Good morning from the Irondale media annex. The first Indycar race weekend of the year begins with a day dedicated to Road to Indy qualifying. Each series has a separate qualifying session for each of its two races this weekend. There are also two races for Radical Cup and aPorsche Sprint race.
I will post updates during the day on Facebook on The Pit Window page and on Twitter @PitWindowToo. I will post a review of the day’s activities later tonight.
Tomorrow looks like it could be a wet first practice session and qualifying could also be somewhat damp. Race day looks dry and sunny, however.
Notes
R C Enerson said on Twitter last night that he has a deal for the Indianapolis 500 and that the announcement is coming “soon.” The only question now is if Top Gun Racing will get a Chevy engine lease. Marshall Pruewtt is reporting that there will be a minimum of 35 cars attempting to make the 33 car field.
Chip Ganassi Racing has scheduled a livery reveal for the 9 car this afternoon around 2:30 local time. No idea what this is.
I’ll be heading out to the” beautiful facility” in a little bit and keep you posted on pandemic related changes.
Photo: Takuma Sato heads to Barber as defending pole and race winner. Joe Skibinski, Indycar
It is Race Week at Last. The NTT Indycar Series is set to begin the 2021 season Sunday at barber motorsports Park near Birmingham. 24 cars will take the green flag at 3:42 pm EDT. The race is on NBC.
The track has set a limit of 20,000 spectators a day. In addition to each fan having a ticket, each vehicle must have a parking pass. As will be the norm at nearly all events this year, fans will not have paddock or pit access. The trams will still be running, but with a smaller capacity.
I am excited to get back to Barber. This year’s race is later in April than the 2018 and 2019 events, which means the extensive plant life will be blooming.
In 2020 this race fell victim to the pandemic. It was scheduled to be the second race of the year. For the first time in its history, Barber opens the season. Several teams have tested here this winter. It will be the first race at this track for last year’s rookies Rinus Veekay and Alex Palou.
I don’t expect the year’s hiatus to affect team performances much. Indycar has raced at barber since 20210, and the teams have extensive information about setups for this track. What will we see this weekend?
Josef Newgarden testing at Barber. Indycar photo by Joe Skibinski
Is This Still Newgarden’s Track?
Josef Newgarden is the only three time winner at barber, his last win coming in 2018. Team pensk has won six times, winning three races in a row on two different occasions. A seventh win is not out of the question. Will Power has won the pole four times here, adding to Team penske’s mastery of the track. However, in 2019 Rahal Letterman Lanigan racing dominated with a front row sweep in qualifying and a convincing victory by pole winner Takuma Sato. early mechanical trouble by Graham Rahal prevented what might have been 1-2 sweep.
Scott Dixon has never won at Barber. he has been on the podium eight times, six of those as runner-up. Could this be his breakthrough year and his 51st career win?
Andretti Autosport has won twice with Ryan Hunter-Reay, who has a consistent record of top 10 finishes.
Arrow McLaren SP and Pato O’Ward are looking to contend for the championship in 2021 and want to make a strong opening statement. I think O’Ward will be a factor this weekend. Somewhat overlooked in all the buzz about O’Ward has been his teammate Felix Rosenqvist. Rosenqvist edged O’Ward in a stirring duel for the win at road america Race 2 last season.
Rookies
Eyes will be on how the veteran “rookies” do. Television eyes might focus on just one, but keep an eye on Scott McLaughlin. The Australian Supercars champion is going to surprise some folks with how ell he does.
How will Romain Grosjean’s Formula 1 experience translate to Indycar? Barber should be one of his better tracks this season. If he can get through the flying start, I think he will have a good race.
Jimmie Johnson will get the bulk of the attention. The seven time NASCAR champion says he plans to take things slowly, but we will see. Johnson has worked jard to prepare for his Indycar debut. I wouldn’t put a lot of stock in his results this weekend, but we’ll see how he’s doing after Road America, which will be his sixth race.
