Tag: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

The 2024 Indianapolis 500 Program- A Step Up

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The 500 souvenir program for 2024 is better than the programs of the past few years. First, the cover is a huge improvement over 2023. The solid black cover is a low bar for comparison, but renderings of winning cars from milestone years ending in 4 is an appropriate way to showcase this year’s event. The cost is $20.

I like that the cover says “Indianapolis 500” rather than the “Indy 500” which has infected much of IMS branding of late.

All the things you expect are there- the entry list, driver profiles, and records of all the past 500s.

The program features a moving tribute to Gil de Ferran by Curt Cavin, a story about the solar eclipse event, and a brief article about the new museum.

One item I miss is the Order of the Day schedule with the times of each part of the opening ceremonies. I feel that it sets up Race Day having it in the program. Please bring it back.

In the center is a tear out page with nine perforated cards. Six feature winners from 100, 70, 60, 50, 40, and 30 years ago. The Bill Vukovich card is going in a special holder in a certain blogger’s house. Maybe it is for space considerations, but there is no acknowledgement of the winners from 110, 90, 20, or 10 years ago.

The back cover displays the wreath with the 2024 race logo superimposed on it. It is a scratch n sniff page which gives off a faint aroma of magnolia.

I had felt the programs of the last few years had become dull and predictable, but the 2024 edition has a lot to offer.

Quick Thoughts- Just Another Day at Work for Alex Palou

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Photo by Kyle McInnes

It was a fun race for the first two laps. Christian Lundgaard made a great move to get past Alex Palou and led most of the first half of the race.

Cars were banging into each other, running opponents off the road, and fighting for position. Then the race fell into a processional F1 style event.

the race came down to pit strategy, and that’s where Palou gained the advantage. He made his final stop before his two closest pursuers, Lundgaard and Will Power, and didn’t look back.

Alex Palou talks about his win.

The late yellow was not a problem as Palou pulled away to six second lead a the finish over Power.

Overall, it was a typical IMS road course race, a bland appetizer to what should be a delicious entree in two weeks.

Notes

Josef Newgarden has had two straight finishes below 15th place. His chances of winning the championship are fading quickly.

Colton Herta improved 17 positions to finish seventh.

The last time DHL was the sponsor on a winning car was 2018 at Sonoma. Ryan Hunter-Reay won for Andretti.

Six different teams placed cars in the top 10- Ganassi -3; Penske-2; RLL_ 2; Andretti, McLaren, and MSR 1 each.

Palou leads Power by 12 points in the championship. We have seen this movie before.

Like 2023, Palou has a chance to be the third driver to complete a May sweep. Will Power and Simon Pagenaud accomplished this feat in 2018 and 2019 erespectively.

If your last name begins with P, younhave a great shot at winning this race. Power, POagenaud, and Palou have 10 wins combined on this track.

Thanks for following along this weekend. I can’t wait for the next two weeks.

Armstrong Fastest in Warmup; O’Ward Loses Engine

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Marcus Armstrong turned the quickest lap, 1:09.8485, in the 30 minute warmup session for this afternoon’s 85 lap Sonsio Grand Prix.

The session ran green untill the final minute when Pato O’Ward lost an engine. McLaren is also changing the engine on Alexander Rossi’s car.

Santino Ferrucci seemed to push Romain Grosjean up close to the outside wall.

NBC goes on air at 3 pm Eastern. Green flag is at 3:45 pm.

Results

Race Day at IMS

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Today’s schedule and gate information from IMS:

Saturday, May 11

INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, May 10, 2024) – Information about Sonsio Grand Prix track activity Saturday, May 11 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway:

SCHEDULE (All times local):

7:30 a.m.-6 p.m.: Public gates open

7:55-8:40 a.m.: USF Pro 2000 Race 2

8:55-9:35 a.m.: USF2000 Race 2

11:15-11:45 a.m.: NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warm-up

Noon-12:45 p.m.: USF Pro 2000 Race 3

1:10-2:05 p.m.: INDY NXT by Firestone Race 2 (35 laps/55 minutes)

3:45-5:40 p.m.: NTT INDYCAR SERIES Sonsio Grand Prix (85 laps)

TICKETS: $50 for General Admission. $64 for flex ticket seating in Northwest Vista (Sections 11-20), Southwest Vista (Sections 1-10), North Vista ADA (Sections 26-30), Tower Terrace (Sections 37-47, 75-79) and Paddock (Sections 9-14). Children 15 and under are admitted free with flex ticket paying adult. Reserved seats range from $59-$129.

