Tag: NBC

Indycar’s Top Stories of 2019

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Photo: Indycar

From the NTT Indycar Series:

Top INDYCAR Stories of 2019

INDIANAPOLIS (Dec. 18, 2019) — While INDYCAR enjoyed several intriguing stories during this year’s NTT IndyCar Series season, the blockbuster came after the season when Roger Penske announced that Penske Corporation would be acquiring Indianapolis Motor Speedway, INDYCAR and additional Hulman & Company holdings.

The November announcement was no doubt the most captivating story of 2019 for INDYCAR, but it also ranked among the top stories in all of motorsports with its worldwide interest.

Tony Hulman purchased the Speedway in dilapidated condition in November 1945 and turned it into one of the world’s most iconic sporting venues. Over the past 75 years, Hulman and his family have reshaped the facility and hosted Indy cars, NASCAR, Formula One, MotoGP, major golf tournaments and concerts, among other events.

The official sale is scheduled for early January and most expect the impact Penske will have on the sport and the famed track in the future could be even greater than his record 18 Indianapolis 500 victories.

With the Penske acquisition news leading the way, here’s a look at INDYCAR’s top stories of the year:

  1. Penske acquires IMS, INDYCAR: Tony George, Hulman & Company’s Chairman of the Board, said he first approached Roger Penske about buying the company’s assets on the final day of the NTT IndyCar Series season, which was Sept. 22 in Monterey, Calif., at the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey. Private, highly confidential meetings were held over the next six weeks, with only a handful of executives included in the negotiations. Penske seemed genuinely pleased that one of the biggest secrets in motorsports history held until the deal was formally announced Monday, Nov. 4, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
  2. NBC airs its first Indianapolis 500, becomes exclusive home of the NTT IndyCar Series: The 500 had been on ABC since 1965, so that alone made the switch to NBC newsworthy. But NBC also significantly increased exposure for the NTT IndyCar Series through its first of a multiyear deal. Eight races were shown live on network television, three more than in 2018, and fans enjoyed action of all on-track activity via NBC Sports Gold, a leading direct-to-consumer product. Another positive was the inclusion of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge in NBC’s “Championship Season” marketing campaign.
  3. NTT joins as the series’ title sponsor: The signing of a multiyear agreement with the global information technology and communications leader was executed in January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The agreement affords INDYCAR the opportunity to benefit from NTT’s digital innovations, including the evolution of the INDYCAR Mobile App and integration of NTT’s proprietary Smart Platform.
  4. INDYCAR introduces Aeroscreen, hybrid technology: INDYCAR announced a partnership with Red Bull Advanced Technologies during the Indy 500 race weekend for the development and implementation of an Aeroscreen for enhanced driver cockpit protection. The safety innovation, which will make its competition debut at the outset of the 2020 NTT IndyCar Series season, consists of a ballistic Aeroscreen anchored by titanium framework that encompasses the cockpit. The Aeroscreen had its first on-track test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in October with Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon and Team Penske’s Will Power, who both considered the initial outing a success. Other tests followed at Barber Motorsports Park, Richmond Raceway and Sebring International Raceway. The Aeroscreen has been described by INDYCAR President Jay Frye as “a game-changer.” For 2022, INDYCAR, in partnership with Chevrolet and Honda, will implement a single-source hybrid system in its race cars. In keeping with INDYCAR’s history of integrating innovation into the sport, the hybrid powertrain will mark the first time that vehicles will depart from the traditional, manual hand-held electric starters to a hybrid component that can be activated by the driver from the cockpit. Additionally, engines are targeted to exceed 900 horsepower.
  5. Pagenaud has a history-making Month of May in Indianapolis: For the first time, the same driver won all three major Indianapolis Motor Speedway events in May: the INDYCAR Grand Prix, the Indianapolis 500 pole and the 500 itself. In the 500, Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud led 116 of the 200 laps and outdueled Alexander Rossi of Andretti Autosport in the final laps to become the first Frenchman to win the race since Rene Thomas in 1914. Pagenaud also became the first pole winner to win the 500 since Helio Castroneves in 2009.
  6. Juncos/Kaiser bump McLaren/Alonso from Indianapolis 500 field: Who imagined Fernando Alonso, a two-time Formula One World Champion who ran so well in the 500 in 2017, failing to earn a spot in his return? Or revered McLaren, which came to Indy with its own program for the first time in this era of the sport, also going home early with Alonso? But the orange No. 66 Chevrolet was in a precarious position in the final minutes of qualifying, and Kyle Kaiser, driving for the small, part-time Juncos Racing team, ran four laps fast enough to make the show in a thrilling David-vs.-Goliath matchup.
  7. Newgarden wins four races, captures second series championship: Josef Newgarden won a season-high four races en route to his second series crown in three years with Team Penske. He also joined Sam Hornish Jr. as the only Americans to win multiple series crowns since Al Unser Jr. in 1994. Newgarden jumped to the top spot in the standings by winning the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and relinquished the position only once – after Simon Pagenaud won the 500 – to effectively go wire-to-wire against a strong field.
  8. History-setting Herta leads stout rookie class: Colton Herta of Harding Steinbrenner Racing made the first emphatic statement by winning the season’s second race, the inaugural INDYCAR Classic at Circuit of The Americas, to become the youngest race winner in INDYCAR history at 18 years, 11 months, 25 days. Herta added another victory in the season-ending Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Felix Rosenqvist of Chip Ganassi Racing won the season’s Rookie-of-the-Year Award on the strength of two top-three and six top-five finishes while the Indianapolis 500’s top-finishing rookie, Santino Ferrucci of Dale Coyne Racing, produced three fourth-place finishes in addition to a seventh at Indy. Marcus Ericsson of Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports finished second in the second Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix race while Carlin’s Pato O’Ward put on a show at COTA in finishing eighth. Ben Hanley of DragonSpeed, a part-time team making only its third INDYCAR start, delivered a strong effort at the 500, qualifying 27th.
  9. McLaren, SPM merge, hire O’Ward and Askew: McLaren, with its Formula One pedigree and rich history, announced in August its full-time return to Indy car competition in a partnership with Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. The team was rebranded Arrow McLaren Racing SP and also announced a partnership with Chevrolet. More change followed with the 2019 driving tandem of James Hinchcliffe and Marcus Ericsson being replaced by Oliver Askew and Pato O’Ward, the two most recent series champions of Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires. At 23 and 20 years, respectively, Askew, the 2019 champion, and O’Ward, the ’18 champ, form the youngest pairing in the series.
  10. Rossi re-signs with Andretti Autosport: The 28-year-old Alexander Rossi could have become a highly sought-after free agent with a number of enticing options, but he decided to re-sign with Andretti Autosport in July. In addition to announcing a multi-year deal with Rossi, Andretti Autosport also announced a renewal with Honda. The Rossi-Honda tandem was strong in 2019, with the Californian finishing third in the NTT IndyCar Series championship, which was the top finish for the engine manufacturer. He also delivered dominating wins at Long Beach and Road America, leading an impressive 134 of the combined 140 laps, and a runner-up finish in the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.

