Tag: Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America

Road America Race Preview

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Today’s Schedule: Times are Eastern

9:40a: USF2000 Practice

10:20a: USF2000 Pro Practice

11a: BMRC Practice

11:45a: USF2000 Qualifying

12:30p: USF2000 Pro Qualifying

1:15p: Radical Cup Qualifying

2p: USF2000 Qualifying

2:50p: NXT Practice

4p: INDYCAR Practicw

5:30p: BMRC Race

6:35p: Vintage Indy

Good morning from Elkhart Lake on a crisp xool morning. Weekend temperatures will will be in the 70s but the mornings will be cool, in the 50s.

A new wrinkle for this year’s race is a completely repaved track. Teams that tested here were about four seconds quicker than the track record.

This weekend is the 34th Indycar race at Road America, Indycar returned 8n 2016 after several years away. The fans who came thaqt year for the first time felmin love with it. Older fans embraced the return.

The Sonsio Grand Prix traditonally marks the halfway point of the season. Alex Palou will seek to increase his 51 point advantage over Marcus Ericsson in the championship. Palou won here in 2021. We have seen big leads evaporate before, and I’m not expecting Palou’s lead to last.

Josef Newgarden is 70 points behind Palou. He won last year and was leading in 2021 when a mechanical failure on a late restart pushed him to 21st.

Hunter-Reay Debuts for ECR

Ryan Hunter-Reay makes his first start for Ed Carpenter Racing this weekend, replacing Conor Daly n the 20. HUbter-Reay and the team are using this weekend as a test session. I am not going to worry about nthi=eir performance until Mid Ohio.

Hot Seat Drivers Need a Good Weekend

It’s getting warmer for certain drivers who are essentially auditioning for 2024 rides.

Jack Harvey, probably in the warmest seat, needs to have some consistent good results over the next few races. Romain Grosjean, thought to have a new deal with Andretti, has crashed four times in seven races, but has two poles and two second place finishes. He needs to keep the car on track.

Can Felix Rosenqvist back up his Detroit podium? He won here in 2018 in a battle with current teammate Pato O’Ward. Rosenqvist deserves a ride in Indycar. Where that will be next year is anyone’s guess.

Time for Arrow McLaren to Shine?

This team has teased us all season. It started at St. Pete, when an engine hiccup on thelast lap cost Pato O’Ward the victory. O’Ward lost at Texas when the caution flags didn’t fall his way. The red flag mess at Indianapolis probably cost him the victory there.

This team is due. I’m going to waffle a bit on my pick for this week. Either Pato o’Ward or Alexander Rossi will win Sunday. O’Ward was strong in 2018 and Rossi dominated in 2019.

Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR Fast Facts    

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From Indycar:

Race weekend: Friday, June 16 – Sunday, June 18

Track: Road America, a 4.014-mile, 14-turn permanent road course (clockwise) in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin

Race distance: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 55 laps / 220.77 miles | INDY NXT by Firestone: 20 laps / 80.28 miles or 55 minutes

Push-to-pass parameters: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 200 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 20 seconds per activation. INDY NXT by Firestone: 150 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation

Firestone tire allotment: Seven sets primary, four sets alternate for use during the race weekend. One additional set of primary tires may be used by teams fielding a rookie driver. Teams must use one set of primary and one set of new (sticker) alternate tires for at least two laps in the race.

Twitter: @RoadAmerica @INDYCAR, #SonsioGP, #INDYCAR Event website: www.roadamerica.com INDYCAR website: www.indycar.com

2022 race winners: NTT INDYCAR SERIES Josef Newgarden (No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet) INDY NXT by Firestone Christian Rasmussen (No. 28 Andretti Autosport)

2022 NTT P1 Award winner: Alexander Rossi (No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS/AutoNation Honda) 1:44.8656, 137.799 mph

Qualifying lap record: NTT INDYCAR SERIES Dario Franchitti, 1:39.866, 145.924 mph, Aug. 19, 2000 INDY NXT by Firestone Colton Herta, 1:52.0034, 129.018 mph, June 24, 2017

USA Network race telecast: 1 p.m. ET Sunday, June 12, USA (live). Leigh Diffey is the play-by-play announcer for USA’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe.

Peacock live streaming: All NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice sessions and qualifying will stream live on Peacock, NBC’s direct-to-consumer livestreaming product. NBC’s Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America presented by AMR race telecast also will be simulcast on the streaming service. The INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Road America will be streamed on Peacock with practice and qualifying shown on INDYCAR LIVE.

INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside driver analyst Davey Hamilton. Jake Query, Nick Yeoman and Michael Young are the turn announcers. Alex Wollf, Joel Sebastianelli and Georgia Henneberry are the pit reporters. The Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America presented by AMR race (1 p.m. ET Sunday), INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Road America (11:05 a.m. Sunday) and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES and INDY NXT by Firestone practices and qualifying sessions air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM 160, racecontrol.indycar.com and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.

