A 45 minute fog delay forced Indycar to shorten the scheduled 30 minute warm up session top just eight minutes. Teams used the time to scuff tires. They are still guessing about about which tire will be best.
Fuel mileage may also be in play today as the disruptions to practice and the short window this morning may have hindered preparation.
Can Felix Rosenquist end his time at Arrow McLaren with a win? He has never won a race when he has been on the pole. I think he has a good chance today. This race is up for grabs.
We finally saw a good race on the Nashville track. At the beginning of the weekend, I was glad that this was the last race on this track. After the race, I’m sad to see this configuration go. I am not enamored with the new layout. We will probably be back to where we in 2021 with an awful race.
Kirkwood the Street Meister
Kyle Kirkwood has had an up and down season, but if the series were all street courses he would be leading the points. Kirkwood’s win today was his second win of his career, the other coming in Long Beach. The second year Andretti driver ha n average finish of 7.6 on the street courses and ana verage starting position of 6.8.He has advanced to at least the second round of qualifying at every street event.
Kirkwood has earned 166 of his 290 points on the street circuits.
He is the only Andretti Autosport driver to win in 2023.
The Andretti team has been strong ion the streets. The team has two wins, two poles, and four podiums in the five street races.
Linus Lundqvist- Sad Ending to a Great Debut
Linus Lundqvist’s Indycar debut weekend was going along at a fairy tale clip. The 2022 Indy NXT champion was a respectabkle 15th in Friday’s practice. He qualified 11th and ran as high as fifth in today’s race. Lundqvist had the fastest lap in the race- 1;16.7115 on lap 57.
It all ended 12 laps later as he slid into the wall in turn 11. Lundqvist had driver of the day completely sewed up just by starting the race.
I hope we can see him in another race his season, and Im sure the list of suitors for his services grew after these last three days. Lundqvist seemed to be very comfortable in the car.
Alex Palou- The Man Who Can’t be Stopped
Alex Palou and his crew seemed resign to dropping through the field near the end of the race. Because they had chosen to pit on the lap 13 yellow for David Malukas, Palou was going to need a splash of fuel in them last 10 laps.
Josef Newqgarden, his closest competitior in the pionts battle, sat right behind him waiting to gain more points. Lundqvisyt’s accident, and the three car pileup on the restart, saved Palou’s third place.
The points leader gained four points on Newgarden. At this point in the season, any extension of a lead is a good thing. Palou could still clinch the title at Gateway.
Television- Why I Like to be at the Track
I am probably spoile by attending 10 or more races each of the last few years, but I have now watched the last four races on television.
I am finding the NBC broadcasts frustrating,especially during commercial breaks. Thank goodness for Indycar radio, who is sometimes on a different break schedule.
What I have noticed this year is that the broadcasters have been too obsessed with so called cel;ebrities who attend the races. Flava Flav at Detroit, and Ric Flair today. These semi famous people received way too much air time.
I have also noticed a Josef Newgarden/Team Penske cslant to their coverage. It seemed as if the booth was rooting for mclaughlin to pass Kirkwood at the end.
I cannot wait to get back to the track next weekend.
Marbles
Why did Indycar not sweep the track of the marbles during the red flag? Did they not want to delay the restart any longer tha necessary. Kudos to the field for avoiding them the last five laps
Today’s Music City Grand Prix had all the elements of a good street race- untimely cautions, lead changes, different strategies, and cars surgin to the front. falling back, and coming back to the front. It’s sad that we have to start anew in 2024 in Nashville just as the drivers have learned how to drive this track.
Kyle Kirkwood led practice session 1 at Toronto this afternoon as Andretti Autosport continues its season long mastery of street circuits. The team has two poles and one win this year on the street circuits.
Kirkwood’s fast ;apof 1:00.8075 was just a tick slower than he 2022 fast Friday time of 1:00.6. Teammmate Romain Grosjean was second, 0.05 seconds behind. Colton Herta in a third Andretti car, finished fourth.
F3lix Rosenqvist from Arrow mMcLaren was third fastest. The Arrow mcLaren team showed quickness as Alexander rossi and Rosenqvist both led the session late. Rossi ended seventh, and pato O’ward was just behind in eighth.
Rahal Lettermman Lanigan drivers showed promise early as Christian Lundgaard led the round early, but graham rahal led the team in sixteenth, followed by Lundgaard. jack harvey was 21st.
Tom Blomqvist’s Indycar debut was decent. He was 26th on the chart, two tenths of a second ahead of Santino Ferrucci, 2.9 seconds behind Kirkwood. Blomqvist is subbiing for the imjured simon Pagenaud, who will be reevaluated this weeekkend by Indycar to detrmine if he can race at iowwa next weekend.
Notes
The cars of Will Power and Josef newgarden are hard to tell apart this weekend. Newgarden’s Snap-On livery is very simlar to Power’s verizon scheme.
Rinus VeeKay was taking some odd lines. His path fortunately did not cause an issue, but there were some close calls.
I hope race officials can repair the manhole cover in that dip in the road. That looks unsafe.
Kyle Kirkwood.studies past5 races to watch what other drivers did and how situations developed. He watches past 500s just from the aeoscreen era since those are the nones relevant to him.
Races before the aeroscreen ‘”…takes up a little too much of your time…,” he said during today’s media availability.
Kirkwood, inhis first year with Andretti Autosport, thinks the amount of passing on Sunday will depend on the weathe rather than the downforce.
“”This place is more weather dependent than downforce dependent. if the weather is cool and it’s crisp, and it’s cl;oudy and thentrack temperaturestays down the racing will be great. But if it gets hot you’re not going to seea lot of passing regardles of the downforce,” he said.
