Thrilled that Milwaukee is back. I wonder if they’re aiming for an Iowa style weekend. Fans who clamored for this track’s return better show up.
There is still a one month gap between the first two points paying races of the season, despite the Thermal exhibition in between them.
I am also excited that Gateway and Iowa will have night races again. These two tracks have much better races at night.
No Texas, although a notice went out last night implying that it would be on the schedule.
Just 9 races on NBC, down from 13 in 2023 and 14 in 2022. One of the NBC events is the Thermal exhibition, which means just half the schedule on the network that draws the most viewers.
Two oval doubleheaders. Is that too many? It does put one more oval race on the schedule.
I understand the three-week Olympics break. Understanding doesn’t mean that I am happy about it.
INDIANAPOLIS (Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023) – Alex Palou was honored for his second NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship during the Victory Lap Celebration on Sept. 21, the headline of an incomparable 2023 season for Chip Ganassi Racing. Palou dominated this season to earn another title to join his 2021 championship for Chip Ganassi Racing. He won a series-high five races in the No. 10 The American Legion Honda, with a total of 10 podium finishes in 17 races. Palou finished eighth or better in all 17 races this season and became the first INDYCAR SERIES driver to clinch the championship at least one race early since Sebastien Bourdais in 2007. Spanish driver Palou won the Astor Challenge Cup for the title by 78 points over teammate and six-time series champion Scott Dixon, earning the 15th INDYCAR SERIES championship for Chip Ganassi Racing and the organization’s third in the last four seasons. Palou was one of six members of Chip Ganassi Racing to receive special honors at the ceremony, which took place at the Gallagher Pavilion at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Marcus Armstrong of New Zealand received the Rookie of the Year Award as the top-finishing first-year driver in the standings. Armstrong scored five top-10 finishes in just 12 starts in the No. 11 Ridgeline Lubricants Honda to surpass full-time rookie Agustin Canapino of Juncos Hollinger Racing by 34 points in the standings. Team owner Chip Ganassi accepted the Championship Owner Award, and Palou’s chief mechanic, Ricky Davis, was presented the Pennzoil Chief Mechanic Award. Additional season honors for the Ganassi team included the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Team Manager award to Barry Wanser and Blair Julian. The awards haul was a reward for a dominant year by Indianapolis-based Chip Ganassi Racing. The team achieved the unprecedented feat of taking the top two spots in the driver standings and winning the Rookie of the Year title in one season. While Palou’s winning margin in the driver standings was the largest since 2016, the Manufacturers Award race came down to the final laps at the season finale Sept. 10 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Chevrolet edged Honda by just 16 points to win its second consecutive engine manufacturer title and eighth overall since it returned to the series in 2012. Mark Stielow, General Motors director of motorsport competition engineering, accepted the award on behalf of the Chevrolet team. A successful first season with a rebrand and Firestone sponsorship for INDYCAR’s development series also was recognized at the Victory Lap Celebration, as Christian Rasmussen of HMD Motorsports was honored as 2023 INDY NXT by Firestone champion. Rasmussen won a series-high five of the 14 races this season in the No. 6 HMD Motorsports with DCR entry. He beat Andretti Autosport’s Hunter McElrea to the title by 65 points. Danish driver Rasmussen’s HMD teammate, Nolan Siegel, was named INDY NXT by Firestone Rookie of the Year. Siegel, from Palo Alto, California, finished third in the series standings with two victories.
Yesterday’s signing of Kyffin Simpson by Chip Ganassi Racing was a surprise and leaves me with some concerns. His age, for one, is concerning. Another concern is that he was 10th in the IndyNXT series this past season with just two podiums. I have never figutrd out how some IndyNXT drivers leapfrog over others with bretter performances to Indycar.
Simpson has won in sportscars and by all accounts has talent. Indycar is a different game. I hope he is ready.
Juncos Has a Problem
The firestorm of threats and insults hurled at Callum Ilott after the Indycar finale at Laguna Seca is completely unacceptable. This is the second time this year that fans of Agustin Canapino have been angered by Ilott husting their driver’s race.
Yes, we all get angry when a driver ruins our favorite driver’s race. But death threats are not acceptable under any circumstances.
Juncos Hollinger Racing did not help the situation with a weakly worded statement attempting to condemn the comments. The mild statement looked even worse the day after when the Minnesota Vikings posted a strongly worded condemnation of fans ‘ comments regarding one of their players who apparently made a misplay during the game.
How can Ilott continue to drive for a team which will not give him their full support? I hope Ricardo Juncos sits down with Callum and talks this out. I have left jobs when I didn’t have full support of my employer.
Carpenter Short List
Monday at Barber Ed Carpenter racing will test IndyNXT champion Christian Rasmussen and Oliver Askew in a tryout for the 20 car for 2024.
Once again we see the Indy NXT champion without a ride while another driver from the junior series is already signed. I don’t know the solution to this issue, but it needs to be addressed. Right now, except for the honor, winning the NXT championship doesn’t carry any weight as far as moving up.
Askew, the 2019 Indy Lights champion, drove 13 races in 2020 for Arrow Mclaren SP with three top 10s and one podium. He had a hard crash at the Indianapolis 500 and after the next four races withdrew from the team with concussion like symptoms. He drove one race for Ed Carpenter Racing in 2021 and also drove three races for Rahal letterman Lanigan Racing later that year. Askew earned a top 10 result for RLL. The team decide to give the ride full time to Christian Lundgaard.
On the Move
The IMS Museum has begun to move the cars out of the basement in preparation for the renovation which begins in November. I thought it was exciting to see the cars on the news as they go to wherever it is they are being stored.
I think the museum could have made a bigger deal of this with maybe a staged procession and invited fans to watch. The cars that are permanently on the display deserve a ceremonial exit.
The Lionheart
Heartland International Film Festival, my second favorite Indianapolis event, will premiere The Lionheart, a documentary about Dan Wheldon, October 5, at Newfields. Tickets are $20. Go to https://www.heartlandfilm.org/festival to purchase tickets.
INDY NXT by Firestone standout Kyffin Simpson will jump to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES with Chip Ganassi Racing for the complete 2024 season, team officials announced Sept. 18.
Simpson, who joined CGR as a development driver in May 2022, competed in INDY NXT by Firestone for the past two seasons. This year, Simpson registered two top-three finishes, standing on the podium at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
Simpson, a native of the Cayman Islands, also competes in the European Le Mans Series, where he and his two teammates lead the LMP2 championship standings with three races remaining, thanks in part to their impressive 4 Hours of Le Castellet victory. This year, Simpson also captured sports car victories at IMSA’s Twelve Hours of Sebring race (LMP2 class victory; P3 overall) and the Asian Le Mans Series’ 4 Hours of Dubai race (LMP2 class; overall victory).
“It’s been incredible working with Chip Ganassi Racing as their development driver over the last couple years, and I’ve been able to learn so much,” Simpson said. “I am very excited to be making the next step to INDYCAR with this team.
“I had a great time at the test, and I can’t wait to get back in the car. It’s been my dream to race in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, and it’s an honor to make it happen now with one of the best teams in the series. I’m really looking forward to working more closely with the entire team and the drivers. I want to give all the glory to God, and I also want to thank Chip (Ganassi) and Mike (Hull) for giving me this opportunity, Ridgeline Lubricants and The American Legion for their support, and, of course, my family.”
Simpson drove an INDYCAR SERIES car for the first time in January 2023 with CGR at a Sebring International Raceway test.
At 18, Simpson is scheduled to be the youngest driver on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES grid next season.
Simpson will round out the Chip Ganassi Racing lineup for the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, joining six-time champion Scott Dixon, two-time champion Alex Palou, 2023 Rookie of the Year Marcus Armstrong and 2022 INDY NXT by Firestone champion Linus Lundqvist.
“We welcome Kyffin as a teammate to our INDYCAR program,” CGR Managing Director Mike Hull said. “He has been integrated into a Chip Ganassi Racing multiyear defined development program, which now provides the opportunity at open-wheel’s highest level. He has already tested an INDYCAR SERIES car, with more to follow as an INDY NXT by Firestone graduate. In addition, he is already a proven winner in IMSA at the 12 Hours of Sebring in LMP2 and on an LMP2 global stage in the ALMS and ELMS series.”
Before advancing to INDY NXT and sports car competition, Simpson won the 2021 Formula Regional Americas Championship after earning seven wins, two pole positions and 13 total podiums.
Good morning from IMS. Today sports cars return to the Speedway after a nine year absence. The cars running tis weekend are very different from the Grand Am cars that raced here from 2012-2014. 48 cars across five classes are entered in the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks. If you’re not familiar with the IMSA Weather Tech series, there are several former Indycar and Indy Lights drivers who are now racing this weekend. Several teams are run by Indycar owners as well. This weekend we will see some racing after dark in the Michelin Pilot Series Saturday night. It is a prlude to next year’s IMSA race which is rumored to be a six hour race which will end after dark.
