Tag: NTT Indycar Series

Castroneves Unveils Historic Image on Borg-Warner Trophy at Indiana Statehouse

thepitwindow

From IMS

INDIANAPOLIS (Thursday, March 3, 2022) – 2021 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Helio Castroneves unveiled his likeness on the Borg-Warner Trophy for the fourth time Thursday, March 3 at the Indiana Statehouse.
Castroneves, a native of Brazil, became the fourth four-time “500” winner when he captured the 105th edition of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” last May 30. He etched his name alongside this race’s greatest names in A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears by joining their exclusive club of four-time winners.
“I’m beyond lucky to get to have another face added to the Borg-Warner Trophy,” Castroneves said. “It’s an exciting time to get to celebrate this special moment at the Indiana Statehouse, as well. It’s been such a great experience making my full-time return to INDYCAR with Meyer Shank Racing. Last year was just the start of a really great partnership together, and now we begin the drive for five.”
Among the guests present at the trophy unveiling were Indiana Governor Eric J. Holcomb, Penske Entertainment President and CEO Mark Miles, Indianapolis Motor Speedway President J. Douglas Boles and BorgWarner Inc. Global Director of Marketing and Public Relations Michelle Collins.
“This is one of the most historic unveilings of a likeness on the Borg-Warner Trophy we’ve ever had as Helio’s image now appears for the fourth time on this beautiful trophy,” Boles said. “It’s exciting to get to celebrate something that only A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears have done and place Helio alongside those iconic names. While Helio isn’t from Indiana, he definitely knows what it means to be a Hoosier, and we are proud to stand in the Indiana Statehouse today for this very special occasion.”
Said Collins: “Today is a special day for everyone involved as we get to finally unveil the winning driver’s image on the Borg-Warner Trophy. BorgWarner is proud to be able to reward Helio Castroneves’ hard work on the track, winning his record tying fourth Indianapolis 500, with this beautiful sterling silver likeness created by sculptor William Behrends.
The unveiling of the winning driver’s image is a fun and memorable annual event that showcases the winner’s likeness, along with all the other past winners of the Indianapolis 500 dating back to 1911 when Ray Harroun drove to victory.
“Helio and everyone at Meyer Shank Racing performed flawlessly on Race Day last May to put their names atop the record book. Helio is a wonderful ambassador for the sport, and everyone at BorgWarner is proud to be associated with him. We recognize his greatness and never-ending smile on and off the track.”
As part of the unveiling ceremony, Holcomb presented Castroneves with the flag flown at the Indiana Statehouse on the day of his historic win. Castroneves reciprocated by giving Holcomb an iconic bottle of milk, the drink enjoyed by all Indy 500 winners in Victory Lane at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Castroneves’s image on the world-famous trophy was created once again by sculptor William Behrends, who has crafted the sterling silver, bas relief images of all winners for the trophy since 1990.Commissioned by BorgWarner in 1935, the sterling silver trophy stands more than 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighs approximately 110 pounds, honoring every winner since 1911 with their sculpted faces affixed to the iconic trophy.
Through a multi-phase process, Behrends begins creating the likeness of the drivers. Castroneves visited Behrends at his studio in Tryon, North Carolina, for an in-person session to produce a full-scale clay model of his face. While Behrends has sculpted Castroneves’ face three previous times for his wins in 2001, ’02 and ’09, this was the first time Castroneves visited Behrends’ studio. Until 2015, Behrends created the faces on the Borg-Warner Trophy from 360-degree, black and white photos taken the morning after the race.
The life-size clay image is used as a reference when Behrends works on the smaller model, which is created out of a mixture of oil-based clays. The clay model is eventually turned into a mold and then cast in wax, which is sent out to a jeweler to be transformed into sterling silver. Behrends ends his process by polishing and buffing the image before attaching it to the Borg-Warner Trophy.
Later this year, Castroneves will receive his fourth BorgWarner Championship Driver’s Trophy, also known as a “Baby Borg,” which is a miniature replica of the Borg-Warner Trophy that will feature a duplicate of his sterling silver image. Meyer Shank Racing also will receive a memento commemorating the victory: its first the BorgWarner Championship Team Owner’s Trophy. Castroneves’ Indy win also was the first in NTT INDYCAR SERIES competition for the team.
Tickets for the 106th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, the GMR Grand Prix and all Month of May events at Indianapolis Motor Speedway are on sale at IMS.com. 
 
