried? He Shouldn’t Be

Alex Palou lost 27 points to Dixon Sunday and his lead is now just 74 points with two races remaining. Some might say Palou is starting to hear the theme music from Jaws with Dixon making another late season charge. But Palou can lose 27 points in each of the final two races and still win the title comfortably.

Dixon could win the final two events, and if Palou finishes in the top, he is the champion. Palou’s worst finish in 2023 is eighth. He waqs seventh yesterday.

Malukas Has Found His Track

David Malukas scored his second podium in a row at World Wide Technology Raceway, finishing third yesterday. Malukas came home second in 2022. Each driver has a track where everything comes together for them, no matter how the rest of the season goes. Malukas has found his home.

Notes

I thought it was an interesting race from a strategy standpoint, and a good race for this track. The multiple strategies made keeping track of who the effective leader was as complicated as the figures on Oppenheimer’s chalkboard at Berkely at times, but the drama of whether Dixon could make it all the way on stints of 65 plus laps (of course he would-it’s Dixon) gave some tension to the final segment.

More frustration for Pato O’Ward and Arrow McLaren. The team and driver have been in contention for the win at every oval this season, but they have no wins. O’Ward arguably had the fastest car after the first pit stop.

I’m not sure O’Ward will win one of the final two races of the year.

Linus Lundqvist again proved he belongs. He started 12th. His first oval race looked mostly like he was stuck in mid pack all day, but Lundqvist turned the fastest lap of the race on lap 62. The lap was a half second faster than Dixon’s fastest leading lap.

Thanks for following along this weekend. Saturday’s weather made the program chaotic, but at least we got some night racing action out of it. I hope Indycar takes the hint Mother Nature has given them the past two years here and just schedules a night race.

Bommarito 500 Race Day-Revised Schedule

thepitwindow

Good morning. We have qualifying and racing all in one day today Teams must qualify on the primary tires and start the race on a primary set.

Here, as of now, is Sunday’s schedule. Times are Central. Schedule is subject to change.

7 a.m. – Parking lots open.

7:30 a.m. –  Spectator gates open. Paddock and Gateway Garage Experience open.

8 a.m. – Vintage Indy Registry exhibition laps.

9 a.m. — USAC Silver Crown Series OUTFRONT 100 practice.

10 a.m. — NTT INDYCAR SERIES Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline qualifying.

12:20 p.m. — USAC Silver Crown Series OUTFRONT 100 (80 laps, 100 miles).

1:45 p.m. – Law enforcement appreciation parade laps.

2 p.m. — NTT INDYCAR SERIES Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline driver introductions.

2:19 p.m. – Invocation and national anthem.

2:22 p.m. – Command for drivers to cars.

2:35 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline (260 laps, 325 miles).

After practice, several drivers said they did not notice much difference between the primary and alternate tire. We will see how it plays out in the race.

It appears that Marcus Ericsson will use a backup tub which belongs to one of his teammates.

I will be back with a full day wrap up this evening..

Newgarden Leads Practice

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If it’s World Wide Technology Raceway, Josef Newgarden is out front. The Team Penske driver led the delayed practice session this evening as drivers pre[ared for tomorrow’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500.

The one hour practice ran clean until about five minutes remained. Scott McLaughlin spun on the pit exit lane in turn two. Will power went high to avoid him, hit the wall, and collided with Marcus Ericsson. Ericsson will be going to a back up car.

Tomorrow’s schedule has changed because of today’s rain.

Here is Sunday’s schedule, which I will post again in the morning.

All times are Central

9 am Silver Crown Practice

10 am Indycar qualifying

2:35 pm Bommarito Automotive Group 500 (260 laps)

6 pm Silver Crown race (100 laps)

Results

Gateway Satruday

thepitwindow

Today’s schedule. Times are Central. All Indycar on track activity and the Indy NXT race are on Peacock today.

Good morning from the greater St. Louis area. Yesterday’s brutal heat is gone. When I arrived late yesterday afternoon, the temperature was a balmy 103 degrees with a heat index of 115. Today will be in the mid 80s and tomorrow will be in the low 80s.

The only concern is scattered showers both days. Saturday looks to be the more iffy day. I will keep you updated as we get more information.

Follow @IndycarWx_man for updates. Yesterday’s prediction was for a possible disruption of Indy NXT qualifying and a delay to Indycar qualifying.

From yesterday-

Race Preview

Race Preview- Bommarito Automotive Group 500

I will limit my time at the track today to qualifying and the NXT race. I feel good, but I an still recovering from surgery. I want to be able to put in a full day tomorrow.

I will have a wrap-up of the day later this evening, and will provide updates from the track when possible.

Race Preview- Bommarito Automotive Group 500

thepitwindow

First, I want to thank all who sent well wishes concerning my surgery earlier this week. I feel fine and will be heading to St. Louis later today and be at the track this weekend.

The race airs Sunday at 3:30 Eastern on NBC and Peacock. Why this race is run in the middle of the day is puzzling. It is a fantastic night race.

The 2023 Indycar season begins it three week run to the end of the year Sunday with the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway near St. Louis, Missouri. Normally, the final oval race of the year merely serves to set up the championship showdown over the next two weekends.