Notes
Mark Miles talked yesterday about the situation in Toronto. Canada is still having a difficult time with COVID-19. He is waiting as long as he can to make a decision. Miles thoughts about moving or replacing the race::
“If not, I don’t think there will be much opportunity to move it. The rest of the schedule is pretty full and there’s so much going on in Toronto, and that street race requires a lot of planning.
If we needed to, I think the most likely step would be a double-header on a weekend we’re already scheduled. I won’t speculate at this point as to which one it would be, but I don’t think — we wouldn’t be looking at putting a different race in that date. We’d be looking at adding one on a weekend we’re already scheduled and planning to execute.”
2019 race winner: Takuma Sato, 1:55:46.8076, 107.272 mph. No race in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic.
2019 NTT P1 Award winner: Takuma Sato, 1:08.5934, 120.711 mph. No race in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Qualifying lap record: Sebastien Bourdais, 1:06.6001, 124.324 mph, April 23, 2016
NBC Sports race telecasts: Qualifying, 10 p.m. ET Saturday, NBCSN
2:42 p.m.: Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama (90 laps/207 miles), NBC (live)
Race Notes:
The Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama will be the 11th NTT INDYCAR SERIES event conducted at Barber Motorsports Park. Helio Castroneves won the inaugural race in 2010.
Will Power, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Josef Newgarden, Simon Pagenaud and Takuma Sato are the only entered drivers to have won at Barber Motorsports Park. Power won the race in 2011 and 2012, Hunter-Reay in 2013 and 2014, Newgarden in 2015, 2017 and 2018, Pagenaud in 2016 and Sato in 2019.
Power, Hunter-Reay, Pagenaud, Newgarden and Sato are the only entered drivers to have won the pole position at Barber Motorsports Park. Power claimed the pole position in 2010, 2011, 2014 and 2017, Pagenaud won the pole in 2016, Hunter-Reay won the pole in 2013, Newgarden won the pole in 2018, and Sato won the pole in 2019.
Five drivers have won the race from the pole – Power in 2011, Hunter-Reay in 2013, Pagenaud in 2016, Newgarden in 2018 and Sato in 2019.
Scott Dixon has finished on the podium in eight of his 10 previous starts at Barber Motorsports Park – including six runner-up finishes – but he has yet to finish on the top step of the podium at the picturesque road circuit.
Seven drivers have competed in every NTT INDYCAR SERIES race at Barber Motorsports Park – Marco Andretti, Dixon, Hunter-Reay, Tony Kanaan, Power, Graham Rahal and Sato. All but Andretti and Kanaan are entered this weekend.
Team Penske has six wins at Barber Motorsports Park (2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017 and 2018). Andretti Autosport, Ed Carpenter Racing and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing are the only other teams to win at the track. Andretti Autosport won in 2013 and 2014 with Hunter-Reay. Ed Carpenter Racing won with Newgarden in 2015, and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing won in 2019 with Sato.
Three NTT INDYCAR SERIES Rookie of the Year contenders – Romain Grosjean, Jimmie Johnson and Scott McLaughlin – are entered. Those three, plus 2020 rookies Dalton Kellett, Alex Palou and Rinus VeeKay, will race an NTT INDYCAR SERIES car at Barber Motorsports Park for the first time.
Eighteen of the 24 drivers entered in the event have competed in NTT INDYCAR SERIES races at Barber Motorsports Park. Ten entered drivers have led laps: Power 208, Newgarden 133, Hunter-Reay 93, Pagenaud 87, Sato 74, Dixon 46, Rahal 25, Sebastien Bourdais 19, James Hinchcliffe 4 and Alexander Rossi 3.
Dixon has made 272 consecutive starts heading into the weekend, which is the second-longest streak in INDYCAR SERIES history. Andretti Autosport’s Marco Andretti is not entered in an NTT INDYCAR SERIES race for the first time since he debuted in 2006. Andretti has made 248 consecutive starts,
Photo: Josef Newgarden looks to regain the Indycar title. Indycar photo
Long Beach, September 26- The NTT Indycar Series championship hinges on who finishes ahead of whom. Will Scott Dixon win his seventh title? Does Josef Newgarden win his third? Will Alexander Rossi finally earn the trophy he covets?
