Tag: NTT Indycar Series

Indy NXT Changes- Better, But Good Enough?

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Maybe the Indy NXT by Firestone prize structure changes announced last week are just baby steps toward an eventual return to the $1 million championship prize, or maybe this is the way it will be.

At any rate, I appreciate the transparency before the season begins. In 2022, the series champion was to receive $ i million dollars and a t least three Indycar races including the Indianapolis 500. Indycar bought the series from Andersen Promotions, and at the end of the year champion Linus Lundqvist got just $500,000 and no guaranteed Indycar drives. He has fallen off the radar, and his chances of driving in Indycar seem nonexistent.at the moment.

Under the new prize structure, which is based on feedback from the teams, the 2023 champion will receive $850,000 cash, an oval test at Texas Motor Speedway, a ride at the IMS open test and rookie Orientation, a ride in the Indianapolis 500, and a drive in another IndyCar race. The cash prize is an increase of 4350,000 from last year.

Second place in the championship gets $125,000, and third place receivess $65,000.

The championship team wins $35,000. This is a new award.

Cash prizes for each race- $15,000 for the winner; $5,000 for second place, and $2,500 for third.

Overall, this is a step in the right direction. It offers more team the opportunity to win some money. I think the series needs to find a way to help the champion get a full time ride for the following season.

The Indy NXT Series by Firestone should have 19 cars on the grid in 2023, its largest field since 2009. Are two races and three tests enough of an incentive to maintain interest in the future?

Juncos Hollinger Adds Canapino to Lineup

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Juncos Hollinger Racing completed its quest to add a second full time car to Indycar grid with yesterday’s announcement of Agustin Canapino as driver of car 78. Canapiono,32, has won multiple championships in Argentina in the touring car series. He tested with the team and drove in a series of demonstration runs n Argentina last fall.

Callum Ilott returns to JHR in car 77 for his second Indycar season. Ilott finished 20th in points in 2022, but he had several strong performances, including a front row start at the season finale at Laguna Seca.

I’m happy to see Ricardo Juncos expand to two full time cars. Juncos and his team work hard, and they do not get discouraged by setbacks.

The fulltime grid for 2023 now stands at 26. The only open full time spot is the second car at Dale Coyne Racing.

Power Joins Rolex 24 Indycar Contingent

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Will Power ill participate in the 2023 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona at the end of January. Power will co-drive the number 75 Mercedes AMG in the GTD class. The car owner, Kenny Habul, used to race against Power in Australian supercars.

Power will be making his debut in the Rolex. He joins Penske teammates Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin in the 24 hours. Newgarden and McLaughlin will be teammates in the Tower Motorsports LMP2 entry.

I think sports cars is where Power’s future lies. He has expressed interest in running at Bathurst in his native Australia.

He joins 10 fellow full time Indycar drivers in the first major race of the season in North America. In addition, Indy NXT drivers Kyffin Simpson and Christian Rasmussen, and Josh Pierson will also take part in the race.

Pierson will be part time in NXT as his main focus will be in sports cars. he has signed as a development driver with Ed Carpenter Racing. Keep in mind the kid is not yet 16 years old.

The previous year’s Indycar champion should be in the Rolex 24, which has become somewhat ofa racing season All-Star race. Likewise, I would like to see the IMSA season champion in the Indianapolis 500.

Indycar drivers entered in the Rolex 24 as of now:

GTP-

Colton Herta BMW Team RLL

Scott Dixon – Cadillac racing

Helio Castroneves- Meyer Shank racing

Simon Pagenaud-Meyer Shank Racing

LMP 2

Josef Newgarden-Tower Motorsports

Scott McLaughlin- Tower Motorsports

Kyffin Simpson-Tower Motorsports

Christian rasmussen-ERA Motorsport

Devlin DeFrancesco-Rick ware Racing

Rinus veekay- TDS Racing

GTD Pro

Romain Grosjean- Iron Lynx

GTD

Kyle Kirkwood- Vasser Sullivan

Will Power- Sun Energy1

2023: Less Off -Track Drama, More Good Racing

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The site of Spring Training

I hope everyone had a great holiday season and is looking forward to a good new year. At the end of January Indycar will be on track at the Thermal, California, track, which could nbe the site of an Indycar race in a couple of years.

