Tag: NTT Indycar Series

INDY NXT by Firestone Drivers Featured at Chris Griffis Test Friday at IMS

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From Indy NXT:

  The Chris Griffis Memorial Test is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 18 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
INDY NXT by Firestone drivers will turn laps on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile circuit from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. ET.
The annual open test is named in memory of Chris Griffis, the team manager of Schmidt Peterson Motorsports who passed away suddenly in September 2011.
.WHAT: Chris Griffis Memorial Test
WHO: INDY NXT by Firestone Drivers
Abel Motorsports: Callum Hedge, Jordan Missig, Myles Rowe, Yuven Sundaramoorthy
Andretti Cape INDY NXT: Ricardo Escotto
Andretti Global: Salvador de Alba Jr., Dennis Hauger, Lochie Hughes, James Roe
HMD Motorsports: Nolan Allaer, Bryce Aron, Christian Brooks, Caio Collet, Hailie Deegan, Josh Mason, Josh Pierson, Liam Sceats, Tommy Smith
Juncos Hollinger Racing: Alexander Koreiba, Frankie Mossman
Miller Vinatieri Motorsports: Jack William Miller

WHEN: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18Noon-12:45 p.m.: Media bullpen interviews with drivers Caio Collet, Hailie Deegan, Lochie Hughes, Myles Rowe and Yuven Sundaramoorthy; Trackside Garage 25WHERE: Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course 
 

Hy-Vee Leaves Rahal

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The Rahal Letterman Lanigan off season roller coaster continues. The team has had an FBI investigation at their shop, a 1-2 finish at IMSA’s Battle of the Bricks last month, and last week announced the signing of Indy NXT champ Louis Foster. Friday, sponsor Hy-Vee said they will no longer be the primary sponsor of car 45.

The Iowa based grocery chain will continue to sponsor the Iowa IndyCar doubleheader, but they will not continue their support of the Milwaukee race.

Rumors have been floating that their car sponsorship would move to A. J. Foyt Racing, but the company statement indicated they would no longer sponsor a car.

Hy-Vee has sponsored a Rahal car since 2021. That is a fairly long time in this modern era. All sponsors cut back their involvement at some point, some gradually, some severely, and some leave the series.

Rahal said they still plan to field three cars in 2025. This decision may affect which drivers the team can hire.

Palou Tops IMS Test

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From Indycar”

 INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, Oct. 11, 2024) – There’s still one jewel missing from Alex Palou’s racing crown, but testing Oct. 11 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway showed he may be closer than ever to adding it next May.

Reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Palou has won the championship three times in the last four seasons, but he still seeks his first Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge victory. But Palou led testing on the historic 2.5-mile oval Friday with a top speed of 224.342 mph in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

.Palou’s best Indy 500 finish is second, behind Helio Castroneves’ historic fourth win in 2021. Palou earned his first “500” pole in 2023.
“It was a good day of testing,” Palou said. “We tried a lot of stuff. Yesterday was Firestone, today was more us, Ganassi and Honda. We’re happy. You want to come here, and even if you’re testing a bunch of stuff, you want to be first.”

Looming right behind Palou on the speed chart was two-time reigning Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden, second at 223.973 in the No. 2 Shell Powering Progress Team Penske Chevrolet. Rinus VeeKay was third at 223.383 in the No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda in his first day of testing with that team.

Graham Rahal was fourth at 222.650 in the No. 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda, with 2022 “500” winner Marcus Ericsson rounding out the top five at 222.324 in the No. 28 Andretti Global Honda.

Eleven car-and-driver combinations – one driver from each team – combined to turn 1,123 laps in six hours of testing Friday after four drivers tested tires Thursday afternoon for Firestone. A primary area of focus for all teams and drivers was the new hybrid system, which made its competitive debut in July 2024.

The hybrid system offers the competitors and their twin-turbo V6 engines an additional 60 horsepower. Previous iterations of the hybrid package were previously tested during the development process, but this test marked the debut of the system as it will race next May.

“I think the overtake we get (from the hybrid) is nice,” Palou said. “I think it’s good enough to set up a pass maybe in the middle of the pack. We’ll have to see.”

The 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge is Sunday, May 25, live on FOX and the INDYCAR Radio Network. Visit IMS.com for ticket and event details. 
 

Test Day 2- Midday

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Photo: A New look for the ECR 20 car

First session times:

Rinus VeeKay is testing for Dale Coyne Racing today. He talked about the difficulty of finding a full time ride for 2025 at this late date.

“…there’s a few seats, but there’s no not really. There’s not really paying seats. So for me, it’s my priority to ride full time next year, and I think no matter what, so at least you have this opportunity now to show you how I work and show the engineers how I work, and what my feedback is. They seem pretty aggressive this morning. “

It was strange seeing Alexander rossi in a different driving suit.

Cars are back on track. I am going mout to watch for a while. I will have a wrap up later today.

Day 2 of IMS Testing

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Today’s schedule:

10-12 pm: Group Test Session 1
1-5 pm: Group Test Session 2

Chevy
DRR: Hunter-Reay
ECR: Rossi
Foyt: Ferrucci
JHR: Daly
McLaren: Lundgaard
Penske: Newgarden

Honda
Andretti: Ericsson
CGR: Palou
DCR: VeeKay
MSR: Castroneves
RLL: Rahal

It will be another beautiful day to watch vars run at IMS. The turn 2 mounds are open for viewing. I will be on site this afternoon.

Yesterday morning Sting Ray Robb was scheduled to drive the 18. Yesterday afternoon, An announcement was made that Rinus VeeKay would be in the car,. I don’t know if this is a job audition for VeeKay. Time will tell.

The drivers taking part in yesterday afternoon’s tire test agree that the hybrid will probably not have much effect on the racing in May.

Siegel Completes Rookie Test

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Nolan Siegel easily completed his IMS rookie test this morning under clear skies and cool conditions. He needed to repeat the test he passed early because he failed to qualify for the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 in May. With his new ride at Arrow McLaren for 2025, qualifying should not be an issue.

“I’m going to be way better prepared this year,” Siegel said. “I’m excited to get back.”

“I’ll have more preparation, more time with the team. more time in the car, and more actual practice time here at the track.”

Siegel feels that knowing wht bhe will be doing for the next couple of years takes a lot off his plate. h ed rove seven different types of cars innthe first five months of 2024.

The four cars testing this afternoon-Marcus Ericsson, Alex Palou, Josef: Newgarden, and Pato: O’Ward will do install laps and then return at 1 pm ET to begin the testing which goes until 5 pm.

Received confirmation that Sting Ray Robb will test in the number 18 car for Dale Coyne Racing tomorrow.

ROP, Tire Testing at IMS Today

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Today’s Testing Schedule:
9 am – 12 pm: Nolan Siegel ROP

1-5 pm: Firestone Tire Test: 4 cars: Andretti: Ericsson, Ganassi: Palou, Penske: Newgarden, McLaren: O’Ward

Nolan Siegel needs to retake his rookie test since he did not make the race in 2023.

Turn 2 mounds are open for viewing. The museum is still closed, but the gift shop is open.

Notes

Adam Stern reports that IndyCar is “far along” in talks for a 2026 race in Mexico City. Hmmm.

He also reported about another big street race in the United States, which many speculate might be Denver. If three new races come on line in 2026, what gets cut? I hope no oval venues. I am fine with Iowa going back to a single race.

RLL Signs Indy NXT Champ Foster

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Rahal Lanigan Racing has signed 2024 Indy NXT champions Louis Foster to a multiyear full-time deal. It is nice to see the Indy NXT champion get a season long ride again.

The announcement from RLL:

ZIONSVILLE, Ind. (October 9, 2024) – Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) announced today that 2024 INDY NXT by Firestone champion Louis Foster, who just completed a dominant run to his second open wheel title in three years, will make his NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut with the team in 2025 as part of a multi-year deal. Details on the sponsorship for the entry will be announced at a later date.

Foster, 21, won a series-high eight of the 14 races this season in the INDY NXT Championship for Andretti Global. He led the series in wins (8), poles (7), podiums (12), laps led (362/640) and completed every lap of competition to beat Abel Motorsports’ Jacob Abel to the title by 122 points. His previous title came in the 2022 Indy Pro 2000 Series, where he won seven races en route to being named the champion in the season finale.

Foster tested an Indy car for the first time in September of 2023 with Andretti Global at Road America. RLL is currently working to solidify Foster’s test program in preparation for the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season and that may include a test later this year.

The 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season opens Sunday, March 2 on the Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, for the 21st Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. North America’s premier open-wheel series will crisscross the United States, including a stop for the 109th Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 26, before culminating in Nashville for the championship finale Sunday, August 31. All on-track action can be seen live on FOX and the INDYCAR Radio Network. For more information about the series or team, visit http://www.indycar.com and http://www.rahal.com.

QUOTEBOARD:

LOUIS FOSTER, driver for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing: “I am really looking forward to working with the team. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing have Indy 500 victories, obviously Bobby has won an Indy 500 and there is a great wealth of knowledge with the team. I want to thank Bobby, David and Mike for their faith in my abilities and I want to thank all my sponsors who have helped me achieve my dream of driving in INDYCAR, in particular Copart. I can’t wait to start my INDYCAR career with the team and hopefully we can have a long and successful career together. I’m hoping that coming off the experience gained from winning the INDY NXT championship, that will leave me in a good stance to get the ball rolling. This is where the hard work starts. We will start the preparations and make sure we get hit the ground running in St. Pete.”

BOBBY RAHAL, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing: “We are very pleased that we have been able to come to an agreement with Louis to have him drive for the team for the next several years. He obviously dominated INDY NXT in 2024 and we feel he has a big future ahead of him and are happy to support the ladder system INDYCAR has created. We look at this as a long-term relationship that will go beyond the existing terms and are very excited to get started on preparations for the 2025 season and his series debut.”

MIKE LANIGAN, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing: “We are very excited to have Louis Foster drive for us over the next few years. I look forward to watching him grow into a future INDYCAR star. He reminds me of another driver — the late, great Justin Wilson.”

About Louis Foster
Louis Foster, 21, will make his NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut in 2025. Foster was born on July 27, 2003 in Odiham, England and inherited his passion for motorsport from his father Nick, who was a former British Touring Car Championship driver. Foster began karting at the age of nine at local karting circuits Camberley Kart Club and Forest Edge Kart Club and won championships at each, in 2013 and 2015 respectively.

He made his car racing debut in the final three meetings of the 2017 Ginette Junior Championship, driving for Elite Motorsport and went on to compete in that year’s Ginetta Junior Winter Series, where he won the rookie championship.

He returned to the championship in 2018 and was a persistent title contender throughout the season. Foster claimed 19 podiums, including 9 victories, plus four pole positions and two fastest laps on his way to second place in the championship and was the top rookie. He scored the most points of any driver but lost out on the title by just eight points to teammate Adam Smalley after dropped scores were accounted for. During the campaign, Foster accrued several records: the first rookie to win three races in one weekend, the first driver to win five races in succession and the youngest driver to score an outright victory.

Following his successful stint in Ginetta Juniors, Foster moved to single-seaters when he joined Double R Racing for the 2019 F4 British Championship. He was immediately on the pace, taking victory in only the second race of the season and followed that with a strong weekend in Donington, winning two races and scoring a third-place finish in the other to give him a 17-point lead in the championship. Across the rest of the season, Foster accrued another three wins and nine podium finishes – dominating at Silverstone – to finish the year third in the championship, remaining in the title hunt until the season finale weekend at Brands Hatch.

In 2020, Louis returned to Double R Racing and stepped up to the BRDC British F3 Championship where an impressive season-long performance, including three wins, earned him the rookie championship and third place overall. For 2021, Louis raced in Europe with Motopark in Euroformula Open and finished runner up in the championship during which he won a record three wins over the event at Spa Francorchamps. His performance garnered attention and a nomination for the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award.

The 2022 season saw Louis move to the United States and race in the Indy Pro 2000 series with Exclusive Autosport. Despite racing on street circuits and ovals for the first time, Louis impressed all season long and won the championship in dominant fashion on the strength of seven wins which earned him back-to-back nominations for the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award.

He moved up to the INDY NXT by Firestone series in 2023 with Andretti Autosport and earned two wins and four poles in his rookie season. In September of that year, he also drove an Indy car for the first time at Road America. His series-high eight wins, seven poles and 12 podiums en route to the 2024 INDY NXT Championship netted a record-setting average finish of 2.07 during the season and his 10 total wins over his INDY NXT career moved him to a tie for second place to Greg Moore, who had 13. In 2023, he was selected to join the BRDC SuperStars program and remained part of this in 2024.

Texas Track Unveiled at Official Celebration

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The highlight of the celebration to welcome IndyCar to Arlington at AT&T Stadium today was the unveiling of the 2.73 mile, 14 turn track layout. The event, sxcheduled for March, 2026, is a joint venture between the Dallas Cowboys, Penske entertainment, and the Texas Rangers entertainment group, REV.

The track:

It’s not a bad layout as street courses go. I like that there is just one truly square corner, turn 14. The series will use a double-sided pit lane similar to what the Detroit race employs. I like the 0.9 mile straight on the backstretch, and there appears to be three good passing areas. I am not too sure about turn 6. It comes right after a hairpin at turn 5, and it seems to be an afterthought of a turn.

Newgarden, Palou Represent IndyCar

Josef Newgarden and Alex Palou attended today’s event as driver representatives. It was appropriate to have the current Indianapolis 500 winner and the reigning series champions present, but I have to wonder why Pato O’Ward was not invited. This race is essentially his home race, and he will likely be responsible for a lot of the ticket sales and attendance in March of 2026. Swing and a miss by IndyCar in an otherwise stellar presentation.