This is the scenario I see playing out in the season finale. I’m not ready to declare that the young drivers will be battling each other. We might see a brief spurt mid season where Pato O’Ward and Colton Herta are ibn the hunt, maybe one of them leading for a bit, but I think we have one more year of the old guard. By old guard i mean drivers over 25.
I see O’Ward winning multiple times and another first time winner out of the group including Jack Harvey, Rinus VeeKay, and Alex Palou.
While a driver has just seventeen chances to win in a season, there are 51 chances to get on the podium. The number of podiums could well determine the title since I thin there will be nine different winners in 2021.
The early schedule favors Newgarden. He has dominated at barber the last few years, and he won St. Pete last fall. As always happens, though, is the early leader comes back to the field. Dixon has not won at either of the first two tracks. The lack of short ovals will later be a disadvantage to Newgarden.
It’s gong to be wild ride to the finish line.
Winners
Who are the nine winners this year? I will name them, but unlike some stories I’ve seen, I won’t assign a number of wins. Here they are, in no particular order:
Newgarden
Dixon
Rossi
Herta
Power
Harvey or VeeKay
O’Ward
Rahal
Sato
Sebastien Bourdais could restore some glory to the iconic nuimber14
Will Bourdais Help Foyt?
A storyline to watch is how much will having Sebastien Bourdais in the team’s number 1 car help A. J. Foyt Racing? The season starts at two tracks where Bourdais has done well. In 2020, Bourdais started seventh and finished fourth at St. Pete. I think Bourdais will improve the qualifying and will have several top 10s and a couple of top 5s. A podium spot may sneak in there as well.
Will Peacock Ruffle Some Feathers?
Practices and most qualifying will be on the new Peacock streaming service this season as NBC is phasing out NBCSN. The service is $.99 a month and can be cancelled anytime. If you just get it for the months of the Indycar season, it is 4#0. NBC Gold costs almost $50 for the year. I bought Peacock in tuime for last week’s open test at IMS. I was impressed by the coverage and the picture quality, even on my phone and tablet.
Peacock has now built an Indycar page which has the upcoming broadcasts for the next two weekends. Don’t dismiss it until you try it.
Predictions
Josef Newgarden will win his third Indycar title in 2021. Scott Dixon has always had a difficult time in a year where he is defending his championship. Alexander Rossi and Andretti Autosport need a strong run at the Indianapolis 500 to have a chance. Last week’s test did not give me hope for that to happen.
Scott McLaughlin will win Rookie of the Year simply because he is the only rookie who will drive in all 17 races. He would probably win anyway.
Graham Rahal will win the Indianapolis 500. The team dominated with a first and third in 2020. I expect them to be strong again in May.
At last, it’s time for Indycar. The season begins this coming Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham. As life as we knew it slowly creeps back to normal, COVID protocols and spectator limits continue to affect how we watch sports. The 17 race schedule should have fewer disruptions and changes than last year. Some races will see expanded grids as part time teams and drivers jump in at various races. The front of the field shouldn’t change much though. Here are some things to watch in the 2021 NTT Indycar Series. Part II tomorrow.
Rookies
No Indy lights in 2020 means no champion to move into an Indycar seat for the new year. The rookies arguably are the most experienced and oldest rookie class in history. A seven time NASCAR champion, a three time Australian Supercars champion, and a 10 year formula 1 veteran.
Jimmie Johnson, seven time NASCAR champion, gives Indycar a try with Chip Ganassi Racing. Johnson realizes he is on a steep learning curve. He has tested at Barber a couple of times, so he should be more comfortable in the opener. Johnson is not ready to tackle the ovals this season, but has not ruled out the Indianapolis 500 in 2022. I look for him to have some good runs starting at Road America.
Scott McLaughlin is the only rookie who will run the entire schedule. The three time Australian Supercars champion will run a rare fourth car for Team Penske. McLaughlin seems to have adapted quickly to Indycar in testing, but qualifying and racing are another matter. I expect he will get some top 10s, possibly a podium, and if things fall the right way, he may even win a race. McLaughlin should win Rookie of the Year simply because he is running all the races.
Romain Grosjean will drive for Dale Coyne with Rick Ware Racing. He comes to Indycar after a Formula 1 career in which he earned several podiums early in his career. Grosjean should do well on the larger road courses like Road America and Laguna Seca. The Frenchman will sit out the first three oval races at Texas and Indianapolis, but he is considering running at Gateway.
Will Big 3 Become Big 4?
Most of the race winners will come from the Big 3 teams- Team Penske, Chip Ganassi Racing, and Andretti Autosport- but Arrow McLaren SP is looking to join the club. Pato O’Ward has made it very clear that he considers himself a title contender this year. Entering his second full time season, O’Ward should win his first career race and possibly his second in 2021. He will also need several podiums to stay in contention.
Pato O’Ward ( Indycar photo)
“We want to win races. We want to be consistently fighting for podiums, and we want to be there. We want to be contenders every single race weekend.I think in doing so, that’ll put us in a position at the end of the year to fight for the championship. That is the goal. I want to get to Long Beach having a possibility to win the championship,” O’Ward told media in March.
Scott Dixon should win the two races he needs to tie Mario Andretti’s career total of 52 victories, but getting a third win might be difficult. Josef Newgarden will win at least three races this season. Colton Herta has a chance to be a multiple race winner. Alexander Rossi should get back to Victory Lane as well.
Will Power somehow manages to squeeze two wins out of a year no matter how frustrating a season he has.
Track Time at a Premium
Barber is the first track where Indycar will be on track just two days instead of the usual three at road courses. This will give an advantage to the bigger teams and hurt the rookies and smaller teams. I understand the reasons for the move. It cuts costs to teams and creates less risk to all race participants by minimizing contact.
Fridays will still be busy with Road to Indy and other support series. I’m looking at it as a day where i can enjoy the series that are running and pay a little more attention to the drivers in the ladder series. I hope having a day entirely to themselves gives the young drivers some more exposure.
I don’t think the third day will be coming back. It will still be a part of street course weekends, but expect shortened shows to be business as usual going forward. I hope this never applies to Indianapolis 500 practice.
Tomorrow, I’ll talk about the championship battle, what’s new for television, and what fans can expect at the track.
Photo of Josef Newgarden by Joe Skibinski, Indycar
On a day that I wish we could save for may, 31 cars hopeful of making the field for the 105th running of the Indianapolis 500 completed the second day of open testing. Josef Newgarden, two time NTT Indtcar Series champion, had the quickest time of the two days, 226.819 miles an hour.
The first hour of the morning allowed the rookies, Pietro Fittipaldi and Cody Ware, to complete their rookie tests, and the drivers who needed to complete their refresher tests to co mplete their two phase runs.
Conor Daly led the veterans session from 10-11 before all cars were turned loose on the track. The day was interrupted twice for brief rain sprinkles and the afternoon action stopped for some track inspections.
Newgarden summed up his day in a zoom call with media after the session finished.
“It was a pretty good day,” Newgarden said. “I was happy enough with the car. I think we still need some work, for sure, but to just get an initial read on where we’re at is good. Obviously, there are a lot of new parts and differences to the last couple of years, so we’re just trying to assess what we need to really work on these last couple of weeks before we get back here in May. But I’m pretty happy.”
He responded to questions about the duifference between this year’s car and last year’s car. he likes the changes and thinks the racing will be better.
“Yes, definitely. It’s easier to follow. It’s still tough. You’ll still get a big front wash in traffic. 10 cars back, it’s always going to b e difficult. But I think they’ve made the ability to follow better. That balance separation between clean air and dirty air is definitely reduced.Some of them are tricky to drive, some of these parts. I think you’re seeing some split camps here along pit lane. Not everybody is running the same stuff. That’s been interesting to watch. There’s more downforce on the car. I think the balance shift in traffic is less.Yeah, the ability that we’re going to have to race compared to last year will be better.