PUBLIC GATES OPEN (7:30 a.m.-6 p.m.): Gate 1, Gate 2, Gate 3, Gate 4, Gate 6S, Gate 7, Gate 7S, Gate 9, Gate 10, Gate 10A, Gate 11A.

PARKING: Paid public parking is available in Lot 1A, Lot 2 and Main Gate lots for $20. Gate 1 Lot parking is available for $50. Motorcycle parking is also available at South Carousel Lot for $20. Paid ADA parking is available in Lot 3P and Lot 2 for $20 and in Gate 1 parking for $50. Infield car parking is located inside Turn 3 for $25. Free parking is located in Lot 7 (North 40).

CASHLESS OPERATIONS: The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a cashless facility. Please be prepared to complete your ticket, credentials, parking, concession and merchandise purchases with ease during your event via debit or credit card.

Tap-to-pay phone payments will be accepted, as will credit and debit transactions. Cash-to-Card machines, which convert paper money onto a temporary debit card, will be located in Pagoda Plaza and outside Turn 1 by concessions stand 7. These funds can be spent inside the venue, outside the venue, online or anywhere in the world where Mastercard/Visa debit cards are accepted.

MUSEUM: The IMS Museum is closed for a major renovation, reopening in April 2025. To learn more, please visit imsmuseum.org/renovation.

Palou on Pole

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Photo Kyle McInnes

Alex Palou started the Fast Six Round by going off track into the grass. He came back to win the pole for tomorrow’s Sonsio Grand Prix by edging Christian Lundgaard by 0.09 seconds.

Palou is the defending winner of this race.

Team Penske teammates Will Power and Josef Newgarden will start in row two.

The Fast Six saw four different strategies from the teams, some starting on primaries while others used reds for the entire six minutes. Newgarden started on scuffed reds, then he switched to sticker reds.

Pato O’Ward gambled and waited until the second half of the session to record a lap, He will start fifth.

Lundgaard has a stellar starting record for the grand prix. he has started 4th, 8th, 6th, 1st, 2nd and 2nd.

For the first time this year Felix Rosenqvist did not make it to the final round. He did advance to round 2 and will start 10th.

I will have more tomorrow morning. Thanks for following along today.

Indycar warmup is at 11:15 tomorrow morning and the green flag is at 3:45.

Results:

Lundgaard Leads Second Practice

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Photo by Kyle McInnes

Christian Lundgaard edged Will Power near the end of practice 2. One red flag stopped the session when Jack Harvey spun and stalled. Despite the lack of spins, several drivers, notably Josef Newgarden, were constantly fighting the steering wheel. Maybe it’s the cooler temperatures, but several cars had noticeable slides through turn 1

Will Power finished second this afternoon and was third this morning. He has to be the favorite for the pole later.

Notes

The new video screens on the fence are a great addition. They are positioned so as not to block views of the track. The picture is sharp, and there doesn’t seem to be any glare from the sun.

I noticed two Grab n Go kiosks in addition to the permanent one in the plaza.

Results

Qualifying groups will be out soon. Qualifying begins at 4:20 pm Eastern

Herta Tops Practice 1

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Photo by Kyle McInnes

Colton Herta grabbed the top spot in the last 10 minutes of practice for the Sonsio Grand Prixs in a session halted by three red flags.

The fast lap swapped hands often in the last 30 minutes with Pato O’Ward, Will Power, and Agustin Canapino taking a turn at the top of the pylon. Canapino finished with the second best lap, just 0.08 seconds behind Herta.

Josef Newgarden led the largest part of the 76 minutes before Rinus VeeKay snatched the lead. Newgarden spun bringing out the first red flag.

Graham Rahal appeared to have lost an engine soon after practice resumed.

Marcus Armstrong stalled on track and the red flew again. AZrmstrong completed just two laps.

All three red flags occurred in the first 45

minutes of the session.

Theo pourchaire stopped on track with about two minutes left, but Indycar allowed the session to finish.

The top six were separated by 0.01922 seconds.

Notes:

The Andretti throwback cars don’t look that much different than their regular liveries. I was hoping they would have put the nose numbers in a circle to give more of throwback feel.

The next practice for Indycar is at 1:10 pm Eastern. I is a one hour window with 45 minutes of practice guaranteed.

Scott McLaughlin is driving the best looking car this weekend.

My photo

Results: