Tag: NTT Indycar Series
REV Group Grand Prix presented by AMR Doubleheader Fast Facts
Race weekend: Saturday, July 11 – Sunday, July 12
Track: Road America, a 4.014-mile, 14-turn permanent road course (clockwise), in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
Race distance: 55 laps / 220.77 miles (each race)
Media links: Race 1 Entry List | Race 2 Entry List | Trackside Book
Push-to-pass parameters: 200 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 20 seconds per activation.
Firestone tire allotment: Nine sets primary, five sets alternate for use during the race weekend. Teams must use one set of primary and one set of alternate tires for at least two laps in the race.
Twitter: @RoadAmerica @IndyCar, #REVGROUPGP, #IndyCar
Event website: www.roadamerica.com
INDYCAR website: www.IndyCar.com
2019 race winner: Alexander Rossi (No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS Honda)
2019 pole winner Colton Herta (No. 88 Capstone Turbine Honda), 1 minute, 42.9920 seconds, 140.306 mph
Qualifying record: Dario Franchitti, 1:39.866, 145.924 mph, Aug. 19, 2000
NBC/NBCSN telecasts: Race 1 Qualifying: 2:15 p.m. ET Saturday, NBCSN (live); Race 1: 5 p.m. ET Saturday, NBCSN (live). Race 2: Noon ET Sunday, NBC (live). Leigh Diffey is the lead announcer for NBC broadcasts alongside analysts Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy.
NBC Sports Gold livestreaming: All NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice sessions and qualifying will stream live on INDYCAR Pass on NBC Sports Gold, NBC Sports’ direct-to-consumer livestreaming product.
INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the chief announcer alongside analyst Davey Hamilton with Jake Query, Michael Young and Nick Yeoman in the turns. All NTT INDYCAR SERIES races are broadcast live on the INDYCAR Radio Network, Sirius 211, XM 205, IndyCar.com and on the INDYCAR MOBILE APP powered by NTT DATA. Live coverage of NTT INDYCAR SERIES qualifying is available on Sirius 211, XM 205, IndyCar.com, and the INDYCAR MOBILE APP.
At-track schedule (all times Eastern Time):
Saturday, July 11
11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice, NBC Sports Gold
2:15 p.m. – Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (two groups), NBCSN (Live)
5 p.m. – NBCSN on air
5:08 p.m. – “Drivers, start your engines”
5:15 p.m. – REV Group Grand Prix presented by AMR Race 1 (55 laps/220.77 miles), NBCSN (Live)
Sunday, July 12
9-9:30 a.m. – Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (two groups), NBC Sports Gold
Noon – NBC on air
12:35 p.m. – “Drivers, start your engines”
12:42 p.m. – REV Group Grand Prix presented by AMR Race 2 (55 laps/220.77 miles), NBC (Live)
Road America Weekend Schedule
The schedule with broadcast times. Reminder- all times are Eastern. If you are going to the race, times are an hour earlier. Saturday’s race is on NBCSN, the first race of the year on that channel. Sunday’s race is on NBC.
Qualifying will follow the format used for the Detroit races. Two groups get 30 minutes each. The fastest driver in each group gets a point and is guaranteed a front row start. the faster of the two is on the pole. the other cars line up behind the leader of their group.
Thursday is reserved solely for the Road to Indy. USF 2000 and IndyPro 2000 each have practice, qualifying, and two races.
INDYCAR, IMS Announce ‘Race for Equality & Change’
This slipped under my radar this weekend. I’m glad to see Indycar finally addressing this issue.
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Traditions Smashed: Quick Thoughts on the GMR Grand Prix
Photo: Indycar, James Black
Two traditions of this race went down n flames today- A clean first lap for the first time in race history, and the biggest tradition-the two winners club was intruded upon by Scott Dixon. It was only the second time a Team Penske car did not win.
Five drivers with less than three years of Indycar experience finished in the top 10.Colton Herta finished fourth, Rinus VeeKay came home fifth, Marcus Ericsson was sixth, Pato O’W and Santino Ferrucci ended up in eighth and ninth. VeeKay started 18th. His 13 spot improvement was second to Simon Pagenaud who moved up 17 positions from 20th to third.
Scott Dixon should have at least 50 career victories by season’s end. He is now just four behind Mario Andretti for second place.
What is going on with Will Power and pit stops? There have been issues in both races this year.
The yellow for Oliver Askew’s crash hurt Graham Rahal. His two stop strategy was working perfectly until then. It was nice to see Rahal fighting for the win again.
It was a great day for Ed Carpenter Racing. In addition to VeeKay’s fifth place, Conor Daly finished 12th. Daly had been in the top 10 for much of the race. I hope to see more of this kind of result from the team the rest of the year.
Andretti Autosport struggled overall for the second straight race. Except for Herta, the rest of the team was not a factor. In Texas Veach was the lone bright spot. They need to turn things around at Road America next week.
Think it’s boring watching Dixon win the first two races? We are watching one of the best ever. As someone who has been lucky enough to watch Foyt, Andretti, Jones, Mears, and the Unsers, I am telling you Dixon belongs with this group. appreciate him that you can watch someone with his skill.
A few people gathered outside the fence of IMS around 23rd and Georgetown Road to watch the race on the video board and soak in the sounds of the race. It was weird just getting tiny glimpses of the cars, but it was better than sitting at home.
I will be back with a more detailed wrap up later tonight or tomorrow.
Enjoy your holiday. wash your hands and mask up. Thanks for following along this weekend.
GMR Qualifying- The Kids Are Alright
Photo: Indycar, Chris Jones
Will Power won the pole for tomorrow’s GMR Grand Prix with a brilliant final lap in the Fast Six. he nipped Jack Harvey by 0.188 seconds. Old news. This was Power’s fourth pole in this race. He won the other three times he started on pole. The pole was the 58th of Power’s career, and he is just nine shy of tying Mario Andretti for the most career poles. He will creep even closer by year’s end.
What I want to focus this qualifying report on though is the younger drivers in the series. Overall, they had a great day. I will discuss them after a recap of qualifying.
Round 1, Group 1
The youngsters led the way, grabbing the first four spots to advance. Defending series champion Josef Newgarden struggled to squeeze into the final transfer spot.
Results:
Oliver Askew
Max Chilton
Felix Rosenqvist
Conor Daly
Ryan Hunter-Reay
Josef Newgarden
Round 1, Group 2
This session had a more traditional look with Power leading and more drivers expected to advance filling the next round.
Results:
Will Power
Colton Herta
Scott Dixon
Jack Harvey
Graham Rahal
Alexander Rossi
Round of 12
Half of the drivers in the second round have less than three full years of Indycar experience. It looked as if the fast Six would shape up to be another the great Power vs. Herta pole battles we had last season, but another youngster decided to spoil the fun.
Results:
Oliver Askew
Jack Harvey
Graham Rahal
Colton Herta
Will Power
Josef Newgarden
Fast Six
Jack Harvey came within a whisker of his first career pole. Power nipped him on the final lap as time ran out. The result was Harvey’s second consecutive GMR Grand Prix Fast Six. In 2019 he started third and finished third.
Results:
Will Power 1:10.177
Jack Harvey 1:10.365
Colton Herta
Graham Rahal
Oliver Askew
Josef Newgarden
The Kids
If you were keeping score, half of each of the last two rounds had drivers with less than three years experience. Oliver Askew in his first road course qualifying led two rounds of qualifying and had the fastest lap of 1:09.878 in the second round.
Conor Daly got a rare second round spot for Ed Carpenter Racing and will start 8th tomorrow.
Colton Herta showed last year that he will be a perennial contender.
Jack Harvey loves this track. if he can transfer his success at IMS to the rest of the series, he will be someone fun to watch.
Max Chilton advancing to the second round was nice to see.
Felix rosenqvist had an off day today, but could be a factor tomorrow.
We are witnessing a very quick generational change. These younger drivers are the sport’s future. The current stars have at most three years left. The series will be in very good hands when they leave. We could see a few more surprises this season. The kids are alright.
Qualifying Groups for GMR Grand Prix
Photo- Indycar, Jonathan Ferrey (Getty Images)
Qualifying groups for this afternoon’s knockout rounds and Fast Six:
Qualifying Groups (unofficial)
| GROUP 1 | GROUP 2 |
|---|---|
| Santino Ferrucci | Will Power |
| Pato O’Ward | Marcus Ericsson |
| Ryan Hunter-Reay | Scott Dixon |
| Felix Rosenqvist | Simon Pagenaud |
| Oliver Askew | Spencer Pigot |
| Josef Newgarden | Colton Herta |
| Marco Andretti | Jack Harvey |
| Takuma Sato | Alexander Rossi |
| Max Chilton | Rinus VeeKay |
| Conor Daly | Graham Rahal |
| Álex Palou | Zach Veach |
| James Hinchcliffe | Charlie Kimball |
| Sage Karam | Dalton Kellett |
Qualifying can be seen on NBCSN at 4:30 Eastern. The race is at noon tomnorrow on NBC.
Power Quickest in GMR Practice; Good session for Young Guns
It’s probably bad news for the rest of the field. Will Power lead the only practice session for the seventh running of the GMR Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this morning. Power languished near the back of the pack through the first hour of the 90 minute session, then slowly began moving toward the front, topping the charts with about 15 minutes remaining. He was the only driver to crack the 1:10 mark.
