Tag: NTT Indycar Series

Hy-Vee Names Race Sponsors for Iowa Weekend

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Hy-Vee and Iowa Speedway have named race title and presenting sponsors for the Indycar double header at Iowa Speedway July 22 and 23.

Both races will be 250 laps. I’m disappointed. In 2022, Saturday’s race was 250 laps and Sunday’s race was 300 laps. I like the different distances. It caused teams to take a different approach the second day. Now we will see basically the same race two days in a row.

Here is the official announcement from Indycar:

Hy-Vee, Inc. and INDYCAR announced March 22 that the two NTT INDYCAR SERIES 250-lap races during the Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend at Iowa Speedway will be focused on honoring America’s heroes and fighting hunger across the United States. Hy-Vee partners Instacart and Gatorade will support the weekend efforts with each industry-leading company serving as a presenting sponsor of the Saturday and Sunday races.

Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend will be held July 21-23 at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. Saturday, July 22 will be an all-day salute to United States veterans and military service men and women, culminating with the Hy-Vee Homefront 250 presented by Instacart. The race is named for the company’s longtime initiative that supports veterans and military members. Hy-Vee‘s commitment to veterans and military, and their families, dates back to the early years of Hy-Vee‘s history.

Throughout the day on Saturday at Iowa Speedway, special events, displays and even the music and entertainment featured throughout the venue will honor veterans and pay tribute to military members for their service to our country.

The focus of Sunday will be combating hunger across the country with the running of the Hy-Vee One Step 250 presented by Gatorade. The race is named for Hy-Vee’s One Step program, which has funded initiatives to support clean water initiatives, packaged meals and reforestation efforts across the Midwest and all over the world.

In February, Hy-Vee announced its 100 Million Meals Challenge, bringing together Feeding America partner food banks, manufacturers and suppliers, as well as Hy-Vee customers, to help support people across the Midwest who are experiencing food insecurity. The initiative continues throughout the year across all Hy-Vee, Dollar Fresh Market and Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh locations. To support the Challenge, Hy-Vee customers can round up their purchases to the nearest dollar during checkout to donate to the cause. All funds collected at stores will go directly to partner food banks serving their local community. Customers can also donate online by going to www.feedingamerica.org/hy-vee.

Hy-Vee is also working with national food manufacturers and suppliers to provide food and funds to benefit the 18 Feeding America partner food banks that operate in its eight-state region. Each of these food banks will be featured on Sunday of Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend, along with representatives from Feeding America. Fans in attendance at the track will be able to scan a code and donate to Feeding America.

“We are proud to help support Hy-Vee’s commitment and dedication to helping people and communities across our country during Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend,” said Bud Denker, president of Penske Corporation, which owns INDYCAR and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “We look forward to honoring our service men and women on Saturday of race weekend and helping to fight hunger through Hy-Vee’s 100 Million Meals Challenge with Feeding America on Sunday at Iowa Speedway. We also want to thank both Instacart and Gatorade for their support and partnership as we host an amazing weekend of racing and entertainment, July 21st through the 23rd.”

To purchase tickets and learn more about Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend, visit www.hyveeindycarweekend.com.

Lundqvist Gets Test with RLL as Harvey Cleared to Race; Series Going South?

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Indycar fans got their exercise by jumping to a conclusion about Rahal Letterman Lanigan racing this week. First Jack Harvey, injured in a lap 42 accident at St. Pete, was finally cleared to drive again.

A few days later, the team announced that2022 Indy Lights champion Linus Lundqvist will get an oval test April3 at Texas, the day after the Indycar race there. Lundqvist was caught in a lowering of the champion award money which didn’t give him enough funding to secure an Indycar ride. Rahal said that they will see about entering him in a few races later in the year.

It would be easy to conclude that RLL is preparing a replacement for Jack Harvey at the end of the year. I’m not ready to make that leap yet, but Harvey’s inauspicious start to a make-or-break season certainly adds fuel to that suspicion. The next race at Texas is the one Harvey sat out in 2022 after suffering a concussion in a practice crash.

We will see how this plays out, but I look for a fourth Rahal entry at some races after May. I’m excited to see what Lundqvist can do. meanwhile, Let’s see if Harvey can turn his fortunes around.

Argentina Calling?

Mark Miles went to Argentina to check out a track for a possible Indycar race. Ricardo Juncos has been pushing for the series to race in his home country. In November Juncos held demonstration runs with Augustin Canapino which drew large crowds.

Track designer Tony Cotman accompanied Miles on the trip.

A race in South America needs to make perfect financial sense for the teams, the series, and the schedule. The gap between St. Pete and Texas would be the ideal spot for this race. There is plenty of time for transport back and forth, and it wouldn’t interfere with the rest of the schedule.

