Christian Lundgaard was the only driver to beat the track record in the second Indycar practice session. practice was delayed 25 minutes because of lightning in the area.
The weather delayed Indy NXT qualifying and thus pushed back the start of Iindycar practice.
Nine minutes into the session Pato O’Ward spun into the tire barrier and damaged the left front corner of his car. The red flag also few for Will Power, who spun without hitting anything at the top of the corkscrew and Santino Ferrucci, who appeared to lose an engine. Ferrucci may have a six place grid penalty assessed if the team needs to change the engine.
Green time has been at a premium this weekend. Today’s practice had just 35 minutes of green flag time. the longest segment was 16 minutes. The situation meant a crowded track where it was difficult for anyone to get a clean lap.
Teams fgot very little, if any, time on the alternate tires yesterday. Qualifying is going to be interesting.
Christian Lundgaard led a fast first practice sessionfor the Bitnile.com Grand Prix of Portland. as 14 drivers turned laps under 59 seconds. Lundgaard led most of the session and waqs the first to go to the red tires.
Jyke Kirkwood was second quickest, and Alex Palou was third. Lundgaard’s best lap was 58.177 seconds, 15 hundredths of second better than Kirkwood and 18 hundredths ahead of Palou.
The session stopped three times to retrieve stalled cars. Felix Rosenqist went off track just before turn 12 and stopped just short of the tire barrier. Santino Ferrucci spun in turn 11 and stopped on track. Ryan Hunter-Reayspun n turn 12 and stalled facing the wrong way.
Scott Dixon, the only driver with a chance to catch Alex Palou for the championship, was 19th fastest.
Practice 2 is tomorrow morning at 9 am Pacific time.
Note- A more ddetailed story about Christian Lundgaard and RLL will be up tomorrow morning, followed by a complete wrap up. Just wanted to egt some thoughts out there now.
Congratulations to Christian Lundgaard on his first career victory in Indycar. He has been the most solid driver on the team this year, but is starting to put it together. Lundgaard won the pole at GMR Grand Prix at IMS in May. At Mid Ohio he started fifth and finished fourth.
It is always nice to see a first time winner in the series. the genuine emotion and joy shown by Lundgaard and the entire RLL organization was a joy to watch.
The entire Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team deserves credit for thier incredible turnaround since May. This team struggled to get two of their three cars into the Indianpolis 500.
It was a richly deserved win with great stategy calls and a couple of great passes.
Maybe Palou Isn’t Human?
Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden had Alex palou right where they wanted him. He started 15th, his worst satrting spot of the year. Dixon and Newgarden were both ahead of him. With the race on a tight street course where passing is difficult, I’m sure visions of points gains danced in their heads.
So, Palou finishes second, nursing a front wing that could have fallen off at any moment, and adds seven points to his cahampionship lead.
Maybe he is bullet proof.
Toronto- Where the Streaks Have No Name
Four streaks ended this weekend. Alex Palou’s three race winning streak, Colton Herta’s two weekend pole streak, Will Power not being in the Fast Six, and Herta’s non podium streak.
It is hard for me to believe that Herta had not been on the poium in 2023 until today.
As for Palou, he could start another one and run to the end of the season.
I had questioned power’s competitiveness early in the year, but he has been strong since the 500.
Notes
Lundgaard joins Kyle Kirkwood as first time career winners in 2023. Their wins have something in common. Both drivers won a street race from the pole.
Romain Grosjean’s Indycar future may be hanging by a thread. Another crash today makrks his fourth finishn of 22nd or worse since May. His last top ten finish was at Barber.
How did the crews of Will Power and Marcus Ericsson get the fuel calculations so wrong?
Congratulations to Marcus Srmstrong on his seventh place finish.
Agustin canapino finsihed 12th, tying his career best set at St. Pete, but he started this weekend from 18th, his career best start. A great weekend for the Indycar rookie.
Does trouble always find Kyle Kirkwood, or does he always find trouble? He puzzles me.
Thanks for following along this weekend. A more in depth story on RLL’s journey to Victory Lane will be up tomorrow.
Christian Lundgaard won his second pole of the season, turning his fast lap as time expired in the Fast Six. The pole is a culmination of the improvements Rahal Letterman lLanigan Racing has made the last two races. It was an entertaining qualifying, with weatherr scrambling the Fast Six.
Rain neutralized the Andretti team advantage as the team did not put a car in the Fast Six. Round 1 group1 went according to plan for the team, with Kyle Kirkwood and Romain Grosjean advancing. Colton Herta did not make it out of his group as the rain during group 2 caused him to spin, losing his best 2 laps to that point. He could never get another good lap in. Herta had won poles at the last two races.
