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BMW Team Wins This Indianapolis 8 Hour in Unique Fashion

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From IMS:

 
INDIANAPOLIS (Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024) – The Indianapolis 8 Hour Presented by AWS at Indianapolis Motor Speedway literally came down to a race against the clock.
Wright Motorsports’ Laurin Heinrich of Germany held the late-race lead – comfortably, in fact – but he knew a five-second penalty was coming from an infraction on the final pit stop for the No. 120 Porsche 911 GT3 R. Heinrich ran some of his best laps in the final minutes, but he crossed the finish line 4.74 seconds ahead of Belgium’s Dries Vanthoor and the Team WRT’s No. 31 BMW M4 GT3.Thus, Vanthoor officially won the eight-hour endurance event by .260 of a second. Last year, BMW’s margin at the finish was 53.110 seconds – and it actually was the car that took checkered flag first.
“I don’t know what to say at the moment,” said Vanthoor, who spent the final hour of the race virtually matching Heinrich’s lap times on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course at the Racing Capital of the World.
“I gave it everything I had. It was an amazing fight. Yeah, I gave it everything I had. I’m exhausted. Yeah, we did it!”
Heinrich said he was told of the impending time adjustment quite a while after it was announced, and he didn’t have enough laps left to keep the necessary advantage. He was disappointed to have lost the top spot on the podium in that manner
.“It’s a bit of a shame (to) somehow lose the overall win,” he said. “I was told (on the team’s radio) nine minutes before the end of a five-second penalty. I drove my heart out. I could extend the gap a bit but, I mean, I was clearly faster.”
The late-race drama as darkness settled over the historic motorsports facility was heightened by the fact both frontrunners were low on fuel. In fact, Vanthoor’s machine ran out on the cooldown lap, and it had to be towed to Victory Lane.
“It was a fuel race to the end, but we managed to do it,” Vanthoor said. “I’ll need a few days to recover, but I’m very happy to be a back-to-back Indy winner.”
Vanthoor also won last year’s race co-driving with Sheldon van der Linde of South Africa. The new driver in this year’s group was Charles Weerts of Belgium.This event brings together the Intercontinental GT Challenge and the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS. In an interesting twist,
Vanthoor and Heinrich both led their cars to Indy victories as their programs race in different categories. Heinrich also helped deliver a season championship for Florida’s Adam Adelson and California’s Elliott Skeer, who fought back emotions on pit lane after overcoming a 33-point deficit to ST Racing’s BMW.
“Funny enough, how we came into the race it was the exact same scenario,” Skeer said. “Two cars against each other and whoever (finishes ahead) comes out the champion. Ultimately, last year didn’t go to plan, but this year we won this thing overall on track. Not only did we beat the car we need to, we beat every single car on track. It’s an unbelievable feeling.”
The 23-car field included several drivers with IMS ties, including reigning and three-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou, who won the pole for last year’s Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. Palou’s No. 4 Mercedes-AMG Team Lone Star Racing was already three laps off the pace with electrical issues when the Spaniard climbed behind the wheel, and he helped bring it home in 13th position. Still, that was good for third place in the Intercontinental GT Challenge Pro class.
Former INDYCAR SERIES drivers Zach Veach and Gabby Chaves co-drove the No. 93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 with Luca Mars that finished fourth overall and second in the Fanatec GT World Challenge America event. They finished 53.149 seconds behind the race winner, one of six cars on the lead lap.The No. 99 Random Vandals Racing BMW that included INDYCAR SERIES driver Conor Daly finished 21st.
Bell, Rowe Shine in Saturday’s Support Races
Saturday morning’s single-make Toyota Gazoo GR Cup North America race featured many drivers with familiar motorsports names and celebrities
.Jaxon Bell, the son of 10-time Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge starter and NTT INDYCAR SERIES television analyst Townsend Bell, battled back from a drive-through penalty to become the highest finisher of those drivers – in 18th place in the 33-car field — in the No. 98 Copeland Motorsports Toyota.
Driving for Eagles Canyon Racing powered by Fast Track Toyota were YouTube star Cody Jones finishing in the 23rd position and Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves 25th as the last driver on the lead lap.
USAC standout Jade Avedisian finished 27th in the No. 24 Nitro Motorsports Toyota GR86.The race was won by Gresham Wagner, the driver of the No. 5 Copeland Motorsports Toyota who beat pole sitter Lucas Weisenberg (No. 46 Lucas Racing Toyota) by .733 seconds.
The series’ second race of the weekend is Sunday at 11:55 a.m.
INDY NXT by Firestone veteran Myles Rowe earned a spot on the podium in his class in the first Pirelli GT4 America race of the weekend, held Saturday. It was the first sports car race of Rowe’s career.Rowe and co-driver Isaac Sherman finished third – seventh overall – in the Pro-Am division in the No. 098 Rotek Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4.
The 60-minute race was won by Corey Lewis and Tyler Gonzalez driving Smooge Racing’s Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO. Lewis crossed the finish line 5.172 seconds ahead of the field. The season-ending race is Sunday at IMS at 10:35 a.m. ET.

Dallas Street Race and Other Thoughts

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I am just catching up ona few happenings in the Indycar world during an offseason that hasn’t really been off.

Last week a new street race in Dallas was announced for 2026. I understand- the desire of the series to race in that area. NTT’s headquarters are there. But I find it aggravating that the race will be less than an hour from Texas Motor Speedway, which can’t find a date suitable for IndyCar.

The event will be run around AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys. I suppose the good news is that it won’t be on tight city streets where passing is nearly impossible. Parking lots allow for more flexibility in track layout. The bad news is it will be an unremarkable setting for a course.

Will this new race the 18th race or will a current race be cut? We already lost an oval t=race this year for the 2025 Thermal Club event. Which race would be cut if the series plans to stay at 17 races? My guess would be the second race at Iowa. I hope not, since the series needs at least six oval races a year.

Where will Dallas land on the schedule? I hope it is a spring race, before temperatures get too hot in the area. We will have to see how this plays out, but if the series wants to add new venues, I think they should look for more ovals.

Filling the Seats

As of today, there are seven seats still open on the 2025 Indycar grid, although one is believed to be spoken for. PREMA is thought to have Robert Schwartzman in its second car, but no official announcement has been made yet.

The other six- two each at Coyne, Rahal, and Juncos, are still up for grabs. Rinus VeeKay is the top free agent right now, but teams may be too far along with other drivers to add him into the mix. I think VeeKay is worth considering.

Testing

Felipe Drugovich and Jamie Chadwick tested at Barber Monday. Drugovich tested for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and Chadwick had her first IndyCar experience in an Andretti Global car.

Jamie Chadwick after winning the IndyNXT race at Road America

Chadwick used the session to assess her readiness to race in the series, and she feels she needs to gain more upper body strength. Rahal constantly tests drivers to keep in mind for the future. Chadwick may get to do a race next year, but with the charter system in place, she would have to compete with the PREMA cars for the final spot in the field.

IndyCar teams will have a single car test at IMS October 10 and 11. One car from each team, 11 total, will participate. The focus of the test is the hybrid unit.

New Era: Charter System Established for NTT INDYCAR SERIES Team Owners 

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 INDIANAPOLIS (Monday, Sept. 23, 2024) – INDYCAR confirmed today the establishment of a charter system across the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. In total, owners of 10 teams have accepted charters for 25 entries competing in North America’s premier open-wheel racing series, beginning immediately.
“This is an important development that demonstrates an aligned and optimistic vision for the future of our sport,” Penske Entertainment Corp. President and CEO Mark Miles said. “I want to extend my sincere appreciation to our team owners for their collaboration and ideation throughout this process. Ultimately, we’re pleased to have a system in place that provides greater value for our ownership and the entries they field.”
This is the first charter system to be introduced in the history of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. A chartered entry is guaranteed a starting position on the grid at all NTT INDYCAR SERIES races, excluding the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. An entry also must be chartered to qualify for the annual NTT INDYCAR SERIES Leaders Circle program – an annual award program that compensates the 22 top finishers in the prior year’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship. The terms of the initial, long-term charter agreements are committed through the end of 2031.

Chartered 2025 INDYCAR Teams
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
Team Entries
A.J. Foyt Enterprises 2
Andretti Global 3
Arrow McLaren 3
Chip Ganassi Racing 3
Dale Coyne Racing 2
Ed Carpenter Racing 2
Juncos Hollinger Racing 2
Meyer Shank Racing 2
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing 3
Team Penske 3
Charters were extended to team owners based on full-time entries over the previous two seasons, with a maximum of three awarded per team.

WHAT INDYCAR’S TEAM OWNERS ARE SAYING
“I appreciate the efforts made by the INDYCAR and Penske leadership groups, as well as all the owners, to get this charter system started. It is incredibly challenging to get a large group of owners to agree on something, and certainly there was some give and take, but, in the end, I believe this is a path that is beneficial for all of the owners and for INDYCAR, while also maintaining the availability for open competition.” – Larry Foyt, A.J. Foyt Enterprises

“When you look back in the modern era of INDYCAR racing, you will look at a few important moments, the first being the unification of the sport, the next being Roger Penske buying the INDYCAR SERIES and IMS, and I truly believe the third will be the charter system.” – Chip Ganassi, Chip Ganassi Racing

“We are very pleased to begin this new era. The process has been thorough but, in the end, very exciting. This charter system will clearly strengthen our teams as we continue to grow the sport. I would like to thank Roger (Penske) and his entire team at INDYCAR.“ECR will have announcements soon, and I don’t know that they would be possible without the help of a program like this. With this groundbreaking development, the new TV deal with FOX and the momentum that had been building, INDYCAR’s future is very bright.” – Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing

“The charter agreement, to me, is the single-most important piece for the future of the series. I’m grateful that we all came together on this and thank the Roger Penske group for working with the team owners for getting it done.” – Michael Shank, Meyer Shank Racing

The 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season begins Sunday, March 2 at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding on the streets of St. Petersburg. The entire 17-race schedule will be available live on FOX and the INDYCAR Radio Network. 
 

Herta Wins at Nashville; Palou Takes Title- Quick Thoughts

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Photo by Kyle McInnes

Colton Herta wins his first oval race, but the spotlight falls to Alex Palou, who secured his third Indycar series title and his second straight. Palou is the first back to champion since Dario Franchitti in 2011 and 2012.

Kyle McInnnes photo

The winner of the final race of the season, when it is someone other than the series champion, gets a laurel and hearty handshake, then gives way to the series champion.

The championship came down to a seat belt issues for Will Power, who pulled into the pits after five laps. Power fell back to seventh after starting third. What a way to lose a shot at the title. How does a seat belt come loose? It will remain an unsolved mystery in the annals of how a title was lost.

I am completely out of adjectives for Alex Palou. Relegated to 24th starting position with a penalty for an engine change, he passed seven cars in the first three laps. While Power’s misfortune assured him the title early in the race, he kept charging, running as high as third during pit cycles. Palou is halfway to tying Scott Dixon for the number of IndyCar titles. Unreal.

The race was better than I expected. Good racing was followed by processional periods, and the cars got strung out in the middle of the race, but the addition of a tire option kept the race intriguing. The way the cautions fell caused for some late stops.

Palou said that he thinks the alternate tires on ovals helps the racing. “Cars are at different speeds, which makes the racing more fun.,” he said.

Notes

David Malukas drove a heck of a race today, and his time to win an oval will come, maybe next year. Like Conor Daly, malukas came to Meyer Shank Racing in mid season and lifted the 66 into the Leaders’ Circle.

Juncos Hollinger Racing should do everything possible to keep Conor Daly. Mired below the Leaders’ circle cut line, the team released Agustin Canapino with five races to go. Daly lifted the team into the million dollar club with a third place at Milwaukee and a 10th place today.

Some odd stats for the season-

Will Power failed to win a pole for the first time since 2008.

Graham Rahal did not have a fifth place or higher finish for the first time in his career.

