Tag: NTT Indycar Series

Quick Thoughts- Just Another Day at Work for Alex Palou

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Photo by Kyle McInnes

It was a fun race for the first two laps. Christian Lundgaard made a great move to get past Alex Palou and led most of the first half of the race.

Cars were banging into each other, running opponents off the road, and fighting for position. Then the race fell into a processional F1 style event.

the race came down to pit strategy, and that’s where Palou gained the advantage. He made his final stop before his two closest pursuers, Lundgaard and Will Power, and didn’t look back.

Alex Palou talks about his win.

The late yellow was not a problem as Palou pulled away to six second lead a the finish over Power.

Overall, it was a typical IMS road course race, a bland appetizer to what should be a delicious entree in two weeks.

Notes

Josef Newgarden has had two straight finishes below 15th place. His chances of winning the championship are fading quickly.

Colton Herta improved 17 positions to finish seventh.

The last time DHL was the sponsor on a winning car was 2018 at Sonoma. Ryan Hunter-Reay won for Andretti.

Six different teams placed cars in the top 10- Ganassi -3; Penske-2; RLL_ 2; Andretti, McLaren, and MSR 1 each.

Palou leads Power by 12 points in the championship. We have seen this movie before.

Like 2023, Palou has a chance to be the third driver to complete a May sweep. Will Power and Simon Pagenaud accomplished this feat in 2018 and 2019 erespectively.

If your last name begins with P, younhave a great shot at winning this race. Power, POagenaud, and Palou have 10 wins combined on this track.

Thanks for following along this weekend. I can’t wait for the next two weeks.

Armstrong Fastest in Warmup; O’Ward Loses Engine

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Marcus Armstrong turned the quickest lap, 1:09.8485, in the 30 minute warmup session for this afternoon’s 85 lap Sonsio Grand Prix.

The session ran green untill the final minute when Pato O’Ward lost an engine. McLaren is also changing the engine on Alexander Rossi’s car.

Santino Ferrucci seemed to push Romain Grosjean up close to the outside wall.

NBC goes on air at 3 pm Eastern. Green flag is at 3:45 pm.

Results

Race Day at IMS

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Today’s schedule and gate information from IMS:

Saturday, May 11

INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, May 10, 2024) – Information about Sonsio Grand Prix track activity Saturday, May 11 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway:

SCHEDULE (All times local):

7:30 a.m.-6 p.m.: Public gates open

7:55-8:40 a.m.: USF Pro 2000 Race 2

8:55-9:35 a.m.: USF2000 Race 2

11:15-11:45 a.m.: NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warm-up

Noon-12:45 p.m.: USF Pro 2000 Race 3

1:10-2:05 p.m.: INDY NXT by Firestone Race 2 (35 laps/55 minutes)

3:45-5:40 p.m.: NTT INDYCAR SERIES Sonsio Grand Prix (85 laps)

TICKETS: $50 for General Admission. $64 for flex ticket seating in Northwest Vista (Sections 11-20), Southwest Vista (Sections 1-10), North Vista ADA (Sections 26-30), Tower Terrace (Sections 37-47, 75-79) and Paddock (Sections 9-14). Children 15 and under are admitted free with flex ticket paying adult. Reserved seats range from $59-$129.

PUBLIC GATES OPEN (7:30 a.m.-6 p.m.): Gate 1, Gate 2, Gate 3, Gate 4, Gate 6S, Gate 7, Gate 7S, Gate 9, Gate 10, Gate 10A, Gate 11A.

PARKING: Paid public parking is available in Lot 1A, Lot 2 and Main Gate lots for $20. Gate 1 Lot parking is available for $50. Motorcycle parking is also available at South Carousel Lot for $20. Paid ADA parking is available in Lot 3P and Lot 2 for $20 and in Gate 1 parking for $50. Infield car parking is located inside Turn 3 for $25. Free parking is located in Lot 7 (North 40).

CASHLESS OPERATIONS: The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a cashless facility. Please be prepared to complete your ticket, credentials, parking, concession and merchandise purchases with ease during your event via debit or credit card.

Tap-to-pay phone payments will be accepted, as will credit and debit transactions. Cash-to-Card machines, which convert paper money onto a temporary debit card, will be located in Pagoda Plaza and outside Turn 1 by concessions stand 7. These funds can be spent inside the venue, outside the venue, online or anywhere in the world where Mastercard/Visa debit cards are accepted.

MUSEUM: The IMS Museum is closed for a major renovation, reopening in April 2025. To learn more, please visit imsmuseum.org/renovation.

Palou on Pole

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Photo Kyle McInnes

Alex Palou started the Fast Six Round by going off track into the grass. He came back to win the pole for tomorrow’s Sonsio Grand Prix by edging Christian Lundgaard by 0.09 seconds.

Palou is the defending winner of this race.

Team Penske teammates Will Power and Josef Newgarden will start in row two.

The Fast Six saw four different strategies from the teams, some starting on primaries while others used reds for the entire six minutes. Newgarden started on scuffed reds, then he switched to sticker reds.

Pato O’Ward gambled and waited until the second half of the session to record a lap, He will start fifth.

Lundgaard has a stellar starting record for the grand prix. he has started 4th, 8th, 6th, 1st, 2nd and 2nd.

For the first time this year Felix Rosenqvist did not make it to the final round. He did advance to round 2 and will start 10th.

