Tag: Firestone GP of St. Petersburg

Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding Fast Facts

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From Indycar:

Note: A digital copy of the 2024 INDYCAR Media Guide is available for download by clicking here. It is also available in the media guide section of the INDYCAR Content Site at http://content.indycar.com. A limited number of printed copies will be available beginning this weekend at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding.

Race weekend: Friday, March 8 – Sunday, March 10

Track: Streets of St. Petersburg, 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit (clockwise) through downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, including a runway of Albert Whitted Airport

Race distance: 100 laps / 180 miles (NTT INDYCAR SERIES) | 45 laps / 81 miles / 55 minutes (INDY NXT by Firestone)

Push-to-pass parameters:NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 150 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation. | INDY NXT by Firestone: 150 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation

Firestone tire allotment: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Six sets primary, four sets alternate to be used during the event weekend. Teams fielding a rookie driver may use one additional set of primary tires. Teams must use one set of primary and one set of new (sticker) alternate tires for at least two laps in the race. \\INDY NXT by Firestone: Three new sets to be used during the event weekend with one new set used for qualifying and another new set used during the race. A carryover set from the preseason testing may be used during the first practice.

X (formerly known as Twitter): @GPSTPETE, @INDYCAR, @INDYNXT, #FirestoneGP, #INDYCAR
Instagram: @gpstpete, @IndyCar, @INDYNXT, #FirestoneGP, #INDYCAR
Facebook: @GPSTPETE, @IndyCar, @INDYNXT, #FirestoneGP, #INDYCAR
TikTok: @IndyCar, #FirestoneGP, #INDYCARYouTube: @INDYCAR, @greensavoreeracingpromotions
Event website: www.gpstpete.com/
INDYCAR website: www.indycar.com

2023 race winners: NTT INDYCAR SERIESMarcus Ericsson (No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)INDY NXT by FirestoneDanial Frost (No. 68 HMD Motorsports)

2023 NTT P1 Award winner (NTT INDYCAR SERIES): Romain Grosjean (No. 28 DHL Honda), 59.5532 seconds, 108.810 mph
2023 INDY NXT by Firestone pole winner: Louis Foster (No. 26 Andretti Autosport), 1 minute, 05.1103 seconds, 99.523 mph

Qualifying records:NTT INDYCAR SERIESWill Power, 59.3466 seconds, 109.189 mph, Feb. 26, 2022 (set in Round 2 of qualifying)INDY NXT by FirestoneDavid Malukas, 1 minute, 4.6491 seconds, 100.233 mph, April 23, 2021

NBC Sports telecast: Race, noon ET Sunday, NBC (live). Leigh Diffey is the play-by-play announcer for NBC’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Marty Snider, Kevin Lee and Georgia Henneberry are the pit reporters. Universo will provide a Spanish-language telecast.
Peacock Live Streaming: All NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice sessions, qualifying and races as well as INDY NXT by Firestone races will stream live on Peacock, NBC’s direct-to-consumer livestreaming product.
INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside driver analyst Davey Hamilton. Nick Yeoman and Jake Query are the turn announcers. Michael Young, Ryan Myrehn and Jonathan Grace are the pit reporters. The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg race and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES practices and qualifying sessions air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation 218 and SiriusXM NBC Sports Audio 85, racecontrol.indycar.com and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA. All INDY NXT by Firestone practice and qualifying sessions and races are available on racecontrol.indycar.com, the INDYCAR App and SiriusXM 218.

