Tag: NTT Indycar Series

Looking For a Few Good Oval Drivers; Ferrari Says No

thepitwindow

The full time grid for the 2021 NTT Indycar Series is pretty much set with 24 cars. Andretti Autosport will field one less car, but an additional car at Team Penske and another entry at Chip Ganassi Racing gives the field a net gain of one car. Two teams are still looking for someone to drive the oval portion of the schedule.

Dale Coyne Racing with rick Ware will Romain Grosjean in the 51 for the road and street courses. The team has not announced who will drive at Texas and in the Indianapolis 500. Grosjean has not ruled out driving at Gateway. Carlin Racing needs a driver for Texas and Gateway.

Cody Ware will probably drive some ovals for Coyne/Ware, but whether he is in the 51 or the part time 52 remains to be seen. It is possible that Santino Ferrucci returns to the team for the 500. In Ferrucci’s two Indianapolis appearances with Coyne, he has finished 7th and 4th.

Carlin Racing has the same situation as 2020. max Chilton will drive the road and street races as well as the 500. Conor Daly may return to drive for the team at Texas and Gateway. Daly will drive the number 20 for Ed Carpenter on the road and street races. Last year Daly won the pole at Iowa for Carlin. He earned four top 10s in his five races with Carlin.

In addition to the 24 full time entries, races other than the 500 will have additional cars. Helio Castroneves will run six races for Meyer Shank Racing. Dale Coyne with Rick Ware Racing said they will have a third car at 4-5 races besides Indianapolis. Dreyer and Reinbold may also enter some events.

The full time Grid (Road/street only drivers in bold, oval only drivers in italics:

A. J. Foyt Racing:

Sebastien Bourdais

Dalton Kellett

Andretti Autosport:

Alexander Rossi

Colton Herta

Ryan Hunter-Reay

James Hinchcliffe

Arrow McLaren SP:

Pato O’Ward

Felix Rosenqvist

Carlin Racing:

Max Chilton (road/street/ Indianapolis 500)

Chip Ganassi Racing:

Scott Dixon

Marcus Ericsson

Alex Palou

Jimmie Johnson

Tony Kanaan

Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan

Ed Jones

Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing

Romain Grosjean

Ed Carpenter Racing

Rinus VeeKay

Conor Daly

Ed Carpenter

Meyer Shank Racing:

Jack Harvey

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing:

Graham Rahal

Takuma Sato

Team Penske:

Josef Newgarden

Will Power

Simon Pagenaud

Scott McLaughlin

Ferrari Stays Home

In an announcement which surprised absolutely no one, Ferrari will not be the third OEM for Indycar. I never thought the Italian company was serious about their negotiations. Ferrari has a history of entertaining and exploring options as leverage to get what they really want.

Indycar is talking to other companies about becoming the elusive third OEM. Will there be one for 2023? The time window is closing rapidly. A third engine would pull some of the burden off of Chevrolet and Honda, especially for the Indianapolis 500. It will not necessarily create an expanded grid. This is a topic to explore whent the third OEM becomes a reality.

Back in a couple of days with a deep plunge into 500 history.

Grosjean Eager for Chance to Compete

thepitwindow

” I think the excitement comes in the fact that in Formula 1, after turn one, you normally know what’s going to be the race result just because you know the pace of the car, Mercedes is going to pull away,maybe the Red Bull is going to be there. Some things can change, but nowhere as much in INDYCAR.”

Romain Grosjean summed up his excitement for joining Indycar as the newest driver in the series. He will drive car 51 for Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing. Grosjean watch more than 18 hours of Indycar races on YouTube over the Christmas holiday.

“Mid-Ohio 2018 I watched recently was Sebastien Bourdais had an issue in qualifying and started back of the field. He came back like a bullet from the gun and finished sixth just behind Scott Dixon. The race was not over. The strategy was the alternative one. He started on the black tire, went for the reds, just came back from the back. That’s not something you’re going to see in Formula 1 unless Mercedes qualified in the back, which never really happens. That was great to see.”

