Andretti Autosport announced this morning that Conor Daly will drive a fifth car with sponsorship from the U. S. Air Force in the103rd running of the Indianapolis 500. The Air Force will also be an associate sponsor on the Andretti cars of Alexander Rossi, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Marco Andretti, and Zach Veach for the entire season. Daly will carry number 25.
Daly drove in the 2018 500 with Air Force sponsorship as part of Dale Coyne’s team. He started last and finished 21st, completing 199 laps. This will be Daly’s sixth 500. His rookie season was 2013. He returned to the 500 in 2015. His best starting spot was 22nd in 2015. Last year was his best finish and also the race in which he completed the most laps. This is the best car and team Daly will have had for the race.
“It’s my best shot at at the race ever. I can’t wait to get to work,” Daly said.
Michael Andretti said they are working on a few things to possibly get Daly in more races this year. He has no plans to add a sixth ca for this year’s 500 entry list.
Daly drove in just one race, Mid Ohio, for Harding. He was competitive, giving Harding its best starting spot to that point. He ran well in the race but ran out fuel with two laps left and finished 20th. In2017 Daly drove full time for A. J. Foyt Racing.
Vasser Sullivan and Dale Coyne have signed a multi year agreement which has Sebastien Bourdais staying in car 18. Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan became a partnership last year. Nice to see Coyne will have some driver stability and additional resources. Bourdais won the 2018 opening race in St. Pete. It was his second consecutive win in his hometown race.
The NTT Indycar Series announced cars will receive increased boost at short ovals Iowa and Gateway in 2019. The higher boost will necessitate more braking in the turns, which should allow more passing. The boost will increase to 150 kPa, the same as on road and street courses. In 2018 cars were allowed 140 kPa on the short ovals. Superspeedway boost for races is 130Pa. Please do not ask me what kPa means.
Allen Miller of HPD says the goal of 90 horsepower for the new 2.4 liter engine is “very realistic.”
The series continues to seek more ways to improve the racing. This measure sounds like a bridge to the higher horsepower in the 2021 formula.
Three timne Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves is close to finalizing a deal to drive in the Le Mans 24 hour race this year. Castroneves, who now drives full time for Team Penske Acura in the IMSA Weather Tech Championship, will drive for the RLR group in the LMP2 class. The team uses an Oreca 07 chassis, which has been dominant in Europe.
Castroneves was one of the drivers in the third place car at last weekend’s Rolex 24.
Last Indianapolis Motor Speedway revealed the design for the 2019 Indianapolis 500. I’m always excited to see the new ticket. This year’s design I find disappointing. The photo of Will Power that was used is okay, but a photo of him when he first go out of the car would have been better. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a driver express that much unbridled joy after winning.
I’ll end today with four photos from last weekend’s Rolex 24
Indianapolis Motor Speedway just announced a press conference tomorrow afternoon for a major announcement regarding the 500. I’m guessing a presenting sponsor will be named.
Carlin Racing today confirmed Max Chilton will return as driver of the number 59 car for the 2019 NTT Indycar Series. The announcement had been expected for quite a while. This will be Chilton’s fourth year driving the Gallagher car. He raced out of the Chip Ganassi Racing team in 2016 and 2017 before moving with teammate Charlie Kimball to Carl;in’s new entry last year.
“I couldn’t be happier to formally announce that Gallagher will be back for the 2019 season partnering with myself and Carlin. Gallagher and Carlin are like family to me and I’m excited to see what we can do together building on both partnerships,” said Chilton. “Our first year together as an IndyCar team had its ups and downs, but the potential and growth that we showed as a team was obvious to everyone. I want to say a massive thank you to Gallagher for their continuing support of me. To have the opportunity to represent the nearly 30,000 employees of Gallagher, a brand that focuses so heavily on teamwork and innovation, is a true privilege.”