Drivers
Former Indianapolis 500 drivers include Sebastien Bourdais, Jack Hawksworth, Katherine Legge, Gabby Chaves, and Ben Hanley. Former Indy Lights drivers Aaron Telitz and Garrett Grist also drive in the series. I have heard that Devlin DeFrancesco may drive an LMP2 car, but that has not been confirmed.
Sebastien Bourdais at the test this summer.
Wickens Returns
Robert Wickens makes his racing return to IMS in the Michelin Pilot Series. Wickens, paralyzed in a 2018 accident at Pocono, drives a Hyundai Elantra (number 33). The series has a four hour race tomorrow afternoon.
Owners
Team Penske (Porsche), Chip Ganassi Racing (Cadillac), Rahal Letterman lLaniugan Racing (BMW), and Meyer Shank Racing (Acura) run in the GTP class. Andretti Global partners with Wayne Taylor Racing (Acura).
Penske Porsche
Vasser Sullivan has a Lexus in each of the GTD and GTD Pro categories.
Vasser Sullivan Racing
The Porsche Carrera Cup and Lamborghini Super Trofeo Series are also running at IMS. I wish Mazda MX-5 were here as well.
I will be mainly covering the IMSA series this weekend, but if something noteworthy comes up in another series I will post it. I will also be watching Robert Wicknes’ progress.
Photo: What the field saw for most of the last four races.
A few More items to complete the books on 2023:
McLaren, Andretti Lack Consitency
Entering the season, Ganassi, Team Penske, Andretti Autosport, and Arrow McLaren were considered the Big Four teams. It turns out this year was the year of the Big Two. Both McLaren and Andretti were inconsistent, each having flashes of greatness, but except for Kyle Kirkwood’s two wins, neither team put a full race together.
Arrow Mclaren’s entire season seemed to deflate at St. Pete, when Pato O’Ward’s engine had a small hiccup as he approached the white flag. The team seemed to lose any momentum they had. How different would the championship battle look if O’Ward had won the season opener? he was in a position to win at Texas, Indianapolis, and Laguna Seca. Yellow and red flags appeared to stymie his chances. each time. Felix Rosenquist earned two poles, at Texas and Laguna Seca, but he faded quickly at both races. Alexander Rossi had a decent year as a driver moving to a new team, and he should be stronger in 2024.
Kirkwood’s two wins were the highlight of a difficult season for Andretti. Their top three drivers- Romin Grosjean, Colton Herta, and Kirkwood- won a combined five pokes. Like Mclaren, poles were not converted to race wins. Herta seemed especially snake bitten, either penalties or bad pit stops taking him out of contention. Kirkwood and Grosjean were inconsistent. The addition of Marcus Ericsson should improve the team’s performance in 2024.
Race Control
The theme of this post is inconsistency. Throughout most of the season, I had no idea what race control was doing. Delayed yellow flags so everyone could pit, allowing cars to get in the pits before throwing the yellow, unnecessary red flags (see Indianapolis 500) made it very confusing to know the situation.
The delayed yellow flag is a dangerous precedent. I guess they are not going to change it until a car runs into the disabled machine. This situation is completely avoidable by throwing the yellow immediately. Will someone’s race be ruined? Maybe. It’s called the breaks of the game.
I will not repeat my full red flag rant again, but I will say red flags are for safety, not to create entertainment. I’ll stop here before this column becomes six pages long.
My hope is that over the off season race control refines procedures for cautions abn starts and restarts. Some green flags should have been called off this season. Sunday’s start was the most glaring example. A rethink of restart zones at certain tracks is also in order.
A Huge Thank You
I want to thank everybody who took time to read this little post and followed along all season. It was fun to cover in spite of the medical issue I incurred mid season. I am fine now.
My season is not quite done. I will be on site with coverage of the Battle on the Bricks IMSA race at IMS this weekend. It will be my first time covering this series, and I’m looking forward to it.
I will be here all winter and I have several stories planned, so please come back in the coming months.
A season which began and ended in chaos had some good racing in between, and produced a champion and runner up who were models of consistency. As in any season, some teams shined, and others disappointed.
Alex Palou ran away with the title, finishing no worse than eighth in any race to fortify his five wins. Teammate Scott Dixon only finished outside of the top seven just one time. That may have been the difference in the championship.