 

Hybrid Debut Pushed Back to 2024

thepitwindow

The following announcement from Indycar should come as no surprise. Supply issues were mentioned late last year.

INDYCAR Moves New
Hybrid Powertrain Debut to 2024  
INDIANAPOLIS (Thursday, March 3, 2022) – Due to ongoing global supply chain challenges with some hybrid system components, INDYCAR announced it has adjusted the debut of the 2.4-liter, twin-turbocharged V-6 engine with hybrid technology to the 2024 season.
In consultation with engine partners Chevrolet and Honda, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES will continue to use the current 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged V-6 powerplant for the 2023 season.
“We are pleased with the pace of the technical development of the 2.4-liter, twin-turbocharged V-6 hybrid as we prepare it for competition,” said INDYCAR President Jay Frye. “We are very encouraged by the progress our team and our partners have made, but an immediate decision needed to be made to ensure we are prepared for the 2023 season utilizing our current 2.2-liter engine package.
“Thanks to our great partners at Honda and Chevrolet for working through this challenging supply chain situation. We are going full speed ahead with the 2.4-liter hybrid engine and cannot wait to have it on track in 2024.”
The development of the 2.4-liter, twin-turbocharged V-6 engine with hybrid technology involves cutting-edge innovations unique to INDYCAR. The new engine will give the most exciting and competitive racing series in the world a roaring and powerful 800 horsepower as a baseline. The addition of the hybrid system will give an additional boost of 100 horsepower to ultimately produce 900.
“We are proud of the hard work and level of commitment by our engine group, along with our teams and partners, in the development of the Chevrolet 2.4-liter engine for our INDYCAR program,” said Mark Stielow, director, GM Motorsports Competition Engineering.
“We were certainly excited to have it on track next season. Chevrolet remains fully committed to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, and we look forward to debuting our future engine package in 2024.”
“We are very excited to get the electrified era of INDYCAR SERIES racing underway,” said David Salters, president and technical director, Honda Performance Development. “We have finished development and dyno testing of our new internal combustion engine, and once the hybrid system component supply chain issues are sorted, we’ll begin track testing of the new hybrid power unit.”
The first on-track test of the new INDYCAR SERIES 2.4-liter, twin-turbocharged V-6 will come Wednesday, March 30 and Thursday, March 31 at Sebring International Raceway. Development, testing and work to incorporate the hybrid component will continue throughout the year.
The 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season continues Sunday, March 20 for the XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway. Coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. (ET) on NBC and simulstreamed on Peacock Premium. Coverage is also available from the INDYCAR Radio Network with audio available via the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA. 
 

A Perfect Race Weekend- St. Pete Wrap Up

thepitwindow2 Comments

Photo: Scott McLaughlin at the post race press conference.

Race weekends just don’t get any better than the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding that concluding with a very good race yesterday.

Scott McLaughlin won his first Indycar race by hitting the correct pit strategy and holding off defending series champion Alex Palou by 0.5 seconds. The race was a fascinating ix of pit strategies, complicated by the race’s only caution flag, which happened at the start of the first pit window.

Scott McLaughlin leads Alex Palou in the closing laps. Turn 10 saw a lot of passes for position Sunday.

Huge Crowds

The race, however, was just one part of what made the final weekend of February so special. The crowd was definitely a record. I have been going to this race since 2013, and I have not seen a crowd this size in St. Pete. Indycar officials say attendance was up 49% from the 140,000 in 2019, the last pre pandemic race. In 2020 and 2021, the race had a limit of 20,000 fans each day.

