Scott Mclaughlin will drive the number 3 Pennzoil Car in the 105th running of the Indianapolis 500. He will use the paint scheme which Helio Castroneves used in his last race with Team Penske.
The three time Australian Supercars champion revealed the car in this video this morning.
The secret is out. Can’t wait to carry on the legacy and honour all those that came before me by driving the #3 @Pennzoil Yellow Submarine in this years Indy 500! #SM3pic.twitter.com/wH4evYq2aq
I think.its time to retire the term yellow submarine. Just because the car is yellow and sponsored by Pennzoil doesn’t make it the yellow submarine. That was a special car driven by Johnny Rutherford. The chassis was unique. This is a spec Dallara.
IMS Mass Vaccination Clinics Resume Tomorrow
Thursday is the first day of three April weekends of mass COVID vaccination clinics at IMS. THE first clinic was a resounding success with more than 16,000 shots dispensed. The goal for the April clinics iss 96,000 vaccinations. Ad of today, Indiana residents age 16 and older are eligible for the vaccine.
(INDIANAPOLIS) March 30, 2021 – Ed Carpenter Racing and the U.S. Air Force are proud to unveil Conor Daly’s No. 20 U.S. Air Force Chevrolet for the 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. In a brand-new design for 2021, Daly’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES car celebrates the U.S. Air Force’s B-2 Spirit stealth bomber. The No. 20 was painted in ECR’s race shop and features a pattern of silver, blue and black silhouettes of the only stealth bomber in the world. A group of select Airmen from the 509th Bomb Wing were the first to see the 2021 U.S. Air Force Chevrolet two weeks ago. Daly and members of the Ed Carpenter Racing team travelled to Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, to meet the men and women who maintain, support and operate the aircraft and displayed the No. 20 car alongside the inspiration behind its design, a B-2 Spirit. The 509th Bomb Wing and its fleet of B-2s serve as part of the U.S. Air Force’s conventional and strategic combat force. Whiteman AFB is the only operational base for the strategic stealth bomber. “The Air Force’s liveries have traditionally drawn inspiration from the fighter aircraft community, but air power is about much more than fighter aircraft,” said Major Jason Wyche, Chief, National Events Branch, Air Force Recruiting Service. “The B-2 plays a critical role in the defense of our nation, bringing massive firepower to bear, anywhere in the world, in a short amount of time. The B-2 is an iconic aircraft, so we are really excited to unveil this design highlighting the stealth bomber and the Airmen supporting that mission.” The B-2 Spirit is a multi-role bomber capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear munitions. A dramatic leap forward in technology, the bomber represents a major milestone in the U.S. bomber modernization program. Its low-observable, or “stealth,” characteristics give it the unique ability to penetrate an enemy’s most sophisticated defenses and threaten its most valued and heavily defended targets. First flown in 1989, it will continue to provide a strong, effective deterrent and combat force well into the 21st century. Daly, 29, is continuing a partnership with the U.S. Air Force that originated four years ago. Beginning as a one-off 2018 Indianapolis 500 entry, Daly and the U.S. Air Force have grown to be synonymous in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. Daly competed in the full 2020 schedule, splitting his talent between two teams. Daly drove the No. 20 U.S. Air Force Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing during the road and street course events and the No. 47 in the Indianapolis 500. While ECR team owner Ed Carpenter raced the No. 20 on ovals, Daly stepped into Carlin’s No. 59. In addition to four Top 10 finishes, Daly earned his first career pole position at Iowa Speedway. Known for a desire to sharpen his skills by racing in different disciplines, Daly has recently competed in USAC Midgets, Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. “To be able to pay tribute to one of the most outstanding aircrafts in the U.S. Air Force fleet is really incredible. The B-2 Spirit represents some of the greatest technology in the modern world and some of the most impressive air power. For it to be on our NTT INDYCAR SERIES car means a lot to myself and ECR, we hope it’s as powerful as the B-2,” Daly stated. “We have such incredible cars every year. We’ve showcased the history of the fighter jet, which is so fitting since our cars look like fighter jets. Now, we’ve got the B-2 on our car in a really cool pattern. We really hope the fans love it as much as we do!” The 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule consists of 13 road and street course events, all of which will feature Daly in ECR’s No. 20. The B-2 Spirit design will make its race weekend debut in the season opener at Barber Motorsports Park on April 17-18. It will also race at St. Petersburg, Belle Isle, Road America, Mid-Ohio, Nashville, Portland, Laguna Seca and Long Beach. Though Daly will sport a special edition livery for the 105th Running of the Indianapolis 500, the B-2 scheme will first be seen on-track on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. The B-2 car will be branded as the No. 47 during the open test on April 8-9, which will again be Daly’s Indy 500 number. The official design of the No. 47 will be unveiled in April.