Round 1 did not go to plan for points leader Alex Palou, who will start 15th. It is Palou’s worst starting spot of the season. His three race winning strak is in jeopardy tomorrow.
The Fast Six was run in drying conditions. Pato O’Ward startedd on the altrnates and sett several fast laps. The others- Will Power, Scott McLaughlin, Marcus Ericsson, Felix Rosenqvist, and Lundgaard, turned a lap on the rain tire then came in for alternates. O’Ward did not pit for new tires, he didn’t have enough at the end.
Thge final seconds ticked off as every driver too the lead as they crossed the line. Lundgaard secured the pole as the last car to finish.
Notes
Will Power made the Fast Six for the first time in 2023. The all time career leader still seeks his forst pole of the year.
Impressive job by Tom Blomqvist to qualify 20th in just his third session in an Indycar. He did it in rainy conditions as well.
Agustin CCanapino matched his best start at 18th, also in the rain.
There is a slight chance of rain during the race tomorrow.
The grid for tomorrow’s race has a lot of fast cars mid pack and toward the rear. Starting tire choices will be interesting The jumbled lineup should make for a fun race.
I will have the staring liineup tomorrow m\orning and a race preview.
Christian Lundgaard’s first career pole capped a rebound day for Rahal Letterman Laniugan Racing. The team has floundered this season in qualifying, but today all three drivers were in the mix in every session. All three- Lundgaard,Jack Harvey, and Graham Rahal- advance the round of 12. Lundraagd and Harvey moved on to the Fast Six. Harvey will start fourth tomorrow and Rahal lines up eighth.
Lundgaard talks about his pole run
Felix Rosenqvist starts second on Saturday, missing the pole bu just0.0027 seconds. The difference between Lundgaard’s time and sixth place Kyle Kirkwood was 0.2971 seconds, one of the closest since the Fast 6 format began.
Unususal Fast 12
Round 2 feaqtured all of the drivers from three different teams. I don’t recall three entire teams making the round of 12 before. The complete squad from Ganassi-Scott Dixon, Alex palou, Marcus Ericsson, and Marcus Armstrong; all the Arrow McLaren drivers- Pato O’Ward, Alexander Rossi, and Rosenqvist; and the Rahal crew.
Kyle Kirkwood from Andretti and Will Power from Penske filled out the 12 spots. Kirkwood advanced.
Where is Penske?
Five poles have been awarded this season, but none to a Penske driver. Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin each have a fourth place start, and McLaughlin also has a sixth place in qualifying. New garden has yet to make a Fast Six on a road or street course.
Andretti Woes
Today was the worst qualifying day of the ear for Andretti. Colton Herta’s oil line fire in the morning practice seemed to set the tone for the day. Kirkwood was the only driver to advance to the second round.. Romain Grosjean, who has twompoles this season, will satrt 18th.
Today is the first in a series of preview articles as we head into the 2023 NTT Indycar Series season. Let’s take a look at four drivers who I think are going to have much improved years. Three are rookies from last year, and one young veteran I think is about to hit his stride. We will also look at some drivers who may be fighting for their jobs this year.
Drivers to Watch
Kyle Kirkwood
Kirkwood seems to be enjoying his new team. he has been quick in testing, as have his Andretti teammates. What remains to be seen is if his racecraft has improved. Last year Kirkwood sometimes tried too hard to overcome equipment deficits. the result was a lot of unforced errors and a 24th place finish in the final standings. He has the equipment and the team behind him to succeed this year. i expect to see a lot of the Kirkwood we saw on the Road to Indy in 2023. Will he win a race? I think that is possible, but not likely this season.
Christian Lundgaard
Lundgaard quietly earned Rookie of the Year in 2022, and showed steady improvement as the season went on. He earned seven Top 10 finishes, including two Top Fives and one podium. A year’s experience, backing by Hy-Vee, and an improving RLLteam should combine to see even better results for Lundgaard in 2023. I see him ending up in the TopTen at the end of the year.
David Malukas
A rough start to 2022 probably cost Malukas the Rookie of the Year title. He lost to Lundgaard by only 18 points. A driver who showed increasing maturity as the year progressed, Malukas drive to a brilliant second place at World Wide Technology Raceway. Malukas had one other top 10, at Iowa. He was the highest finishing rookie at the Indianapolis 500, but his lack of NASCAR titles cost him Indy Rookie of the Year. Of the three sophomores, I think Malukas is the most probable to eke out a win in 2023. Dale Coyne Racing doesn’t have the best equipment, but they know how to play the rules, and I think a race will fall his way.
