Race Day- Wet or Dry?

thepitwindow

Today’s Schedule

  • May 14 – $40 for General Admission. $50 for flex ticket seating in Northwest Vista (Sections 11-20), Southwest Vista (Sections 1-10), Tower Terrace (Sections 37-47 and 75-79) and Paddock (Sections 9-14). Children 15 and under are admitted free with flex ticket paying adult. Reserved seats range from $41-105.

Public Parking: Parking for the GMR Grand Prix is available in a variety of locations around the track:

  • May 14 – paid public parking is available in Lot 1A, Lot 2 and Main Gate parking lots for $20. Gate 1 Lot (Parcel B) parking is available for $50. Motorcycle parking is also available at South Carousel Lot for $20. Paid ADA parking is available in Lot 3P and Lot 2. Free parking is located in Lot 7 (North 40).

SATURDAY, May 14 (General Admission $40; Reserved Seats Start at $41)
7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Public Gates Open

8:05-8:50 a.m. USF2000 Race 2

9:10-10 a.m. Indy Pro 2000 Race 2

10:30-11 a.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warmup Peacock

11:15-11:55 a.m. USF2000 Race 3

12:10-1 p.m. Indy Pro 2000 Race 3

1:20-2:15 p.m. Indy Lights Race 2 (35 laps or 55 minutes) Peacock

2:40-3:05 p.m. Silver/Bronze Badge Grid Walk

3:30 p.m. Ninth GMR Grand Prix (85 laps) NBC, Peacock

5:45 p.m. GMR Grand Prix Post-Race Track Invasion

Weather is the word for the day. Thunderstorms are predicted for late morning and scattered storms may visit the track this afternoon.

The latest from @Indycar_Wxman:

It looks like rain may come after 4 pm which will add intrigue to the event. Will someone go to rain tires before the rain comes? Who dives into the pits first?

The grid has several drivers starting farther back than usual. It should be an interesting race watching them climb to the front. I an going to be watching Colton Herta, Scott Dixon, and Simon Pagenaud work their way forward.

Will Power and Alex Palou should battle for the win. Palou and Josef Nwgarden saved a set of reds by starting the Fast Six on blacks before switching to reds

Whichever way the weather turns out, it should be a fascinating race.

I’ll be back after the morning warm up.

Power Still Indy’s King of The Road

thepitwindow

If it’s early May in Indianapolis, you will find Will Power on the pole. Power won his fourth GMR Grand Prix pole and fifth on the IMS road course. Power snatched the pole from Alex Palou on the final timed lap of the Firestone Fast Six. His time of1:09.766 beat Palou by 0.043 seconds.

The pole was Power’s 64th of his career. He is just three behind Mario Andretti’s record of 67.

Will Power talks about his 64th career pole

The entire qualifying ran without issues. Only one Honda, the car of Alex Palou, made it to the final round. The rest of the Fast Six, in order, are Josef Newgarden, Conor Daly, Pato O’Ward, and Felix Rosenqvist.

Conor Daly earned his best starting spot of the season

Some pole contenders struggled during qualifying. Colton Herta and Rinus VeeKay did not make it out of the first round. Herta will start tomorrow’s race in row 7 and VeeKay in row 8. Jack Harvey, who usually qualifies well at this track, will start 9th Saturday.

The 2021 polesitter, Romain Grosjean, starts 10th.

Unfamiliar Territory

Simon Pagenaud starts 20th and Scott Dixon starts 21st. Pagenaud won the pole at the GMR Grand Prix in 2016 and has won the race three times. Dixon has won once and is usually a top finisher. Watch for this pair to move forward tomorrow.

Notes

The scoring pylon showed the time remaining in each round. This is something that wasn’t always done in the past. I’m glad they had it up there.

I found a lot of nice shirts while making a brief pass through of the merchandise shop behind the pits. If anyone has a dresser I can have, I will add to my T-shirt collection.

The speed difference for the starting grid from first to 27th is 1.68 seconds.

Palou had the fastest lap in qualifying, 1:09.411 in round 2.

Thanks for following along today. I will have some follow up on today tomorrow morning.

8

O’Ward Sets Practice 2 Pace

thepitwindow

The kids took over in GMR Grand Prix practice in the second session. The top five drivers are all 25 years old or younger.

Pato O’Ward grabbed the fastest time late in the session from Alex Palou. The top four drivers recorded laps in the 1:09 bracket. The top 23 cars are within one second of O’Ward’s time. Practice had two red flag interruptions, both within the first seven minutes of the session.

Alex Palou was first in the morning practice and second in the afternoon.

Dalton Kellett spun off track into the sand trap and could move. David Malukas went off track to avoid Kellet’s car. Malukas was able to continue back to the pits.

Jimmie Johnson went off track min the same area a few minutes later. The rest of the practice was green.

As I expected, some drivers who were down nthe chart in the morning practice improved their times. Rinus VeeKay was fourth this afternoon after ending the morning session 21st. Veekay was the first driver to turn a lap under 1:10.