Thoughts

I have no argument that these afre the top stories. I would have put the Herta story 5th and moved the Pagenaud story to 7th. The others I think are appropriately ranked. Let’s face it. The top story should have been 1, 2,and 3.

Quick Thoughts- Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey

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I always wish that that there is still one more race after the season ending event. This year it seems I wish that even more. After a race like that, I’m really sad to see this year end.

If it’s September, a Herta is succeeding at Laguna Seca.

I’m not sure what the race looked on television, but here at the track there was lots of action and intrigue. There were great battles at the front of the field all day.

A masterful job by Colton Herta, who has learned how to manage tires. He should be in the conversation for the title next year. It was a nice way to end the season for  his current team.

Great rebound for Felix Rosenqvist after his qualifying penalty. His fifth place finish sealed Rookie of the Year.

Four poles and two wins is an outstanding record for this rookie class. More on the rookies next week.

All seven winners this year won multiple races.

I saw lots of action from my viewing spot in turn 2. It’s another spot here where most of the track can be seen.

Josef Newgarden has two titles in three years. Could he be the next Scott Dixon?

Simon Pagenaud said, “Do not repave the track. Leave it as it is. It creates the perfect racing. I hope nothing changes. It is the perfect format.”

I don’t remember a season when the contenders going into the final race had all had finishes below 15th at some point in the year.

It will be nice to see a car carrying the number 1 again next season. I think it should be mandatory for the champion to carry it on his car the following year.

 

I have lots of people to thank for making this season  a great one for The Pit Window. I will expand on that next week. But today I will thank everyone for reading all season. I still have some big things coming the next few months.

Some photos from today.

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For the Last Time- Race Day

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Good morning from Laguna Seca on the  NTT Indycar Series’ final race day of 2019.  It was a foggy drive in this morning, but the sky was clear by the time I got to the track. A decent line of cars was at the gate. The track is expecting around 20,000 fans today. I’m not sure if the attendance would be better if this race wasn’t a week after the IMSA event. I’m hoping attendance can grow from here.

The race is on NBC. Coverage starts at 2:30 Eastern Time.

I talked to Mike Hull this morning. He said that while the math says two stops, he thinks that is unrealistic with the tire fall off. he said reds and blacks are falling off equally. Hull expects a good race because of the tire fall off.

Tire choices for the start are at the end of this post. Only three drivers are staring the race on primary tires.

Here are a couple more photos from yesterday. The first one gives you an idea of the drop from the too of the Corkscrew to turn 9.

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Tire Designations

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Barring any breaking news, I will be back after the race with Quick Thoughts. My full race report will be on Wildfire Sports tomorrow. Enjoy the race.

 

Hunter-Reay Leads Practice 2

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Finally a veteran took charge. Ryan Hunter-Reay had the quickest time in Practice 2 for the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey this afternoon. Two of the rookies who led the morning practice were right behind him. The morning practice was led by three rookies after Colton Herta led yesterday’s second test period. Felix Rosenqvist finished just 0.02 seconds behind Hunter-Reay and Herta was third, 0.001 seconds after Rosenqvist.

“It’s a very narrow window to get it right,” Hunter-Reay said, “I’m not resting on this one.”

The title contenders had mixed results. Simon Pagenaud finished 4th, Josef Newgarden 6th and Alexander Rossi was 23. Rossi had a software issue this morning.

The only red flag was for Scott Dixon who went off track and stalled between turns 10 and 11.

Rossi led the just completed pit stop/warm-up period.  Hunter-Reay was second, followed by Herta. Rossi still feels he will be okay for tomorrow and Sunday.

Notes

You can see almost the entire track from the top of hill near the Corkscrew. The cars carry a lot of speed into the top of the Corkscrew turn.

Hunter-Reay’s livery looks as if his nose was damaged and was replaced by one they just happened to have around. I love tribute liveries but this one has just gone halfway. It’s my least favorite livery this weekend.

Some Photos

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From Kyle McInnes

CHERTP1LS

Miles Happy with Series’ Growth

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“In almost every metric our marketing, promotional, and commercial initiatives are growing the sport and hopefully gaining more fans,” Mark Miles,  president of Hiulman and Company,  began the state of the NTT Indycar Series media availability this morning at Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Miles noted the solid, consistent car count and the growth of entries for the Indianapolis 500 and race attendance.   Eight races have shown a year over year increase and four events set weekend records More than 1,5 million fans have attended the first 16 races this season.

Miles said that 97%  of sponsors in place for 2020.  He expects to add another meaningful sponsorship  before the end of the year.

On the television side,  1.129 million viewers have watched  through the first 15 races. Eleven races have experienced growth.

Miles does not see an Indycar/ NASCAR doubleheader before 2022. He believes it would work best at a track where both series race. He is still looking to add two races outside the United States in February. Nothing is imminent, however.

Jay  Frye, Indycar president, said the aeroscreen tests scheduled for October are the final sign off. He doesn’t believe there will be any issues on track.  The tests are October 2  at IMS, October 7 at   Barber, and  October 15  at Richmond.

Frye said there are 10 Requests for Proposals out for the hybrid component expected to debut in 2022. He is excited about the cars being able to restart themselves and the added horsepower the unit will help produce.

Back after today’s second practice

 

 

 

 

Herta Leads Rookie Parade in Practice 1

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Colton Herta continues to be the fastest at Weather Tech Raceway as he led two other rookies in the NTT Indycar Series first practice. Herta’s fast lap of 1:10.7235 was just a tick slower than his fast time yesterday. Felx Rosenqvist was second and Santino Ferrucci was third. Rosenqvist leads Ferrucci by 26 points for Rookie of the Year. Herta is 49 points behind Rosenqvist.

Alexander Rossi completed just 4 laps and had the slowest speed in the session. Simon Pagenaud in 6th was the quickest of the title contenders.  Points leader Josef Newgarden was 9th.

There was one red flag during practice for Tony Kanaan who spun off the track and could not restart. Colton Herta spun in the corkscrew as time expired.

The top 12

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I talked to some local fans this morning who told me they were very happy that Indycar has returned to this track. One said he attended every CART and Champ Car race. The fans reminded me of the fans at Road America in 2016 when the series returned to Wisconsin.

Back after a press conference with Mark Miles and Jay Frye.