The results:
| 1 | 12 | Will Power | Team Penske | 1:09.949 | –.—- | 30 |
| 2 | 18 | Santino Ferrucci | Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan | 1:10.124 | 0.1755 | 21 |
| 3 | 8 | Marcus Ericsson | Chip Ganassi Racing | 1:10.165 | 0.2161 | 28 |
| 4 | 5 | Pato O’Ward | Arrow McLaren SP | 1:10.187 | 0.2387 | 29 |
| 5 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | 1:10.205 | 0.2567 | 25 |
| 6 | 28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti Autosport | 1:10.285 | 0.3359 | 25 |
| 7 | 22 | Simon Pagenaud | Team Penske | 1:10.313 | 0.3642 | 27 |
| 8 | 10 | Felix Rosenqvist | Chip Ganassi Racing | 1:10.362 | 0.4132 | 29 |
| 9 | 45 | Spencer Pigot | RLL with Citrone/Buhl Autosport | 1:10.363 | 0.4146 | 23 |
| 10 | 7 | Oliver Askew | Arrow McLaren SP | 1:10.364 | 0.4154 | 30 |
| 11 | 88 | Colton Herta | Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport | 1:10.385 | 0.4360 | 17 |
| 12 | 1 | Josef Newgarden | Team Penske | 1:10.386 | 0.4375 | 26 |
| 13 | 60 | Jack Harvey | Meyer Shank Racing | 1:10.455 | 0.5063 | 24 |
| 14 | 98 | Marco Andretti | Andretti Herta with Marco & Curb-Agajanian | 1:10.486 | 0.5372 | 30 |
| 15 | 27 | Alexander Rossi | Andretti Autosport | 1:10.520 | 0.5717 | 21 |
| 16 | 30 | Takuma Sato | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | 1:10.538 | 0.5894 | 25 |
| 17 | 21 | Rinus VeeKay | Ed Carpenter Racing | 1:10.606 | 0.6571 | 36 |
| 18 | 59 | Max Chilton | Carlin | 1:10.611 | 0.6627 | 26 |
| 19 | 15 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | 1:10.685 | 0.7367 | 31 |
| 20 | 20 | Conor Daly | Ed Carpenter Racing | 1:10.694 | 0.7448 | 26 |
| 21 | 26 | Zach Veach | Andretti Autosport | 1:10.709 | 0.7602 | 27 |
| 22 | 55 | Alex Palou | Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh | 1:10.886 | 0.9376 | 26 |
| 23 | 4 | Charlie Kimball | AJ Foyt Enterprises | 1:10.980 | 1.0312 | 25 |
| 24 | 29 | James Hinchcliffe | Andretti Autosport | 1:11.227 | 1.2783 | 26 |
| 25 | 14 | Dalton Kellett | AJ Foyt Enterprises | 1:11.448 | 1.4997 | 42 |
| 26 | 24 | Sage Karam | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | 1:11.616 | 1. |
The rookies and younger drivers had some time at the top. Felix Rosenqvist, last byear’s pole sitter, led for a while, as did Pato O’Ward and Marcus Ericsson.
Oliver Askew is the only rookie in the top 10. The biggest surprise in the top 10 is Spencer Pigot in 9th. His team, Citrone Buhlo in partnership with RLL Racing, team is making their Indycar debut this weekend.
the practice was stopped twice. Santino Ferrucci bumped Ryan Hunter-Reay around the 45 minute mark. Hunter-Reay was getting his tires up to temperature when Ferrucci tried to pass him pon the inside going into turn 7. Hunter-Reay spun and stalled. Ferrucci received a 5 minute stop and hold penalty for avoidable contact.
With about 30 minutes left, Sage Karam lost power on the access road by turn 12.
Notes
Except for Hunter-Reay, the rest of the Andretti Autosport struggled in the middle of the pack.
A dozen or so fans stood at the ,main gate watching the video board facing the entrance.
It was frustrating hearing the cars but not seeing them. It was still better than nothing.
I have never seen the Speedway look nicer.
A few photos:
Back tonight after qualifying.
Today’s GMR Grand Prix Schedule
Good morning from my Pandemic Media Center nine miles from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Today’s schedule for Indycar practice and qualifying: (All Times Eastern)
11:30-1:00 Practice NBC Gold
4:30-6:00 Qualifying NBCSN
Times given are broadcast windows.
A few other notes:
Gary Trout, co-owner of Top Gun Racing, has announced the team will attempt to run in this year’s Indianapolis 500 and two other races. Earlier this week the team said they would wait until 2021. Top Gun plans to have R C Enerson drive in the 500, the Harvest grand Prix at IMS, and the season finale at St. Petersburg.
The 26 entries for this weekend’s race is a record number for this event. Had the race run on its original date there may have ben as many as 30 cars taking the gren flag. The most notable absence is Scott McLaughlin. The two time Australian Supercars champion looked to make his Indycar debut in this race for Team Penske, but the quarantine and pandemic have delayed his first race in the series until 2021.
I will be back after practice with a summary before qualifying.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 