I am excited about several things this upcoming season. For one the off track driver drama should be much less. Alex Palou knows where he will be the next two years. Pato O’Ward has the contract he wanted. The drama should stay on the racetrack. This is not a season preview, just a list of what I’m looking forward to.

Before I talk about Indycar, a couple of IMSA items.

I am excited to go to the Rolex 24 Hour at Daytona to see the new GTP cars. The former top prototype class has some new manufacturers with more coming in 2024. The cars have some style differences, which is refreshing. I’m not sure that the body work is distinct enough to recognize different cars while they are on track, but it is a step in the right direction.

I don’t like the new group name GTP. It makes the top class sound as if they are GT cars. IMSA should have stuck with the prototype label. That is what this class is- concepts. But they again failed to ask my opinion.

I am very excited for the IMSA race at IMS in September. It’s about time this series ran at the speedway.

Indycar- A Big 4 at Last?

This may be the year Arrow McLaren may finally join the Big Three of Penske, Ganassi, and Andretti as Indycar elite. The team has been nipping at the heels of the top tier, and 2023 could be their breakthrough season.

The addition of Alexander Rossi should give Pato O’Ward some extra help in his championship hunt. Felix Rosenqvist is essentially auditioning for a job on another team for 2024, and last year he did a great job fighting to keep his ride at McLaren.

Meanwhile a reconfigured Andretti Team looks to improve from a mediocre 2022 season which saw just two wins. Colton Herta should geta couple victories. I look for improvement from Kyle Kirkwood on his new team. Romain Grosjean may be driving to keep his ride. Will Devlin DeFrancesco be better with a year of experience?

Super Sophs?

David Malukas had a strong run at the end of the year. Will he carry that momentum into 2023? I felt he matured a lot as the season progressed.

Kyle Kirkwood has a fresh start after a difficult year. I hopoe his new team with more resources gives him a better chance at good results.

McLaughlin Even Better?

Scott Mclaughlin won three times in his second year in 2022. I think we have a third Penske driver to watch. McLaughlin could win the championship this year. I would not be surprised to see his win total increase in 2023.

Notes

The Pit Window will be moving to winter headquarters tomorrow. That means there will be major news breaking while I’m driving through the wilds of Kentucky or Tennessee.

Nest week I will share some thoughts abought the Damar Hamlin situation. There are some parallels to racing.

Andretti-Wayne Taylor Racing Partnership: Some Thoughts

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Yesterday’s announcement of the new partnership between Andretti Autosport and Wayne Taylor Racing is huge for both IMSA and Indycar. While in 2023 we might not see any big changes, the next two years have a lot potential for some big moves.

Le Mans?

My first thought was that the new group will head to Le Mans in 2024 or 2025. Taylor’s son Ricky has driven at le mans for other teams, but now Taylor has a chance to bring his own car to France. It would be great to see the Andretti name return to Le Mans.

Resources

The groups no have increased depth in engineering and crew personnel. I can see a possibility of trading people back and forth for the sports car and Indycar programs as necessary.

I’m not sure how much each program can learn from Acura/Honda that translates from Sports cars to Indycars,but with Indycar moving to a hybrid system in 2024, perhaps there are things Andretti can learn from a year with the GTP car.

Expansion

Will Acura grant WTR/Andretti a second GTP car for 2024? If they do, will Meyer Shank still be an Acura program?

Ricky Taylor in Indycar?

The prospect of Ricky Taylor driving an Indycar really excites me. He is a talented driver. Driving for a team affiliated with Andretti gives him his best opportunity. I doubt if he would ever be a full time Indycar pilot, but I could see Taylor running a couple of road course races and possibly the Indianapolis 500.someday.

Indycar Exposure

I am not sure if there will be an increase in exposure for Indycar with this joint venture. Andretti joins Chip Ganassi, Mike Shank, Roger Penske, Bobby Rahal as Indycar team owners who will have entries in the GTP class in IMSA. With both series on NBC/Peacock, maybe the network can work opn some cross promotion. Some driver crossover would help.

For 2023 I believe all the Andretti indycar drivers have endurance commitments with other teams in various classes. Colton Herta with Rahal, Kyle Kirkwood with Vasser./Sullivan, and Romain Grosjean with Lamborghini. Devlin DeFrancesco has an LMP2 ride I believe.

I am excited to see how this partnership evolves. I see a potentially big super team on the horizon.

Holiday Wishes

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Time for The Pit Window’s annual holiday wishes for Indycar, drivers, teams, and fans. it has been a busy off season, but cars will be on track for Spring Training in a little moire than a month. So here are my wishes for 23.

For the Series:

Safe, competitie races.

Red flags only for safety issues or tack blockages.

An improved 2024 schedule with night racing.

Work with venues to insure fairer, family affordable ticket prices.

For the drivers and teams:

A much better season for Jack Harvey, Romain Grosjean, and Kyle Kirkwood.

Improved results for Juncos Hollinger Racing. I hope that second car becomes a reality.

A couple more wins for Andretti Autosport.

Arrow McLaren becomes the consistent competitive force I expect them to with their new lineup.

Rinus VeeKay and Conor Daly each have a trip to Victory circle.

For the fans:

Safe travels to whichever races you attend

Have fun.

Make your voices heard- praise when warranted, criticism when deserved.

Finally, I thank all of you for your continued readership. I appreciate all of you so much. Iwish you all a happy holiday, whatever you celebrate. I’m looking forward to another exciting year of covering the Indycar series.

INDYCAR, MAHLE Powertrain Reach Milestones with Hybrid System  

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From Indycar, news about the ERS system:

INDIANAPOLIS (Monday, Dec. 19, 2022) – For the past two years, MAHLE Powertrain has worked with INDYCAR to develop an innovative, first-of-its-kind hybrid system for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES to provide on-demand acceleration at the driver’s request.

With several milestones now met by MAHLE Powertrain, INDYCAR, in collaboration with Chevrolet and Honda Performance Development, will provide continued development and production of the hybrid system in time for the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.

The new hybrid system is an important extension of the INDYCAR’s objective to be the most sustainable motorsports series in the world. In 2023, the series will use 100% renewable race fuel in its race cars, while the teams’ support transporters will use 100% renewable diesel fuel as they move from their race shops to the event circuits. The hybrid system developed by MAHLE Powertrain demonstrates how innovative technology can also help the wider transportation and industrial sectors achieve their decarbonization goals.

“We are delighted to have supported the NTT INDYCAR SERIES to develop the new push-to-pass hybrid system,” said MAHLE Powertrain Managing Director Hugh Blaxill. “We’re particularly appreciative of the expertise and support we have received from INDYCAR, HPD and Chevrolet during the system’s development, much of which took place during the significant global supply chain issues that demanded even closer collaboration between ourselves, the entire INDYCAR team and our suppliers to help resolve.“I would like to thank the MAHLE Powertrain team for their hard work and dedication to reaching this milestone, and we look forward to watching the hybrid system perform on track to deliver the exciting racing that INDYCAR fans enjoy.”

INDYCAR President Jay Frye said: “We appreciate the innovative solution initiated by MAHLE Powertrain and their hard work in the development of our new hybrid system. We are also grateful for Chevrolet and HPD, as well as the INDYCAR team, for their close collaboration in this important project and continued work as we proceed toward implementation for the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.
”The 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season will begin Sunday, March 5 at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding. Coverage will be available on NBC and simulstreamed on Peacock. Coverage also will be available from the INDYCAR Radio Network with audio available on the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.

About MAHLE Powertrain
MAHLE Powertrain is a specialist in providing engineering services for the design, development and integration of advanced internal combustion engines and electrified powertrain systems. As a recognized expert in these fields, MAHLE Powertrain is engaged in the extensive research, development and application of new traditional and advanced drivelines into cost-effective, production feasible solutions for enhanced efficiency, improved fuel economy and lower emissions.As a services subsidiary of the MAHLE Group, MAHLE Powertrain has six technical centers strategically located in the UK, Germany, USA, and China and is well-placed to provide solutions around the globe. It operates independently of the main group when considering choice of components or technologies.

About MAHLE
MAHLE is a leading international development partner and supplier to the automotive industry with customers in the passenger car and commercial vehicle sectors. The technology group, which was founded in 1920, is working on the climate-neutral mobility of tomorrow with a focus on the strategic fields of electromobility and thermal management as well as other technology fields to reduce CO2 emissions, for example fuel cells or highly efficient combustion engines that run on e-fuels or hydrogen. Currently the share of its sales earned independently from the internal combustion engine for passenger cars amounts to more than 60 percent and is to increase to 75 per cent by 2030. Half of all the vehicles in the world now contain MAHLE components.

In 2021, MAHLE generated sales of EUR 10.9 billion and is represented in over 30 countries with more than 71,000 employees in 160 production locations and 12 major research and development centers. (Last revised: 2021-12-31) #WeShapeFutureMobility

About the NTT INDYCAR SERIES
 The NTT INDYCAR SERIES is North America’s premier open-wheel auto racing series. It features an international field of the world’s most versatile drivers – including two-time and reigning series champion Will Power, six-time series champion Scott Dixon, two-time series champion Josef Newgarden, four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves and reigning “500” winner Marcus Ericsson – who compete on superspeedways, short ovals, street circuits and permanent road courses. The 2023 season consists of 17 races in the United States and Canada and is highlighted by the historic Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES, INDYCAR, INDY NXT by Firestone, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IMS Productions are owned by Penske Corporation, a global transportation, automotive and motorsports leader. For more information on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, please visit www.indycar.com
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Arrow McLaren Rebranding Not Surprising

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Anyone who didn’t expect Arrow McLaren SP to eventually become simply Arrow Mclaren was kidding themselves. The name change was inevitable. The Arrow McLaren name, effective for the 2023 Indycar season, reflects the changes in the team since McLaten came on board in 2020.

The team founded by Sam Schmidt has now undergone six name changes since sam Schmidt Motorsports began competing in 2001. Fo 2012 the team was Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports, then Schmidt Peterson in 2014, Arrow Schmidt Peterson followed in 2019, Arrow McLaren SP in 2020, and now Arrow McLaren.

Schmidt and the Arrow ca her has driven with mouth and head controls

I understand that Sam Scmidt and Rick Peterson’s roles with the team will remain unchanged. I find it sad that Schmidt’s name will no longer be on a car in some fashion.

Sam Schmidt has put a lot into Indycar. After the accident in Texas which paralyzed him, he began his own team and also had a large presence in Indy lights. His cars won two poles at the Indianapolis 500, with Alex Tagliani and James Hinchcliffe. Schmidt also had an ownership stake in Dan Wheldon’s 11 Indianapolis victory.

Schmidt has done a lot of work helping others who have become paralyzed.

Times do change, and names move on. I think Schmidt still has a lot to co0ntribute to Indycar, and I wish there wer4e some way he could still be recognized on a car.

It’s Not the End of the World

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News Tuesday afternoon that the anticipated 2.4 liter engine, set to debut in 2024, has been shelved sent a tsunami of gloom and doom through the Indycar fan base. Soaring production casts and issues with the new hybrid componen, as well as a lack of a third OEM, all contributed to the decision by Honda, Chevrolet, and the series to rake a step back.

The two engine manufacturers also had to redirect some of the resources for the new engine to help develop the ERS hybrid system.

The higher cost of the 2.4 liter twin turbo meant that fewer cars would be on the grid. Only as many as 12 cars, maybe fewer, could be supplied at that price. Indycar would have had a smaller grid, and likely a shrunken field for the 500.

Am I disappointed? Yes. i was looking forward to the sound of the bigger engine. Is the series doomed? I don’t think so. Indycar is coming off a great season and is anticipating a larger full time grid for the coming season. This is a setback, no doubt, but it prevents a shrinkage of the grid for 2024 and beyond.

I am more concerned about the series marketing efforts. When a new marketing director is on board, that needs a budget at least quadruple what it is now. The series has for far too long relied on others to promote for them. They need to be more proactive and give the new director more tools to work with.

While the optics of the engine n3ws looks bad, it is not the end of the world. Let’s enjoy what we have for now.