Simon Pagenaud led the first practice for the Acura Grand prix of Long Beach this afternoon with a lap 1:07.1991edging Alexander Rossi by 0,402 seconds. Scott McLaughlin, looking to keep his run of front row starts for 2021 intact, was third, just seven hundredths behind Rossi. Pagenaud’s time is less than a second slower than the track record of 1:05.2254.
Drivers were surprised at the grip level.
“We were all surprised by the level of grip we had already,” 2021 series champion Alex Palou said. “On the first timing lap, we were doing 69 (1:09), 68 (1:08). It was really grippy. I don’t know if it’s all the rubber from the tires from the other series or just the heat, but it’s super nice to drive. We’re enjoying every lap.”
The temperature was in the upper 90s for the session, and the temperature tomorrow is expected to be in the low 70s. The speed will probably be there, but we might see different cars up front.
Jimmie Johnson brought out the first of two red flags when he bottomed while crossing a curb on the inside of Turn 5, launching his car nose-first into the tire barrier.
Dalton Kellett spun in his No. 4 K-LINE/AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet with about 15 minutes left in the session in Turn 5 and backed lightly into the tire barrier.
Pato O’Ward clipped the wall and limped back to the pits. He returned late in the session.
The time sheet:
I will have more about the day at Long Beach in my Saturday preview tomorrow morning.
The only practice session before qualifying for tomorrow’s Expel 375 began under sunny skies and cool temperatures. The air temperature was 57 degrees when the session started.
Simon Pagenaud led the se3ssion with a best lap of 223.087 miles per hour. Felix Rosenqvist was 0.0218 mph behind. Colton Herta finished third, 0,0314 mph back.
The surprise of the session was Callum Ilott. The rookie driver for Juncos Hollinger Racing had the fourth fastest time with a speed of 222,257 mph. Texas is Ilott’s first career oval race.
Cars mostly avoided the higher groove where the PJ-1 compound had been applied. TMS has run graters over the surface in an attempt to grind the compound off and this afternoon seven cars will run their cars with a lot of down force to try to put more Firestone rubber down in those areas. We may not know if the efforts truly worked until the race tomorrow.
Some track action during practice:
Practice got off to a disjointed start with two yellow flags for seven minutes and 11 seconds within the first fifteen minutes. The remainder of the round was green.
The winners of the two races in 2021, Scott Dixon and Pato O’Ward, finished sixth and seventh, respectively.
The top 14:
Qualifying begins at 2 pm Eastern time on Peacock.
Meyer Shank Racing seems to have taken it upon themselves to uphold then honor of the older drivers,. 2019 Indianapolis 500 winner Simon Pagenaud had the fastest time Tuesday in the second day of testing at Sebring International Raceway.
Four time and defending Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves had the second fastest time, giving Meyer Shank Racing the top two spots on the chart.
Last year’s wave of young drivers may still grab most of the attention in season, but Pagenaud and Castroneves may have something for them.
Defending NTT Indycar Series champion Alex Palou was sixth fastest Tuesday.
2021 Indy Lights champion Kyle Kirkwood was the fastest rookie Tuesday with the fifth quickest lap.
Pataskala, Ohio (27 September 2021) – INDYCAR SERIES Champion and winner of the 2019 Indianapolis 500 Simon Pagenaud will join Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) for the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Championship driving the No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda. Pagenaud will team with four-time Indianapolis 500 champion Helio Castroneves in the No. 06 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda.
Pagenaud will be joining MSR which has grown its presence in the series continuously since it’s series debut in 2017 with a one-off entry in the 2017 Indianapolis 500. In five short years, MSR won the prestigious 2021 Indianapolis 500 with Castroneves. The 2022 season will mark the first two-car full-time campaign for MSR as it will field two Indianapolis 500 winners in the team’s hunt for the 2022 INDYCAR championship.