At-track schedule (All Times Local/Eastern Time):
Friday, March 8
1:35-2:10 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone practice, INDYCAR LIVE
2:45-4 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice, Peacock

Saturday, March 9
8:25-9:10 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone practice, INDYCAR LIVE
9:35-10:35 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice (Limited guarantee of 45 minutes of green flag time), Peacock
1:05-1:35 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone qualifying (Two groups, 12-minute session with green flag of one timed lap), INDYCAR LIVE
2-3:30 p.m. – Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (three rounds of knockout qualifying), Peacock

Sunday, March 10
9:10-9:40 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES warmup, Peacock
10:10 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (45 laps / 81 miles / 55 minutes), Peacock (Live)
Noon – NBC Sports on air
12:23 p.m. – “Drivers, start your engines”
12:30 p.m. – Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding (100 laps / 181 miles), NBC, Universo and Peacock (Live)

“WHAT TO LOOK FOR” AT ST. PETERSBURG:
1. Will track record fall? 
While the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season awaits the arrival of the 2.2-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 engine with hybrid technology after the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, teams will push the limit until then with enhanced possibilities of track records with lighter chassis components prepared for the hybrid addition. They include a lighter, 3D-printed titanium aeroscreen top frame. Without compromising overall strength and durability, the new INDYCAR top frame saves seven pounds from the previous model. Additionally, a switch to a magnesium gearbox casing and bellhousing – located between the INDYCAR SERIES combustion engine and the gearbox and will house the hybrid assist unit – will provide additional weight savings
.2. Dixon seeks his first win on the streets of St. Petersburg. 
Who wouldn’t take Scott Dixon’s resume as an NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver?He has six NTT INDYCAR SERIES championships, which trails only the seven INDYCAR SERIES titles collected by A.J. Foyt. His 56 wins rank second on the all-time INDYCAR SERIES victory list, behind Foyt’s 67, but the streets of St. Petersburg might be his kryptonite.
It is one of five tracks on the schedule where Dixon is winless and the one where he has the most starts (19).Still, Dixon has been successful on the streets of St. Petersburg. Dixon has four runner-up finishes at the circuit and has an average finish of 7.63 in his 19 previous starts. He has finished in the top 10 in his last eight starts.3.
Power Plays Poles at Will. 
Will Power is the greatest qualifier in modern INDYCAR SERIES history, as his 70 career poles are the INDYCAR SERIES record.The tale of Power’s qualifying success can best be told through the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, where he has won nine of the last 14 poles.
The only drivers to score a pole in the last 10 years in St. Petersburg not named Will Power are Takuma Sato in 2014, Robert Wickens in 2018, Colton Herta in 2021, Scott McLaughlin in 2022 and Romain Grosjean last season. In total, Team Penske has won the pole position in 11 of the past 17 St. Petersburg races.Power has scored at least one pole position in each season since 2009, including two NTT P1 Awards last year. It’s almost a sure bet that Power will add to his record this season, and don’t be surprised if it starts during NTT P1 Award qualifying Saturday afternoon.
4. Split practice to be trialed. Deployed on a trial basis in St. Petersburg, the field will be split into two groups following a 20-minute “All Cars” session to begin Practice 1.Following the 20-minute “All Cars” session, each group – split by odd and even numbered pit boxes – will receive two 10-minute segments on an alternating basis.