I think you have a better opportunity this year looking at the amount of downforce we have, the balance shift in and out of traffic. I think you have a better opportunity to fight for the win in the third or fourth car inline.I think more than that, you are a quick car during the race,you somehow find yourself in the back, I think you have abetter opportunity of making your way forward. Those two elements will automatically help the show. But you don’t want to have it so easy where we’re packed up the entire field the entire time. I think that’s something that you would want to avoid.It’s a balancing act. I think it will be a lot better than last year as far as the ability to race up front. Time will tell. But I think you’ll have a better show.”
Juan Pablo Montoya. Photo by James Black, Indycar
Juan Pablo Montoya, two time Indianapolis 500 is returning to the race after a three year absence. He gave his thoughts on the Arrow McLaren SP Chevy he drove in the test to the Indycar he last drove.
“They’re a little harder to drive, I think. I think the difference between clear air and dirty air is a little bigger. I think the changes from what INDYCAR did, from what everybody says, it’s a little harder as before, but not that bad.”
As for adjusting to the aeroscreen, Montoya felt the aeroscreen was similar to the sports cars he drove the last three years.
“It wasn’t too bad to get used to it. I thought it would be a little more intrusive. It’s definitely a pain in the butt to get in and out of the car, and it’s a lot hotter. I know like here it hasn’t been that bad in the oval. I did a test in Laguna. In a road course, you don’t get a lotof air. That was kind of shocking.Yeah, I mean, it’s kind of weird because, like, you’re really in a little bubble. It feels a little bit once you’re driving like a sports car.”
Notes
Andretti Autosport seemed to be struggling a bit as they did last year. The team did not have a driver in the top 10 today.
Takuma Sato and Graham Rahal look to be right wher they were last year with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Sato won the 2020 race and Rahal finished third.
Montoya and Helio Castroneves were quick in their first outing in cars not owned by Roger Penske. It’s still odd seeing them in non-Penske cars.
Arrow McLaren SP could be a factor in the 500 as well as during the rest of the season. Montoya’s input should help push the team up a notch this year.
Today’s results, followed by the no tow time sheet:
RANK
CAR NO.
DRIVER
TEAM
ENGINE
SPEED
LAPS
1
2
Josef Newgarden
Team Penske
Chevy
226.819
121
2
30
Takuma Sato
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Honda
226.396
60
3
86
Juan Pablo Montoya
Arrow McLaren SP
Chevy
226.123
68
4
9
Scott Dixon
Chip Ganassi Racing
Honda
225.906
126
5
15
Graham Rahal
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Honda
225.644
157
6
47
Conor Daly
Ed Carpenter Racing
Chevy
225.639
137
7
12
Will Power
Team Penske
Chevy
225.501
162
8
60
Jack Harvey
Meyer Shank Racing
Honda
225.266
140
9
5
Pato O’Ward
Arrow McLaren SP
Chevy
225.118
156
10
6
Helio Castroneves
Meyer Shank Racing
Honda
225.074
128
11
22
Simon Pagenaud
Team Penske
Chevy
225.001
184
12
28
Ryan Hunter-Reay
Andretti Autosport
Honda
224.949
134
13
26
Colton Herta
Andretti Autosport
Honda
224.203
164
14
20
Ed Carpenter
Ed Carpenter Racing
Chevy
224.146
146
15
10
Alex Palou
Chip Ganassi Racing
Honda
224.134
112
16
7
Felix Rosenqvist
Arrow McLaren SP
Chevy
223.973
126
17
18
Ed Jones
Dale Coyne Racing With Vasser-Sullivan
Honda
223.905
104
18
3
Scott McLaughlin
Team Penske
Chevy
223.808
195
19
27
Alexander Rossi
Andretti Autosport
Honda
223.636
136
20
45
Santino Ferrucci
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Honda
223.519
137
21
16
Simona De Silvestro
Paretta Autosport
Chevy
223.458
92
22
29
James Hinchcliffe
Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport
Honda
223.458
127
23
48
Tony Kanaan
Chip Ganassi Racing
Honda
223.101
99
24
24
Sage Karam
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Chevy
223.095
81
25
98
Marco Andretti
Andretti Herta-Haupert w/Marco & Curb-Agajanian
Honda
222.815
138
26
14
Sebastien Bourdais
AJ Foyt Enterprises
Chevy
222.627
125
27
59
Max Chilton
Carlin
Chevy
222.258
114
28
8
Marcus Ericsson
Chip Ganassi Racing
Honda
222.135
188
29
51
Pietro Fittipaldi
Dale Coyne Racing w/Rick Ware Racing
Honda
221.943
144
30
4
Dalton Kellett
AJ Foyt Enterprises
Chevy
220.196
97
31
52
Cody Ware
Dale Coyne Racing w/Rick Ware Racing
Honda
218.438
58
Indianapolis 500 test – Friday all-skate – no-tow timesheet
Conor Daly once again had the fastest time in the veterans only session which just comcluded. The veterans took to the track at 10 am following a one hour session for the Rookies and veteran refresher tests.
Pietro Fittipaldi and Cody Ware completed their rookie tests and all refresher tests are complete as well.
A light sprinkle has the track closed at the moment but the sun has returned and cars should be running again soon.
The speed chart from the veteran’s session:
If you are watching on Peacock, please let me know what you think. I’m impressed with the picture resolution.
Track Activity To Resume at 9 a.m. (ET) Friday INDIANAPOLIS (Thursday, April 8, 2021) – Sebastien Bourdais of AJ Foyt Racing was the fastest among 32 drivers who turned laps Thursday at the 105th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge Open Test, which included a rain delay of more than five hours at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Frenchman Bourdais was among a group of 11 drivers who took to the 2.5-mile oval in the final 70 minutes of track activity for veteran refresher tests and the Rookie Orientation Program, and he turned a top lap of 224.427 mph in the famous No. 14 ROKiT Chevrolet fielded by legendary four-time Indy 500 winner A.J. Foyt.
Bourdais turned his top lap in the last few minutes of the final session, which resembled the “Happy Hour” of an Indy 500 practice day with cars running in aerodynamic packs. He was among the veterans who needed to complete the two-phase refresher test since he didn’t race in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” in 2020. “Pretty good refresher for the A.J. Foyt No. 14,” Bourdais said. “That ROKiT car was pretty good. It always feels a little different when you start at low speeds and the car’s never really settled, but we got through both phases and are ready to go tomorrow and start working properly. It’s all good.” Rain halted the opening veterans-only session at 12:30 p.m. (ET). A second heavy shower around 3:15 p.m. delayed track activity until the track reopened at 6:03 p.m. under blue skies and sunshine. Track activity will take place from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. (ET) Friday, with live broadcast coverage on Peacock. Rookie Orientation and refresher tests will take place from 9-10 a.m., with veterans back on track from 10-11 a.m. The track will open for all drivers from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Conor Daly was the second-fastest driver overall and the fastest in the morning session of 90 minutes before heavy rain arrived in Indianapolis. Daly’s top lap was 222.714 in the No. 47 U.S. Air Force Chevrolet fielded by Ed Carpenter Racing, also with the help of an aerodynamic tow. Sage Karam was third overall at 222.408, with his best lap in the No. 24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet also coming during the final session after the rain left town. Three-time Indy 500 pole winner Ed Carpenter was fourth at 221.296 in the No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet. Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves rounded out the top five at 221.097 in the No. 06 Meyer Shank Racing Honda.
2020 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Rookie of the Year Rinus VeeKay suffered a broken finger in a crash in Turn 1 just 11 minutes into track activity in his No. 21 Sonax/Autogeek Chevrolet fielded by ECR. He was cleared to drive. VeeKay’s car dipped low into the grass inside Turn 1 and did nearly a full clockwise spin before hitting the SAFER Barrier in Turn 1 with the right front and right side of the car. The car then spun twice and slid through the short chute before stopping at the entrance of Turn 2 with heavy damage. “I wanted to do as many laps as possible to be successful,” VeeKay said. “I’m very sorry. It was a weird moment.” The 105th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge is scheduled for Sunday, May 30. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES season opens April 17-18 with the Honda Indy Grand Prix presented by AmFirst at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 