I will have more tomorrow morning. Thanks for following along today.

Indycar warmup is at 11:15 tomorrow morning and the green flag is at 3:45.

Results:

Lundgaard Leads Second Practice

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Photo by Kyle McInnes

Christian Lundgaard edged Will Power near the end of practice 2. One red flag stopped the session when Jack Harvey spun and stalled. Despite the lack of spins, several drivers, notably Josef Newgarden, were constantly fighting the steering wheel. Maybe it’s the cooler temperatures, but several cars had noticeable slides through turn 1

Will Power finished second this afternoon and was third this morning. He has to be the favorite for the pole later.

Notes

The new video screens on the fence are a great addition. They are positioned so as not to block views of the track. The picture is sharp, and there doesn’t seem to be any glare from the sun.

I noticed two Grab n Go kiosks in addition to the permanent one in the plaza.

Results

Qualifying groups will be out soon. Qualifying begins at 4:20 pm Eastern

Herta Tops Practice 1

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Photo by Kyle McInnes

Colton Herta grabbed the top spot in the last 10 minutes of practice for the Sonsio Grand Prixs in a session halted by three red flags.

The fast lap swapped hands often in the last 30 minutes with Pato O’Ward, Will Power, and Agustin Canapino taking a turn at the top of the pylon. Canapino finished with the second best lap, just 0.08 seconds behind Herta.

Josef Newgarden led the largest part of the 76 minutes before Rinus VeeKay snatched the lead. Newgarden spun bringing out the first red flag.

Graham Rahal appeared to have lost an engine soon after practice resumed.

Marcus Armstrong stalled on track and the red flew again. AZrmstrong completed just two laps.

All three red flags occurred in the first 45

minutes of the session.

Theo pourchaire stopped on track with about two minutes left, but Indycar allowed the session to finish.

The top six were separated by 0.01922 seconds.

Notes:

The Andretti throwback cars don’t look that much different than their regular liveries. I was hoping they would have put the nose numbers in a circle to give more of throwback feel.

The next practice for Indycar is at 1:10 pm Eastern. I is a one hour window with 45 minutes of practice guaranteed.

Scott McLaughlin is driving the best looking car this weekend.

My photo

Results:

Race Preview- Sonsio Grand Prix

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Today’s schedule:

7:30 AM – 7:00 PM

GATES OPEN

7:55 AM – 8:25 AM

COOPER TIRES USF2000 QUALIFICATIONS

8:40 AM – 9:10 AM

USF PRO 2000 QUALIFICATIONS

9:30 AM – 10:45 AM

NTT INDYCAR SERIES PRACTICE 1

11:00 AM – 11:50 AM

INDY NXT PRACTICE 1

11:30 AM – 12:15 PM

NTT INDYCAR SERIES AUTOGRAPH SESSION

12:10 PM – 12:50 PM

COOPER TIRES USF2000 RACE 1

12:45 PM – 1:15 PM

INDY NXT AUTOGRAPH SESSION

1:10 PM – 2:10 PM

NTT INDYCAR SERIES PRACTICE 2

2:30 PM – 3:00 PM

INDY NXT QUALIFICATIONS

3:15 PM – 4:00 PM

USF PRO 2000 RACE 1

4:20 PM – 5:50 PM

NTT INDYCAR SERIES QUALIFICATIONS

6:20 PM – 7:15 PM

INDY NXT RACE #1

It is finally May in Indianapolis today as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway opens for the first of three straight weekends of activity leading up to the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500.

The Grand Prix began in 2014 as a way to bolster May attendance numbers. In that regard it has been a success. The race itself generally draws around 40,000 fans. In 2023, it seemed to be the biggest crowd since the inaugural event.

The weekend also provides a showcase for the Road to Indy and Indy NXT.

Back to the Proper Amount of Races

Saturday’s race will be the only time Indycar races on the IMS road course in 2024. Before the pandemic that was the case. In 2020, three road courses were on the schedule. The July 4 race was followed by a double header in October.

From 2021-2023, in addition to the May opener, Indycar raced on the road course as part of the NASCAR Brickyard weekend. Mercifully, those days are over. It was insulting to see Indycar treated like the unwanted guest at a family gathering at its track.

We are now back to one road race and the 500 at IMS. Two races is the proper amount for Indycar here. I hope it stays this way.

Tires and Rain

Apologies to James Taylor. This race comes down to tire strategy and weather. In 2021 Rinus VeeKay won by using the alternate tires on his last stop after Romain Grosjean went to a primary set.

Simon Pagenaud beat Scott Dixon in2019 in one of the best races of this event when Dixon’s tires wore out. Rain was also a factor in that race, which added to the fun.

Rain and tires were both a factor in 2022 when Ciolton Herta went to slicks during an early caution and battled a slippery car through off and on rain showers.

There is a slight chance for rain Saturday afternoon. This could be a fun race.

Qualifying is Key

As on any road course, qualifying up front is important on the IMS road circuit. So far in 2024, qualifying has been a battle between Team Penske and Felix Rosenqvist. I would add Graham Rahal into the mix as well. Rahal won the pole last August, and he has two second place finishes on this track.

I think it is time for Alex Palou to win his first race of the year Saturday. If he does, he has a very good chance to become the third driver to complete the May Sweep.