GMR Grand Prix – Page 4 – The Pit Window by Mike Silver

Grosjean Pole- From Flames to Fame

May 14, 2021 thepitwindow

Photo: Romain grosjean hug chief mechanic Olivier Boisson after winning the pole. Photo by Mike Silver

Romain Grosjean leaping from his burning car in Bahrain is finally put away. Grosjean won the pole for tomorrow’s GMR Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He did not win the pole by default. Grosjean had to hold off two time series champion and multiple pole winner Josef Newgarden to achieve the top spot for the race. The pole is just the third all time for Dale Coyne racing and the first on a natural road course. Sebastien Bourdais won a pole on the oval at Phoenix in 2018. Mike Conway took the pole for Detroit Race 2 in 2016.

In a qualifying session which saw points leaders Scott Dixon and Pato O’Ward struggle and pokle master Will Power cause a red flag in Round 2, Grosjean joined three other fast six newcomers- Conor Daly, Alex Palou, and Scott McLaughlin to fight for the pole along with Jack harvey and Newgarden.

“Amazing,” Grosjean said. “When I saw the (first qualifying) group I was in, I was like, ‘Oh, dear, if we can get out of the first group, we’re going to be OK,’ and we did. That last few laps, we were on it. What a day for us.

“I’m happier than I have been in a very long time.”

In the only other natural road course run this year, at Barber, Grojean started 10th and finished seventh. His getting to the Fast Six wasn’t much of a shock, but earning the pole was.

Notes on a Strange Day

The wierdness wasn’t reserved for qualifying. The practice sessions had some odd happenings as well. In session 1, Alex Palou’s team discovered a water leak before he got on the track. Palou missed the entire session. Palou bounced back to get in the Fast Six.

During the first practice we learned that Max Chilton and Carlin Racing withdrew from this weekend. Chilton was unable to return from England because of a travel issue. Today’s issue has no effect on their 500 entry.

Scott Dixon developed a clutch issue during the afternoon practice, Unlike Palou, he did not recover in qualifying and will start 16th. two spots ahead of Pato O’Ward. Dixon and O’Ward are first and second in points. Newgarden and Palou,, third and fourth in points, start second and fourth.

Juan Pablo Montoya looked quite uncomfortable in the third Arrow McLaren SP entry. He struggled to get the car through the final turns.

Conor Daly made the Fast Six for the first time. It has been a long time since Ed Carpenter racing has been in the Fast Six.

Newgarden and Palou were the only members of the Fast Six who have won a race. The series is on about as level a playing field as it has ever been.

Team Penske still does not have a pole this season.

A. J. Foyt Racing had a promising beginning to the season. All thee cars will start 20th or worse tomorrow.

Newgarden Leads Chevy 1-2-3 in Practice 2

May 14, 2021 thepitwindow

Josef Newgarden led the final practice round before qualifying for the GMR Grand Prix at 4: 30. Newgarden edged Rings Veekay and teammate Will Power in a Chevy sweep of the top 3. All four TeM Penske cars finished in the top 10, with Scott McLaughlin fifth and Simon Pagenaud eighth.

Pato O’ Ward struggled for most of the session but salvaged a ninth place at the flag.

Scott Dixon had a clutch failure and ended 23rd.

Juan Pablo Montoya struggled the entire practice period and was the slowest car

The top 12:

Opening Day at IMS at Last!

May 14, 2021 thepitwindow3 Comments

Good morning from the cozy confines of the IMS Media Center Northwest Annex at 71st and Michigan Road.The Pit Window will soon be heading to its annual opening day staff breakfast at Charlie Brown’s (table for 1, please.)

Two practice sessions and qualifying are on tap for Indycar today.

From last night:

GMR Grand Prix- Time For a Penske Bounce Back?

Today’s Schedule

All Times Eastern

Friday

7:30am 6:00pm- Gates Open

8:00am 8:20am- Indy Pro 2000 Quals

8:35am 9:05am INDY LIGHTS Q1

9:30am 10:15am INDYCAR Series Practice 1 Peacock

10:40am 11:20am USF2000 Race 1

11:45am 12:35pm Indy Pro 2000 Race 1

1:00pm 1:45pm NTT INDYCAR Series Practice 2 Peacock

2:10pm 3:10pm INDY LIGHTS Race 1 Peacock

3:25pm 4:05pm USF2000 Race 2

4:30pm 5:45pm NTT INDYCAR SERIES Qual. / Firestone Fast 6 Peacock (live)

NBCSN– 6 pm ET (Delayed)

Today is a day for reunions with friends and to scout viewing spots for tomorow’s race if you have a flex ticket. If this your first time at the track since 2019, take some time to notice the improvements Roger Penske has made. They are noticeable and impressive.

I will post brief reports on session results and have a full wrap up later tonight. Enjoy the day;.

GMR Grand Prix- Time For a Penske Bounce Back?