Kirkwood said The 500 is a”very calculated race.”
“I feel like if you push too hard to try and get something done.. it ususally doesn’t work out for you.”
“Four, five, six cars ahead, and you’re planning your passes off that, rather than just the guythat’s directly in front of you.”
Kirkwood feels he has a good race car and was disappointed in not making the Fast 12. He is stilloptimistic starting from 14th.
Kyle Kirkwood has a d a few days to enjoy his first career Indycar victory. In2022, he felt the pressure of a highlytouted rookie trying to ucceed in not thebest of equipment. His move to Andretti for 2023 is beginning to pay dividends. In St. Pete Kirkwood told me he flt less pressure in his new team. I asked him today if the win eased the pressure even more.
“Depends on how people perceive it. Right? I think It relieves something. I don’t know if that’s pressure. Because now it’s almost seems like there’s more pressure because people are like, Okay, now that he’s proved that, let’s see him continue to do this, you know, and and there’s pressure from that as well. So it’s a new type of pressure. So it’ll continue.”
As for when nhe might win again, Kirkwood doesn’t have a particular trackm in mind.
“I mean, I have my favorite tracks, right, that I feel like I’m better at than others. But it really depends on the weekend, how we roll out. And I’ve yet to run a road course with them (Andretti) except for at Thermal, which we were really fast. So there is promise there too. We could be really good at Barber.”
The morning session began with some issues, but the team appeared to have figured them out near the end of the practice.
“They’re (running conditions) okay. I mean, we only did four laps at the end. We were having some gremlins that were fighting which is very normal for not running a car for a year then rolling it out here. So you’re always fighting some little things, but we got through it. We ran like four laps there at the end and then and then yeah, the car fell awesome. I thought it was like Man, this thing is planted. Like we got a fast race car. “
The amount of pressure doesn’t seem to bother Kirkwood. I think his win last Sunday was the start of a multi win season.
As of 3:53 pm Kirkwood is sixth fastest with a lap of 224.8906 mph.
First, congratulations to Kyle Kirkwood on his first Indycar win. Kirkwood has won at every open wheel level. Once he starts winning, he doen’t seem to be able to srop. Indycar is a tougher place to win constantly, but I look for him to get at least one more win this season.
Kirkwood’s first win came in his 20th Indycar race, but his third in a compoetitive ride. As I wrote yesterday that his pole win was just a matter of time, so is this first victory.
The Start
Long Beach is not known for great starts, but today;’s was a particularly bad one. Perhaps Indycar could start single fileon the front stretch, or they could start on I believe it is Pine Street where the cars have room and time to line up.
Pato O’Ward was accused of jumping the start, but my first impression was he was not the only one.
Pato’s Bad Day
It was not the best day for Pato O’Ward, who started the race as the points leader. He was fortunate to only fall to second place. His incident with Dixon, which I thought was similar to the mclaughlin/Grosjean collision in St. Pete, might have warranted a penalty. O’Ward’s spin later in the race, which effectively ended his day. was an unenforced penalty.
O’Ward showed good sportmanship letting the leaders by when he didn’t have to late in the race.
Strategy Hurts Newgarden
Josrf’s Newgarden’s strategy seemed to pay off as he grabbed the lead on lap 22. The yellow for Scott Dixon on lap 20 hurt his long range plan. He ended up ninth, having to save fuel the last stint.
Kirkwood stayed out one more lap before his last stop, and got enough of an edge to get out front.
Notes
This was a very good race. Contenders fell back for various reasons, different pit strategies had different outcomes, some not expected, the race ended with a three way battle for the win, with jus two seconds separating the top three at the checkered flag.
There were some great duels throughout the pack. Colton Herta and Alex Palou had a terrific battle for position during the race.
The Rahal Letterman lanigan team had a respectable showing today, finishing 12th, 13th, and 14th. Graham Rahal led the team, followed byJack Harvey and Christian Lundgaard.
Andretti Autosport finished 1, 2 and 4 today. The team has won both street course poles, and they had a shot at winning at St.Pete. They have figured out the street circuits.
No one should be questioning Michael Andretti’s move of Bryan Herta as Kirkwood’s strategist. Herta is the perfect person to work with a young driver,. He coached Alexander rossi to the Indianapolis 500 victory in 2016, and helped Colton to several wins. The Herta/Kirkwood combination could be a title contender by next year.
As soon as Kyle Kirkwodd and Andretti Autosport announced their deal for 2023, I knew Kirkwood would win a pole and possibly a race this season. The first two races gave me pause, but so far this weekend has restored my faith.
Kirkwood won the pole for tomorrow’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, beating Marcus Ericsson by 0.0375 seconds.he took the lead on his final lap. Kirkwood led the first qualifying group and was third in Round 2. . .
Kirkwood has now won at least one pole on every level of American open wheel racing., beginning with F1600. He is also the first driver to win championships on each level of the Road to Indy. Is his first Indycar victory in the cards for tomorrow? He has stiff competition just in the fast Six, let alone Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin who didn’t advance.
Notes
Why did Pato O’Ward not save his tires as his crew requestedon the final hot lap of Round 2? he was secure in the Fast Six. O’Ward was the fastest a;; weeken, but will start sixth.
Andretti Autosport has won the pole at both street races in 2023.
Do not dismiss the chances of the Chip Ganassi racing cars tomorrow. They were in the top 10 all weekend, and Scott Dixon, Marcus ericsson, and Alex palou all made the Fast Six. Ericsson starts second.
If today and esterday are precursors of how the race will go, we could see another yellow filled race.
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.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 