Tag: NTT Indycar Series

WE’ve reached the midway point of the day for practice two. Another ganassi car has the fastest lap of the day. Marcus Ericsson, lastbyear’s winner of the 500, posted a speed of 229.607. That lap tops takuma Sato’s fast time from Wednesday. All four Ganassi cars are in the top 10.

Pato O’Ward sits second at the moment at 227.734 mph. All four Arrow McLaren cars are also in the top 10. Santino ferrucci from A. J. Foyt Racing and Colton Herta from Andretti are the final two top 10 cars. Ferrucci issixth and Herta is eighth.

2014 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay is 12th, backing up his eighth place yesterday.

Callum Ilott, last yesterday, has found some speed and is currently 18th.

The Rahal team’s struggles continue. Katherine Legge leads the team in 26th place.

Earlier today I talked with David Malukas. He is happy with the pace of his car, but he siad they need to correct an oversteer issue. Malukas said he can’t pass anyone as the car was.Malukas is currently15th.

This morbibg Arrow Mb]cLaren announced a partnership with Hendrick Motorsport to allow Kyle Larson to run in the Indianapolis 500 in 2024 and 2025. I wil have a story about this later.

I’ll be back after 6 with a wrap up of the day.

Today’s schedule

SCHEDULE (All times local):

10 a.m.-6 p.m.: Public Gates Open

Noon-6 p.m.: NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice Peracock, Indycar Radio

HONORARY STARTER: Gene’o Riley and Krishawn Hogan, NFL Players’ Association

TICKETS: General Admission tickets are $15. Children 15 and under are admitted free with a paying adult.

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

Another beautiful day is in the forecast for today. Everyone is looking at the Ganassi cars as the ones to beat. Rinus VeeKay turned heads with the quickest no tow speed. In facrt the Ed Carpenter Racing cars were 1,2,and 3 on the no tow chart.

Callum Ilott’s struggles from the open test continued yesterday. He was 34th fastest and has two days to figure something out. I said in an earlier post that i wouldn’t be surprised to see a full time car bumped. Ilott’s situation is one of the reasons I think bumping when there are 34 cars entered for the race is silly.

What will today bring? Will some slower cars on Wednesday find what they need?

Wednesday’s Results

Greetings from IMS on a perfect day for running. The track has been busy since openingnat noon. All cars have been on track.The dqay began with R C Enerson taking his Rookie Orientation Program. He completed all but one lap. Enerson is allowed o practice the rest of the day tom complete the lap he needs.

Scott Dixon posted a 229,174 lap early and thta is still the mark to beat. Alex Palou is second at 227,760 mph.

There have been three cautions for debris.

The top five at 3:10 pm:

Dixon

Palou

Will Power

Scott McLaughlin

David Malukas

The Dreyer and Reinbold cars of Ryan Hiunter-Reay and Stefan Wilson are sixth and seventh resectively.

Felix Rosenqvist is the nfastest Arrow McLaren driver at 16th fastest.

Colton Herta leads the Andretti squad in eighth.

As I drove down 16th Street just bafter noon the inside line to enter Gate 2 stretched beyond the bridge. The concession lnes wer also quite long.

It is so good to see and hear cars on the oval again!

I’ll be back after 6 pm with a wrap up of the day.

SCHEDULE (All times local):

10 a.m.-6 p.m.: Public Gates Open

10-10:05 a.m.: Installation Laps, All Cars

10:15 a.m.-noon: Rookie Orientation Program, driver RC Enerson

Noon-6 p.m.: Practice, All Cars

All sessions on Peacock and Indycar Radio

HONORARY STARTER: Ball State Men’s Basketball Head Coach Michael Lewis, noon

TICKETS: General Admission tickets are $15. Children 15 and under are admitted free with a paying adult.

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

Notes

Today should be a busy day. With just two days towork on race setups before qualifying boost is added on Friday, smaller teams have a lot of work to do.

J R Hildebrand caused quite a buz when he appeared inn Gasoline Alley. I heard he was here to replace a drive, but the issue with that driver has been resolved. Hildebtandwill stay here through the weekend in case a ride opens for some reason.

Please keep my friend Steve Chiccone in your thoughts. Steve will miss coming to the 500 this year because of a medical issue. He is going to be fine, but I miss sseing him in the paddock.Can’y wait to see you back at the track, Steve.

Good morning race fans!

Today’s schedule: All Times Eastern

8 a.m.-6 p.m.: Public Gates Open

9:15-11:15 a.m.: Practice, Veterans

1-3 p.m.: Practice, Rookie Orientation Program & Refresher Tests

3-6 p.m.: Practice, All Cars

HONORARY STARTER: Purdue University head football coach Ryan Walters, 9 a.m.

TICKETS: General Admission, $15. Children 15 and under are admitted free with paying adult.

PUBLIC GATES OPEN (8 a.m.-6 p.m.): Gate 1, Gate 2, Gate 4, Gate 6S, Gate 7, Gate 7S, Gate 10, Gate 10A and 11A.

PARKING: Free parking is located in Turn 3 and Lot 7 (North 40), in the South Carousel Lot for motorcycle parking and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum Lot for ADA parking.