May 13, 2021 thepitwindow

It is time. Tomorrow (Friday) the gates to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway open to fans in May for the first time since 2019. Has it only been two years? It seems like a lifetime ago. The eighth GMR Grand Prix takes place this weekend, followed next week by practice for the 105th running of the Indianapolis 500.

The Grand Prix began in 2014 as a way to add content to a shrinking May agenda. Attendance at the first event exceeded expectations, and the race has settled in at nice crowd of around 35,000 or so.The 2021 race is the fifth round of the NTT Indycar Series championship. Last year this race took place July 4 in conjunction with the Brickyard 400 NASCAR race. In 2021 it returns to its traditional spot n the calendar.

Several teams and drivers come into this weekend needing a successful run.

Can Penske Continue Its Domination?

The GMR Grand Prix has been practically owned by Team Penske since 2015. Until Scott Dixon won last year in July, Will ,Power and Simon Pagenaud were the only two drivers to have won this race. Pagenaud also won the inaugural event driving for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.Josef Newgarden and Will Power each won a race in the Harvest Classic last October at IMS
.Team Penske uncharacteristically has not won a race this season. As a team their statistics for the first four races show no poles or wins, five of the 12 podium spots, and a total of 31 laps led. Josef Newgarden has two of the podiums. I think this is the weekend the team breaks through with a pole and a victory, not necessarily the same individual.

Will Power has won the pole four times for this race, including the July running last year. he also won the pole for Race 2 at the Harvest Classic. If the team is to begin a run at the championship, this is the race where they can get going.

O’Ward Looks to Build on Momentum

Pato O’Ward jumped to second place in the standings with his win the second race at Texas Motor Speedway two weeks ago. He won the pole at Barber, but strategy cost him the victory there. O’Ward could be the one to break the Penske May spell of this race. O’Ward will have a strong weekend.

Arrow Mclaren SP adds Juan Pablo Montoya to their lineup for May. his experience will be helpful to O’Ward and possibly help Felix Rosenqvist, who has struggled in the quarter of the season.

Andretti Drivers Need a Boost

Except for Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport has underperformed this season. James Hinchcliffe has has been involved in race ruining contact three times this season. Ryan Hunter-Reay eked out a 10th place in Texas race 2 for his best finish to date, and Alexander Rossi languishes in 15th place with one top 10 finish.

The team needs top 10s from all its drivers, and a top 5 from at least one of them. The Andretti armada should be strong for the 500, but they need to get something rolling this weekend.

Rookies

The three series rookies, Scott McLaughlin, Romain Grosjean, and Jimmie Johnson, make their IMS debut this weekend. Only McLaughlin will also run the 500. McLaughlin has one podium with a second place in Texas Race 1. I look for McLaughlin and Grosjean to have strong showings on this track. Grosjean did very well at Barber, earning a top 10, and mcLaughlin has the backing of Team Penske, which should help at this track.

Will Dixon Keep Rolling?

Scott Dixon is in his familiar.number one position in the standings with a victory under his belt and no finish lower than fifth. So far Dixon is giving one of his stronger title defenses. He is actually the defending race winner of this event as well. A win Saturday would tie Dixon with Mario Andretti for second place on the career win list with 52 victories. He would also be only the third winner of this race in the month of May.

As I have said on a couple of other occasions this year, don’t count out his teammate Alex Palou,. Palou held off Power to win at Barber, and he is third in the standings.

The GMR Grand Prix is shaping up to be a very competitive race. Qualifying is key to a good result. No matter the outcome the winner will be the fans, who once again get to enter this sacred ground in the month that Indianapolis lives for. It will be great to back at IMS.

GMR Grand Prix Fast Facts

May 12, 2021 thepitwindow

From Indycar:

Where’s the 500 Buzz?

May 10, 2021 thepitwindow8 Comments

It’s May 10 and I’m still not feeling it. MAY 10th! Perhaps it’s because the track isn’t open yet, or that I haven’t received my race tickets. Maybe it’s the lousy weather Indianapolis is enduring right now. Whatever the cause, the 500 buzz that I usually feel around May 1 isn’t there.

Moving the GMR Grand Prix back a week might not have been such a good idea. The later date has kept things low key as we wait for the track to open halfway through the month. I felt a little bit of excitement when I picked up my Bronze Badge at the track last week. The email from the speedway telling me my tickets had been mailed perked me up some as well, but that high withered when the blue envelope still hadn’t arrived by Saturday.

What will it take to get the buzz going again? Being at the track first thing Friday morning after my traditional Opening Day breakfast at Charlie Brown’s should do the trick. It has been two years since I have been inside the track during May. It was nice seeing some racing at IMS in October, but it wasn’t the same. Friday can’t get here soon enough.

There are some racing friends I haven’t seen since the 2019 500. I am excited to see them again as well. Sadly some are skipping this year, too, but it will be great to see those who do attend. I am normally a patient person except for one month a year. I hope the schedule returns to a more regular path in 2022.

Meanwhile, I will set my alarm for Friday morning, hope my 500 tickets arrive this week, and get my buzz restarted.