Rinus VeeKay
It’s time for Rinus to stop teasing us. The potential is there for a breakout season. We have been waiting for the ECR driver to put together a solid, consistent season. VeeKay won the pole at Barber and finished third after a slow out lap following his second pit stop. He had a decent year in 2022 with six Top Tens and three Top Fives, but just one podium. Maybe we expect too much of VeeKay. I look for a top ten season finish and more regular top five appearances. A win is possible.
Hot Seats
Three drivers need to have really good seasons if they wish to stay in Indycar in 2024. One will be leaving his current team after the season, and this year is an audition for all the other teams. The other two have to show significant improvement in 2023.
Jack Harvey
We still aren’t sure what kind of a driver Jack Harvey is. Harvey had just one Top ten in 2022. That will not be good enough this coming season., I hoped for better results since he joined the series. For 2023, a different sponsor, different car number, and new crew may help Harvey rise to the level that fans have expected of him. I’m not expecting a win, but a final spot in the top 15 would be a significant improvement.
Romain Grosjean
I don’t know Grosjean’s contract status, but I thought when he joined Andretti, he would be a consistent contender for podiums and wins, 2022 was not a good year for Andretti overall, but I thought the former F1 driver would enhance their program. It didn’t happen. Grosjean has been quick in testing during the preseason, and he seems to feel the team has a better baseline heading into 2023. A win is possible, but more top five and top ten finishes are needed.
Felix Rosenqvist
Rosenqvist will depart Arrow McLaren at the end of 2023. In 2022,he had to fight to keep his job, and he showed himself to be up to the task. In 2023 his objective si to show the other teams that he belongs in Indycar. I think he does, and I have no doubt Rosenqvist will show well this season. A win will be tough given his teammates and the competition from other teams,but look for Rosenqvist to have a deal in place with a new team for 2024 before the season ends.
BROWNSBURG, Ind. (August 16, 2022) – Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing announced today that the team has restructured a new, long-term agreement with NTT INDYCAR SERIES rookie-of-the-year contender Christian Lundgaard that will see the Danish driver continue to compete for the team in 2023 and beyond.
Lundgaard has momentum on his side heading into the final three races of the season. He earned an INDYCAR career-best finish of second place at the Gallagher Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 30 and earned his highest series start of third place at the Music City Grand Prix in Nashville on August 6. He leads the INDYCAR Rookie of the Year standings with 272 points to second-place David Malukas, who has 231.
The 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season resumes with the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway on August 19-20. The race will air live on USA Network at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 20. All on-track action can be seen on NBC or NBC’s Peacock Premium streaming service. For more information on the series and team, visit http://www.indycar.com and http://www.rahal.com.
QUOTEBOARD:
CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD, Driver of the No. 30 Honda: “I have to say a big thanks to Bobby, David and Mike for giving me this opportunity to extend my time with the team. We’ve had some good results lately and I’m sure this has also helped their decision. First of all, I’m just happy and super excited that they gave me this opportunity. A year ago at the Grand Prix, we qualified well and they decided that they wanted me for a full season and we made the most of the opportunity so far. I’m sure there are times when we could have performed better but now we have the opportunity to continue this progress. We’ve been to a lot of tracks so far and have come back to some and finished on the podium, which I hope to continue. Qualifying third in Nashville was a big milestone for me. Making the Fast Six – and not being at the end of the Fast Six but actually having a shot at competing for the pole – was a great experience for me. We didn’t quite finish where we wanted but it was good to have that experience and now everyone is making the most of it. I’m happy for everyone at the team, my family and the sponsors and investors, everyone that has made this possible. I’m looking forward to continuing to build momentum.”
BOBBY RAHAL, Co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing: “I am so pleased with Christian’s progress with the team and within the series. He has shown that he can be a force to be reckoned with in these races. He works well within the team, and we are pleased that we are continuing for the next several years because I believe he will continue to improve and be a potential winner in the very near future.”
MIKE LANIGAN, Co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing: “Christian has done a great job acclimatizing to the variety of challenges and new experiences this season. His approach and professionalism continues to impress us and his performance, especially in the second half of the season, speaks volumes about his potential. We are very happy to have him as part of the team for the years ahead.”
About Christian Lundgaard Christian Lundgaard, 21, from Hedensted, Denmark, came to the INDYCAR SERIES after competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, the primary Formula 1 support series, from 2020-2021. Lundgaard was a member of the Alpine Academy, having joined the program in 2017 following an impressive career in European and World Karting Championships. Christian’s first year in single-seaters led to two Formula 4 titles – NEZ and Spanish – before he finished runner-up in the 2018 Formula Renault Eurocup as a rookie. In 2019, Christian stepped up to Formula 3, finishing sixth, before progressing to Formula 2 the following season.
