Chilton Ends Indycar Career, Looks to WEC

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Max Chilton has ended his brief Indycar career and will be looking to join the World Endurance Championship next season. He hopes to run Le Mans in 2023.The announcement is not a surprise since the team he drove for the last three years, Carlin, is not competing in the NTT Indycar Series this coming season.

Carlin has entered into a technical alliance with the new Juncos Hollinger Indycar team. The team will run one car with rookie Callum Ilott. Chilton came to Indy lights in 2015 in mid season with Carlin. He won the race at Iowa and finished fifth int he standings.

The next two years Chilton drove for Chip Ganassi Racing, placing 19th and 11th in points. He led the 2017 Indianapolis 500 late in the race, losing the lead with five laps to go and finished fourth. He led 50 laps, the most by anyone in the race.

In 2018 Chilton returned to Carlin. After failing to qualify for the 2019 500, Chilton decided he would not run any more ovals except for the 500 mile race.

I’m sad to see Carlin stop competing in Indycar. When they entered the series I expected great things from a team that had a successful record in European junior Formulas. I hope their technical alliance leads to the team getting a car back on track in 2023.

I never got the feeling Chilton was comfortable in Indycar. I’m not sure if it was Max or the equipment which produced the results they showed.

From Indycar: Inaugural INDYCAR-Motorsport Games Pro Challenge Set for Feb. 9 

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 Esports Event To Feature NTT INDYCAR SERIES Drivers
INDIANAPOLIS (Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022) – Motorsport Games Inc. (NASDAQ: MSGM) (“Motorsport Games”) and INDYCAR announced today that the INDYCAR-Motorsport Games Pro Challenge will take place Wednesday, Feb. 9, with the first official esports event between the two parties including many NTT INDYCAR SERIES stars
.Among the drivers expected to compete are reigning champion Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing, four-time Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Helio Castroneves of Meyer Shank Racing, two-time series champion Josef Newgarden of Team Penske and more.
Fans can tune in to watch the full race day at the INDYCAR YouTube channel, starting with the pre-show at 6 p.m. (ET). The green flag for both heats and the race will drop at 6:30 p.m., with the race conclusion and interviews to take place thereafter at approximately 7:15 p.m. NBC Sports’ INDYCAR host and pit reporter Kevin Lee will be the host.
“The 2022 INDYCAR-Motorsport Games Pro Challenge is our first foray into the world of esports with our new partners, and we couldn’t be more excited to bring this competition to the fans,” said George Holmquist, Motorsport Games vice president of marketing.
“Viewers can expect the same world-class experience as our other esports events, such as the highly renowned Le Mans Virtual Series, to be carried over into this new series. We cannot wait to continue producing live esports events with INDYCAR in the future, all leading up to our first game in 2023.”
This event is part of an exclusive agreement reached in July 2021 between INDYCAR and Motorsport Games, a leading racing game developer, publisher and esports ecosystem provider of official motorsport racing series throughout the world. The partnership will produce a virtual series and an INDYCAR video game expected to launch in 2023 on PlayStation, Xbox and PC.
“INDYCAR fans are a passionate, global audience hungry for quality motorsports gaming content,” said SJ Luedtke, INDYCAR vice president of marketing.
“With our partners at Motorsport Games, we are now able to bring those same fans a premier virtual esports experience while also cultivating a new base of INDYCAR supporters and followers. We cannot wait for everyone to see the first-ever INDYCAR-Motorsport Games Pro Challenge this year, and we are thrilled to keep producing these events in the many years to follow.”
Racing will take place on the rFactor 2 PC platform. The track will be announced the day of the race, to keep drivers guessing and add a fun element of mystery to the competition. The format for each heat and the race:
Heat 110-minute duration
Random draw starting grid
Points will be awarded
Heat 210-minute duration
Starting grid order to be the reverse of Heat 1Points will be awardedRace20-minute duration. Starting grid order to be determined by points position after both heats. Double points will be awarded. The top three finishers will receive donations to a charity of their choice, with first place winning $10,000, second place $8,000, third place $5,000 and an entrant lottery of $2,500.rFactor 2 players will soon be able to participate in official INDYCAR events through the game’s competition system, which has recently undergone a UI overhaul. Further details will be announced at a later date.
In July 2021, Motorsport Games and INDYCAR entered into an exclusive partnership to create and distribute INDYCAR video games, with the first set to be released in 2023. The companies will jointly create a brand-new franchise that has been eagerly anticipated by racing and gaming fans alike. After nearly two decades without a gaming title, the premier North American open-wheel racing series will be back in people’s homes to play at any time. To watch all the action, please visit: Traxion.GG Twitch, YouTube and Facebook. To keep up with the latest Motorsport Game news visit www.motorsportgames.com and follow on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
About Motorsport Games:Motorsport Games, a Motorsport Network company, combines innovative and engaging video games with exciting esports competitions and content for racing fans and gamers around the globe. The Company is the officially licensed video game developer and publisher for iconic motorsport racing series across PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and mobile, including NASCAR, INDYCAR, 24 Hours of Le Mans and the British Touring Car Championship (“BTCC”). Motorsport Games is an award-winning esports partner of choice for 24 Hours of Le Mans, Formula E, BTCC, the FIA World Rallycross Championship and the eNASCAR Heat Pro League, among others.
About INDYCAR:INDYCAR is the Indianapolis-based governing body for North America’s premier open-wheel auto racing series known as the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. The series features an international field of the world’s most versatile drivers – including reigning series champion Alex Palou, six-time series champion Scott Dixon, two-time series champion Josef Newgarden and four-time and defending Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves – who compete on superspeedways, short ovals, street circuits and permanent road courses. The 2022 season consists of 17 races in the United States and Canada and is highlighted by the historic Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IMS Productions are owned by Penske Corporation, a global transportation, automotive and motorsports leader. For more information on INDYCAR and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, please visit www.indycar.com.