I have never seen the turn 10 bleachers so full, and the general admission area in front of the Mahaffey Theater was packed.

Fans on the lawn just before the green flag.

The atmosphere at the track on Sunday felt like Race Day at IMS.

Party in the Park

The Grand Prix added a free event for fans Saturday afternoon. Party in the Park featured giveaways, including a two seater ride, show cars, and driver interviews. The event was well attended. I was pleased to see so many families there.

Pato O’Ward and Felix Rosenqvist talk to the crowd.
Half a dozen Indycars and and Indy Lights cars were on display.

Sirius XM I’s Indycar channel conducted driver interviews at the event. Tony Kanaan and Conor Daly were guests when I arrived.

After sunset fireworks lit up the harbor.

Ancillary events like Party in the Park are essential to the community involvement needed for a successful street race. The St. Petersburg race has grown steadily since I began attending. This year the event has begun to approach the level of Long Beach. I hope this trend continues.

Reunions

The season opener at St. Pete is always a time to see friends that you haven’t seen all winter. In 2022, the reunions were more special. I saw some dear friends I hadn’t been able to see in three years due to the pandemic. I am now more eager for the month of May, when I will be able to see even more friends in person.

Quick Thoughts- Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

thepitwindow

I like this trend. For the second year in a row, the winner of the season opener is a second year driver winning his first race. Scott McLaughlin had to battle Alex Palou for the win. It was not an easy win despite his starting from pole on a street course.

The battle for the lead over the last 15 laps was a great way to start the season.

I don’t recall a St. Pete race with just one yellow. The long green stints may have changed some strategy, which made this race intriguing.

Rinus VeeKay is back. He backed up a strong qualifying effort with a sixth place finish. VeeKay also led 13 laps during an extended stint.

Nice Debuts

In spite of several on track adventures in practice the last two days, Romain Grosjean had a solid debut with Andretti Autosport with a fifth place finish.

Takuma Sato earned a 10th place result after starting 22nd in his first race for Dale Coyne Racing.

Christian Lundgaard was the top finishing rookie in 11th.

Whatever Happened to…

Josef Newgarden was never a factor in the race. He started ninth, but went to an alternate three stop strategy, which had him mired in 16th at the end. newgarden has seemed a step behind his teammates all weekend.

Alexander Rossi dropped to 20th from starting 13th. He led 10 laps during pit cycles. I’m not sure what’s going with the 27 team.

Kyle Kirkwood started strong but ended 18th.

Arrow McLaren drivers Pato O’Ward and Felix Rosenqvist each improved four spots from their starting spots, but O’Ward’s 12 the was the best they could muster. Rosenqvist came home in17th.

Fans Came Back

Today was the ninth time I have attended this race. The crowd was the largest I have seen. For many fans this was their first race in nearly three years. I think more local people attended than have come in a while as well.

I will have more on the race tomorrow. Thanks for following all weekend.

Herta Leads Morning Warmup

thepitwindow

Cplton Herta led this morning’s final warm up for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, edging Josef Newgarden by 0.27 seconds. Herta’s quick lap of 1:00.328 came late in the session.

Two red flags interrupted action. The first was for Jimmie Johnson who spun and stopped on track. the second came with just about three minutes remaining. Cars returned to the track for one timed lap.

Romain Grosjean had some adventures in turn 1. He tried to pass a car on the inside, locked his brakes, and went into the run off area. The car he tried to pass narrowly avoided a collision and continued.

Grosjean points his car in the right direction after sliding into the run-off area.

Later Grosjean and Helio Castroneves went side by side into the first turn. The cars made contact but continued without any issues.