As in qualifying, the clock in Segments One and Two will stop for the first red flag condition of each practice segment.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Notes:The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding will be the 21st INDYCAR SERIES race on the streets of St. Petersburg, dating to 2003 and the 20th race promoted by Green Savoree Promotions. Marcus Ericsson won the 2023 race, while Romain Grosjean won the NTT P1 Award. Paul Tracy won the inaugural race on Feb. 23, 2003, under CART sanction, while Sebastien Bourdais started from the pole that year.The St. Petersburg INDYCAR SERIES race has been run every year since 2003 except for 2004. No driver has competed in every St. Petersburg race, but Scott Dixon has started 19 consecutive races.Will Power (2010 and 2014) and Josef Newgarden (2019-2020) are the only entered drivers to win at St. Petersburg more than once. Six past winners are entered: Power, Newgarden, Graham Rahal (2008), Colton Herta (2021), Scott McLaughlin (2022) and Ericsson.Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou arrives at the season opener as the defending NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion for the second time in three seasons. The two-time series champion will look to make history by becoming the first repeat champion since Dario Franchitti won three in a row for Chip Ganassi Racing from 2009-11.Team Penske has won at St. Petersburg 11 times, including seven of the last 12 races with Castroneves (2012), Power (2014), Juan Pablo Montoya (2015-16), Newgarden (2019-2020) and McLaughlin (2022).The 2024 season marks the 20th season of the Firestone Fast Six qualifying format. Since the format debuted at the 2005 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, 65 drivers have participated in Firestone Fast Six qualifying at 20 road and street circuits. Not surprisingly, NTT INDYCAR SERIES all-time pole record holder Will Power leads all drivers with 96 career Firestone Fast Six appearances, only one ahead of six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Scott Dixon.Career Firestone Fast Six AppearancesRANKDRIVERFAST SIXES1Will Power962Scott Dixon953Helio Castroneves664Josef Newgarden495Ryan Hunter-Reay456Dario Franchitti427Simon Pagenaud408Graham Rahal329Ryan Briscoe3110Tony Kanaan30Four drivers have won the race from the pole – Castroneves (2007), Power (2010), Herta (2021) and McLaughlin (2022). The St. Petersburg winner has qualified fourth in five of the last 20 races.Dixon is expected to make his 386th INDYCAR SERIES start, which is fourth on the all-time list. Dixon has made 322 consecutive starts heading into the weekend, which is the longest streak in INDYCAR SERIES history.· Rookies Colin Braun, Christian Rasmussen and Kyffin Simpson will make their NTT INDYCAR SERIES debuts at St. Petersburg. Veteran Pietro Fittipaldi is slated to race on the streets of St. Petersburg for the first time. The two other NTT INDYCAR SERIES rookies entered, Tom Blomqvist and Linus Lundqvist, debuted in 2023.INDY NXT by Firestone Notes:The expected 22-car field for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg would be the largest INDY NXT by Firestone field at St. Petersburg since 2009 when 27 cars were on the grid.The 2024 season features a deep and talented field with INDY NXT race winners such as Nolan Siegel, Louis Foster and Reece Gold joining a promising rookie class that includes Myles Rowe (2023 USF Pro 2000 champ), Callum Hedge (2023 Formula Regionals America champion) and Caio Collet (Formula 3 race winner/Nissan Formula E reserve driver). Other contenders include returning drivers Jacob Abel, Josh Pierson, James Roe and Jamie Chadwick.INDY NXT by Firestone has added a new team for the second consecutive season. Miller Vinatieri Motorsports – co-owned by former INDYCAR SERIES competitor Dr. Jack Miller and former NFL standout Adam Vinatieri – will make its debut at St. Petersburg with driver Jack William Miller.Group qualifying will decide the starting grid on road and street circuits. Based on the best lap times from the practice session immediately preceding qualifying, the fastest driver in that session will choose which group will compete in the first of the two qualifying sessions. With 12 minutes allotted for each group (with a guarantee of one timed lap), the fastest driver between the two sessions will be awarded pole position with the drivers who finished behind that driver, in order and in that group, occupying the odd-numbered starting positions (3, 5, 7, etc.) for the race and the drivers who finished in order from the other group occupying the even-numbered starting positions (2, 4, 6, etc.). One driver and entrant championship point will be awarded to the fastest car in each qualifying group.Since 2005, a driver who won at least one of the races at St. Petersburg has won the INDY NXT by Firestone title six times, the most recent being Kyle Kirkwood, who won the first race of the doubleheader in 2021. 

