Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing announced yesterday that Yuri Vips will drive the number 30 car in the final two races of the 2023 Indycar season. Vips replaces Jack Harvey, who the team dismissed after the Gallagher Grand Prix August 12.
Conor Daly drove the car last weekend in the Bommarito 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Vips is a candidate for this seat full time in 2024. The Estonian driver has competed in F2 this season.
I will have more details about this story later today.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing today announced that Conor Daly will replace Jack Harvey as the driver of car 30 for the next IndyCar race at World Wide Technology Raceway. A statement from Harvey indicated that his tenure at RLL was over.
My understanding is that the team wil audition drivers in the final two races of the season at Portland and Laguna Seca.
Jack Harvey is one of the nicest drivers in the paddock. I hope he finds a ride that is a good fit for him.
From earlier:
The Last IMS Doubleheader?
The Last IMS Doubleheader?
It has been a strange year for Daly. He began 2023 as the full driver of car 20 for Ed Carpenter Racing. He was relieved of that ride after Detroit. Daly then subbed for then injured Simon Pagenaud at Mid Ohio and Iowa. He is now driving for his third team this season. Oddly, each car he has or will drive bears a number ending in zero.
Here is the statement from RLL:
ZIONSVILLE, Ind. (August 15, 2023) – Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) announced a change to their 2023 driver lineup for the No. 30 entry today. Veteran Conor Daly will compete for the team at the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway (WWTR) on August 27. The driver for the No. 30 entry for races at Portland International Raceway and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca will be announced at a later date.
Daly has made 107 NTT INDYCAR SERIES starts since his debut in 2013 and earned his first series pole at the Iowa Speedway short oval in 2020 for Race 1. He has competed in six of the last seven INDYCAR SERIES races held at WWTR and has earned four top-10 finishes with his best being fifth in 2017.
The 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season resumes with the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 on August 26-27, which will be broadcast live on NBC beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on August 27. All on-track action can be seen on NBC’s Peacock Premium streaming service. For more information about the series or team, visit http://www.indycar.com and http://www.rahal.com.
QUOTEBOARD:
BOBBY RAHAL, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing: “First, I would like to thank Jack Harvey for all of his efforts on behalf of RLL for the last year and a half. He committed fully to the team but for whatever reason, we weren’t able to achieve the results that he or the team deserves and we wish him well in the future. We will use the final three races of the season to gauge other racing talent. I’m very pleased that Conor has agreed to join us in St. Louis. He’s been strong there and I feel that he can bring value to the team while also providing us with a strong effort. I look forward to having him with us.”
CONOR DALY, driver of the No. 30 Honda at WWTR: “It means a lot to have a chance to drive for the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team. I’ve known Bobby ever since I was a child, our families are very close. Mike Lanigan is someone that has known my dad for a long time, and I’ve known him well too. And David Letterman is a friend of our family as well so it’s very special to have the chance to drive for this organization. I will obviously do the best job that I can for them to make them proud and make their partners proud and I hope to be able to deliver everything they are looking for. I’m excited for the chance to get back behind the wheel at one of my favorite tracks at World Wide Technology Raceway.”
The turnaround of the Rahal Letterman Lanigan team since May has been nothing short of amazing-two poles, one win, five Fast Six appearances, five top 10 finishes.
The first three rows are comprised of teammates. Graham Rahal and Christian Lundgaard -RLL in row 1, Alexander Rossi and Pato O’Ward – McLaren in row 2, and Devlin DeFrancesco and Romain Grosjean -Andretti in row 3.
DeFDrancesco and Grosjean needed a strong showing as their jobs are likely on the line. They need to have a strong race as well.
Linus Lundqvist will start 14th Saturday, a little behind where he rolled off in Nashville. He continues to impress.
Jack Harvey’s eighth place qualifying run, one of his best this season, will be negated by a six place grid penalty.
Alex Palou starts ninth, which as we have seen doesn’t matter. He still starts 11 spots ahead of Josef Newgarden.
I found it odd to see a fast Six without a Ganassi or a Penske car in it. It took me a minute to realize the Fast Six had started.
I will have the official starting lineup and tire selections in the morning. I wll also have a story on the Mayer Shank news announced today. It wasn’t completely what I expected.
Note- A more ddetailed story about Christian Lundgaard and RLL will be up tomorrow morning, followed by a complete wrap up. Just wanted to egt some thoughts out there now.
Congratulations to Christian Lundgaard on his first career victory in Indycar. He has been the most solid driver on the team this year, but is starting to put it together. Lundgaard won the pole at GMR Grand Prix at IMS in May. At Mid Ohio he started fifth and finished fourth.
It is always nice to see a first time winner in the series. the genuine emotion and joy shown by Lundgaard and the entire RLL organization was a joy to watch.
The entire Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team deserves credit for thier incredible turnaround since May. This team struggled to get two of their three cars into the Indianpolis 500.
It was a richly deserved win with great stategy calls and a couple of great passes.
Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden had Alex palou right where they wanted him. He started 15th, his worst satrting spot of the year. Dixon and Newgarden were both ahead of him. With the race on a tight street course where passing is difficult, I’m sure visions of points gains danced in their heads.
So, Palou finishes second, nursing a front wing that could have fallen off at any moment, and adds seven points to his cahampionship lead.
Maybe he is bullet proof.
Four streaks ended this weekend. Alex Palou’s three race winning streak, Colton Herta’s two weekend pole streak, Will Power not being in the Fast Six, and Herta’s non podium streak.
It is hard for me to believe that Herta had not been on the poium in 2023 until today.
As for Palou, he could start another one and run to the end of the season.
I had questioned power’s competitiveness early in the year, but he has been strong since the 500.
Lundgaard joins Kyle Kirkwood as first time career winners in 2023. Their wins have something in common. Both drivers won a street race from the pole.
Romain Grosjean’s Indycar future may be hanging by a thread. Another crash today makrks his fourth finishn of 22nd or worse since May. His last top ten finish was at Barber.
How did the crews of Will Power and Marcus Ericsson get the fuel calculations so wrong?
Congratulations to Marcus Srmstrong on his seventh place finish.
Agustin canapino finsihed 12th, tying his career best set at St. Pete, but he started this weekend from 18th, his career best start. A great weekend for the Indycar rookie.
Does trouble always find Kyle Kirkwood, or does he always find trouble? He puzzles me.
Thanks for following along this weekend. A more in depth story on RLL’s journey to Victory Lane will be up tomorrow.
Photo from Penske Entertainment
Christian Lundgaard won his second pole of the season, turning his fast lap as time expired in the Fast Six. The pole is a culmination of the improvements Rahal Letterman lLanigan Racing has made the last two races. It was an entertaining qualifying, with weatherr scrambling the Fast Six.
Rain neutralized the Andretti team advantage as the team did not put a car in the Fast Six. Round 1 group1 went according to plan for the team, with Kyle Kirkwood and Romain Grosjean advancing. Colton Herta did not make it out of his group as the rain during group 2 caused him to spin, losing his best 2 laps to that point. He could never get another good lap in. Herta had won poles at the last two races.
Round 1 did not go to plan for points leader Alex Palou, who will start 15th. It is Palou’s worst starting spot of the season. His three race winning strak is in jeopardy tomorrow.
The Fast Six was run in drying conditions. Pato O’Ward startedd on the altrnates and sett several fast laps. The others- Will Power, Scott McLaughlin, Marcus Ericsson, Felix Rosenqvist, and Lundgaard, turned a lap on the rain tire then came in for alternates. O’Ward did not pit for new tires, he didn’t have enough at the end.
Thge final seconds ticked off as every driver too the lead as they crossed the line. Lundgaard secured the pole as the last car to finish.
Will Power made the Fast Six for the first time in 2023. The all time career leader still seeks his forst pole of the year.
Impressive job by Tom Blomqvist to qualify 20th in just his third session in an Indycar. He did it in rainy conditions as well.
Agustin CCanapino matched his best start at 18th, also in the rain.
There is a slight chance of rain during the race tomorrow.
The grid for tomorrow’s race has a lot of fast cars mid pack and toward the rear. Starting tire choices will be interesting The jumbled lineup should make for a fun race.
I will have the staring liineup tomorrow m\orning and a race preview.
From Inycar:
I think this a fair decision.
| Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing To Participate INDIANAPOLIS (Wednesday, May 24, 2023) – INDYCAR has announced a special session Thursday, May 25 for the No. 24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet and the No. 44 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda after an Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge practice incident Monday involving both teams. The 15-minute session will take place from 4:30-4:45 p.m. ET in preparation for final practice from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday on Miller Lite Carb Day. Graham Rahal is driving the No. 24 DRR Cusick Carekeepers Chevrolet, while Katherine Legge is behind the wheel of the No. 44 Hendrickson Honda fielded by RLL. Each team will be allowed unlimited install laps (out and in) within the time frame. They will not be allowed to stay on the track to cross the start-finish line and the Yard of Bricks. The 107th Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for Sunday, May 28 (11 a.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, Universo, INDYCAR Radio Network). |
Photo by Kyle McIness
Christian Lundgaard’s first career pole capped a rebound day for Rahal Letterman Laniugan Racing. The team has floundered this season in qualifying, but today all three drivers were in the mix in every session. All three- Lundgaard,Jack Harvey, and Graham Rahal- advance the round of 12. Lundraagd and Harvey moved on to the Fast Six. Harvey will start fourth tomorrow and Rahal lines up eighth.
Felix Rosenqvist starts second on Saturday, missing the pole bu just0.0027 seconds. The difference between Lundgaard’s time and sixth place Kyle Kirkwood was 0.2971 seconds, one of the closest since the Fast 6 format began.
Round 2 feaqtured all of the drivers from three different teams. I don’t recall three entire teams making the round of 12 before. The complete squad from Ganassi-Scott Dixon, Alex palou, Marcus Ericsson, and Marcus Armstrong; all the Arrow McLaren drivers- Pato O’Ward, Alexander Rossi, and Rosenqvist; and the Rahal crew.
Kyle Kirkwood from Andretti and Will Power from Penske filled out the 12 spots. Kirkwood advanced.
Five poles have been awarded this season, but none to a Penske driver. Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin each have a fourth place start, and McLaughlin also has a sixth place in qualifying. New garden has yet to make a Fast Six on a road or street course.
Today was the worst qualifying day of the ear for Andretti. Colton Herta’s oil line fire in the morning practice seemed to set the tone for the day. Kirkwood was the only driver to advance to the second round.. Romain Grosjean, who has twompoles this season, will satrt 18th.
Indycar fans got their exercise by jumping to a conclusion about Rahal Letterman Lanigan racing this week. First Jack Harvey, injured in a lap 42 accident at St. Pete, was finally cleared to drive again.
A few days later, the team announced that2022 Indy Lights champion Linus Lundqvist will get an oval test April3 at Texas, the day after the Indycar race there. Lundqvist was caught in a lowering of the champion award money which didn’t give him enough funding to secure an Indycar ride. Rahal said that they will see about entering him in a few races later in the year.
It would be easy to conclude that RLL is preparing a replacement for Jack Harvey at the end of the year. I’m not ready to make that leap yet, but Harvey’s inauspicious start to a make-or-break season certainly adds fuel to that suspicion. The next race at Texas is the one Harvey sat out in 2022 after suffering a concussion in a practice crash.
We will see how this plays out, but I look for a fourth Rahal entry at some races after May. I’m excited to see what Lundqvist can do. meanwhile, Let’s see if Harvey can turn his fortunes around.
Mark Miles went to Argentina to check out a track for a possible Indycar race. Ricardo Juncos has been pushing for the series to race in his home country. In November Juncos held demonstration runs with Augustin Canapino which drew large crowds.
Track designer Tony Cotman accompanied Miles on the trip.
A race in South America needs to make perfect financial sense for the teams, the series, and the schedule. The gap between St. Pete and Texas would be the ideal spot for this race. There is plenty of time for transport back and forth, and it wouldn’t interfere with the rest of the schedule.
While I am not against an Argentina event, I’d rather the series focus on bringing back Milwaukee and adding other tracks in the United States. Indycar badly needs a race in the Northeast.
Jack Harvey, injured in a crash during the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg March 5, has still not been medically cleared to drive. The driver of the number 30 car for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing will miss today’s team test at Barber Motorsports Park.
The nature of the injury is not known, but I believe it has something to do with his wrists.
Juri Vips, a former F2 driver, will fill in today. Harvey will be reevaluated before the Texas race. In 2022 he missed the Texas race after suffering a concussion in the final practice.
Harvey was rumored to be in a make or break year, and the injury and missing time in the car is not helping his cause. Vips also tested with the team last October.
The airport in St. Petersburg is getting another look by the mayor’s office for a possible conversion to another use. When Ken Welch became mayor two years ago, surveys were conducted to see if the city could make better use of thland. Now, the process is beginning again. One of the runways serves as the front stretch and pits for the Grand Prix.
The race has just extended its agreement with Indycar for two more years. It will take at least that long for any plans to surface, so I wouldn’t be concerned just yet.
I remember the first time this subject came up, something was mentioned about the FAA having a say in the matter. Stay tuned, but for now, we’re still racing in St. Pete.
This weekend’s Mobil 12 Hours of Sebring will feature five full time Indycar drivers and a driver entered in the Indianapolis 500. Three of the drivers are from Andretti Autosport- Devlin DeFrancesco in the number 51 LMP 2 car, Kyle Kirkwood in the Vasser-Sullivan Lexus number 14 GTD Pro, and Romain Grosjean in the number 3 Lamborghini, also in GTD Pro.
Scott Dixon will drive the 01 Cadillac GTP for Ganassi, and Helio Castroneves will drive for his Indycar boss, Mike Shank, in the number 60 GTP Acura.
Katherine Legge will drive car 66, an Acura NSX, in the GTD class.
I will have more Sebring coverage later this week.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 