Kirkwood: One Weekend at a Time

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Kyle Kirkwood is excited to begin his first NTT Indycar Series season. The driver of car 14 for A. J. Foyt Racing shared his outlook on the 2022 campaign this morning at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg First Block event.

Kirkwood’s background and winning ways n the Road to Indy should serve him well in Indycar. He is the first driver to win the championship at each rung of the ladder system, with 31 victories in 50 races.

As far as what will make the 2022 season successful, Kirkwood isn’t setting specific goals. He is looking at each round and then will total everything up at the end. What will be a successful season?

” I’m not going to really pinpoint it. I can’t say right now. Oh, if we finish top 10 in the championship that will be successful. It’s gonna be very situational. It depends where we’re at on pace, how strategy goes how everything plays out, and we’ll just have to have to pick it off weekend by weekend and not be upset about a weekend because I feel like we should have done better than we did. Yeah, obviously I’ll be disappointed but if we do better than we think that we should have even though it might be a 15th place finish. From the outside it looks bad but from within the team, it’s a success. So yeah, so we just have to take it weekend by weekend and piece everything together throughout every single weekend and if after 17 races and we have a good season, then I’ll be satisfied.

Kirkwood talked about his experience at the Rolex 24. His GTD Pro Lexus was fighting for a podium finish, but faded near the end of the race. He talked about how driving sports cars gives him the experience that the Road to Indy doesn’t cover,.

” I learned actually a lot in sports car stuff. The consequences are massive in a sports car compared to an Indy car. If you slide the car, you lose a lot of time so you have to be very precise. Also, one thing that you don’t get in the lower categories that you do in IMSA, and IndyCar or that you have to do is pitstops and a wall and tire and fuel saving. Those are all things that you don’t get in the lower series. So by me running an IMSA. It’s a lot that I can carry over to the IndyCar season. “

Kirkwood plans to do “four or five more sports car races” this year.

Unfamiliar tracks may be a bit of a challenge, but Kirkwood is eager to learn them. His favorite tracks seem to be those run by Green-Savoree, the St. Pete promoters. He talks about his favorite tracks and which tracks he needs to learn.

“St. Pete because it’s it’s a home track for me. I get a lot of family friends to come out to it. The weather’s always great. There’s just something unique about it. Even though it’s a street course it promotes a lot of good racing, a lot of good passes. And then Mid Ohio, but that’s a bit of a bias because I’ve won probably 13 or 15 races that I’ve run there. So every time someone asked me that (my favorite tracks) it’s either here or Mid Ohio, which is ironically a Green-Savoree event as well. Yeah, but they do a handful of them. Those are two of my favorites.”

Challenging tracks?

” Most likely one of the new places. I don’t have a lot of oval experience. So learning the dynamics of Indianapolis or Iowa is going to be tough for me because I haven’t been to either one of those places or driven around it. But yeah, so those will be one of the toughest I think some of the road courses that I have been to or the street courses I’ve been to will be a bit more of a breeze but the ovals will will definitely be tough.”

One Step Closer-St. Pete Track Build Begins

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In just 24 days Indycars will take to the track in St. Petersburg for the first practice of the 2022 season. The process of building the track began this morning with the ceremonial first block set into place along Dan Wheldon Way.

The race retains Firestone sponsorship and has added RP Funding as presenting sponsor.