Dale Coyne talked about why the team had interest in Grosjean despite his lack of wins in F1.

“…we’re impressed what he did before he got to Formula 1. He won the GP2 series by 35 points. It was a year that I think nine drivers in that series made it onto Formula 1. It wasn’t a light year. He won six junior categories before that. He’s a winner. Formula 1, it’s difficult to be a winner unless you’re with the top two or three teams. So we’re going to get him over here with the fourth best team and show that he can still be a winner.”

Grosjean likes that in Indycar the driver has more input into the performance of the car.

“Well, this is something I’m very,very much looking forward to. I’ve been watching the races. The way you can follow the car in front of you, the way you can slide the tires, the way you can either try to play with your ‘push to pass’, the fact that the cars in qualifying are within 6/10ths of each other. This is all really exciting.You need to get the details right and so on. I think, yes, as you say, you don’t have the differential you can move, you don’t have the recovery and all the shaping and the braking, the systems you can have in Formula 1.I think the racing, yes, the car a little bit slower, but the racing looks much better from everything I’ve been seeing.”

Grosjean realizes he still has a lot to learn, and he wants to start sending his engineer, Olivier Boisson, data from iRacing to see if he has the right approach.

“I also told him that I can run on iRacing the INDYCAR. I can send him the data so he can see if it’s completely off the reality or not. I can learn the circuits in that aspect.”

The last five years of Foirmula 1 struggles habven’t dampened Grosjean’s enthusiasm for racing. h eis very excited to try a more competitive form of the sport in the United States.

Grosjean Joins Coyne/ Ware for Road/Street Courses

thepitwindow

Romain Grosjean will run the road and street courses in car 51 for Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing in 2021. The former F1 driver escaped serious injury in a fiery crash at the Formula 1 race in Bahrain in November. He had severe burns to his hands.

Grosjean began his Formula 1 career with Lotus in 2011. He had 10 podium finishes and was in the top 10 in the season standings in 2012 and 2013. The last five years Grosjean drove for Haas F1, a team that struggled constantly. He is looking forward to racing in a more competitive series.

Grosjean’s first test will be February 22 at Barber Motorsports Park, site of the NTT Indycar Series opener April 18.

Grosjean becomes the sixth former F1 driver in Indycar. He joins Sebastien Bourdais, Alexander Rossi, Max Chilton, Takuma Sato, and Marcus Ericsson in the series.

“Although, I’m not ready yet to take on the ovals! IndyCar has a much more level playing field than what I have been used to in my career so far. It will be exciting to challenge for podiums and wins again. My left hand is still healing, but we are just about ready to get back into the race car and to start this next chapter of my career, Grosjean said.”

Grosjean said it was a familty decision to not run the ovals this year, but he hasn’t completely ruled out running at Gateway.

“If I were 25 and single with no kids, I’d run the ovals,” he said.

Team owner Dale Coyne is thrilled with his new driver.

“We’ve been talking to Romain for some time now, even before his accident at Bahrain. He has shown interest in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES for the past several months and we’re very happy that he has chosen to pursue his career with us and excited to welcome a driver with his pedigree to America, the Series and our team. We feel that he’ll be a force to be reckoned with in the Series.”

Team co-owner Rick Ware added, “We’re thrilled to be entering our first full season of NTT INDYCAR SERIES racing with Dale Coyne Racing, and to have a driver of the caliber of Romain Grosjean to run the street and road courses makes it that much more exciting for us. We’re looking forward to this season.”

Ware said the team will announce its oval drivers and sponsors in a couple of weeks. it sounds as though there may be multiple drivers in the 51 for the ovals.

A third car, number 52, is entered for the Indianapolis 500, and “probably 4-5 more races,” according to Coyne. He has no plans for a third full time team.

Coyne begins testing at Barber Motorsports Park February 22 and will also test at Laguna Seca March 1. Coyne said the team will have four test days before the first race at barber April 18.

