Tag: NTT Indycar Series

Thoughts on Thermal Qualifying

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Photo by Penske Entertainment

A front row lockout, but not by Andretti, and a Fast Six we are not likely to see again highlighted today’s qualifying session for the Thermal Club Grand Prix.

Pato O’Ward is on pole, and teammate Christian Lundgaard will start alongside tomorrow.

I expected a front row lockout might come from Andretti, who had three fast cars during the practices and advanced all their cars to Round 2. Lundgaard had been quick all weekend, but O’Ward had been lagging somewhat. It was a matter of Pato finally getting comfortable with the car.

“I knew if we could get the car to my liking, I would get it done,” O’Ward said. “I’ve got to thank the guys. We turned it around. We dialed it in after Q1 (first qualifying segment) because I was somewhat happy with it but not perfect. Just made a little bit of an adjustment and as soon as we went out in Q2, I said, ‘I’ve got this.’”

If the McLaren front was a surprise, a bigger shock is that none of the Penske cars advanced out of round 1. Newgarden is their highest starter in 17th. Not since 2021 has the first Penske car started lower than 15th.

Notes

I can’t remember the last time that Will Power failed to advance out of Round 1 on consecutive weekends.

Shout out to Louis Foster. The rookie qualified 10th, ahead of Scott Dixon.

Round 2 will probably hold up as one of the best second rounds of qualifying this season. Marcus Armstrong missed the Fast Six by 0.0728 of a second.

The top four in the Fast Six are separated by less than half a second.

I was glad to see FOX show what tire each driver was on, but the graphic was up for just a few seconds in the middle of each round. The tire graphic is going to be important information for viewers throughout the day tomorrow, and it needs to be up the entire race.

Results

Thermal Practice 1 – Some Things Stay the Same

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While the top of the chart didn’t change at the first Thermal practice, the team that ended the day second, third, and fourth showed that testing paid off handsomely.

Alex Palou had the fastest lap in the two-tiered practice session, with Kyle Kirkwood right on his heels. Kirkwood’s Andretti teammates Marcus Ericsson and Colton Herta were third and fourth. Andretti has tested at Thermal earlier this year.

Photo from Penske Entertainment

Kirkwood led the 45 minute segment which was shortened when Robert Shwartzman stopped his burning car on track about halfway through the timed period.

Shwartzman’s fire appeared to be from a fuel leak. The AMR safety team took the car apart on the track, even removing the driver’s seat. He will use the backup car tomorrow. Shwartzman had an issue in St. Pete as well. The rookie has lost a lot of valuable track time in the young season.

The first small group session also had a red flag stoppage when Devlin DeFrancesco got stuck in the sand off course.

David Malukas and Felix Rosenqvist had excursions off track, but they were able to continue.

Notes

As expected, tire strategy will be key on Sunday. The primaries looked really shredded after the few laps run today.

FOX

FOX had a timing and scoring graphics issue as practice began., but it was corrected.

The telemetry dash still blocks the sponsors on the aeroscreen frame, but I did notice that the graphic stayed on for a shorter time, and the sponsors got a bit of time, probably not enough.

The driver pictures looked like paintings instead of the cartoons three weeks ago. It is an improvement, but I wonder if FOX has heard of these things called photographs.

I liked the ghost car graphic comparing Will Power and Rosenqvist on a lap. I hope to see more of that during qualifying.

The best thing on the broadcast was the cutaway going inside the cockpit into the interior of the nose to explain brake bias. It was the best thing I have seen from the broadcast partner. More, please.

Results

IndyCar Test on IMS Road Course

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 From IMS
NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers and teams will prepare for the Sonsio Grand Prix on Saturday, May 10 by testing Thursday, March 27 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
Testing will take place on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile circuit from 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Lunch break from Noon-1 pm
The Turn 2 Viewing Mounds will be open for public viewing.
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Teams, Drivers Scheduled To Participate
:A.J. Foyt Racing: Santino Ferrucci, David Malukas
Chip Ganassi Racing: Scott Dixon, Alex Palou, Kyffin Simpson
Dale Coyne Racing: Jacob Abel
Juncos Hollinger Racing: Conor Daly, Sting Ray Robb

Thermal Preview

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The good news is that IndyCar has scheduled a race just three weeks after the season opener at St. Pete. The Thermal Club Grand Prix weekend begins tomorrow with the green flag shortly after 3 pm Eastern on Sunday.

The 3.067 mile layout that IndyCar will use is the longer of two tracks at the private club. I spoke with a friend who drove the short track last month. He described it as a narrow, rough surface with lots of tight hairpin turns. The start and restarts may be tricky.

The hybrid system may be more effective at this layout with the long straights. The biggest concern is tire wear.

Tire Strategy

The key to winning on Sunday will come down to tire wear and how many pit stops are necessary. Firestone has reverted to the traditional allotment of six sets of primary tires and four sets of alternate tires for this event due to the abrasive surface.