Kimball, meanwhile will be back with long time sponsor Novo Nordisk on a part time schedule. His races weren’t confirmed yet. My guess is his schedule will include the Indianapolis 500, Laguna Seca, Mid Ohio, and one of the March/ April races. I’m not sure how many Kimball will run. I had heard he had a 70% budget, which would mean he would run about 12 events.
Carlin will have another driver fill in for the remaining to complete the entire schedule. R. C Enerson has tested with the team.
I thought last year it was a bold move for Carlin to plunge into Indycar full time with two cars. They did manage a couple of top 10s. They should see improved resulkts this season.
Tomorrow morning Meyer Shank Racing will announce Jack Harvey’s 10 race schedule for the Indycar season. Watch this spot for news of that announcement tomorrow afternoon.
Images and text courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway
We’ve come a long way from Northern Lights and Pep Boys. Izod got off to a decent start as a title sponsor, but slowed down quickly and left early. Verizon was a great partner although their track activation slowed after three years. Indycar’s new title sponsor, NTT, is a great match for the series. I’m sure there was some financial consideration, but the technological advances NTT can provide for the paddock, the series, and the fans will take all of Indycar to another level. NTT will continue the technological evolutionary path the series has chosen to take.
It was amazing how quickly this deal came together. This would not have happened in the old days of Indycar. Naming a sponsor before the season begins keeps Indycar’s credibility as a serious major racing series intact.
NTT spends $4 billion annually on research and development. I’m excited to see what the new mobile app will look like given that level of investment.
The new sponsor and the new television deal with NBC has Indycar set for an incredible 2019.
Indycar fans can always find a cloud in every silver lining. I saw a lot of complaints about the logo on social media yesterday. I don’t have a problem with it. I think it is less clunky than the Verizon logo. It has a hint of the old USAC badge. The curves help as well.
Indycar just landed what looks to be a terrific sponsor that can help grow the series and some fans just want to bash the logo. No professional sports league has a logo that blows me away and I wasn’t expecting one here. Let’s enjoy this terrific get for the series.
Miles mentioned that this sponsorship continues pursuit of Indycar as a global brand. Is this a hint at more international races? Pretty sure Australia will happen in 2020. Is a race in Japan also in line for a return?
Robin Miller of Racer Magazine wrote an interesting piece on how the deal came together. Here is the link:
MILLER: How IndyCar found its new sponsor
On Twitter yesterday, Gateway president Chris Blair is doing what Indycar isn’t. He has offered fans who have a Chili Bowl Nationals Monday-Friday ticket stub free general admission to Coors Light Pole Night the night before Indycar’s Bommarito 500k.
Indycar has long needed a presence at the Chili Bowl. This is a great move by the best promoter in the series.
Robert Wickens posted a new video on Twitter and Instagram taking a walk with assistance.
From AutoRacing1 this morning:
Speculation is that this will be to announce the title sponsor for the series. The Pit Window will have coverage Tuesday afternoon and also look for a story on Wildfireradiosports.com
From Robin Miller’s Mailbag this morning, we now know which eight races will be on NBC network. I expected some of these and I am also disappointed by what is missing from the network lineup.
The network races- Indy GP, Indy 500, Detroit doubleheader, Road America, Mid-Ohio, Portland, and Laguna Seca.
Of course both races at IMS were expected, and I was pretty sure Road America and Laguna Seca would be on the network. I’m surprised the opener at St. Pete is not a network race. I’m also disappointed that one of the night ovals at Iowa or Gateway didn’t make the network. I never liked the idea of showing the Detroit doubleheader on NBC.
Showing the doubleheader the week after Indy means half the network schedule is taken in a three week stretch. With Road America following three weeks later, that leaves just three more spots for the rest of the season.
The biggest surprise to me is that Long Beach isn’t on the network. Having the crown Jewel of street races not on the network is a shock.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m thrilled that nearly half the schedule is on the over the air network. Maybe next season some better choices can be made.
I’m very excited to see how NBC covers the 500. If it’s anything near their Kentucky Derby coverage, it will be fantastic.
So welcome NBC and NBC Sports. I wish we didn’t have to wait until May to get the first network race.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 