While I am not against an Argentina event, I’d rather the series focus on bringing back Milwaukee and adding other tracks in the United States. Indycar badly needs a race in the Northeast.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Fans Can Get Sneak Peek of ‘100 DAYS TO INDY’ No

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  INDIANAPOLIS (Wednesday, March 15, 2023) – The first look at “100 DAYS TO INDY” was unveiled March 15, providing a sneak peek at never-before-seen footage and exclusive interviews that will feature in the thrilling new docuseries that premieres from 9-10 p.m. ET/PT Thursday, April 27 on The CW Network


The link:

https://youtu.be/61hcyeHnsoQ



The footage was first shown this week at the annual South by Southwest (SXSW) conference in Austin, Texas, during a panel discussion with NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers Alexander Rossi and Pato O’Ward and “100 DAYS TO INDY” director Patrick Dimon.

Produced by Penske Entertainment and VICE Media Group, the six-part series will take fans behind the scenes to chronicle the bold and brash personalities of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES as they begin the 2023 season and start their quest for racing’s greatest prize: the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 28.From the balmy high-speed turns of St. Petersburg, Florida, to the demanding banked oval in Fort Worth, Texas, and the sun-swept streets of Long Beach, California, every mile is an epic moment as “100 DAYS TO INDY” takes viewers into the driver’s seat for unprecedented access to top NTT INDYCAR SERIES stars.

The series will showcase all the intense preparation, relentless competition, a few pranks and plenty of speed before the green flag drops and more than 300,000 fans roar at the world’s largest single-day sporting event.

Produced by multiple award-winning VICE World News, “100 DAYS TO INDY” is directed and co-executive produced by Emmy Award-winner Dimon and executive produced by Bryan Terry for VICE. Adam Marinelli serves as showrunner and co-executive producer, and Falguni Lakhani Adams is executive producer for VICE TV. “100 DAYS TO INDY” is distributed globally by Vice Content Distribution. 
 

Harvey Not Cleared to Drive; Some Other Notes

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Jack Harvey, injured in a crash during the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg March 5, has still not been medically cleared to drive. The driver of the number 30 car for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing will miss today’s team test at Barber Motorsports Park.

The nature of the injury is not known, but I believe it has something to do with his wrists.

Juri Vips, a former F2 driver, will fill in today. Harvey will be reevaluated before the Texas race. In 2022 he missed the Texas race after suffering a concussion in the final practice.

Harvey was rumored to be in a make or break year, and the injury and missing time in the car is not helping his cause. Vips also tested with the team last October.

Albert Whitted Airport Getting Another Look

The airport in St. Petersburg is getting another look by the mayor’s office for a possible conversion to another use. When Ken Welch became mayor two years ago, surveys were conducted to see if the city could make better use of thland. Now, the process is beginning again. One of the runways serves as the front stretch and pits for the Grand Prix.

Photo from Tampa Bay Times

The race has just extended its agreement with Indycar for two more years. It will take at least that long for any plans to surface, so I wouldn’t be concerned just yet.

The front stretch (R) is a runway at Albert Whitted Airport the rest of the year

I remember the first time this subject came up, something was mentioned about the FAA having a say in the matter. Stay tuned, but for now, we’re still racing in St. Pete.

Indycar Drivers at Sebring

This weekend’s Mobil 12 Hours of Sebring will feature five full time Indycar drivers and a driver entered in the Indianapolis 500. Three of the drivers are from Andretti Autosport- Devlin DeFrancesco in the number 51 LMP 2 car, Kyle Kirkwood in the Vasser-Sullivan Lexus number 14 GTD Pro, and Romain Grosjean in the number 3 Lamborghini, also in GTD Pro.

Scott Dixon will drive the 01 Cadillac GTP for Ganassi, and Helio Castroneves will drive for his Indycar boss, Mike Shank, in the number 60 GTP Acura.

Katherine Legge will drive car 66, an Acura NSX, in the GTD class.

I will have more Sebring coverage later this week.

Beauty Out of Chaos- Quick Thoughts on St. Pete

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Like a sculptor who has to make several attempts to make a poiece of art,who makes big mistakes and destroys the work in search of pergection, the beginning of the NTT Indycar season at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg began in chaos and ended in a great three way fight for the lead.

The last 20 laps or so had great racing as Marcus Ericsson tracked down Pato O’Ward to take the win. Scott Dixon hing on to third but never really threatened the top two.

I can’t recall watching a race where two cars became airborne in two separate incidents.

The promiose of a great weekend for Andretti Autosport ended in the walls and tire walls of St.Petersburg. Colton Herta and Romain Grosjean threw away their front row starts. Kyle Kirkwood recovered from contact to salvage 16th place.

Whuch leads me to wonder-is Kirkwood the driver I believed him to be? He had a fresh start with a strong team, showed speed until his qualifying incident yesterday, thenhas more contact during the race. I guess we need to wait a little longer to find out.

Great job by Callum Ilott finishing fifrth. The top fic=ve is big boost to Juncos Hollinh=ger. Augustin canapino did a solid job finishing the race.

Alexander Rossi finished fourth in his Arrow McLaren debut. I hope we will see this type of performance consistently from him in 2023.