Callum Ilott dropped to 19th from second in the just completed round. Christian Lundgaard, fifth in the just completed practice, improved from14th this morning.

Notes

I noticed a few more new things around the speedway.

BMW has a new building in turn three. I am not sure what the building will be used for.

Recycling cans are prevalent throughout the grounds next to trash cans. It’s nice to see some tangible environmental commitment by IMS.

Results:

Palou’s Last Lap Quickest in Practice 1

thepitwindow

Indycar Photo by Chris Jones

Series points leader Alex Palou posted the fastest time of the first practice session as th NTT Indycar Series began preparing for tomorrow’s GMR Grand Prix. Palou’s lap of 1:10.4555 nipped rookie Callum Ilott by 0,0038 seconds.

The session was green for the first 43 and a half minutes. Helio Castroneves spun and stalled at pit in bringing out the red flag. There was enough time for one more flying lap, and Palou edged Ilott, who had led for the previous eight minutes.

At one point three former pole winners for this race were at the top of the pylon. Will Power led Felix Rosenqvist and Simon Pagenaud. While the top ten contains no real surprises, Rinus VeeKay, the 2021 winner in 21st is puzzling. Also Josef Newgarden in16th and Scott McLaughlin in 17th is a shock. I think these three will show better in session 2, which begins at 12:45 pm.

I spoke with Callum Ilott after practice.

He told the run was “really good. I just thought we had to improve a couple of things and then at the end we put it together and it was quite good’ We got the new tires I think a lot of other people used the new tires.”

Ilott described the track as “Really green because as the painted part for the oval transferring off of that onto the road course was a little bit different so we had to rubber it in.”

As far as changes for session two, Ilott thinks the team will make a few.

“I think so. I just haven’t told them everything I was feeling so I think they’re making the changes. “

Notes

Fans are slowly entering the track.

It has been nice seeing people I haven’t seen since 2019. I’m glad to see that they are healthy.

The Wifi in the stands seems to be improved.

I continue to be impressed by the cleanliness of IMS since Roger Penske bought the track.

Matthew brabham won the pole position for Indy Lights Race 1.

Back after Practice 2.

Results:

Race Preview: GMR Grand Prix

thepitwindow

Photo: Rinus VeeKay on his way to victory in the 2021 GMR Grand Prix

Today’s Schedule:

All times local

FRIDAY, May 13 (General admission $20)

Paid public parking is available in Lot 1A, Lot 2 and Main Gate parking lots. Motorcycle parking is also available in South Carousel Lot via Gate 2. Paid ADA parking is available in Lot 3P and Lot 2. Parking is $10 on Friday.

Free parking is available in Lot 7 (North 40) and Infield Turn 3.


7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Public Gates Open- pedestrian gates open on Friday, May 13: Gate 1, Gate 2, Gate 4, Gate 6S, Gate 7, Gate 7S, Gate 9, Gate 10 and Gate 10A.
8-8:30 a.m. USF2000 Qualifying
8:45-9:15 a.m. Indy Pro 2000 Qualifying
9:30-10:30 a.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 1 (45 minutes) Peacock
10:45-11:30 a.m. Indy Lights Practice 1
11:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m. USF2000 Race 1
12:45-1:45 p.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 2 (45 minutes) Peacock
2-2:30 p.m. Indy Lights Qualifying
2:45-3:35 p.m. Indy Pro 2000 Race 1
4-5:15 p.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES NTT P1 Award Qualifying Peacock
5:35-6:30 p.m. Indy Lights Race 1 (35 laps or 55 minutes)

Good morning from IMS! It’s great to be back at the Speedway to kick off the fortnight of May with the GMR Grand Prix weekend.

2022 will be the first time since Roger Penske bought the track that the May schedule will operate in mostly normal fashion, with infield viewing and no crowd restrictions or other COVID limitations.

Saturday’s race is the ninth GMR Grand prix, which has been run every year except 2020 two weekends before the Indianapolis 500. In 2020 the race moved to July 4 due to COVID. No fans were allowed inside the track, a policy that continued for the 500 that year.

The race began as a way to bolster track attendance during May for the days leading up to practice for the 500. The event appears to do what it was intended to do- bring fans in on what used to be a sparsely attended opening day of practice.

Team Penske has dominated this race. Will Power has three poles and three wins in this race. Simon Pagenaud has won three times, twice while driving for Penske. Power also has two poles and two wins in the road course race held later in the year. Team Penske drivers have owned this track configuration.

The armor took a big dent in 2021 when Romain Grosjean won the pole and Rinus Veekay won the race. Will things return to normal things year? I’m not so sure. Veekay hopes to back up his pole and third place finish at Barber with another pole and a win.

VeeKay told the media Wednesday,

“…we know we have a very good car here.
We’ve always been fast here since my first-ever race here.
I think I was a little sad after the race that I didn’t win last
weekend. I think we had the opportunity to, and of course
you want to grab it and take it.
Yeah, had a few bad sleeps because of that, but I think
right now, I’m just extra motivated to go for that win this
weekend and defend my win from last year.”