For just the second time I can remember every race winner won multiple races. All the victories were shared among just seven drivers from four teams.

I believe IndyCar has found a new home for the season finale. It is proper to finish this series on a high speed oval. The only thing different I would do is make this a night race.

I want to thank everyone who followed along this final weekend and all season. I will have a weekend wrap up tomorrow and a season review later next week.

McLaughlin Takes Pole as Penske Continues Oval Dominance

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Photo by Kyle McInnes

Scott McLaughlin seems to have inherited Will Power’s mastery of qualifications, as he earned his fourth pole of the season and will lead the field to green tomorrow night in the Bommarito 500. This Mclaughlin’s third oval pole. he finished sixth and third in the other two oval events where he started first.

In the post qualifying press conference, McLaughlin brushed aside the notion that Penske has an advantage with the hybrid because of their extensive testing with it.

“Debatable,” he said. “Everybody’s doing the same thing.”

Colton Herta, thought to be the only driver to challenge Herta, had a first lap that would have gotten him close to McLaughlin, but he spun and hit the wall in turn 2 of his second lap.

The session got off to a rocky start as first qualifier Jack Harvey pulled to s top at the end of the front stretch just after taking the green flag. Compounding the woes for the Dale Coyne team, Katherine Legge’s car failed ech inspection. and she was not allowed to qualify.

Felix Rosenqvist was second fastest, but he will start 11th due to a grid penalty for an engine change. His Teammate david Malukas will start second.

Points leader Alex Palou qualified seventh but will start16th after serving his grid penalty. Scott Dixon’s penalty will move him back to 19th on the grid.

McLaughlin’s Team Penske teammates, Will Power and Josef Newgarden, will start third and fourth. Each of the team’s drivers have won one of the oval races so far this year.

Notes

Sting Ray Robb in 24th is slowest driver to complete both qualifying laps at speed. Herta completed his second lap at about 97 mph. It’s been aw hile since as many as three cars did not fully complete their qualifying runs at full speed.

Pato O’Ward will be the biggest beneficiary among the title contenders of the grid penalties as he moves to eighth on the grid.

Conor Daly showed some hope for the 78 car as he qualified 12th and will start ninth.

Next on the schedule is high linbe practice at 6:45 Central, followed by the final practice at 7:30 pm Central.

Results

Note- this is not the oifficial lineup.

McLaughlin Leads Slippery Laguna Seca Practice 1

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Photo by Kyle McInnes

In a session that saw lots of sliding through sand traps and so incredible saves, Scott McLaughlin ended with the fastest lap of round one at Weather Tech Raceway as IndyCar prepares for Sunday’s Grand Prix of Monterey. His 1:07.635 circuit edged Colton Herta by one tenth of a second.

David Malukas brought out the first red flag, spinning in turn 2 about 25 minutes into the session. Pato O;’Ward caused another stoppage with a long slide that ended near the tire barrier. O’Ward did not make contact.

Several other drivers went off course, but kept the engines running and were able to continue. The track seems particularly slick near the exit of the Corkscrew.

Notes

Graham Rahal clearly has the best looking car this weekend. His teammate, Pietro Fittipaldi, arguably has the second best looking machine.

Photos by Kyle McInnes

Results

Le Mans Journal Day 9- It’s Race Day!

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Photo: Iron Dames wave to the crowd

Good morning from Le Mans on a cool clear arce day. The race begins at 4 pm local time. Temperatures should be in the low to mid 60s but dry for the first 12 hours. It looks like when the rain begins around 4 am it will last through to the end.

If the Cadillacs can avoid issues, I think they have a good chance to win. While the Toyotas have some work to do, don’t count them out just yet. I have never seen this deep or strong a field in the top class.

Yesterday’s drivers’ parade at Place de la République was a lot of fun. It’s nothing like the 500 Festival Parade. I am finding the two events are not comparable except in worldwide prestige.

The parade route is short, maybe four or five blocks. The first drivers didn’t appear for almost 30 minutes after the start time. A lot of dignitaries headed the procession, followed by many motorcycles.