The Andretti/Mclaren rivalry may becoma a Ganassi/McLaren battle. Tody’s results had Ganassi first and third and McLaren second and fourth. This matchup would be an intriguing battle as the two teasms who have tussled over drivers go head rto head. Sixteen more times, please.

The Foyt’s team misfortunes continue. I don’t know how one team can consistently be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The Indycar app did not work in the stands. I also heard from others at the track who had issues with it. It has not worked well all weekend. Let’s hope by Texas it is working properly.

I wonder why Indycar didn’y sweep the track during any of the caution periods,

Turfn three see,e=med the root of many of the troubles. The series might want to look at it before next March.

I will have a follow up story on the nrace tomorrow. Thanks for following along this weekend.

Race Day at St. Pete

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Good morning race fans! The long Indycar winter ends today as the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg gets underway at approximately 12:20 pm Easten.

Today’s schedule:

8:00AM – 8:45AM USF2000 Race 2


9:00AM – 9:30AM NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warm Up—Peacock

10:00AM – 10:55AM INDY NXT Race- Peacock


11:40AM NTT INDYCAR SERIES Driver Introductions


12:30PM NTT INDYCAR SERIES Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RPFunding Race (100 Laps) NBC, Peacock


3:00PM – 3:45PM USF Pro 2000 Race 2

The last two races have been won by the polesitter, although in the overall history of the race, winning from the pole is not that common. I am still sticking with Colton Herta to win today’s race.

The St. Pete race is traditionally a two stop race. The strategy involves when to get the alternate tires out of the way. The majority of the race will be run on the primary.

There will be at least two caution periods, and I hope Indycar doesn’t wait to go yellow just so people vcan pit. Let the breaks of the game happen naturally.

Fast Six Facts

The average Indycar experience of the Fast Six drivers is 3.5 years, counting 2023. Herta is the “old man” of the group, entering his fifth season.

Despitw their experience, the group has 19 poles between them.Only Kyle Kirkwood and Marcus Ericsson have not won a pole.

Although Kirkwood was the first oen eliminated due to a crash in the final round, he starts fifth ahead of Scott Mclaughlin, who had his times erased when he spun about halfway through the session. Since neither driver ioficially posted a time in the Fast Six, the round 2 times determined their order. Kirkwood was second and McLauglin sixth in the round of 12.

I’ll be back after morning warmup with the starting lineup and starting tire choices.

It is going to be a great start to the season.,

Grosjean on Pole for St. Pete

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Romain Grosjean survived a crash filled fast Six to win the pole for tomorrow’s Firestone Grand Prtix of St. Petersburg. It is his second career pole. Grosjwean led a trio of Andretti Autosport cars in the Fast Six. Teammate Colton Herta will start second. Kyle Kirkwood will start sixth after a crash early in the final round.

The top six:

Romain Grosjean 59.5532 seconds

Colton Herta 59.96871::

Pato O’Ward 1:00.163

Marcus Ericsson !:00,4435

Scott McLaughlin No Time

Kyle Kirkwood No Time

Notes

The second round featured three cars from Andretti, three from Arrow Mclaremand three from Ganassi. Team Penske had just two cars advance- McLaughlin and Will Power.

Kyle Kirkwood had a great weekend going until he locked up the brakes and hit the wall on the first lap of the Fast Six. I still think he will have a strong race tomorrow.

We may be seeing the beginning of a rivalry between Arrow McLaren and Andretti. The teams have had the strongest cars all weekend. Whar=t a great story to dollow this year.

Grosjean’s pole is the 50th for the Andretti organization.

I tried following qualifying on the updated Indycar app. There are still some bugs to work out. The session time always started at 15:00 minutes and didn’t correct until about four minutes remained. The positions updated slowly, with a driver listed twice as his spot changed.

The new qualifying procedure did not profuce a radical change from the past.

The lineup sopuld make for a very interesting race tomorrow. Tire strategy and how the cautions fall-and there will be cautions- will determine the outcome.

Rinus VeeKay felt his lap was hindered and cost him a chanc to advance. He will start 24th. Veekay was in the top six early in his round 1 group and poised for a final run.

Herta Leads Practice 2; Qualifying Groups Set

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Colton Herta led the final practice before qualifying for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Herta’s time of 1:00.0779 was 0.0.0742 seconds ahead of defending pole and race winner Scott McLaughlin. Rinus VeeKay was third and Kyle Kirkwood fourth.

The top 14:

Qualifying Groups

Group 1 Group 2

McLaughlin Herta

Kirkwood VeeKay

Ericsson Palou

Rosenqvist Grosjean

O’Ward Rossi

Harvey Malukas

Lundgaard Dixon

Castroneves Newgarden

Pagenaud Daly

Armstrong Power

Canapino Ilott

Ferrucci Rahal

Robb Pedersen

DeFrancesco

Notes

The light blue nimbers on the Arrow McLaren cars look great when the cars are standing still, but they are hard to see at speed in the bright sunlight.

Mark MIles said attendance for the race weekend is approaching an other record attendance.

Qualifying begins at 2:15 pm Eastern on Peacock