Dixon Goes for Sweep and History

July 12, 2020 thepitwindow

Good morning from Road America as we prepare for race 2 of the GMR Grand Prix weekend. I hope for another race as entertaining as yesterday’s was.

Today’s schedule: (All times Eastern)

Scott Dixon could become the third driver in Indycar history to win 50 races. He now is within three of tying Mario Andretti for second place on the all time list. Dixon is also looking to win the first four races of the year. Today could also be just the third time that a driver has swept a doubleheader weekend. Dixon did that in Toronto in 2013 and Graham Rahal won both days in Detroit in 2017.

Another three on the line today is whether Jack Harvey can get his third consecutive front row start. Harvey has started second for the last two races, but his fortunes in the races themselves have turned out well. He is in the second qualifying group today, which increases his chances for the pole.

Questions for the day- Will Conor Daly’s car be ready for qualifying? It was severely damaged in his contact with Pato O’Ward yesterday. Will Josef Newgarden bounce back from the pit bobble that cost him the win yesterday? Will Team Penske win their fourth pole of the season.

Some fans yesterday respected the social distancing guidelines while many others didn’t seem to care. Road America would have been wise to perhaps sell fewer tickets to this event. Masks are hit and miss. I did see more people wearing them yesterday. I will talk about this more tomorrow.

Enjoy the race, wash your hands, and wear your mask in public.

Quick Thoughts- GMR Grand Prix Race 1

July 11, 2020 thepitwindow

We could see history tomorrow. Scott Dixon could win his 50th race. Only two other drivers have reached and surpassed that number.

The second half of the race was quite interesting. Newgarden’ s stall in the pits began to turn the race around. The yellows really made for an exciting finish.

What is going on with Team Penske pit stops? They have had problems e every race this year. They aren’t the only team with pit issues, but the bar is much higher for them. I wonder if the compressed event schedules are contributing to the pit errors.

Drive of the day goes to Alex Palou. The rookie’s podium finish came after starting 14th, having a long pit stop, and making a nice pass on Ryan Hunter-Reay.

Ryan Hunter-Reay and Colton Herta are not being mentioned much, but they are quietly having very good seasons. Herta is third in points and Hunter-Reay is sixth.

Today pretty much ends Alexander Rossi’s title hopes. It was his second straight finish in the twenties.

Conor Daly’s crew has a long night ahead of them repairing his car for tomorrow. Daly may skip qualifying and start last. His accident is the bad part of double headers. My concern is a car getting badly damaged next Friday in the first Iowa race. Would that team be done for the weekend?

After no cautions for two years, today’s race tried to make up for all that lost time. The three cautions came within seven laps of each other.

Turn five saw lots of passing and attempted passing, lots of tire smoke from locked brakes, and several near collisions.

I hoe tomorrow’s race, on NBC, is just as entertaining as today’s race was.

I will have just post tomorrow, in the morning. I will be driving back to Indianapolis as soon as tomorrow’s race is over. Thanks for following along this weekend.

Traditions Smashed: Quick Thoughts on the GMR Grand Prix

July 4, 2020 thepitwindow

Photo: Indycar, James Black

Two traditions of this race went down n flames today- A clean first lap for the first time in race history, and the biggest tradition-the two winners club was intruded upon by Scott Dixon. It was only the second time a Team Penske car did not win.

Five drivers with less than three years of Indycar experience finished in the top 10.Colton Herta finished fourth, Rinus VeeKay came home fifth, Marcus Ericsson was sixth, Pato O’W and Santino Ferrucci ended up in eighth and ninth. VeeKay started 18th. His 13 spot improvement was second to Simon Pagenaud who moved up 17 positions from 20th to third.

Scott Dixon should have at least 50 career victories by season’s end. He is now just four behind Mario Andretti for second place.

What is going on with Will Power and pit stops? There have been issues in both races this year.

The yellow for Oliver Askew’s crash hurt Graham Rahal. His two stop strategy was working perfectly until then. It was nice to see Rahal fighting for the win again.

It was a great day for Ed Carpenter Racing. In addition to VeeKay’s fifth place, Conor Daly finished 12th. Daly had been in the top 10 for much of the race. I hope to see more of this kind of result from the team the rest of the year.

Andretti Autosport struggled overall for the second straight race. Except for Herta, the rest of the team was not a factor. In Texas Veach was the lone bright spot. They need to turn things around at Road America next week.

Think it’s boring watching Dixon win the first two races? We are watching one of the best ever. As someone who has been lucky enough to watch Foyt, Andretti, Jones, Mears, and the Unsers, I am telling you Dixon belongs with this group. appreciate him that you can watch someone with his skill.

A few people gathered outside the fence of IMS around 23rd and Georgetown Road to watch the race on the video board and soak in the sounds of the race. It was weird just getting tiny glimpses of the cars, but it was better than sitting at home.

I will be back with a more detailed wrap up later tonight or tomorrow.

Enjoy your holiday. wash your hands and mask up. Thanks for following along this weekend.