Back later with some quotes from the teleconference.

O’Ward Fastest in Sebring Test

thepitwindow

Pato O’Ward had the fastest time in yesterday’s Indycar test at Sebring, topping 13 other cars in his Arrow McLaren SP machine. Other teams testing included Team Penske, Andretti Autosport, Rahal Letterman Lanigan, and Ed Carpenter Racing.

O’Ward and Alexander Rossi were the only two cars to post laps under 52 seconds.

New Liveries

While the Arrow McLaren cars used their testing camo livery, the cars of Scott McLaughlin and Alexander Rossi unveiled new paint schemes for 2021. Will Power also had a variation os last year’s scheme on the 12.

Rossi. Photo by Chris Owens, Indycar
McLaughlin. Photo by Chris Owens, Indycar
Power. Photo by Chris Owens, Indycar

The times

RANKCAR NO.DRIVERTEAMENGINEQUICK LAPDIFFERENCETOTAL LAPS
15Pato O’WardArrow McLaren SPChevrolet51.790 124
227Alexander RossiAndretti AutosportHonda51.928-0.138122
32Josef NewgardenTeam PenskeChevrolet52.055-0.265138
426Colton HertaAndretti AutosportHonda52.061-0.271116
529Oliver AskewAndretti AutosportHonda52.240-0.450109
67Felix RosenqvistArrow McLaren SPChevrolet52.258-0.46891
739Takuma SatoRahal Letterman Lanigan RacingHonda52.302-0.512139
820Conor DalyEd Carpenter RacingChevrolet52.311-0.521123
915Graham RahalRahal Letterman Lanigan RacingHonda52.356-0.566157
1021Rinus VeeKayEd Carpenter RacingChevrolet52.358-0.56899
1112Will PowerTeam PenskeChevrolet52.362-0.572145
1222Simon PagenaudTeam PenskeChevrolet52.378-0.588120
1328Ryan Hunter-ReayAndretti AutosportHonda52.464-0.674106
143Scott McLaughlinTeam PenskeChevrolet52.469-0.679130

Coyne, Rick Ware Racing Complete Full Time Grid

thepitwindow

A release from Dale Coyne Racing this morning. This is the last full time car for 2021. Tomorrow I will set the grid as it stands, including the part time entries.

Plainfield, Illinois & Mooresville, North Carolina (Friday, January 29, 2021) – Dale Coyne Racing announced today that it is entering into a collaboration with Rick Ware Racing for its No. 51 and No. 52 entries for the 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

The team, which will run under the Dale Coyne Racing with RWR banner, will field the No. 51 car (previously the No.19 and No. 55 cars) as a full season entry alongside its sister No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan entry.

The team further plans to run the No. 52 car at the Indianapolis 500 as a third entry under the DCR stable. Additionally, the No. 52 car is set to do a selection of other races that are yet to be determined.

“We were introduced to Rick Ware at last year’s Indy 500 where he ran James Davison in our third entry,” reported Dale Coyne. “It was interesting to see how similar his efforts in NASCAR Cup and IMSA were to ours. We have talked ever since that event and we are excited to welcome Rick Ware Racing into our family at DCR.”

The primary sponsor of the No. 51 car will be announced in the coming month with the driver of that season-long entry expected to be announced next week.

“I met Dale last year through our Indy efforts with David Byrd and struck up a friendship with him and his team,” commented Rick Ware. “I have thought a long time about expanding into IndyCar from our efforts in NASCAR Cup, Xfinity and IMSA, so this collaboration, was an easy and logical step. We look forward to a competitive 2021 and beyond together.”

Dale Coyne Racing enters its 38th year of competing in American open-wheel racing. Team Owner Dale Coyne, a Midwestern entrepreneur who designed and built Route 66 Raceway and Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL, is known for taking on young drivers and mentoring them in the early stages of their careers. The team has claimed multiple victories, most notably, winning back-back races at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in the past few years.