“Next year will be a big year for MSR and I think we have a very strong lineup of drivers between Simon and Helio,” said Mike Shank. “We have built this program every year, growing with our partners and working to have all the ingredients we need to be competitive. Our Indianapolis 500 win was a big breakthrough, and we are looking forward to having a consistently competitive program that will have the chance to fight for wins and podiums no matter where we go and I think this lineup will help us do that.”
“This is such an exciting time in my career,” said Pagenaud. “MSR has proven it is a high-quality organization when they won the Indianapolis 500 and pairing Helio and me together will help our team in 2022 and beyond. I’m really looking forward to this new challenge.”
Pagenaud claimed the 2019 Indianapolis 500 victory with a convincing run out front after starting from the pole. He was the first polesitter to win the Indianapolis 500 since Helio Castroneves in 2009. Pagenaud also scored a strong third-place podium finish in the 2021 edition of the race.
Pagenaud also won the 2016 INDYCAR Championship and has 15 wins, 14 poles and 37 podium finishes since making his series debut in 2011.
Beyond his success in INDYCAR, Pagenaud has also shown strength in sports car competition, collecting podium finishes in the most iconic IMSA SportsCar Championship races. Pagenaud finished second in the 2021 Rolex 24 at Daytona and collected a third place finish in the 2017 and 2020 Petit Le Mans. He also participated in some prestigious European endurance races, the most iconic being the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans where he missed victory by a very close margin.
Before becoming a champion in America, Pagenaud competed in Europe for several years, winning the ‘Volant Elf’, a young drivers’ competition, in 2001, which marked the start of his career. Until 2006 he moved through the ranks of some of the most renowned young drivers’ formulae in Europe before deciding to pursue his career in the United States.
Meyer Shank Racing will head into the 2022 race season equipped with two-full season INDYCAR entries with the returning support from primary sponsors AutoNation and SiriusXM as well as continued partnerships with CAP fixtures, Rocky Fork Co. and Roberts Service Group.
Will Power and Ryan Hunter-Reay are beginning contract years in the NTT Indycar Series. Simon Pagenaud may be in a contract year, but he side-stepped the question last week. All three drivers plan to keep driving the way they always have and not worry about 2022. The consensus is that there is always pressure to perform, regardless of their contract status.
Ryan Hunter-Reay Photo by Chris Owens, Indycar
Hunter-Reay had a frustrating year in 2020. It began with a car that wouldn’t fire on the grid at the opening race in Texas. The Andretti Autosport driver did manage a 10th place finish in the season standings, however. Hunter-Reay usually finds a way into the top 10 despite problems during a race. Last year was a bit more of a struggle than most years.
Looking ahead to 2021 Hunter-Reay said, “Yeah, definitely I’m looking forward to that kind of makeup,what feels like a makeup season almost. Hopefully we can do that, barring any variants of COVID that might derail that.”
As for extra pressure coming from a one year deal, Hunter-Reay said that he approaches every race as if it could be his last in the car.
“My whole career has been that way. It’s been, Hey, here is your opportunity. Get in the car, we’ll let you know if you’re going to be in the car the next race. That’s how it always has been for me. That’s why I’ve always had that grab-it-by-the-neck mentality. Even when I had a three-year deal, if I had a bad weekend, it was the end of the year. I have to make sure I’m performing next weekend, otherwise somebody with a big smile is getting ready to jump into my seat. It’s just part of my mentality, part of my makeup. No, that’s how I’ve been operating for 20 years, man. Right at home for me.”
Hunter-Reay has stiff competition from his own team. Alexander Rossi and Colton Herta should be fighting for the championship and possibly a win at the Indianapolis 500.
Power Hopes for Better Start
Will Power feels the need to have a better start to the season. 2019 and 2020 both began with a series of issues that hampered his run for the title. He has still managed to win twice in each of the past two years and add to his career pole mark. He is inching closer to Mario Andretti’s career pole total. Power goes into 2021 with same attitude he does every year.