Some other things to look for this weekend:

Honda Catching Up?

Chevrolet power has won all four races this season. Honda is just a tick behind. Will May be the month they close the gap? In spite of being shut out of the winner’s circle, Honda driver Alex Palou leads the points standings. The only Honda wins on th IMS road course belong to Pagenaud when he drove for Schmidt-Peterson and Dixon in 2020.

Will Track Experience Help the Rookies?

Four of the six rookies have driven on the road course in the Road to Indy. Only Tatiana Calderon and Callum Ilott will see the track for the first time. The junior experience may help this rookie class have their best performances of the season.

Grosjean Breakthrough?

Last year Romain Grosjean broke the Penske grip on the pole and led much of the race. He ended the day in second place. I think his first Indycar win will be at this track. I’m not sure whether it will be this weekend or at the end of July.

Power at Texas

I think it is time for Will Power to finally win a race in 2022. he has been hanging around the front all season. A poor qualifying run at Barber probably cost him a victory two weeks ago. Power does not have poor qualifying in the GMR Grand Prix.

I will be back after the first practice.

1972: Donohue Spreads His Wings for Penske’s First 500 Win

thepitwindow

The 56th Indianapolis 500 was a transformational year in 500 history. Bolt on front wings and rear wings came into widespread use. It would the 500’s last all American driver field. The Pacer light System to control the position of cars during caution periods debuted. Thankfully, it didn’t last long.

Race Day featured a last minute replacement singer for “(Back Home Again in) Indiana,” a television actor named Jim Nabors. He would return to sing it again a few times.

The front row had Bobby Unser on pole. Unser had destroyed the track record by 17 miles an hour thanks to the addition of the rear wing. Peter Revson, 1971 pole sitter, lined up in the middle of the row, and Mark Donohue started on the outside.

The Front Row Bobby Unser (R), Peter Revson, and Mark Donohue (L)

Donohue was the lead driver of the relatively new Team Penske, which came to IMS for the first time in 1969. Donohue had been competitive in his first three races. He finished seventh in 1969, second in 1970, and started second but dropped out with gear issues in 1971.

Mark Donohue

Unser charged into the lead and built a big lead, but it only lasted 30 laps. Ignition problems put Unser out of the race. Seven laps earlier Revson had dropped out with gearbox issues.

The start of the 56th 500. Unser beats Revson to turn1. Donohue slots into third.

Gary Bettenhausen assumed the lead, leading 138 of the next 145 laps. Ignition failure ended his day on lap 182. Jerry grant took over the lead of the race. A deflating tire forced Grant to pit with 12 laps to go. Grant thought he would settle for second, except that he pitted in teammate Bobby Unser’s pit. Grant was later disqualified and was officially twelfth.

Mark Donohue inherited the lead from Grant and went on to take the checkered flag. Roger Penske had won his first Indianapolis 500. His team has won a few more since then.

I’m surprised that there hasn’t been more fanfare concerning the 50th anniversary of Team Penske’s first win. The team produced a team logo commemorating the occasion today. I thought the Speedway would do more to honor the milestone.

While the 1972 front row wasn’t the most tragic in history, fate was not kind to two of its members. Revson was killed in a fiery crash while practicing for the 1974 South African Grand Prix.

Donohue would lose his life the following year preparing for the Austrian Grand Prix. It was a strange accident. Donohue crashed into a catch fence. he seemed fine when he got out of the car, but developed a headache which became worse. a few days later Donohue lapsed into a coma and died of a cerebral hemorrhage.

The Twelfth Row- Three Quick Notes

thepitwindow

Just a few notes about the past few days in Indycar.

IMS at last got the pace car driver right. I cringe every year when a celebrity is named to drive the pace car. A professional driver should lead the field to the green. If the track had a celebrity passenger, I’d be fine with that. Sarah Fisher is the best choice. I hope they make her the permanent pace car driver for the 500.

I love the look of the pace car.

The Never Ending Silly Season

News this week that Alexander Rossi’s 2023 plans are settled come a week after Pato O’Ward’s new contract extension came to light. Will we know every driver’s 2023 plans by Mid Ohio? What fun is that?

Rossi at Barber

I would like to just enjoy the year as it unfolds with the championship, surprise pole and race winners, and jus the fun of an Indycar season. In season future driver placement is not enjoyable. Can we wait until September?

The talk is reaching the same level of annoyance I feel during early December college basketball games when the “experts” start to talk about tournament seeding.

Carvana Trouble

Last night Carvana laid off 1,200 employees. Does this move put Jimmie Johnson’s funding in jeopardy? I hope not, but the news is troubling.

Johnson at IMS rookie test last fall

Carvana has had great sponsor activation with great television spots featuring Johnson and displays at the races. I would hate to see them leave Indycar.

This is a developing story. I hope the 48 car can finish the season.