Rick Ware, a former driver himself and owner of Rick Ware Racing, made his NASCAR Cup Series debut in 1990 and spent the next decade racing in series such as ARCA and the Busch Series (now known as Xfinity Series) before turning to full time team owner duties. Rick Ware Racing (RWR) currently fields four charters in the NASCAR Cup Series; No. 15, 51, 52 and 53. Located in Mooresville, North Carolina, RWR has competed within NASCAR’s top touring series since 2000. Over the past 20 years, RWR has competed in the Super Trofeo Series, IMSA, Asian Le Mans Series, ARCA and several other smaller series.

Jones, Coyne, Hope to Pick Up Where They Left Off

thepitwindow

“As I told Ed when we were talking about all this,we both have unfinished business,” Dale Coyne began the press conference. Ed Jones reiterated the phrase a minute later. Jones rejoins Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan for the 2021 season. Jones had a strong rookie season with Coyne in 2017, including a third p[lace finish in the Indianapolis 500.

Jones was hopeful of returning to Indycar, and he and Coyne had maintained a good relationship since Jones left the team for Chip Ganassi racing.

“After the year out, I knew I really wanted to be back in INDYCAR. I was talking to Dale, seeing what we could figure out. . . As Dale said, we’ve had a great relationship. I know a lot of the guys at the team already. Having that extra partnership of Vasser Sullivan, continuing their success, is something I’m really excited to get going with.”

Jimmy Vasser is looking forward to having Jones on the team. Vasser noted his consistency, adding, “…he’s a finisher, and he’s consistent.I think also he gives us a chance to fight for the Indy 500. Three starts, third and a sixth. In my opinion, should have been Rookie of the Year at the 500, but that’s a whole ‘nother story.”

After a disappointing 2019 season in Indycar, Jones had signed on to run the DTM series in Germany for 2020. The COVID pandemic ended that plan. Jones began to think about getting back to Indycar.

“Yeah, so for me there was many options indifferent categories to race in this year. The way 2019went for me was really disappointing, my last year in INDYCAR at the moment. It bugged me. I knew it didn’t reflect what level I could compete at. There’s a lot of young guys in there doing well, and I beat most of them in junior categories, things like that. I know what level I’m at. I know it didn’t reflect that. I knew I needed to get back to INDYCAR, prove what I can do.”

Jones spent some time last year taking online courses from MIT on artificial intelligence and digital business management. He thinks some knowledge he obtained can apply to racing but Jones is also looking beyond huis current career.

“On one thing with the data, it’s something you can use into motorsport, maybe not from a driver perspective, but with data on handling how you use testing the car and things like that. Through simulation, as well.It’s something which can be beneficial in the future, and something which maybe isn’t really important for me now,but something I could use in times to come.”

Jones doesn’t think the aeroscreen will be a huge adjustment and he is looking forward to running the ovals.

“I feel like I’ve always been strong on ovals, short ovals especially. To be honest, if I could race INDYCAR ovals every weekend, that would be my dream thing (smiling). It’s something which I love to do. Although the windscreen is different, it’s just one of the things you’ve got to get used to. I changed from old aerokits to the new aerokit. It’s not a problem. Just something you have to adapt to and it won’t be an issue.”

Coyne said that the team hopes to announce its second driver next week and begin testing in February.

Ed Jones Returns to Coyne

thepitwindow

This is the week of Indycar homecomings. yesterday, James Hinchcliffe came back full time to Andretti Autosport. Today, Ed Jones returns to Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan as the driver of car 18, with Seal Master sponsorship.

Jones began his Indycar career with Coyne in 2017 after winning the 2016 Indy lights championship. He finished 14th in points, highlighted by a third place finish in the Indianapolis 500. Jones earned Indycar Rookie of the Year.

The following year Jones joined Chip Ganassi Racing. He had two podium finishes and was 13th in points. In 2019 he drove the road courses and the Indianapolis 500 for Ed Carpenter Racing. He finished 13th in the 500 after starting fourth.