 

The Three Headed Race – Laguna Seca Preview

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It seems as if we get to the NTT Indycar Series finale sooner every year. St. Pete was just three weeks ago, wasn’t it?  Yet, we enter this weekend with a race to decide the series championship.  Three drivers have the most reasonable chance to win the Astor Cup thanks to the double points awarded for this race.

The Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey marks the return of Indycar to Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca after 15 years away. CART raced here from 1983 -2003, and Champ Car sanctioned the final race in 2004. Only four active drivers, Scott Dixon, Sebastien Bourdais, Ryan Hunter-Reay, and Tony Kanaan have raced here in an Indycar series.  Bobby Rahal won four straight races from 1984-1987 and was also  the winning car owner a couple of times.

The entire field’s lack of experience on the 2.258 mile track makes this race a wildcard as far as picking a winner. It’s probably not the best place to determine a champion. A February test was not helpful because of the very different weather conditions.  The six hours of testing today could give us an idea of what the weekend holds.

There are three races contained in this one event. Besides the battle for the championship, there is the race itself and the fight for rookie of the year. Josef Newgarden leads Alexander Rossi by 41 points and Simon Pagenaud by 42. Newgarden needs a fourth place finish Sunday to win the title no matter what anyone else does. The lower that Rossi and Pagenaud finish, the lower Newgarden can finish and stay safe.

Felix Rosenqvist leads Santino Ferrucci by 26 points for Rookie of the Year. Ferrucci has completed the second most laps this season, but natural road courses have not been his strength. The rookie class has been outstanding this year. I’ll talk more about their great year in my season review.

And we have the race itself. I feel sorry for the raqce winner of the season finale because of the focus on the championship. The winner usually gets a quick celebration and then is whisked away so the season championship can be celebrated. I don’t mean to take anything away from the series champion, but a race win deserves proper honors.

Qualifying Key, Passing at a Premium?

In past Indycar races here, passing was difficult. Other than the infamous Alex Zanardi pass on Bryan Herta in 1996, there has not been much passing to talk about. I have maintained from the time it happened that the  pass was illegal.

Tire degradation may help make passing possible. the IMSA drivers said last week that tire degradation was the worst they had seen.

Qualifying may determine how the race goes. Staring position could determine a contender’s chances at the title. I look for a great battle for the pole on Saturday. The bonus point for starting first may turn out to be valuable on Sunday.

Down to the Final Race Again

2019 is the 14th straight year that the championship has not been decided until the final race.  Since 2013, only once has the points leader entering the season finale not won the title. In 2015, Juan Pablo Montoya came into the final race at Sonoma with a 34 point lead over Graham Rahal. Scott Dixon,  42 points behind as the race started, won the championship on a tiebreaker over Montoya by winning the race.

Newgarden is in a very good position. He needs to avoid the mistakes he has made at Detroit in Race 2 and at Mid Ohio this year. Rossi has been good but not great this season. He almost needs another race like he had at Road America in June to have a chance. Pagenaud has been mainly a steady top ten finisher this season and will need to contend for a podium. I think Newgarden will do enough to take his second title in three years.

For the actual race, I think either Rossi or Dixon will win.  Dixon needs for Newgarden to have a very bad day to even have a sniff at repeating last year’s title. A Rossi win will just narrow the margin but not be enough for him to overtake the points leader.

Season Ending Goodbyes

The end of the season marks the end of ABC Supply Co.’s 15 year association with A. J. Foyt Racing. The company will still sponsor the number 14 car at the Indianapolis 500, but that is all. I want to thank them for their support of Indycar for more than a decade.

Could this be Tony Kanaan’s last drive as a full time participant in the series? Kanaan wants to run one more season, but will he get that opportunity? I could see him driving a one off for the 500 for a few more years.

Harding Steinbrenner racing may be no more after Sunday.  Colton herta is expected to join Andretti Autosport next year in a fifth car. George Steinbrenner is expected to come with him to Andretti.  Will Mike Harding still field a car? We might get some answers this weekend.

Reminder- the race is on NBC. If you have set your DVR to record the series on NBCSN, you need to set it to record the race on NBC. You’re welcome.

I will be on site beginning Friday with reports on all sessions and any news that happens.

 

 

 

 

Indycar Schedule- Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey

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All Times Pacific

Thursday, September 19

9:15-11:15- Open Test

1:30-5:30    Open Test

Friday, September 20

10;30 Practice 1

2:10  Practice 2

Saturday, September 21

10:00  Practice 3

1:35   Qualifying

Sunday, September 22

!2:15   Green Flag for the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey

 

Practices will be on NBC Gold. Qualifying is on NBCSN. The race is on NBC. You may need to set your DVR to record on NBC.