CASHLESS OPERATIONS: All IMS concession stands and merchandise locations are cashless this year. 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 throughout the facility. These funds can be spent inside the venue, outside the venue, online or anywhere in the world where Mastercard/Visa debit cards are accepted. Parking and gate locations.

INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY MUSEUM HOURS: (8 a.m.-5 p.m.): Admission is $15 for adults, $14 for guests over the age of 62 and $8 for guests ages 6-15. Free Museum shuttles will run during IMS gate hours between the Museum and the corner of 6th Street and Hulman Boulevard in the Speedway’s infield. Museum guests must possess an event ticket or credential to the Indianapolis 500 Practice days and purchase a Museum admission ticket at the Museum to visit. Visitors should park in open IMS parking lots and use the 6th Street and Hulman Boulevard shuttles to access the Museum.

From IMS. I will have my preview up tomorrow morning.

Note: Bronze badges are good for pit access tomorrow, May 16, only. They are not valid for pit entry on May 22.

. INDIANAPOLIS (Monday, May 15, 2023) – The time has come for the stars of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES to embark on a legacy-defining month as preparations get underway for the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on May 28. There are 34 entries set to contest the 33 starting spots for this year’s edition of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” including nine former winners. Marcus Ericsson delivered a composed performance last year by fending off a late charge by Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren to claim his maiden “500” win, which gave team owner Chip Ganassi his fifth victory in the race as a sole team owner. Other former winners aiming for a spot in the race this year include four-time winner Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002, 2009, 2021) and two-time winner Takuma Sato (2017, 2020), plus single winners Scott Dixon (2008), Tony Kanaan (2013), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2014), Alexander Rossi (2016), Will Power (2018) and Simon Pagenaud (2019). The record for winners in one field is 10, set in 1992. Castroneves earned a spot with A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears in the most prestigious club in motorsports – four-time winners of the Indianapolis 500 – with his emotional victory May 30, 2021, in the No. 06 AutoNation/Sirius XM Honda fielded by Meyer Shank Racing. A record-breaking fifth would put Castroneves alone at the top with most victories. Additionally, Castroneves and Kanaan are both 48 years old, and a victory by either would make them the oldest winner in “500” history, a record held by Al Unser, who won the 1987 edition just five days shy of his 48th birthday. Ericsson has a chance to become the first back-to-back winner since Castroneves accomplished the feat in 2001 and 2002. If Ericsson secures a repeat win, he would earn a bonus of $420,000 courtesy of BorgWarner, the namesake of the Indy 500 trophy. That amount is more than the entire yearly purse up to and including the 50th anniversary of the “500” in 1961, which paid out $397,910. The field payout jumped to $425,652 in 1962. The field includes seven past INDYCAR SERIES champions: Dixon, Hunter-Reay, Kanaan, Josef Newgarden, Pagenaud, Alex Palou and Power. Katherine Legge makes her long-awaited return to Indianapolis Motor Speedway this month, having last raced in the Indianapolis 500 in 2013. A two-time starter of the historic race, she will drive a one-off entry as the fourth car for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Simona de Silvestro was the last female to drive in the race, in 2021. There will be four drivers competing for top rookie honors, featuring multiple Argentina touring car champion Agustín Canapino, along with last year’s INDY NXT by Firestone race winners Benjamin Pedersen and Sting Ray Robb. RC Enerson, who narrowly missed making the field of 33 in 2021, is back for another run but this time with Abel Motorsports, an INDY NXT by Firestone team making its first attempt at the “500.” Practice opens Tuesday, May 16 and runs through Friday, May 19. PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying is scheduled for Saturday, May 20 and Sunday, May 21, followed by a two-hour practice Monday, May 22. The traditional final practice, two hours again this year on Miller Lite Carb Day, will be held Friday, May 26. Live Race Day coverage begins on NBC, Telemundo Deportes on Universo and the INDYCAR Radio Network at 11 a.m. (ET), with the green flag set for 12:45 p.m. 2023 ENTRY BREAKDOWN: Winners (9): Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Tony Kanaan, Simon Pagenaud, Will Power, Alexander Rossi, Takuma Sato Rookies (4): Agustín Canapino, RC Enerson, Benjamin Pedersen, Sting Ray Robb U.S. drivers (13): Marco Andretti, Ed Carpenter, Conor Daly, RC Enerson, Santino Ferrucci, Colton Herta, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Kyle Kirkwood, David Malukas, Josef Newgarden, Graham Rahal, Sting Ray Robb, Alexander Rossi International drivers (21, from 14 countries): Agustín Canapino, Helio Castroneves, Devlin DeFrancesco, Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson, Romain Grosjean, Jack Harvey, Callum Ilott, Tony Kanaan, Katherine Legge, Christian Lundgaard, Scott McLaughlin, Pato O’Ward, Simon Pagenaud, Alex Palou, Benjamin Pedersen, Will Power, Felix Rosenqvist, Takuma Sato, Rinus VeeKay, Stefan Wilson Engines (34): Honda 17, Chevrolet 17 (all cars use Dallara chassis and Firestone tires)