Tag: NTT Indycar Series

SOWERY TO MAKE SERIES DEBUT WITH DCR AT MID-OHIO

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By INDYCAR | Published: Jun 26, 2024

From Indycar

INDY NXT by Firestone veteran Toby Sowery will take over driving duties of the No. 51 Dale Coyne Racing with RWR entry for The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the 2025 Civic Hybrid on July 5-7 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Sowery will make his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES start at the Ohio track after getting his first taste of the series during a test with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing last year at Sebring International Raceway.

British driver Sowery is racing in the LMP2 class of IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup, where he finished second at the Rolex 24 At Daytona and also raced in the 12 Hours of Sebring in his debut LMP2 season. In addition to competing in the Fanatec GT World Series, he has also raced and won in LMP2 in the Asian Le Mans Series this year.

“Racing in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES is an exciting challenge for anyone, and I’m extremely fortunate to be given this opportunity by Dale (Coyne),” Sowery said. “This race adds to an already incredible season for me filled with two amazing programs in IMSA and Fanatec GT World Challenge.

“Dale Coyne has been fundamental to INDYCAR in giving drivers opportunities to prove themselves, and I am eager for this challenge. It’ll be a difficult step to make having only one day in the car over a year ago, as well as adapting to the hybrid system, but I’m up for it.”

Sowery competed in INDY NXT by Firestone in 2019 and finished third in the championship after seven podium finishes, including a win at Portland International Raceway. He returned to the series for a partial season in 2021, finishing on the podium three times.

After being crowned champion of the inaugural Radical World Finals in 2022, Sowery returned to INDY NXT in 2023 to compete in two rounds, scoring a podium finish at Barber Motorsports Park.

“I’ve been following Toby’s career for quite some time now,” Team Owner Dale Coyne said. “He’s shown that he can quickly adapt to whatever car he is driving and has a successful track record to prove it. We realize coming into the weekend at Mid-Ohio with no prior testing of the car in its hybrid form might be a steep learning curve, but we’re confident he will get up to speed quickly, and we look forward to seeing what he can do.”

Earlier in his racing career, Sowery won the MSV Formula 3 cup Championship (2014) and the MRF Series Championship (2014/15). He is a two-time BRDC McLaren Autosport Finalist (2015, 2016).

Sowery competed in the BRDC British Formula 3 series in 2016, where he finished third in the championship, and returned to the series in 2017 to finish fourth in points. He was also runner-up in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia series in 2017.

Sowery has four starts at Mid-Ohio in INDY NXT by Firestone, with four top-10 finishes, including a best finish of second.

Fellow British driver Jack Harvey will team with Sowery at Mid-Ohio in DCR’s No. 18 Honda. Live coverage of the race Sunday, July 7 starts at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

    Thoughts on the 2025 Schedule

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    Next year’s Indycar series schedule is the same, yet different. There are no new venues, but there is one less oval race. Several events have been moved, and just slightly.

    Milwaukee lost one of its races. I am glad it is still on the schedule, but I am not thrilled with the second race’s replacement, The Thermal Club. If you drop an oval, replace it with an oval. I will give the points paying version of Thermal Club a chance to see if it works, but replacing an oval with flat road course which appears to have very little personality doesn’t seem to be a great trade off.

    World Wide Technology Raceway moving to June will allow for slightly improved weather conditions, but coming right before Road America may hurt attendance at both places. Some fans may have to choose between the two. I do like having an oval race closer to the Indianapolis 500.

    While Laguna Seca will have its third date in three years, going to Portland afterwards makes sense with a week to travel in between.

    I like ending the season with two ovals. Ovals are a fairer way to decide the championship.

    The worst thing about the schedule is the August 31 end date. Take a bit of a ratings hit and run through September. Saturday races are fine with me. Fox could promote the races on their football broadcasts.

    It’s not the best schedule I’ve ever seen, but it’s not the worst either. I think this early end date will be a thing as long as Fox holds the contract.

    Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey Wrap Up

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    Photo by Kyle McInnes

    Yesterday’s race ay Weather Tech Raceway was an entertaining one with battles for the lead, differing strategies, and tire calls that looked questionable at first, but proved correct at the end. Alex Palou once again put on a clinic at a track he has come to dominate the last four years.

    Yesterday’s win was not a typical Palou beatdown. He was beaten to the second corner by Kyle Kirkwood on lap 1 and didn’t take the lead until lap 25. Although he lad 48 laps, he had to fight for the lead, and his laps in front were spread over four segments.

    Some thoughts:

    Delayed Yellow

    Marcus Armstrong spun and stopped on track on lap 74. Indycar withheld throwing the yellow so that several cars who were on an alternate strategy could make pit stops. I’ve talked about my dislike for this procedure before.

    This delayed yellow policy is dangerous and gives the pitting cars an advantage. At some point another car is going to collide with the disabled car. Indycar has been fortunate that an incident hasn’t occurred yet.

    Josef Newgarden, who had cycled to second place because of pit stops, needed one more stop. Because of the delayed yellow, which was thrown while he was in the pits, allowed him to keep his position. He did not have a second place car yesterday. He spun with two laps to go and finished 19th, a little lower than where he should have finished.