About the U.S. Air Force The mission of Air Force Recruiting Service is to inspire, engage and recruit the next generation of Airmen and Space professionals. We are looking for America’s best and brightest to fill nearly 30,000 opportunities in more than 200 Air Force specialties, as well as more than 300 space professionals in space-specific career fields in fiscal 2021. Additionally, our total force partners, the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard are collectively hiring more than 19,000 part-time Airmen. Our military recruits to retain, providing tough, highly technical training that gives our future servicemembers the right skills to sustain the combat capability of America’s Air Force and protect our nation’s interests in space. For more information about Air Force and U.S. Space Force benefits and opportunities, go to www.airforce.com. About Ed Carpenter Racing Ed Carpenter Racing (ECR) will be entering its 10th season of NTT INDYCAR SERIES competition in 2021. The Indianapolis-based race team has proven its versatility by collecting seven wins across each type of track the series competes on – street and road courses, short ovals and speedways. ECR is led by IndyCar’s only team owner/driver, Ed Carpenter, three-time pole winner for the Indianapolis 500 (2013, 2014 and 2018). In 2021, Indiana natives Carpenter and Conor Daly will share the No. 20 Chevrolet as Carpenter drives the oval races and Daly takes over for the road and street course events. Both will be entered in the Indianapolis 500 alongside 2020 Rookie of the Year Rinus VeeKay, full-time driver of the No. 21 Chevrolet. ECR made its eSports debut in the 2020 iRX World Championship with Jim Beaver eSports. More information may be found at http://www.edcarpenterracing.com/.
Photo: A wall section goes into place on Dan Wheldon Way. Photo from GPSTPETE Twitter page
A welcome sight in downtown St. Petersburg, although a month later than usual, today was the first day of the track build for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The race has been the traditional opening round of the NTT Indycar Series. Because of the pandemic in 2020, the race took place in August last year. In 2021, this will be the second race race of the year. The Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama will open the year April 18, followed by St Pete the following weekend.
St. Petersburg has quite an extensive heritage of street racing dating back to the 1980s. I wrote a piece about the early racing last October.
On hand for today’s ceremonies A. J. Foyt racing driver Sebastien Bourdais, a resident of St. Petersburg. Bourdais won this race in 2017 and 2018
The event has a 20,000 fans per day limit. Three day tickets are on sale now at gpstpete.com.
VeeKay Reveals 2021 Livery
Ed Carpenter racing driver Rinus VeeKay revealed the livery for car 21 on Twitter this morning. The car is basically the same as lat year’s. Sonax is the main sponsor with help fro Netherlands grocer Jumbo.
The 2020 Rookie of the Year won his first pole and earned his first podium finish at the Harvest Grand Prix last Octoberat Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I think he will have a great season in 2021.
Photo: Pato O’Ward leads the group during testing at IMS Friday. -Joe Skibinski, Indycar
Jay Frye declared it a good day. It gave Indycar a direction although there is still work to do.
“When we came into this, we thought really at the end of the day that this would precipitate more questions than answers. That’s probably what happened, right. Which is fine. That’s what we expected,” the Indycar president told the media after the four var test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Friday.
“We did learn a lot. But it did also create a lot of other questions,” Frye concluded.
The test, with drivers Scott Dixon, and Alexander Rossi representing Honda, and Josef Newgarden and Pato O’Ward driving Chevrolets, involved various versions of push to pass in an attempt to simulate what the hybrid component might look like in 2023.
Frye explained what Indycar was looking for.
I think today we’ve got a lot of data off the car in a direction on what approach to go with,” he said. “In the way that we have push to pass, with the hybrid system that would kind of be obsolete. You’ll have a bank of energy that you have with the hybrid system that once it will go away, that you will be able to recharge it so it will be on all the time basically. With push to pass there’s an amount of time or there’s an amount of pushes. That’s what we looked at today. We just gave the drivers for every 200 seconds, you’re going to go do a 20 lap run. Use it as you want it. Most used about half, so 100 seconds. It was interesting to see how it played out.”