Jones was scheduled to drive i the DTM series in 2020, but COVID derailed those plans.

More on this story later today.

Hinchcliffe Full Time with Andretti; Genesys to Sponsor 10 Races

thepitwindow

Photo: Karl Zemlin, Indycar

James Hinchcliffe returns to Andretti Autosport and the Indycar grid full time as the team announced their fourth full time car for the 2021 NTT Indycar series campaign. Genesys will sponsor the 29 car for 10 races for Hinchcliffe in 2021. Sponsors for the other seven races will be named in the coming weeks

.Hinchcliffe drove for Andretti from 2012-2014 after a year at Newman-Haas. After five years at Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Hinchcliffe lost his ride after the 2019 season. He ran three races for Andretti with Genesys sponsorship in 2020 and ran three races for Andretti late in the year replacing Zach Veach. His best finish was seventh in the Indianapolis 500.

Hinchcliffe won three races in 2013 for Andretti and he has six career wins.

Photo: Indycar, James Black

Hinchcliffe spent part of 2020 as part of the NBC broadcast team at aces where he wasn’t driving.

The Indianapolis 500 and Hinchcliffe have a love hate relationship. A grisly accident in post qualifying practice nearly cost the Canadian driver his life. he returned the following year to win the pole for the 100th running oif the race. In 2018 he failed to qualify. Hinchcliffe returned to the 500 field in 2019, finishing 11th after starting 32nd.

Peacock Replaces NBC Gold

thepitwindow

Photo: Indycar

Well, that didn’t take long. Fans who purchased NBC Gold received an email today regarding the switch to Peacock. Indycar sent the follow release regarding the change.

From Indycar:

NBC, NBCSN To Broadcast All 2021 NTT INDYCAR Series Races

Peacock Premium becomes the new streaming home of NTT INDYCAR SERIES coverage beginning with the 2021 season. NBC Sports’ exclusive streaming coverage will move from NBC Sports Gold’s “IndyCar Pass,” to Peacock Premium, which is available for $4.99 per month.

Peacock Premium will provide fans in the U.S. with live coverage of 2021 INDYCAR qualifying and practice sessions as well as coverage surrounding the 105th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, Indy Lights races, race day warmups and full-event replays of INDYCAR races in 2021. Peacock Premium will surround the 105th Indianapolis 500 with exclusive practice and qualifying coverage, as well as ancillary content.

“Peacock Premium will offer NTT INDYCAR SERIES fans in-demand track action at tremendous value,” said Penske Entertainment Corp. President & CEO Mark Miles. “Alongside NBC Sports, we’re providing comprehensive coverage of practice and qualifications throughout our season, while also connecting to a larger platform with a world-class roster of programming.”

INDYCAR on Peacock Premium will also feature INDYCAR archival and library content, and other motorsports shoulder programming.

As previously announced, all 2021 INDYCAR races, along with select additional race weekend sessions, will be broadcast on either NBC or NBCSN.

The 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season starts Sunday, April 18 with the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama.

INDYCAR will join a robust library of live sports on Peacock Premium. Highlights of Peacock Premium’s live sports offerings include Premier League, a Sunday NFL Wild Card playoff game, U.S. Open golf, U.S. Women’s Open golf, and upcoming Olympics and Paralympics coverage, plus the Peacock Originals “Lost Speedways,” hosted by Dale Earnhardt Jr., and “In Deep with Ryan Lochte.”

Viewers can sign up for Peacock at peacocktv.com. Peacock is currently available on the Roku platform; Apple devices including iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD; Google platforms and devices including Android™, Android TV™ devices, Chromecast and Chromecast built-in devices; Microsoft’s Xbox One family of devices, including Xbox One S and Xbox One X; Sony PlayStation4 and PlayStation 4 Pro; and VIZIO SmartCast™ TVs and LG Smart TVs. Comcast’s eligible Xfinity X1 and Flex customers, as well as eligible Cox Contour customers, enjoy Peacock Premium included with their service at no additional cost.