Firestone GP of St. Pete Schedule- First Look

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An early look at the Indycar and Indy NXT schedule for next weekend. All times Eastern.

Friday, March 8

1:35 p.m. – 2:20 p.m. INDY NXT by Firestone Practice 1
2:45 pm. – 4:00 p.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 1

Saturday March 9

8:25 a.m. – 9:10 a.m. INDY NXT by Firestone Practice 2
9:35 a.m. – 10:35 a.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 2
1:05 p.m. – 1:35 p.m. INDY NXT by Firestone Qualifying
2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES Qualifying

Sunday March 10

9:10 a.m. – 9:40 a.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warm-up
10:10 a.m. – 11:05 a.m. INDY NXT by Firestone (45 Laps) Race
11:40 a.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES Driver Introductions
12:30 p.m. Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP
Funding (100 Laps)

St. Pete Grand Prix Gets Ready for 20 Year Celebration

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The Firestone Grand Prix of St. P{etersburg track build begins next Monday as the city begins celebrating the 20th year of Indycar racing in the streets.

Mayor Ken Welch told the crowd gathered for the opening ceremonies this morning that the race is “part of the fabric of the city.”

I have attended the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg since 2013, and I can vouch for this. I have seen tremendous growth in the event and in the participation of local businesses.

Kevin Savoree, co-owner of Green Savoree Promotions, said that the track will stand for 26 days from building start to tear down. He said that the city allows them 75 days, but they have worked diligently to cut the time frame down. I remember when the building of the track took more than a month. When I arrived this morning the framework for the front stretch grandstands was already in place.

Co-owner Kim Green said that ticket sales are ahead of 202, which saw a record crowd attend the Grand Prix.

The organizers have enhanced some auxiliary events and added some new ones in honor of the special year.

The March 8-10 race weekend begins Thursday night with the Party in the Park, which will feature a parade of cars down Bayshore Boulevard. The 5k run on the track follows the party. More details will be in the next post.

A formal celebration of the 20th anniversary of the race will take place in the Mahaffey Theater. Many previous winners are scheduled to appear. Tickets are available to the public, but they are pricey.

Saturday night is a free concert with Brett Michaels.

Oh yeah. There’s some racing, too. In addition to the Indycar season opener, Indy NXT and the Road to Indy will begin their seasons, and the IMSA VP Challenge Series will race on Saturday. The series features two classes, LMP3 cars and GT4 sports cars.

Last year’s winner Marcus Ericsson attended today’s festivities. I spoke with him. Ericsson is excited to begin driving for Andretti Global. He feels his experience in F1 and his stint at the Rolex 24 in the GTP car will help him when the ERS component comes online later in the season. Ericsson seemed happy that the season will end on an oval, and he is happy that another oval is now on the schedule.

Another indication of the growth of this event I noticed today is what seemed to be a larger than usual media presence at this opening event.

We are just three weeks and a day from the first track action for 2024. After a long off season of turmoil, I can’t wait to focus on cars at speed.

A Better Race- Bourdais, Power, and Pagenaud Talk About the Indycar Grand Prix

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Good morning from IMS. A brief summary of yesterday’s press conference and some other notes.

Simon Pagenaud, Sebastien Bourdais, and Will Power ( L to R above) agree that the new aero package will produce better racing in the Indycar Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Saturday. The new package tightens the gaps and allows the drivers to race closer. At a late morning press conference Friday, the drivers  praised the IMS  road course as one of the best the series runs on. They like its smoothness.

Pagenaud thinks restarts here are exciting because of the speed on the front straight heading into turn 1. He believes having the Grand Prix as a prelude to the 500 is a good idea.

” It shows the true nature of the Verizon Indycar series,” he said. “Fans can see what the whole series is about.”

Power and Pagenaud agree that this is a very European style track, which is part of its appeal to them.

Bourdais likes the idea of having the Grand Prix. He said there is no need to have nine days of practice on the oval. He would rather have had a practice session Thursday afternoon than the 9:15 session Friday morning. Bourdais believes the early morning session will not reveal any useful information for qualifying or the race.

Notes

Conor Daly will announce plans for the remainder of 2018 at an 11:30 press conference today. Speculation is he will be driving in the NASCAR Xfinity Series road course races.Your intrepid reporter will be covering the conference and report on it later.

The LED panels that displayed car positions and pit stop times have been shut down for May. There were issues with the system at Barber and the series stopped using them Saturday. The series hopes to have the panels back for Belle Isle. Teams will replace the panels likely with carbon fiber. It would be great if they put the car number there to compensate for the small rear wing numerals.