“We thought they would have liked that for a longer time. This is new. We’ve never done this on an oval. We’ve tested it at Pocono, Texas and Phoenix before but that was with the old package. For this new one, it definitely is much better than it was before which is cool,” Frye concluded. He also noted that trap speeds which are normally around 230 mile an hour, were 236 miles an hour Friday.
The new, larger 2.4 liter 2023 engine, and the hybrid energy recovery system should give the cars 200 more horsepower in 2023. Frye said the series will not allow that much all at once, but adjust the and work up to 900 horsepower.
Alexander Rossi, Scott Dixon, and and Josef newgarden discuss what they learned in Friday’s test at IMS. Photo by Chris Owens, Indycar.
The Pit Window spoke with three of the drivers after the early end to the test day.
Scott Dixonliked some of the changes and noticed the increase in speed.
“Obviously there’s a lot of power and some of the durations are quite long,” Dixon said. “10 seconds at 70-80 horsepower, especially in a car that’s trimmed out. Your average lap speed could jump by several mph. There’s some good changes to see how you can apply that and to what effect or not effect on the tire and in regards to running in traffic.”
Dixon’s concern with the push to pass is how long a driver would be locked out of the system after using it. He prefers a shorter lock out time.
Alexander Rossi doesn’t think the push to pass would change anything on an oval.
“Yes it’s a pretty big horsepower boost with the push to pass,” said the Andretti Autosport driver. “We’re going to have to look at it to see if it changed anything for the better or worse. It’s definitely different. We got that test accomplished and have some hard data to look at for the future.”
Josef Newgarden was happy to help Indycar gather data and glad that he learned some tings.
“I thought it went well. When you learn something in testing you’re happy about it. I thought we learned some stuff today on our cars on how things works and how they could potentially work in use scenario.
“The horsepower bump was tunable. You could definitely raise the horsepower increase up or down so that jump in the performance off the corner could be bigger or smaller. The length of it is all adjustable. We ran through a couple of scenarios and a couple of configurations. It’s definitely noticeable. A couple of configurations were noticeable. If you want to run a system like that, it’s really what’s the right configuration to give to the field. I think that’s the type of info we were trying to arm INDYCAR with and now it’s on to them to see what we do in the future.”
Frye said that testing of the hybrid system would likely be in January and February of 2022.
Notes
It was wonderful to watch cars on the IMS oval again. It has been more than a year since I have seen the oval used.
Improvements made by Roger Penske are obvious. Most noticeable is the new video board on the back of the Pagoda. it spans the entire width of the building and the high resolution screen is fantastic.
The main thing is how clean the plaza and Victory Circle are. I was so used to how the areas appeared, but I now realize that they were long overdue for sprucing up.
Testing for the Indianapolis 500 is schedule for April 8 and 9, between the mass vaccination clinics at the Speedway. I assume the turn 2 mounds will be open as they were yesterday.
Indycar just released the following information. To my knowledge this is not open for public viewing.
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Drivers To Test Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Dixon, Newgarden, O’Ward, Rossi To Use Push-to-Pass System in Choreographed Session As part of preparations for the introduction of a new engine package in 2023, the 2.4-liter, twin-turbocharged V6 with hybrid technology, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES will host a four-car test Friday, March 26 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. Drivers will use the series’ Push-to-Pass system, which delivers increased power to the current 2.2-liter engine. In 2023, the new engine with hybrid technology will feature the ability of a 100-horsepower boost for use on ovals, as well as street and road courses. INDYCAR will help guide the hybrid Push-to-Pass simulation starting at 10 a.m., with choreographed group sessions lasting from 1-4 p.m. Drivers testing include six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing, two-time series champion Josef Newgarden of Team Penske, 2016 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Alexander Rossi of Andretti Autosport, and 2020 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren SP.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway will have another mass vaccination clinic in April. The on e in early March lasted four days and administered more than 16,000 doses of the COVID vaccine. In April the speedway will have clinics on 16 days and hopes to vaccinate 96,000 people. Clinic hours are 9 am -7 pm. Clinic dates are April 1-3, 13-18, and 24-30.
Indiana residents age 16 and up become eligible on March 31. The current eligible age range is 40 years and over. Registration for the speedway clinics is open, but those under 40 cannot register until March 31.
April will be busy at IMS. An open test for Indianapolis 500 entrants is scheduled for April 8 and 9. No word yet if spectators will be permitted.
500 Car Count: Bumping Returns
The car count for the 105th running of the Indianapolis 500 will be more than 33 cars, assuring the return of bumping. Cars currently confirmed:
Chevrolet
Team Penske (4)-Josef Newgarden, Will Power, Simon Pagenaud, Scott McLaughlin
A. J. Foyt Racing (3)- Sebastien Bourdais, Dalton Kellett, Charlie Kimball
Carlin Racing (1)- Max Chilton
Arrow McLaren SP (3)- Pato O’Ward, Felix Rosenqvist, Juan Pablo Montoya
Ed Carpenter Racing (3) – Ed Carpenter, Rinus VeeKay, Conor Daly
Paretta Autosport (1)- Simona De Silvestro
Honda
Andretti Autosport (5)-Colton Herta, Alexander Rossi, Ryan Hunter-Reay, James Hinchcliffe, Marco Andretti
Chip Ganassi Racing(4)- Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson, Alex Palou, Tony Kanaan
Dale Coyne Racing (2)- Ed Jones, Pietro Fittipaldi, 1 TBD, possibly James Davison
Meyer Shank Racing (2)- Jack Harvey, Helio Castroneves
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (2)- Takuma Sato, Graham Rahal
Other possible entries- Dreyer and Reinbold Racing, Top Gun Racing, additional cars cars from Foyt, Raha, and possibly Andretti.
I anticipate 35-36 cars. In 2019 there was drama as two cars had to go home. What there wasn’t was the fastest 33 starting the race. I of course have a fix for that which I will discuss closer to qualifying day.
A friendship that began seven years ago resulted in a major sponsorship for A. J. Foyt Racing. Larry Foyt met Joinathan Kendrick and they stayed in touch. Kendrick, a co-founder of ROKit, a new business incubator, has always been a race fan. He worked for Goodyear Tire’s racing Division as a teenager, and became aware of A. J. Foyt.
Foyt lost long time sponsor ABC Supply after the 2019 season and in 202 struggled to find sponsorship. This new deal brings stability to the team as they look to put together a better year in 2021. All the elements are in place for improvement.
The news release:
WALLER, Texas (March 23, 2021)–AJ Foyt Racing and Sebastien Bourdais will be rockin’ with ROKiT this year!
The global conglomerate ROKiT signed as the primary marketing partner of the No. 14 Chevrolet to be driven by Bourdais in the NTT INDYCAR Series this season. The striking livery design embodies ROKiT’s disruptive approach to challenging conventional business. In addition to branding on the car, the agreement allows for a variety of activation opportunities.
#14 Sebastien Bourdais, A.J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet
Entrepreneur Jonathan Kendrick, ROKiT’s co-founder along with partner John-Paul DeJoria, is utilizing the Foyt team’s iconic heritage to raise brand awareness globally and showcase the company’s broad range of services and products.
Commenting, Jonathan Kendrick said “When I was 17 years old and working for Goodyear Tires racing division, I was aware of AJ Foyt and what an incredibly talented driver he was, so I am hugely excited to have partnered with the legendary AJ Foyt Racing team for the 2021 INDYCAR Series. I’m looking forward to cheering-on the fabulous looking No.14 Chevrolet as it roars around the circuits this year. All our ROKiT companies will be actively involved in this partnership and we wish Larry, Sebastien and all the team at Foyt Racing the very best of luck.”
ROKiT is a new business incubator with a diverse portfolio of companies involved in innovative technology and services including mobile phones, WiFi deployment, beverages, pioneering 3D content production and distribution of movies and music.
The partnership is the evolution of a discussion which began seven years ago when the two companies started exploring opportunities to work together.
Larry Foyt anticipates the new partnership will give his team and the INDYCAR series additional exposure to a younger audience as the team mounts a competitive campaign to vie for victories with 4-time INDYCAR champion Bourdais.