The top 12

Race Day!

thepitwindow

Today’s Schedule:

Gates Open 8:30 AM- 2:30 PM

8:45AM – 9:15AM NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warm Up Peacock
9:30AM – 10:30AM Indy Lights Race Peacock
10:45AM – 11:25AM USF2000 Race 2
11:50AM NTT INDYCAR SERIES Driver Introductions
12:30PM Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding NTT INDYCAR SERIES Race (100 Laps) NBC coverage begins at noon

It’s time to begin the 2022 season. Thye Grand Prix of St. Petersburg begins at 12:30 PM Eastern time on NBC.

I still like Colton Herta to win today, but any of the top five candidates could take the checkered flag. Look for a possibly chaotic race with pit strategy possibly deciding the outcome,

Scott McLaughlin answers a question after winning the pole Saturday.

The start will be interesting with Team Penske teammates Scott McLaughlin and Will Power on the front row. It’s McLaughlin’s first pole in Indycar. Will he have a decent pace for the start?

Alternate tires are an unknown factor heading into today’s race. In yesterday’s post qualifying press conference, Will Power was asked how long he thought the reds will last. He answered,

‘Yeah, it’s a good question because no one
has done more than two laps on them. We heat cycled
them and did another one or two laps. Yeah, that will be
an interesting story tomorrow because I don’t even think in
warmup you’ll be able to tell because the condition will be
so cool and good, you won’t get a feel for is it going to go
off or not.”

The temperature for the morning warmup will be 71 degrees. By race time it will climb to 78 and stay there for the entire race.

The Rookie Factor

Kyle Kirkwood is the only rookie starting in the top half of the grid. No other first year driver starts higher than 15 (Christian Lundgaard.). How this group reacts in traffic and handles pit stops may affect other drivers and alter the outcome.

I look for a mostly clean race from these six. They have had enough race experience. Some of them have not made a lot of pit stops. In the warmup, we might see the rookies pitting frequently to practice pit procedures.

Big Movers?

Drivers who should finish ahead of where they start- Josef Newgarden (9th), Alex Palou (10th), Graham Rahal (11th), Pato O’Ward (16th), and Helio Castroneves (17th). Cautions should the ones further back on the grid.

It will be great to get the new season underway. Enjoy the race.

McLaughlin on St. Pete Pole as Penske Sweeps Front Row

thepitwindow

Scott McLaughlin turned a sizzling final lap as time expired to win the pole for tomorrow’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Presented by RP Funding. He edged teammate Will Power, who will start on the front row for the 12th time at St. Pete.

Scott McLaughlin on his pole winning lap

Group 1 in Round 1 ended with six different teams advancing, including A. J Foyt Racing with Kyle Kirkwood, Ed Carpenter Racing driver Rinus Veekay. Colton Herta led the round with a time of 59.466 seconds, followed by Graham Rahal, VeeKay, Scott Dixon, Kirkwood, and Josef Newgarden.

Group 2 saw Power lead with a lap of 59,394 seconds, followed by McLaughlin, Romain Grosjean, Simon Pagenaud, Marcus Ericsson, Alex Palou. Palou and Grosjean recovered from heavy damage in the morning practice.

The second round saw a great battle for the lead between Power, Grosjean, McLaughlin, and Herta, with Power taking the round. Power set a track record with his lap of 59.346 seconds.

Will Power

The Firestone Fast Six looked to be comfortably in Power’s grasp as Herta, Grosjean, and Pagenaud all failed to beat his time. McLaughlin’s final lap was 0.12 seconds better than his teammate. The second year driver has earned his first career pole.

Two drivers and teams who had great drives today- Kyle Kirkwood of A. J. Foyt Racing and Rinus VeeKay of Ed Carpenter Racing. Neither team is known for their prowess on road and street courses, nut today may be a sign that the situation could be about to change. Kirkwood finished fifth in Round 1. The rookie has shown in two days how talented he is.

VeeKay appears to be fully recovered from the shoulder injury he suffered mid -season last year. VeeKay was third in Round 1, sixth in Round 2, will start fourth tomorrow.

Qualifying Results: