Simpson Confirmed at Ganassi; Browne, Koolen Fill CGR Indy NXT Seats

thepitwindow

Chip Ganassi Racing today confirmed Kyffin Simpson as driver of the number 8 car for the 2025 IndyCar season. The move was long anticipated. Simpson, 19, from the Caymen Islands, drove car 4 for Ganassi in 2024, finishing 21st in the standings. Simpson finished 21st on the lead lap in the Indianapolis 500, leading three laps.

Ganassi Indy NXT

Neils Koolen and Jonathan Browne will drive for Ganassi’s new Indy NXT team. Both drivers have some Indy NXT experience, driving for HMD in 2024.

Koolen (l), Browne (r)

Koolen, 23 years old from the Netherlands,, finished 10th in the Indy NXT race at IMS last May. He also spent time in the European le Mans Series in 2024.

Browne, 24, ran the entire season for HMD, finishing 13th in the standings. The Irish driver earned eight Top 10 finishes.

Floersch Tests IndyNXT; IndyCar Grid Still in Limbo

thepitwindow

HMD Motorsports announced last week that Formula 3 driver Sophia Floersch will drive in today’s Indy NXT test at Barber Motorsports Park.

Floersch, 23, has driven in Formula 3 and has also driven in the European Le Mans Series. In 2018 Floersch suffered a spine fracture in a horrific accident in Macau when her got airborne and landed outside the track after tearing through the catch fence. She underwent a 10 hour surgery and made a full recovery.

Floersch is exploring her options for 2025and has not signed with any series.

IndyCar Grid- Still 5 Seats Open

Filling the IndyCar grid for 2025 will come down to who has the cash. There are two open seats at Dale Coyne Racing, two at Juncos Hollinger Racing, and one opening at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

While no drivers have been formally announced for the second car at Meyer Shank Racing, the third Chip Ganassi Racing seat, or the second car at PREMA, it is presumed that they are all spoken for.

Available drivers include Rinus VeeKay, Linus Lindqvist, Conor Daly, Jack Harvey, Sting Ray Robb, Devlin DeFrancesco, Jamie Chadwick, and Katherine Legge.

Robb and de Francesco have money, and they could possibly help find a teammate.

Coyne might try to cobble together a rotating lineup as he did last season, but the charter rules limit each entry to three drivers a season.

I think VeeKay, Robb, and Lundqvist have the best chance at landing full time rides, while the others we may see in part time roles. It would be a shame not to see Jamie Chadwick make her IndyCar debut this season.

Pato on a Roll

The Pato O’Ward frenzy at the Grand Prix of Mexico this past weekend was quite a sight to behold, and it made the absence of an IndyCar race in Mexico even more of a glaring schedule omission. I am hopeful the race will happen in 2026, and there is now more room for optimism.

Several credible sources are reporting that O’Ward will run some demo laps in an IndyCar during the Formula E weekend at the circuit in January.

2025 IMS Event Tickets On Sale Now at IMS.com, Ticket Office 

thepitwindow

From IMS:

 INDIANAPOLIS (Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024) – Tickets for marquee events in 2025 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – including the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, the Brickyard 400 presented by PPG and the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks – are on sale online at IMS.com and at the IMS Ticket Office.
The IMS Ticket Office is located on the first floor of the IMS Administration Building at 4790 W. 16th St. in Indianapolis. Hours of operation are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday. Tickets also can be purchased by calling 317-492-6700.
“After an unforgettable 2024, it’s now time to start looking forward to the 2025 schedule at IMS and welcoming fans back to the Racing Capital of the World for another racing season,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said.
“Other than renewal, buying now provides the best available seats at the lowest prices we offer and is a perfect time for our fans to make plans to be part of the many great racing events at IMS in 2025.”
Tickets for the following 2025 events are on sale at IMS.com/tickets and the Ticket Office:
Sonsio Grand Prix: Saturday, May 10
Miller Lite Carb Day: Friday, May 23
Legends Day presented by Firestone: Saturday, May 24
109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge: Sunday, May 25
Indy 500 Coors Light Snake Pit: Sunday, May 25
Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational: Saturday, June 14-Sunday, June 15
NASCAR Xfinity Series Pennzoil 250: Saturday, July 26
NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 presented by PPG: Sunday, July 27
IMSA TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks: Friday, Sept. 19-Sunday, Sept. 21
Intercontinental GT Indianapolis 8 Hour: Friday, Oct. 17-Sunday, Oct. 19
Customers also can purchase admission to practice, qualifications and the Indianapolis 500 public drivers’ meeting, as well as parking, camping, hospitality and public credentials (Bronze Badge, Silver Badge, garage passes, pit passes) for these events at IMS.com.
Fans also can purchase infield camping for the Sonsio Grand Prix, Brickyard Weekend and the IMSA TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks.
All products are on sale at their lowest remaining prices, with increases coming in 2025. The $4 per-ticket service fee will be waived on items purchased before Jan. 6.
Kids 15 and under will continue to be admitted free in general admission locations to all 2025 racing events at IMS when accompanied by an adult general admission ticketholder.
Miller Lite Carb Day and Coors Light Snake Pit concert lineups will be announced soon.
The Firestone Legends Day concert once again will be held at the Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park.
Performers and ticket sale information will be announced later
.Fans can apply to receive tickets for the 2025 Driven2SaveLives BC39. Dates for this event will be announced later. 