“I met JK several years ago and we have stayed in touch,” said Larry Foyt, team president of AJ Foyt Racing. “He is a true racing enthusiast and it has been great to see him use many forms of motorsport in his growth strategy for ROKiT. We had expressed interest in working together when the time was right, and I must say it feels like everything came into alignment perfectly for this opportunity. I think this partnership will reward ROKiT’s partners and consumers with some exciting programs that take advantage of the great access our team can provide. I’m enthused about our promising testing results, and this is another shot of awesome momentum heading into the season.”
The NTT INDYCAR series opens its 17-race season April 18 at Barber Motorsports Park.
As always, Roger Penske is aiming high. He is aiming for 250,00 in fact. In a zoom conference today, the owner of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Indycar said that 170,000 tickets for the 105th running of the Indianapolis 500 have “been accounted for.” Whether more tickets, including general admission, go on sale depends on the situation with COVId-19. Numbers in Indiana have been moving ina positive trend. Penske hopes to have a full house of 250,000 on race day.
Penske would not commit to a number because he does not have the final say on it.
“Our goal is to have 250,000,” Penske said. “That’s what we want to have. It’s outside. We’ve got the biggest stadium in the world here, and it’s a matter of where we’re going to be with the CDC and the governor and the mayor, so I don’t have any number that I’d want to hang my hat on.
“We’re not making any predictions at all, because anything I would say today could be completely wrong.”
Last year before the decision was made to hold the race without fans in August, the Speedway had planned to have 50% of capacity, which would be around the 170,000 fans that now have tickets.
A lot depends on the aftermath of the NCAA Men’s basketball tournament which Indianapolis is hosting. If the city doesn’t see a spike in COVID cases over the next few weeks, it is possible that the race could have a large crowd with COVID protocols in place.
Penske did say the race will run May 30 with however many fans that are allowed.
A Second Mass Clinic at IMS?
Penske also said that he is working out details with state and local governments to conduct a second mass vaccination clinic. The Speedway had a four day clinic march 5-8 and more than 16,000 people received the one shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine. Indiana is approaching 1 million fully vaccinated residents.
Foyt Announcement Tomorrow
A. J. Foyt Racing will have announcement billed as an “update on their 2021 plans.” I am hearing it is a major sponsor announcement. I will have a report on the Foyt news after 2 pm Eastern tomorrow. As usual, the news will break during my writing class. If you’re a regular reader, you need I need the class.
I have a dream that one day in an IMSA race the entire DPi class will fall out and the overall winner will be an LMP2 or GTLM car. Last night my dream nearly came true. The DPi cars seem to have a way of making things difficult for themselves, whether it’s squeezing each other into barriers, penalties for excessive drive time, pit mistakes, or on track collisions, the top class always entertains.
The result was unlikely winner, the number 5 Mustang sampling DPi Cadillac driven by Sebastien BGourdais, Loic Duval, and Tristan Vautier. Bourdais drove the anchor leg and led the final hour and 10 minutes. The car finished the race with a broken rear wing to edge out the Mazda of Harry Tincknell.
It was an improbable win for a team that had struggled to find speed all weekend, but the car and the race came to them, with an assist from the rest of the class.
Notes
Porsche swept the GT categories with victories in GTLM and GTD. The GTLm win by the 79 resembled the follies of DPi, with a late collision of the BMW and Corvette allowing Matheiu Jaminet to grab the lead from what appeared to be a third place finish.
The GTLM winner Pfaff Motorsports benefitted from the expertise of Laurens Vanthoor, who piloted the Canadian team to the win.
A good run by Simon Pagenaud in the 48 DPi topped a difficult day for the team. Jimmie Johnson spun and made contact with another car in the foirst hour of the race. The team climbed back into contention later in the day, Pagenaud stayed in the cat 50 seconds too long, disqualifying the car, which was third on the track at the end. I don’t understand why IMSA allows a car to keep running after it is known that car will be disqualified.
Katherine Legge had a great run in the 88 Hardpoint car. She was in line for a podium until a penalty for contact dropped her to 5th in class. The team, co-driven by Christina Neilsen and Bia Figuerado, still had a good run in just their second outing.
I understand IMSA’s desire to have as many cars in a race as possible, but when GTLM cars are faster than LMP3’s, it’s a bit concerning.
I hope but I doubt that NBC is over their Jimmie Johnson love fest. I admire him that after his success in NASCAR that he is trying a completely different motorsports discipline, but NBC’s coverage of him is overkill. The nice thing about Indycar is that he will be in the car the entire race and unavailable for interviews during the races.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 