But for 2023, there is a lot to watch on the 1.25 mile oval. Since Indycar returned to the track formerly known as Gateway in 2017, Team Penske has dominated. Josef Newgarden has won four times and Will Power has one win.

A new twist to the race this weekend is the first use of an alternate tire which the teams must use for at least two laps during the race. Indycar is allotting just two sets of the alternate rubber to each team, and they must use a new set in the race. The other set will see action in the morning practice Saturday. Unlike road and street course procedures, teams may not qualify on the alternate tires, and all teams will start the race on a primary set. I think this will set up some intriguing strategies, depending on when yellows fall and later in the race.

Another possibility for the race is that the alternates may make this race less of a fuel saving run, which it has been the last couple of years. Some teams may need to make an extra stop depending on how the caution flags fall.

I’m hoping Indycar plans to expand this concept to other ovals, other than the Indianapolis 500 for now.

Josef Newgarden at Texas

Newgarden Oval Sweep?

Josef Newgarden has a chance to sweep all of the 2023 oval races Sunday. The Indianapolis 500 winner has won at Texas and both races at Iowa. he has won this race four times. Newgarden has to be considered the favorite entering the weekend. He needs the win to keep his very slim championship hopes alive. He lost a lot of ground in the title chase at the IMS road course two weeks ago.

Alex Palou after winning the pole at Detroit

Can Palou Clinch?

Alex Palou can clinch his second Indycar series championship by leaving Gateway with a lead of 108 points over either Scott Dixon or Newgarden. ovals are not Palou’s strong suit, but he doesn’t necessarily have to win. He did earn a podium in the second race at Iowa. If Palou wraps up the title, it will be the earliest the championship has wrapped up since Dan Wheldon clinched in 2005.

Linus Lundqvist

Lundqvist Oval Debut

Linus Lundqvist will again fill in for Simon Pagenaud in the Meyer Shank Racing number 60. The race will be the Swede’s first Indycar event on an oval. Lundqvist has impressed in his first two races for Meyer Shank, and he is rumored to have a ride with Chip Ganassi Racing for 2024.

One has to wonder, though, if we have seen the last of Simon Pagenaud in Indycar. WWTR will be the eighth straight race he has missed in a contract year. I enjoy watching Pagenaud race, and I hope he has at least a 500 ride for 2024, but it is something to watch going into the offseason.

Could this also be the final Indycar race for Takuma Sato as well? Sato drove the five oval races for Chip Ganassi Racing this season, and I have not heard of any prospects for him for next year. The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner will surely be back for May. He is a former winner of this event.

Malukas Eager to Return to WWTR; Thinks Alternate Tires Will Help the Racing

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David Malukas had his best race of 2022 at Weather Tech Raceway, finishing second to Josef Newgarden. He is excited to return to the track and expects another good result.

“Things are looking up for Gateway, but it’s also a little bit of
pressure being put down because it was a really good
performance last year, so you have to come in and try to
replicate it,” the Dale Coyne Racing with HMD said in a media conference yesterday.
“Either way, though, I’m very excited. I think we have a
good opportunity to do something.”

Malukas also touched on his 2024 plans, saying the Marcus Ericsson signing with Andretti earlier in the day does not affect his plans at all. He is very confident of where he will be next season, although he gave no hints.

Much of the discussion centered around the introduction of an alternate tire for the race, the first time Indycar will use an alternate tire on an oval. Malukas thinks it is a good idea and will add to the race.

“…overall I think it’s going to be good just to add kind of more flavor to the racing with the strategy with different tires. But I don’t really know how it’s going to be. I don’t know if the dropoff is going to be massive, but you would expect it to be a little bit more than the primaries.
Overall, I don’t know, I think it’s going to be a good addition, I think, just more chaos in the race.”

I asked him if he would like to see alternate tires at all the ovals.
” Yeah, I mean, I think it really depends on how it’s going to end up — how the race is going to go. That’s going to be a really good question for afterwards.
Just going into it, not knowing how it’s going to be, I don’t
know how it wouldn’t be a good thing. It’s going to add
more variety to the strategy and more opportunities for
everybody within the field to get an opportunity to try to
make the jump and be in the front by the end of it.
As of right now, I think it should be, and I think it would be
a really good addition.
But then again, who knows. Maybe it will affect things in
the wrong way and it won’t be a good result, but I think it
will be.”
Malukas also thinks the different tire strategy could possibly make this particular race less of a fuel saving race, whuich the last couple of Gateway races have turned into.
” Yeah. I mean, quite possibly, yeah. It really just depends on how long the alternates will be able to last. If they have a massive dropoff, then most likely, yeah, you probably don’t need to do a fuel save, if
everybody need to do that extra stop.
But yeah, I don’t know. It’s something to see or if it’s going
to add more variety if the tires do start trying to fall off
quicker, then are people going to try to stay out and maybe
try to make them last and have a bigger differential from
people on new tires and old tires and then have an
experience where it’s a bit like Iowa where the lap-per-lap
distance is actually a few seconds quicker.
I don’t know. It’s something that we’ll add — maybe it’ll add
more of that possibility of not being a fuel-save race.”

The Bommarito Automotive Group 500 is Sunday at 3:30 pm Eastern on NBC and Peacock.