I am always sad to see an Indycar season come to a close, but this off season promises to be very busy. There are still seven to eight seats for 2024 still up for grabs, and testing may be increased as the new hybrid component comes on board. Before we look ahead to 2024 let’s take a look back at the just completed season.
Chaotic Opener and Closer
The season began with a first lap pileup at St. Pete which featured Benjamin Pedersen in the air. The race would have a total of three multicar incidents, but it ended with a great finish as Marcus Ericsson passed Pato O’Ward at the white flag.
The new Detroit Grand Prix had its share of mayhem as well with 32 of the 100 laps run under caution. This track needs some tweaks to be raceable.
Sunday saw 35 of 95 yellow laps as drivers tried to get a handle on the new surface. I felt restart zone could have been in a better spot to prevent crashes when the race resumed.
Ganassi Team Dominates
It’s good to be a Chip Ganassi Racing driver. Alex Palou won five times on the way to the title. Scott Dixon, who looked just average at midseason, won three of the last four races and clinched second in the points at Portland as Palou sealed the title. Marcus Ericsson won a race and finished sixth in the standings. While he did not win a race, Marcus Armstrong won Rookie of the Year despite driving in only 12 races. 2023was a Ganassi sweep.
Rahal Renaissance
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing drivers languished through the first hqalf of the season. Christian Lundgaard won the pole at the GMR Grand Prix in May as the only highlight of the first third of the year.
The embarrassment of Graham Rahal not qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 as the three drivers fought each other for the last sparked immediate changes in the team. Whatever they did wo0rked. Lundgaard won the pole and the race at Toronto. Rahal won two poles in the last four races.
It i difficult to turn a team around in midseason. What RLL did was amazing. They are the team i respect the most this season.
Power Shortage
Will Power did not win a race after winning the championship in 2022. He won just two poles, both at Iowa on an oval. Power, the career leader in poles, made just one Fast Six on road and street courses.
I look for Power to came back with a strong season next year.
Newgarden Wins 500, Sweeps Iowa, Then Fades Away
Josef Newgarden had things going his way the first half of the season. He won the Indianapolis 500, then swept the doubleheader at Iowa. His chance to sweep all the ovals ended with wall contact at World Wide Technology Raceway. It was Newgarden’s second straight 25th place finish, essentially ending his title hopes. Sunday he finished 21st.
Newgarden fell to fifth in the final standings, matching his worst finish in the last four years. He might just win the title in 2024.
New Winners
Despite the dominance of the Ganassi drivers. two drivers joined the winners’ club. Kyle Kirkwood won at Long Beach and Nashville, while Christian Lundgaard took the checkered at Toronto.
There is a lot more to talk about. I will continue the season review later today.
Scott Dixon did it again. One of these days the series will learn not to give him a penalty- or two- as he received today. It seems to motivate Dixon and his team. Dixon won three of the final four races and finished second in then points.
The tone for the race was set when control chose to start the race despite several cars, notably Colton Herta, jumping out of line. It looked like a start that should have been waved off to me.
The chaos throughout the race was caused by a couple of things. It was the last race of the season, and most drivers had nothing to fight for. The new track surface- slippery and fast- caused problems all weekend. The thing I didn’t understand is why the start/restart zone was in the last urn. If it is brought onto the straight, many of the yellows may have been avoided.
Once again, Pato O’Ward was a victim of untimely yellow flags while leading. I will say, to be fair, his tire strategy played a part in it too today. The yellows somewhat dictated that, but the team has struggled most of the year with pit calls.
It was a great day for Juncos Hollinger Racing. Callum Ilott ran as high as third before falling to fifth. Agustin Canapino was in the top 10 until a late off road excursion dropped him to 14th.
Newgarden Swoon– Since sweeping the double header at Iowa, Josef Newgarden’s finishes over the last five races were fourth at Nashville, 25th at the IMS road course, 25th at Gateway, fifth at Portland, and 21st today. Newgarden ended the season in fifth place.
It was a tough last drive for Helio Castroneves. He was involved in several contact situations, and he spent a lot of time in the gravel, but still soldiered home in 13th on the lead lap.
Scott McLaughlin overcame the lap 1 incident and some other contact to finish second and place third in the final standings. Mclaughlin was my preseason pick to win the championship this year.
hat is it for me tonight. I will have some more thoughts this race and the season tomorrow. Thanks for following along this weekend and all season.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 