Speakers at today’s event included Ken Welch, new mayor of St. Petersburg, who touted the $40 million impact the race has for the city, and the race’s 29% attendance increase from 2017-2019. The growth was interrupted by the pandemic and attendance restrictions. 2022 marks the Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg’s return to its traditional spot as the opening race of the NTT Indycar Series season.

It appears attendance will grow again this year. All the spots in the marina have been sold.

Indycar rookie Kyle Kirkwood noted that he is not a rookie at St. Pete since he has driven here on each step of the Road to Indy. He said St. Pete is his favorite track. Kirkwood compared the setting to Monaco with the backstretch running alongside the water.

Kyle Kirkwood

The best line of the day belongs to Selin Rollan, a Mazda MX-5 Cup driver. Rollin is a commercial pilot as well as a race car driver. He said he flew in this morning to Albert Whitted Airport next to the track.

“This track doubles as my favorite racetrack and my favorite airport.”

Mark Miles, President of Penske Entertainment, who talked about the promotions for the race NBC will present during the Olympics and the Super Bowl. Miles is happy to have the Indycar schedule back to its normal order.

Kevin Savoree of Green Savoree Promotions, owner of the event, named St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch as Grand Marshall of the race.

The track build will take about 22 days, but will be torn down in six days, Kim Green said. I noticed the scaffolding for grandstands in turn 10 and the front stretch already assembled. Some seats are in place in the turn 10 stand.

Helio and Mike- A New Winning Combination- Quick Thoughts on the Rolex 24

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Photo; IMSA, Mike Levitt

When Mike Shank hired Helio Castroneves to run the 105th Indianapolis 500 last year, I just said, “Huh,” and didn’t give it much more thought. Of course Castroneves went on to win his fourth 500. Today Castroneves, along with Indycar teammate Simon Pagenaud, Tom Blomqvist, and Oliver Jarvis win the 60th Rolex 24.

The driver and owner have clicked and the chemistry may make life miserable for other teams.

Shank won the Rolex 10 years ago, which makes today’s victory extra special.

Great Day for Indycar– Seven of the twelve Indycar drivers finished in the top five in their classes. Alexander Rossi was on the second place team in DPi; Colton Herta, Pato O’Ward, and Devlin DeFrancesco won the LMP2 class for Dragonspeed; Rinus VeeKay was second in LMP 2; and Kyle Kirkwood was fourth in GTD Pro.

Speaking of GTD Pro, the battle for the win over the last two laps between winner Mathieu Jaminet and Laurens Vanthoor was the best fight of the day. The drivers exchanged positions had contact with each other in the horseshoe and the bus stop on the final lap with Jaminet going on to win. Vanthoor spun and fell to third.

I’m glad to see Felipe Nasr finally win the Rolex after 10 years of trying.

This was an outstanding 24 hour race. There were compelling stories throughout the race. The DPi class provided a lot of the drama, with the Ganassi Cadillacs both experiencing issues which put them out of contention. Both cars looked strong in the middle of the race.

With six hours remaining, the outcome was in doubt in each class.

Kamui Kobayashi tried to singlehandedly keep the 48 competitive. He had a great first stint, but several issues put the car 22 laps down.

The crowd seemed down a bit, but the fans that did come didn’t seem to let the abnormally cold weather bother them.

From the parts of the Peacock broadcast I saw, NBC did a great job of coverage. James Hinchcliffe, to the surprise of no one was outstanding as a commentator. I enjoyed the times NBC went to break and on Peacock we just heard the sounds of the cars.

Daytona could use a video board and an extra grandstand or two in the International Horseshoe. The track also should figure out a way to get a stand by the Le Mans Chicane.

Acuras 1-2 After 17 Hours

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The yellow sky of sunrise reflects the course of the race, currently under its 15th caution. The number 60 Acura of Meyer Shank Racing leads the number 10 Acura of Wayne Taylor Racing. Tom Blomqvist and Ricky Taylor are the respective drivers.

Both Cadillacs of Chip Ganassi Racing are out of contention. Just before midnight the 01 went behind the wall. It is back on track but running 37th overall, 22 laps behind. The 02 had a fuel pump issue just about 30 minutes ago and is currently in the garage.

Indycar drivers are having a mixed day. Simon Pagenaud and Helio Castroneves drive for the leading Acura, and Alexander Rossi got his first stint in the second place 10 just before midnight.

The LMP2 team for which Rinus VeeKay drives is currently running second in class. The Dragonspeed entry with Indycar stars Pato O’Ward, Colton Herta, and rookie Devlin DeFrancesco is currently third.