In his first year in Formula 2 in 2020, he won two races and backed that up the following year with three podiums. He finished second in Race 2 at the season opener in Bahrain before claiming third place in Race 1 in Great Britain in July. After his debut in INDYCAR, he made a sensational charge from 19th on the grid to finish third in Monza in Race 1. He tested the R.S.18 on one occasion in 2021 at Silverstone.
Rookie Christian Lundgaard led today’s opening practrice for the Big Machine MGrand Prix this afternoon with a lap of 1:15.5659. Felix Rosenqvist anbd David Malukas, another rookie were second and third.
There were several stoppages. Dalton Kellett caused the first red flag when he went into the turn 1 runoff area and stalled. Rinus VeeKay brought out the red for a similar issue a few minutes later. Colton Herta caused the final red flag with about 25 minutes left in the session as he also stalled in the turn 1 run off.
Hwlio Castroneves, who installed a fifth engine and will lose six grid places after qualifyiung, had contact with the wall after locking his brakes in turn 1. He broke the toe link but was able to drive the car back to the pits.
Points leader Will Power had the seventh quickest lap. Defending race champion Marcus ericsson was 11th.
Lundgaard’s fast lap is another positive step for the Rahal Letterman Lanigan team. Last weekend Lundgaard finished second in the Gallagher Grand Prix and Graham Rahal finished seventh. We will see if the team’s new found momentumwill continue through the weekend.
Green Tires Debut
Firestone’s new sustainably made tires with a green band made their official raceweekend session debut. Jimmie Johnson was the first dri er to try them out. It was a bit of a shock to see the green banded tire=s the first time by. It was more of a shock to to open the Indycar app and see the trademark F surrounded by green.
Results- Top 12
In the morning I will talk about what has improved since last year and preview qualifying.
It took 49 races and more than 1,100 days for Alexander Rossi to once again see the checkered flag first. It happened to be in the same venue where he won his first race, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The track layout was different than when he won the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, but a win is a win.
It’s not that Rossi forgot how to drive. He endured a telephone book’s worth of issues n the pits, bad luck, and untimely mechanical failures. How did he keep going through all of the frustration?
He told the media,
“It’s human nature to start to question things when it continually doesn’t kind of fall your way. You just have to remember that you’ve done it before, you can do it again.”
Rossi tried to take the lead on lap 2 with a bold move on Felix Rosenqvist going into turn one, but ended up off course and fell back to third. He later passed Rosenqvist and set off after teammate Colton Herta, who had charged from ninth to take the lead.
It appeared to be Herta’s race, but he slowed on lap 42 and barely coasted into the pit entrance. Rossi inherited the lead and never looked back.
Rossi’s eighth career win comes as his time with Andretti Autosport nears its end. He was happy that he could win for his crew. Rossi spoke about what winning at IMS means/ “…it’s a hard one to put into words. Every time I come here, I just appreciate it more and more, whether it’s for an event — I mean, obviously the 500, but whether it’s this event, a sponsorship thing, a media thing, giving laps around the track. Like it’s just such an amazing place for us. For me, being my seventh season in the series and knowing what it means to the NTT INDYCAR Series, as well, yeah.
I kind of was hoping on the Road America weekend for it to kind of start and end this drought or whatever there, but it actually ended here was actually kind of a cooler story. To be able to go up on the lift with the guys and let them experience that because that didn’t exist in 2016, there’s a lot of special things about this place. The fan turnout here for us as INDYCAR drivers is always amazing, and seeing everyone with the merch and the autograph session, it’s just a very special thing today for sure.”
I have a feeling the gap to his next win will not be as long. Arrow McLaren SP will be very happy to have Rossi driving for them.
Great day for RLL
Overshadowed by Rossi’s win was Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s best day of the season. The team has struggled for results all season, but today rookie Christian Lundgaard finished a career best second, and Graham Rahal came home in seventh. It would be great to see this team become a factor over the last four races of the year.
Christian Lundgaard
Lundgaard extended his lead in the rookie standings to 27 points over David Malukas.
Power Leads- For Now
Will Power retook the points lead over Marcus Ericsson. The difference between them is just nine points. Ericsson won at Nashville, the next race on the schedule.
The top five in points are separated by just 46 points. This race is still wide open.
Notes
Colton Herta may not want to race on Saturday anymore. Last Saturday in Iowa he made a great run through the field from his 17th starting spot only to have a mechanical issue and finish 24th. Today he took the lead from ninth and was in control at the halfway point when another issue put him out of the race.
I will have a race wrapup post tomorrow where I will discuss the call to stay green with a car stalled on track, whether three Indycar races at IMS is too many, and if this current shared weekend format should continue.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 