I could see the entire field starting on alternates and hoping for an early caution to run the rest of the way on primaries. Even then, will the primaries last a full fuel run?

Instead of fuel saving will we see tire saving?

Early Season Pressure

Just one race into the season, two drivers need a good result Sunday after a disastrous St. Pete outing.

Will Power, in a contract year, failed to make the second round in qualifying, and was eliminated in the first lap crash in the opening race. A win this weekend would go a long way to enhance his future prospects.

Colton Herta started second in St. Pete, but bad pit stops dropped him to 16th at the end. Many thought he would win the race. Herta is considered a title contender, and he needs at least a top 10 to get back in the running.

Pato O’Ward, another possible championship driver, salvaged an 11th place finish after a disappointing 23rd starting spot. A decent qualifying position will propel to a good result.

TV Times

All pre-race activity is on FS1, and the race is on FOX. There is heavy competition on the airwaves Sunday with the NCAA tournament and a NASCAR race. It will be interesting to see the numbers on Tuesday.

The schedule:

Times Eastern/Pacific

Friday, March 21 FS1

Practice 1 6:30 pm/3:30 pm

Saturday, March 22 FS1

Practice 2 1 pm/10 am

Qualifying 5:05 pm/2:05 pm-6:35 pm/3:35 pm

Sunday, March 23

Warmup 11 am/8 am FS1

Race 3 pm/Noon FOX

The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix Fast Facts  

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From IndyCar:
Race weekend: Friday, March 21-Sunday, March 23
Track: The Thermal Club, a 3.067-mile, 17-turn road course (counterclockwise) in Thermal, California
Media Links: NTT INDYCAR SERIES Entry List (PDF) | Trackside Media Guide (Interactive PDF)
Race distances: 65 laps/199.36 miles
Push-to-pass parameters: 150 seconds of total time, with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation
Hybrid energy deployment parameters: Unlimited activation, with a maximum deployment of 610 kilojoules (kj) per lap
Firestone tire allotment: Six sets primary, four sets alternate to be used during the event weekend. Teams fielding a rookie driver may use one additional set of primary tires. Teams must use one set of primary and one set of new (sticker) alternate tires for at least two laps in the race.
X: @TheThermalClub, @INDYCAR, #ThermalGP, #INDYCARInstagram: @TheThermalClub, @INDYCAR, #ThermalGP, #INDYCARFacebook: @ThermalClub, @INDYCAR, #ThermalGP, #INDYCARTikTok: @IndyCar, #ThermalGP, #INDYCARYouTube: @INDYCAREvent website: www.thermalgp.comINDYCAR website: www.indycar.com
2024 race winner: Inaugural Event (Alex Palou won The Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge exhibition race in 2024.)
Qualifying record: Inaugural Event
FOX Sports telecast: Practice 1, 6:30 p.m. ET, Friday, FS1 (live); Practice 2, 1 p.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live);
Qualifying, 5 p.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live);
Warmup, 11 a.m. ET Sunday, FS1 (live);
Race, 3 p.m. ET Sunday, FOX (live). Will Buxton is the play-by-play announcer for FOX’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Jamie Little, Kevin Lee and Jack Harvey are the pit reporters.
INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside driver analyst Davey Hamilton. Nick Yeoman and Michael Young are the turn announcers. Jake Query, Jonathan Grace and DJ Clark are the pit reporters. The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix of race and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES practices and qualifying sessions air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation 218, indycar.com/leaderboard and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.
At-track schedule (All times local/Pacific Time):
Friday, March 213:35-4:55 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 1 (split group format), FS1
Saturday, March 2210-11 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 2 (Limited green flag guarantee of 45 minutes), FS13:35-4:55 p.m. – The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix NTT P1 Award qualifying (three rounds of knockout qualifying), FS1
Sunday, March 238:02-8:27 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warmup, FS1Noon – FOX on air12:10 p.m. – “Drivers, start your engines”12:17 p.m. – The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix (65 laps/199.36 miles), FOX (Live)
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Notes:
•The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix will be the first NTT INDYCAR SERIES points-paying event at The Thermal Club, but it won’t be the first time the series has competed on the 3.067-mile road course. Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing won The Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge exhibition race in 2024 over Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske and Felix Rosenqvist of Meyer Shank Racing.
•The Thermal Club is the third road or street circuit to debut on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES calendar since 2021. Chip Ganassi Racing drivers won the previous two debut races. Marcus Ericsson won the inaugural Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on the streets of Nashville in 2021, and Alex Palou won the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear when it debuted its new course in downtown Detroit in 2023.
•The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix will be the first of six natural terrain road course races on the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule. The other events are scheduled for Barber Motorsports Park on May 4, Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on May 10, Road America on June 22, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on July 6, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on July 27 and Portland International Raceway on Aug. 10.