    I don’t care if it was Newgarden or some other driver, as he was not the only one still needing a final stop, but this policy is unfair. If a yellow is needed, just wave the flag. Race control should not concern itself with whether cars need to pit or not. That is a team decision. If a yellow comes out, well, that’s the way it goes.

    Off Road Adventures

    At times this weekend I thought I was watching the Baja 1,000. I don’t recall seeing so many cars go off track in one race weekend. Christian Lundgaard went airborne as went through the sand trap at the corkscrew.

    The dust clouds were commonplace all three days. may=be the track’s new pavement is still slick. Fortunately, most drivers recovered and kept going.

    Malukas, Siegel Debuts

    David Malukas and Nolan Siegel had successful debuts at Laguna Seca. Malukas drove his first race of the season for his new team, Meyer Shank Racing, and finished 16th. he ran in the top 10 most of the day.

    Nolan Siegel, in his first drive for Arrow McLaren, ironically in the car Malukas was supposed o run this season, finished 12th after starting 23rd and recovering from a spin and stall on lap 41.

    Strategies

    I love a race where pit strategies differ. On Palou’s first stop, the team decided to stay on primaries and save the alternates for the final stint. It seemed questionable at the time, but worked out as Palou was able to pull away once he regained the lead.

    Colton Herta and Alexander Rossi just missed on fuel strategy, and they had to hold back to save fuel.

    In two weeks at Mid-Ohio, the hybrid era begins. I am looking forward to seeing how the addition of this power component affects the dynamics of the racing and strategy.

    VeeKay leads Warm Up

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    Photo by Kyle McInnes

    In a wild warmup session in which Aj Foyt Racing suffered setbacks, Rinus VeeKay of Ed Carpenter racing led the field. Pole sitter Alex Palou was fourth fastest.

    Sting ray Robb spun in turns5/6 and made contact wi9th the tire barrier, causing extensive damage. Santino Ferrucci received a five minute stop and hold penalty for impeding Romain Grosjean. Ferrucci/Grosjean confrontations are a continuing thing, and Indycar needs to step in. This will not end well.

    Results

    Palou Continues Laguna Seca Mastery

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    Alex Palou continues his command at Weather Tech Raceway as he won the pole for tomorrow’s Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey. Palou entered the weekend with a podium finish in all three of his previous starts here, including a dominating win two years ago. He is so good at this track, the Hertas have made him an honorary family member.

    “It was really tough, really tight all qualifying to get to the Fast 12 and then the Fast Six,” Palou said. “It was really tricky with track conditions. As soon as there was some wind, you couldn’t really finish the lap because there was no grip.

    “Really happy. The car was on rails today, so the best starting position for tomorrow.”

    Kyle Kirkwood will start outside on the front row. Colton Herta, who was the fastest in Practice two, will start fourth.

    The biggest surprise of the day was David Malukas. In his first race of the season since he broke his wrist in preseason, Malukas took the Meyer Shank entry to the second round, He will line up 12th Sunday.

    Today’s qualifying session was one of the best i have ever seen, definitely the best of the season. Each round was close, and the leaders changed throughout each round.
    While Nolan Siegel struggled as expected, he still qualified 23rd, outqualifying veterans Jack Harvey, Sting Ray Robb, and Pietro Fittipaldi.

    Provisional Lineup

    Beginnings and Endings- Grand Prix of Monterey Preview

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    I am still sorting through all that went on last week while I was away, it nearly slipped my mind that Indycar returns to action this weekend at Laguna Seca, one of the best road courses the series runs on. The corkscrew and the drop after it makes for some great photos of Indycars performing at their best.

    The Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey has moved from the season finale to a late season race, and next year moves to its third consecutive spot on the schedule. Which series leader was that who talked about date equity?

    Despite the mid season spot, Laguna Seca 2024 is significant for a couple of reasons. It is the final race of the current engine formula of a conventional internal combustion engine. The new hybrid energy recovery system makes it debut at Mid Ohio in two weeks.

    Sunday also marks two beginnings. David Malukas, who lost his ride at Arrow McLaren earlier this year, starts his season at Meyer Shank Racing. He replaces Tom Blomqvist, who lost the seat after the Indianapolis 500.

    The twists and turns at Arrow McLaren this week have Nolan Siegel beginning his multi year deal in the number 6 car. Siegel, fresh from his class win in the Le Mans 24 hour race last Sunday, takes the spot from Theo Pourchaire, who had just been announced as that car’s driver for the rest of the season.

    It is time to go racing and put all the behind the scenes drama aside for a few days.

    The Monterey track returned to the Indycar schedule in 2019 as the season finale. In the four races since its return, Colton Herta has won twice, Scott Dixon and Alex Palou once each. Will Power clinched his second championship here in 2022.

    Sunday’s race is one of six races on USA network, and it is the final contest of a very busy day of racing.

    The track was repaved before the 2023 event, and the new pavement proved quite slippery. A year of seasoning should make Sunday a better show.

    Look for Colton Herta to finally end a frustrating streak and get another win on his home track.