The Andretti Autosport LMP3 entry is currently fourth in class, one lap down. Former Indycar driver Gabby Chaves is in the car at the moment.

The cold nighttime hours have produced lots of spinning cars, as expected. The current Daytona temperature is 34degrees F.

I will probably not have another up date until this evening. Thanks for following along this weekend. I have a feeling the ending is going to be wild.

Nearing Hour Eight: Cadillac Dominating

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Cadillacs have looked strong in DPi through the first eight hours of the Rolex 24, taking the lead after lap 1. The race has been a tug of war between the cars from Chip Ganassi Racing and JDC-Miller’s number 48.

The 48 started with Kamui Kobayashui driving. He took the lead around lap 10 and and extended his advantage throughout the first stint. The Ganassi cars then took over, losing the lead only on pit stops. The 01 seems to be the better of the Ganassi cars right now.

Pole sitter Ricky Taylor fell back early and is now two laps behind. The only other Acura, from Meyer Shank Racing, is currently fourth with Simon Pagenaud behind the wheel.

There have been four caution periods, and three cars are out of the race.

Standings after right hours:

Notes

Joao Barbosa said after his first stint that the tires are taking three laps to get warm after a pit stop. The temperature at the time was 46 degrees. It is now 40⁰.

The Bus stop has been renamed the Le Mans Chicane in a gesture of the new cooperative prototype formula which begins next year.

Wickens Podium Photo

Didnt get a chance to publish this yesterday. This may be the highlight of the weekend.

Race Day- Chily Day, Cold Night Ahead

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The 60th running of the Rolex 24 starts at 1:40 pm EST today. The temperature at the start will be in the mid 40’s and by the midpoint of the race the mercury will read low 30’s. By the end of the race temperatures will rise to the low 50’s.

How teams and drivers handle the tires after pit stops could be key to winning the event. I’m not sure if Michelin has a temperature threshold like Indycar has. Could we see a red flag due to the cold? My predictions follow.

Going into yesterday, I would have put Wayne Taylor Racing as the favorite for its fourth straight win here, but the dominance of the Cadillacs in Friday’s final practice makes me wonder if one of the Ganassi cars has an edge.

Watch for the Dragonspeed car number 81 in LMP2. The car has an Indycar all star squad of Colton Herta, Pato O’Ward, and Devlin DeFrancesco. O’Ward had the fastest overall .lap in a Thursday practice session.

Andretti Autosport is my pick in LMP3. They dominated the qualifying race last Sunday. This class could be prone to a lot of attrition.

GTD Pro will go to the 63 Lamborghini. It is by far the class of this field. One of the Weather Tech Porsches should be the GTD champion. My pick is the 79.

Today’;s schedule and television times:

At the track:

10:30 AM – 11:15 AM IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Autograph Session – UNOH Fanzone

12:00 PM Crossover Gates Open for Pre-Race Access

12:00 PM Grid Opens for Fan Access to Pre-Race Ceremonies

1:15 PM – 1:40 PM Rolex 24 At DAYTONA Pre-Race Ceremonies

1:40 PM Start of the Rolex 24 Hours

I will report on the race progress when possible. If you are at the track, stay safe and warm.

Bourdais Leads Final Practice; Wickens Shines in Return

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UPDATE: Mark Wilkins took over for To dry Wickens and finished third in the TCR class. Wickens gets a podium in his first race back.

Sebastien Bourdais led a Cadillac parade in the 01 for Chip Ganassi Racing with the fastest lap in this morning’s final practice. The session was run under cool, cloudy conditions and there was a brief light rain shower. The Cadillacs were ahead of the Acuras, the reverse of how practice has gone to date.

In LMP2 Phil Hanson led the way in the number 22 United Autosport Oreca. Rasmus Lindh was fastest in LMP3 in the Andretti Autosport number 36.

Mirko Bortolotti kept the number 63 Lamborghini (bottom photo) at the top of GTD Pro, and the 79 Porsche (top) driven by Julien Andlauer had the fastest GT. time.

Wickens Competitive in Return Race

Robert Wickens drove in his first competition since his accident at Pocono in 2018 in the BMW M Challenge for the Michelin Pilot Series. Wickens started seventh in the Hyundai Elantra, and moved fourth place early in the first hour of the four hour event. He ran as high as third. Near the end of his stint he had a spirited battle with a Bryan Herta Autosport teammate. Wickens drove for just a bit more than two hours. He showed that the talent which made him a star in Indycar is still there. This will be a fun series tom watch this year.

Wickens heads to turn four during the Michelin Pilot Challenge Race.