Juncos Racing announced Alfonso Celis, Jr. will drive in Kohler Grand Prix at Road America. Celis debuted in Indy Lights at Barber. Celis’ entry in the Freedom 100 has withdrawn, shortening an already small field.

Back later today with a qualifying summary and other news.

Windscreen Testing, News, and Thoughts

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Indycar continues to make progress in safety with its announcement Friday of the first windscreen on track test next Thursday at Phoenix.  The trial for the new safety component comes the day before the open test at ISM Raceway ( still can’t used to calling Phoenix that yet). One of the major questions is whether the drivers see out of the screen in all directions and during daylight and night conditions. Is the view blurry or distorted? The wind tunnel tests apparently were satisfactory enough to proceed to on track testing. I’m at least as interested in this test as I am seeing how the cars will race at Phoenix. Chip Ganassi Racing with Scott Dixon driving will have testing honors. The test will be three sessions of 5-10 laps, one in full sun, one at dusk, and one at night. The runs will occur between rookie sessions.  The series still needs to test for how the screen performs in the rain and do more intense ballistic tests.

I love the look of the screen. It reminds me of the windscreens on the roadsters of the ’50s and early 60’s. The size of the screen almost gives the car a roadster look, adding to the retro feel of the new aero design.

The screen is manufactured by PPG, and it is composed of a material called Opticor. This is the same material used in fighter jet canopies. Indycar has not set a timetable for putting the windscreen on the cars. I would not look for them this year. I applaud the series taking a careful, well thought approach to this safety feature. They have come up with an aesthetically pleasing screen that I hope serves its intended purpose well.

News

Updates:

Some big news broke after I published this morning.

First, Scott Dixon will have a full year primary sponsor, PNC Bank. No terms were announced although Chip Ganassi Racing has an announcement scheduled for tomorrow at IMS. This will be Dixon’s first full time sponsor since Target left. Here is the car:

FB_IMG_1517849100885

I think reversing the red and blue would be a better look. The car reminds me of Charlie Kimball’s old livery.

The second bit of news involves Dale Coyne Racing and a return of two familiar names top Indycar. Jimmy Vasser and James Sulivan have partnered with Coyne and Sebastien Bourdais  The new team name is Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser-Sullivan. Seal Master will sponsor the number 18 for nine races including the Indianapolis 500. Speculation continues that Coyne will enter a fourth car at Indianapolis for a driver that has driven for the team before. I’m excited I might get to wear my Dracone shirt again. A source hinted about this at Daytona.

 

Dale Coyne announced, as expected, car 19 will be shared by Zachary Claman DeMelo and Pietro Fittipaldi. Still to be determined is which races each will drive. DeMelo drove in Indy Lights last year, winning at Road America. He also drove in the Indycar season finale at Sonoma for Rahal Letterman Lanigan, DeMelo maintained a respectable race pace. Fittipaldi,  grandson of 2 -time 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi,  spent last season in Formula V8  3.5, notching six victories and winning the championship. He will have an oval test at Phoenix. Coyne said he was not opposed to running both driver in the Indianapolis 500. He also indicated Pippa Mann will also be in the race.

This announcement means Conor Daly will not have a full time ride  for 2018 unless a last minute deal emerges at Harding for a second car. Indycar needs to find a way to do a better job of keeping its popular drivers. It is a money over talent game, and Conor lost out. Daly still might get something for the 500.

Chip Ganassi Racing has scheduled a major announcement tomorrow morning at IMS. Speculation is that they have a sponsor for Scott Dixon.

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports unveiled the liveries for their three cars last Thursday. The big news is that Robert Wickens will have number 6 instead of Schmidt’s traditional 7 this year. Speculation is the 7 is being saved for Danica Patrick. If that is the case, I don’t see where any one-off has the right to demand a number be reserved for them. Kurt Busch and Fernando Alonso took whatever number they were offered. Sometimes the series tries too hard to attract certain drivers at the expense of others.