My IndyCar Rules Change Wish List

thepitwindow3 Comments

Photo by Kyle McInnes

There seems to be a bit of a break in the IndyCar news cycle. The boff time was nice, and I spent the last 11 days living in movie theaters enjoying the Heartland Film Festival. Now, back to work.

This is my annual plea for the series to amend some rules. some of these changes i have advocated before, and a couple are based on things that happened in 2024.

Keep the pits open during a yellow. Gathering up the field causes more yellow laps, and it has caused some running order confusion leading to even more yellow laps. Not closing the pits avoids penalties, and cars that absolutely need a splash of fuel can keep their track position. This procedure will also add some randomness back to the sport. The series is overmanaging the races (See last 10 laps of 2023 Indianapolis 500).

Throw the yellow when it needs to be thrown. If the pits are kept open, there is no need to delay a yellow, or allow a yellow to give an advantage to car that spun. Immediate yellows will avoid dangerous situations like we had in Toronto, where Pato O’Ward was a sitting duck. O’Ward got hit by three cars, and Santino Ferrucci got airborne.

Set oval qualifying order by practice speeds. The current practice is for cars to qualifying in inverse order of entrant points. This gives the series virtually the same qualifying order every oval race. By using inverse order of practice speeds, we will see a new order each race, and the fastest car will still be up front. Occasionally a leader will have a bad practice, and go early, but again, more randomness.

The Indianapolis 500 sets qualifying order by random draw; why can’t there be randomness at the other ovals as well? It is one step IndyCar could do to make oval qualifying a bit more interesting.

Stiffer penalties for restart violators. Leaders who do not follow the correct restart procedures should have some sort of penalty. Going to the rea or a drive through is too severe. Perhaps they should give up two spots. if they’re fast enough to lead, they should be able to get back out front. Also, race control needs to wave off restarts if the field is not set properly.

Vary the length of the two races at doubleheaders. The doubleheader may be heading toward extinction, but as long as they are on the schedule, I think the first race should be longer than the second. If one tenth of the distance is added to Race 1 and subtracted from race 2, the mileage would be the same. A longer first race and a shorter second race would also let the fans head home earlier on Sunday. Sometimes Sunday’s race seems exactly the same as Saturday’s- the same pit windows, same fuel saving strategy- which longer and shorter races could avoid.

Keep exploring the use of alternate tires on ovals. The alternate tires on ovals is intriguing. It seemed to work well at Nashville, and I think Firestone can continue to refine the differences between the two compounds. Anything that will spice up the ovals. I’m in favor of.

I’m sure the series officials will read this and take these ideas to heart as they always do. Anyway, it’s great to be back. There is some news to catch up on, and I will share that in the next day or so.

Movie Review: Driven2SaveLives

thepitwindow

Justin Wilson and Bryan Clauson each saved five lives. The two drivers suffered fatal injuries in racing accidents about a year apart, and the donations of their organs helped others stay alive. Stefan Wilson began the movement in honor of his brother, and after Clauson’s death, Bryan’s family brought the movement to a higher level.

The documentary Driven2SaveLives tells the story of the organ donor movement in Indiana in a touching, personal way. The movie premiered this week at the Heartland international Film Festival last weekend to a sold out audience on Saturday.

The story mainly centers around Clauson’s family, who give organ donations a huge push. Clauson’s sister Taylor McLean now works for the Indiana Donor Network, and she is listed as one of the film’s producers.

The film tells the story of the Clauson’s, who found comfort when they learned Bryan had registered as an organ donor. It also shares the stories of two organ recipients, and of a father whose grief after the death of his son was somewhat soothed by the donation of his son’s organs.

The BC 39 midget race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was created to honor Bryan, and the donor network has a large presence there, signing up organ donors.

Danny Ernstes’s kidneys were failing. he needed a kidney transplant to avoid a lifetime of dialysis, which prevents a person from having a normal life. His doctor suggested he get a kidney from a living donor. Thus began a nearly two year wait to find a match.

Cade Frey’s life ended at 18, and his father Mike took solace in the fact that cade had registered as an organ donor when he received his drivers; license. Mike continues to work tirelessly to help people sign donation pledges.

Jess Schnur received a lifesaving liver transplant, and the film shows a touching meeting with her donor’s mother. Jess now volunteers for the Indiana Donor Network at events.

The racing footage is brief, as it should be. This film is not about the racing. There are some scenes that are difficult to watch. The most emotional one for me was when he Clausons met the man who received Bryan’s heart. Bryan’s mother listened to his heart beating through a stethoscope.

The film festival runs through this Sunday. While there are no more theater showings, the movie can be streamed virtually by visiting Heartland FilmFestival.org. It must be ordered begun to be viewed and by this Sunday. Once started, you have three days to complete watchiung.