“…same effort that I put in because I had put so much effort in every time. I so badly want to win. Yep, same fire, internal fire burning. Just do as I do, do obviously my best.”
Any extra pressure seems to come from the poor starts of the last two years.
“It actually does feel a little bit that way, youknow, considering we’ve started the last four seasons in a really bad way. It certainly isn’t speed that’s the issue. It’s our bad days are just too bad. Our bad days are DNFs and multiple laps down. They’re not like a 10th place or a seventh place, and that’s our problem. The speed is certainly not. Winning is certainly not. Consistently,whether it’s mistakes on pit lane or mistakes by me, you just — we have to have a solid beginning to the season.”
Like Hunter-Reay, Power will compete with Team Penske teammates-Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin, and Simon Pagenaud for points and podiums.
Pagenaud Looks for Better Qualifying, Race Results
Simon Pagenaud Photo by Chris Owens, Indycar
Simon Pagenaud had a frustrating season in 2020. Poor qualifying forced him to play catch up during races. he did get a victory in Iowa race 1 after starting last, and his eighth place final standing seems like a decent year. It was not good enough for Pagenaud. What went wrong?
“…a combination of things that didn’t work out the way I wanted. Obviously the car change made a big difference. The lack of testing made a big impact on my season.”
Team Penske has been able to test this pre-season and that should make a big difference in Pagenaud’s year. As for pressure to keep his job in 2022?
“…my personal opinion is just go out there and do the best you can, race hard and be in the moment. The contracts will take care of themselves when they do.It’s too early to tell anyway. But yeah, I always race as hard as I can. My motto is having no regrets ever, so I work hard, and I want to have no regrets. So if I have no regrets, there’s no reason it shouldn’t continue.”
Last night should remove any doubts about the aeroscreen. It saved Rinus VeeKay’s life and probably kept Marcus Ericsson from serious injury.
Herat’s crash is one of the worst I have ever seen. Thank goodness for the aeroscreen and that the SAFER barrier at Iowa is in front of the fence. We could have seen another Wickens type incident otherwise.
A driver going from starting last to victory lane is quite an accomplishment, but Simon Pagenaud has had lots of practice this year. Last night he improved eight places in the first 25 laps. His average starting position through last night was 17th. His average finishing position is 6.2
Pit strategy played a big part of the outcome. Once again, the timing of the yellow thwarted some great strategy by Takuma Sato, Oliver Askew, and Pato O’Ward.
Up until last night I have been praising the newer drivers. Yesterday was a big day for the newer teams. Carlin, a single car entry, won the pole with Conor Daly, who finished eighth. Arrow McLaren SP, with Askew getting his first podium and O’Ward finishing fourth, had a shot at the win. Don’t count them out tonight either.
It is hard to believe that it took five races for a Penske car or a Chevy to win this season.
Askew’s third place finish gives him a top 10 and a top 5 in the two oval races to date.
I’m hearing that Andretti will repair Herat’s car, and VeeKay will go to the backup. A badly damaged car in race 1 is a risk on a double header weekend.
Dixon”s try for career win 50 fell less than half a second short. Like Pagenaud, he started near the rear of the field and will do so again tonight. The task might be a bit more challenging with Josef Newgarden and Will Power on the front row.
It was a great race. Once again, the television schedule didn’t work out in Indycar’s favor. This would have been a really nice one to have had on NBC.
I’ll be back with tonight’s starting lineup and practice results later.
Simon Pagenaud has the oval pit stop strategy figured out.
It’s too bad the NTT Indycar Series doesn’t still race at Motegi. I had forgotten what a great track that is.
That was a great race. There were passes for the lead, pit strategy, and on track drama which had a hand in the outcome.
Even though it was a sim race, I loved seeing Robert Wickens on pole and leading a lap or two. Even on this platform he has Will Power’s number in qualifying.