As I have found to be typical here for race related activities, a massive crowd was on hand. Fans who did not arrive at least two hours early to get a spot against the railing, were relegated to get photos of arms and hands and other people’s cell phones Some folks had to have been standing in the same spot for six hours.

Drivers pass by and end at a staging area in the plaza. As they go past, the drivers toss trinkets to the crowd- key chains, bracelets, flags, hats, T shirts. It made scrambling for a foul ball at a baseball game look like picking an item off a grocery shelf. I was fortunate enough to get a key chain.

Not only were fans watching on the street, but people observed the festivities from their offiuces and apartments.

The parade also featured bagpipers, a couple of Latin dance troupes which looked to be more appropriate at Carnival, the Michelin Man, and even Mickey Mouse. The Parade was a great start to race weekend.

Saturday begins with a brief warmup at noon, then the race begins at 4 pm. In the United Staes the race is on Motor Trend TV and Max beginning at 10 am Eastern.

Lodging at the Track

I am staying in a popup village just outside the east gate of the track. My lodging is basically a converted storage shed. The complex is run by Motorsports Travel destinations. They specialize in packages for several races in Europe.

While the conditions are spartan, each unit has a coffee mug, small race radio, an umbrella, which will come in handy later; and a small backpack

The outside unit of each row has a photo from a classic Le Mans race. I liked this one.

It is time to head into the track. I am so excited for the start of the race today and the ceremonies which precede it. I will post when I can with race updates, and i will trryt to post something in the early morning hours. I hope tomrrow’s forecast improves.

Le Mans Journal Day 6- Pit Invasion and Some Observations

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Cars get on track tomorrow afternoon as preparations for the 24 Hours of Le Mans begin in earnest. The day begins with a three-hour practice session, then after a break is one hour of qualifying . A t two-hour night practice session starts at 10 pm local time, which is sunset here .

Althiough cars did not run today, it was not quiet at the Circuit de la Sarthe. Tuesday is the autograph session and pit walk, where fans were invited to roam the pit area at will. The 60 minute autograph session began at 2 pm, but the line waiting for the gate to the pits to open looked like this at 1:30.

Indycar fans who think the autograph lines are awful at Legends Day, consider yourself blessed. Here there is no organization. It got even worse once the fans reached the pit area. Each team of driv ers sat at a table infront of their trackside garage, but there was no single file line, just a crush of people all wanting a coveted signature or two. There is no waiting your turn. This was not a game for the weak of heart. I did manage to get autographs from the Ganassi Cadillac drivers. I did not have the strength to go to another pit for more. I had hoped get signatures from the Iron Dames, but their area was one of the most popular.

I did get some photos to help get a perspective on track locations. Here is pit out.

The Michelin sign is impressive. I finally was able to snap a decent picture of it today. My issue with getting photos here is that there always seems to be a 7 foot 3 retired basketball player always standing in the front row of a car or driver. Today I erased several shots with fingers and phones in the way.

I located my reserved seat for the race after I left the pits. It is better than I had hoped. I am right across from the Alpine pits, I wil;l have a great view of the opening ceremonies, and I can see the final three turns.

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Life in Le Mans

I cannot remember a time when I have felt more relaxed. Le Mans is pleasant quiet town. The architecture is interesting, and it ooxes history. I have made it a opint every day to spend time at Place de la Republique, the main town square, just to watch people come and go. I don’t get the feeling that anyone is in a hurry to get anyplace or get something done.

Another thing that is quite noticeable is how clean the town is. I have seen very little in the way of litter.

I think it’s a European thing, but people don’t seem to have any sense of personal space. The trams are jam packed. When the train pulls into a stop, n matter how crowded the vehicle is, more people walk right in. Passengers lean against the doors while the train is in motion. These behaviors wouldn’t fly in the states.

I can’t say how the Pafris portion of my journey will go, but I think when I get home, i will miss the town of le Mans the most.

I am excited to see racing at night tomorrow.

Thanks for following along on my journey. I cannot believe Wednesday will mark the halfway point of this trip.