Hailie Deegan Debuts in Chris Griffis Test

thepitwindow

Hailie Deegan recently signed with HMD Motorsports to drive in the Indy NXT by Firestone series in 2025. She will test car number 38 tomorrow in the Chris Griffis Memorial Test at IMS. Deegan will join seven other rookies in the 22 car field.

Deegan, 23, has focused on the NASCAR Truck Series, and has also raced in Xfiniti and ARCA. She began her racing career in the Lucas Off Road Racing Series and the NASCAR K&N stock car series.

Tomorrow’s schedule:

9 am ET- 4 pm Testing.

The turn 2 spectator mounds are open for viewing.

Entry list:

INDY NXT by Firestone Drivers Featured at Chris Griffis Test Friday at IMS

thepitwindow

From Indy NXT:

  The Chris Griffis Memorial Test is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 18 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
INDY NXT by Firestone drivers will turn laps on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile circuit from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. ET.
The annual open test is named in memory of Chris Griffis, the team manager of Schmidt Peterson Motorsports who passed away suddenly in September 2011.
.WHAT: Chris Griffis Memorial Test
WHO: INDY NXT by Firestone Drivers
Abel Motorsports: Callum Hedge, Jordan Missig, Myles Rowe, Yuven Sundaramoorthy
Andretti Cape INDY NXT: Ricardo Escotto
Andretti Global: Salvador de Alba Jr., Dennis Hauger, Lochie Hughes, James Roe
HMD Motorsports: Nolan Allaer, Bryce Aron, Christian Brooks, Caio Collet, Hailie Deegan, Josh Mason, Josh Pierson, Liam Sceats, Tommy Smith
Juncos Hollinger Racing: Alexander Koreiba, Frankie Mossman
Miller Vinatieri Motorsports: Jack William Miller

WHEN: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18Noon-12:45 p.m.: Media bullpen interviews with drivers Caio Collet, Hailie Deegan, Lochie Hughes, Myles Rowe and Yuven Sundaramoorthy; Trackside Garage 25WHERE: Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course 
 

Hy-Vee Leaves Rahal

thepitwindow

The Rahal Letterman Lanigan off season roller coaster continues. The team has had an FBI investigation at their shop, a 1-2 finish at IMSA’s Battle of the Bricks last month, and last week announced the signing of Indy NXT champ Louis Foster. Friday, sponsor Hy-Vee said they will no longer be the primary sponsor of car 45.

The Iowa based grocery chain will continue to sponsor the Iowa IndyCar doubleheader, but they will not continue their support of the Milwaukee race.

Rumors have been floating that their car sponsorship would move to A. J. Foyt Racing, but the company statement indicated they would no longer sponsor a car.

Hy-Vee has sponsored a Rahal car since 2021. That is a fairly long time in this modern era. All sponsors cut back their involvement at some point, some gradually, some severely, and some leave the series.

Rahal said they still plan to field three cars in 2025. This decision may affect which drivers the team can hire.

Palou Tops IMS Test

thepitwindow

From Indycar”

 INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, Oct. 11, 2024) – There’s still one jewel missing from Alex Palou’s racing crown, but testing Oct. 11 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway showed he may be closer than ever to adding it next May.

Reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Palou has won the championship three times in the last four seasons, but he still seeks his first Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge victory. But Palou led testing on the historic 2.5-mile oval Friday with a top speed of 224.342 mph in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

.Palou’s best Indy 500 finish is second, behind Helio Castroneves’ historic fourth win in 2021. Palou earned his first “500” pole in 2023.
“It was a good day of testing,” Palou said. “We tried a lot of stuff. Yesterday was Firestone, today was more us, Ganassi and Honda. We’re happy. You want to come here, and even if you’re testing a bunch of stuff, you want to be first.”

Looming right behind Palou on the speed chart was two-time reigning Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden, second at 223.973 in the No. 2 Shell Powering Progress Team Penske Chevrolet. Rinus VeeKay was third at 223.383 in the No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda in his first day of testing with that team.

Graham Rahal was fourth at 222.650 in the No. 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda, with 2022 “500” winner Marcus Ericsson rounding out the top five at 222.324 in the No. 28 Andretti Global Honda.

Eleven car-and-driver combinations – one driver from each team – combined to turn 1,123 laps in six hours of testing Friday after four drivers tested tires Thursday afternoon for Firestone. A primary area of focus for all teams and drivers was the new hybrid system, which made its competitive debut in July 2024.

The hybrid system offers the competitors and their twin-turbo V6 engines an additional 60 horsepower. Previous iterations of the hybrid package were previously tested during the development process, but this test marked the debut of the system as it will race next May.

“I think the overtake we get (from the hybrid) is nice,” Palou said. “I think it’s good enough to set up a pass maybe in the middle of the pack. We’ll have to see.”

The 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge is Sunday, May 25, live on FOX and the INDYCAR Radio Network. Visit IMS.com for ticket and event details.