Oliver Askew has at least two fewer friends in the paddock this afternoon.
Two more podium spots for Team Penske gives them I believe seven of the twelve podium places through the four races.
Scott Dixon is not a regular on sim racing, but he seems to have figured it out rather quickly. He had a great drive today. I also liked his homage to former teammate Dario Franchitti’s flying finish at Kentucky in 2007.
Kyle Busch had a decent Indycar debut with a 13th place finish after starting in the back.
Dixon may have won with a better final pit stop.
Power did a great job hanging on for third without a right front end plate. I’m not sure how that would work out in a real race.
Jack Harvey had a decent day. He qualified well and led some laps.
I will post the final standings when they are available.
I hope to have a post up tomorrow. On Monday I begin the move to Summer Headquarters and I hope to be up and running again by next Thursday. This means there will be lots of big Indycar news Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
In a teleconference this morning Josef Newgardenand Simon Pagenaud agree the 2020 season will be interesting as teams look to figure out setups with the aeroscreen. Newgarden said that it seems to affect setups differently at different tracks. He said the first team that gets a handle on how to work with it best will have an advantage.
“… it’s very different, I would say. It’s reacting differently to different tracks so far. I’ve had a taste of it at Richmond, COTA and Sebring. Those are all pretty different places. So you get these small characteristic differences everywhere. Sebring was quite interesting. It was very fun I think for all three of us yesterday to sample that and see what it was all about. But the moral of the story is I think there will be definite differences with the car. It’s going to want certain things from a setup standpoint, certain things from a driving standpoint. We’re not the same as 2019. I think it always brings an opportunity for us to try to figure that out quicker than the rest of the pack. We’re working pretty hard as a team right now to make sure we come out of the gates the best with the new opportunity and try to get on top of it the quickest. It’s always fun to have that. As a driver you like change, the opportunity to try and shine at something new. Yeah, we just need to make sure we’re on top of it when we get to St. Pete next week.”
Simon Pagenaud, commenting on Scott McLaughlin, who may drive in as many as eight races for Team Penske this season:
“Scott got the first taste of it in 2020. I must say he did a really good job. He’s obviously a great champion. You don’t win the V8 Supercars champion twice without being an incredible driver. It’s expected for him to jump into anything and be fast and end up understanding the series. I’m as excited as you are. First of all, having champions come from other series for INDYCAR is really good. It just shows the interest. It just shows that the series is on the upward trend. I’m excited to see him come in, do a few races this year. I think he’s going to bring fresh for us blood, a new perspective. That could be very interesting for our development, as well. I’m looking forward to it. He’s a great guy, so far it’s been a great relationship starting. We’ll see how he goes. I hope he does well. I think it’s going to be awesome for us to gather more fans.”
Jimmie Johnson to Test for Arrow McLaren SP
Seven time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson had a sat fitting at the Arrow McLaren SP shop in Indianapolis today. He will test in the team’s Indycar next month at Barber Motorsports Park. There has been talk that Johnson would like to run some Indycar road and street course races in 2021 following his retirement from NASCAR after this season. He currently has made no commitments to running a race next year.
Johnson’s Tweet:
I think it would be amazing if Johnson and Fernando Alonso drove in the same race next season.
On the Way!
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway began mailing tickets for the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 today. Receiving the blue envelope is one of the most exciting days of the year.
The ticket for the May 24 Indianapolis 500 was unveiled today by 2019 winner Simon Pagenaud. It is a nice, simple design with a photo of Pagenaud drinking the milk in Victory Lane. I’m glad it wasn’t a picture of him spilling milk on his head. That’s a “tradition” I can live without.
Of course, Simon did not leave his dog Norman out. He received his own ticket.
I think I like this ticket better. Is it too late to make this one the actual ticket?
Revealing the ticket usually means tickets will be mailed soon, though today seems a bit early for that. Not that I wouldn’t mind receiving it now.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 