The SPM cars look great. James Hinchcliffe will be in the same Arrow livery of the past few years. Wickens’s car is red with Lucas Oil sponsorship, and Jack Harvey’s number 60 displays Sirius XM on the sidepod. Harvey currently has six races planned with an eye toward possibly adding more.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan announced the return of Total Oil as the primary sponsor on the 15 at Long Beach. Total sponsored Bobby during his 1992 championship season. RLL will have more sponsor announcements soon. It sounds as if they had a great off season procuring sponsorships.

I will be exploring the Everglades and Key West the rest of the week. If I’m not eaten by a Burmese Python, I will be back on the 14th with thoughts on the Phoenix test. The test will be live streamed on Indycar.com. Because of the time difference, I hope to watch the evening practice.

Sebring Test Day; Catching Up with Indycar News

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I really cannot wait for St. Pete after today. Yesterday was like a first practice at a race weekend. Eleven cars completed a very busy day at Sebring Wednesday. Drivers from Foyt, Carlin, Andretti Autosport, Coyne, Foyt, and Rahal turned a significant number of laps, Alexander Rossi and Ryan Hunter-Reay drive the most laps. Rookies Zach Veach, Robert Wickens,  and Mattheus Leist all logged important track time. Zachary Calaman DeMelo drove the Coyne number 19 in a test drive. There has been no official announcement yet on who will be in that car this year.

Rossi and Hunter-Reay also looked the smoothest and most consistent on their runs. Many drivers experimented with braking points and acceleration areas. I saw a lot of sliding through the corner leading to the backstretch.  The cars seem to approach the hairpin faster than I recall them doing at testing last year.

Max Chilton was the lone participant for Carlin Racing today. Charlie Kimball had a sponsor event commitment. Both Carlin drivers tested Monday and Tuesday on the oval at Homestead. This was their first road course test. It was great to see a new team, especially this one, on track.

I will be leaving Sebring Thursday morning for Daytona and the Rolex24. Sportscars are my second love after Indycars. The number of Indycar drivers in the race makes it that much better. It will be interesting with the large prototype field and the addition on Team Penske. Three Indycar owners have teams in the IMSA series now. If Andretti would join, there could be an even more massive crossover. I’m all for a return to the days when drivers drove anything, anywhere, anytime. See my post about Dan Gurney.

Catching Up on Indycar news

Lots of news to catch up with.

The biggest news is Schmidt-Peterson Motorsports hiring Leena Gade as their lead engineer. Gade is a three time winning engineer at Le Mans for Audi. She is the female lead engineer in Indycar. This move is a huge coup for SPM and the series.

DRR is scheduled to announce a two car team for the Indianapolis 500 today. Let the Danica speculation begin. I think Ed Carpenter Racing would be a better place for competitively. There are some family connections at DRR, though. Stay tuned.

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports has partnered with New Era as their clothing supplier. SPM could be the sharpest dressed  team in the paddock.

From Indycar’s newly released rule book:

The best thing is the severe points reduction for 500 qualifying. Only the fast nine receive points. Nine points go to the pole winner and the points drop by one for each position following. I always thought too many points were given for qualifying. My preference would be one point for pole, but this is a fair compromise.

The worst thing- the qualifying procedure for ovals other than Indianapolis. Cars will qualify in inverse order of entrant points. While this fair to part time drivers, virtually the same order at every track is not relevant to the weekend. Inverse order of final practice times is a better method. It reflects how a team is performing on a particular weekend.

I’m disappointed to see double points remaining for Indy and Sonoma.

A December News Blizzard

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This is the type of December blizzard I like- nothing to shovel, no running to the grocery store for French toast supplies, just some great Indycar news.

In order of the most recent first:

Michael Shank today (Friday) announced a partnership with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports to run Jack Harvey in up to six races this year, including the Indianapolis 500.  In addition to the 500, they will race at St. Pete, Long Beach, and Sonoma. The plan is to try to add 2 more. I would think Mid-Ohio would be one, since that is Shank’s home track. The sixth might be one close in time and distance to another race. Portland and the Indy Grand Prix are two good candidates. Harvey will carry sponsorship from Auto Nation, as he did last year for the last two races, and Sirius XM. Michael Shank is a great owner and a fantastic addition to the paddock. Harvey is a very capable driver who now has several races to learn about Indycar as this program heads toward a full time grid spot.

Andretti Autosport announced Thursday Marco Andretti will be in the 98 car for Bryan Herta and Alexander Rossi will drive the 27 car. Essentially it is just a car number switch as the crews will move with the drivers and the strategists will stay the same. This is the third number switch for Marco. I really don’t see the point of constant number switching. It hasn’t improved his performance in any way. Andrettti only has a couple left for him to try.

In an interview with Chip Ganassi at the PRI show, he said that talks with Danica Patrick concerning a ride at the 500 have stalled. It doesn’t appear that she will have a ride with that team. I think it will be rather difficult for her to find another team to join without a huge sponsor check. Huge should probably be in all caps.

Indycar also had some news about changes coming during race weekends in2018.

Teams will receive extra sets of tires at certain venues. This should encourage more practice laps. There will be a larger difference between the red (soft) tires and the black (hard) tires on road and street courses. I hope we see that. At some tracks I did not see much difference in the wear of the tires. The series and Firestone are also looking at a faster rate of tire degradation, which should help make for better racing.

Late Friday an article in Motorsport cited Jay Frye talking about possibly modifying Indy 500 qualifying points. This cannot come soon enough. I have disliked this system from the beginning. There are simply too many points awarded for qualifying. I would just scrap the entire current system and award one point for the fastest qualifier Saturday and one point for the pole winner Sunday.  Qualifying should not be worth as much as a race.  I hope a new system is put in place by May. I will not bore you with my qualifying format rant or my view on double points. Until May that is.

 

Is Randomness a Bad Thing?

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Jay Frye, Indycar President of Competition, said last week via a David Malsher story on Motorsport.com that the series was reviewing race procedures ahead of the 2018 season. He said Indycar was trying to eliminate some of the randomness in races caused by closing the pits when a caution occurs. The reasoning is to ensure that the fastest cars are rewarded by keeping the position they’ve earned.

There were several races in the last few years when the quickest car was caught out by a yellow happening just as they were going to pit. The race usually went to a surprise winner from a smaller team. Usually the winning team pitted early and cycled to the lead during the yellow when everyone else pitted.

Sebastien Bourdais at St. Pete, James Hinchcliffe at Long Beach, Simon Pagenaud at Phoenix (yes, an oval), and Josef Newgarden at Toronto all benefited from the pit closing rule and a timely caution.

My opinion?   If a team plays the strategy according to the rules and it works, great. Perhaps the teams that got hurt could anticipate the eventuality of the yellow and pit earlier. I’ve heard some team owners complain about throwing yellows just when we needed to pit.  Their need to pit does not supersede the need for a yellow.

If the race should be won by the fastest car all the time, why have the race? Does the team with the most regular season wins always win the Super Bowl or the World Series? Random things happen in all sports. It’s part of the drama. Let the teams play the game and see who wins. I agree preparation and speed goes a long way toward winning, but there has to be some strategy and breaks during the race.

I think what needs to be employed more on road courses is local yellows instead of the full course cautions for every incident, no matter how small. This will keep the pits open for a longer time during the race. It will have the same effect as keeping the pits open during a full course yellow.

Another procedure Indycar is reviewing is qualifying order on ovals other than Indianapolis. Currently the order is determined by a blind draw. It seemed as though a certain driver was always going last, which is a great advantage with the rubber laid down on the track and potential track cooling as the session progresses. I prefer the order be set by the inverse order of final practice times.  The fans will be able to know the order quicker, and we should see a different order at each track.

This is my last column before migrating to winter headquarters. I’ll be back in about a month. Changes will be coming to this space, including a possible new name.