At-track schedule (all times Central Time):
Friday, June 16
1:50-2:35 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Practice 1, INDYCAR Live
3-4:15 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 1, Peacock
Saturday, June 17
8:50-9:35 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Practice 2, INDYCAR Live 9:55-10:55 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 2 (45 minutes of green flag or 60 total minutes), Peacock
12:15-12:35 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Qualifying (10 minutes of green flag running or 17 minutes), INDYCAR Live
12:55-2:25 p.m. – Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (Three rounds of knockout qualifying with segments lengthened by two minutes – Segments 1 and 2 – 12 minutes; Firestone Fast Six – eight minutes), Peacock
Sunday, June 18
9:15-9:45 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Final Practice, Peacock
10:10 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Road America Command To Start Engines
10:15 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Road America (20 laps/55 minutes), Peacock
11:45 a.m.  – Driver Introductions
12:23 p.m. – Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America presented by AMR Command To Start Engines
12:30 p.m. – Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America presented by AMR (55 laps/222.64 miles), USA Network (live)
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Notes: · There have been five different winners in seven NTT INDYCAR SERIES races in the 2023 season. Marcus Ericsson (Streets of St. Petersburg), Josef Newgarden (Texas Motor Speedway and Indianapolis 500), Kyle Kirkwood (Streets of Long Beach), Scott McLaughlin, (Barber Motorsports Park) and Alex Palou (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course-1 and Streets of Detroit) have all won in this season. The record for most different winners in a season is 11 in 2000, 2001 and 2014. · There have been five different winners in the last 10 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races (Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin, Alex Palou, Marcus Ericsson and Kyle Kirkwood).
Newgarden (WWT Raceway 2022, Texas 2023 and Indianapolis 500 2023), Palou (Laguna Seca 2022, Indianapolis GP-1 2023 and Detroit 2023) and McLaughlin (Portland 2022 and Barber 2023) have won multiple races over that stretch. ·
The Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America presented by AMR will be the 34th INDYCAR SERIES event conducted at Road America since it hosted its first INDYCAR event in 1982. 
Mario Andretti, Michael Andretti and Emerson Fittipaldi have three wins, the most by an INDYCAR SERIES driver at the track. · Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden have won twice at Road America – most among active drivers.
Other previous Road America winners entered include Will Power, Alexander Rossi, Felix Rosenqvist and Alex Palou.

Eight drivers have won the Road America race from the pole: Mario Andretti (1983, 1984,1987), Danny Sullivan (1989), Paul Tracy (1993), Jacques Villeneuve (1995), Bruno Junqueira (2003), Sebastien Bourdais (2007), Will Power (2016) and Josef Newgarden (2018).

The driver who has gone on to win the championship has won at Road America six times: Mario Andretti (1984), Michael Andretti (1991), Jacques Villeneuve (1995), Alex Zanardi (1997), Cristiano da Matta (2002), Sebastien Bourdais (2007) and Scott Dixon (2020). · 
Scott Dixon and Will Power have competed in 10 previous races at Road America, most of any driver. Thirteen entered drivers have led laps at the track (Josef Newgarden 149, Alexander Rossi 70, Will Power 60, Pato O’Ward 43, Scott Dixon 43, Helio Castroneves 41, Felix Rosenqvist 15, Alex Palou 5, Graham Rahal 5, Marcus Ericsson 4, Simon Pagenaud 2, Romain Grosjean 1 and Christian Lundgaard 1. ·
Chip Ganassi Racing has won three of the last four INDYCAR SERIES races at Road America and is one of three current teams with wins at the track. Overall, Chip Ganassi Racing has won six times at Road America (1997, 2001, 2017, a sweep of the 2020 doubleheader and 2021). Team Penske has also won six times at Road America (1989, 1992, 1993, 2016, 2018 and 2022) while Andretti Autosport won its first in 2019. ·

Rookies Marcus Armstrong, Agustin Canapino, Benjamin Pedersen and Sting Ray Robb will race an NTT INDYCAR SERIES car at Road America for the first time this weekend. ·
Milestones: Scott Dixon will attempt to make his 313th consecutive start, the second-longest streak in INDYCAR SERIES history.

INDY NXT by Firestone Notes: · Christian Rasmussen and Nolan Siegel will bring the close INDY NXT by Firestone title fight to Elkhart Lake when the INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Road America hits the track Sunday. Rasmussen, who scored his first career INDY NXT by Firestone win at Road America in 2022, leads Siegel by just two points heading into the 20-lap race. The ultra-competitive 2023 season has seen five different winners in five races to start the season. There were seven winners in 2022. · Push-to-pass could play a key strategic role at Road America as INDY NXT by Firestone drivers will have a bank of 150 seconds to use an added 50 horsepower to assist in overtaking, similar to the drivers in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. The maximum amount of time for each press of the overtake system is 15 seconds. · Qualifying takes on a new look in 2023 with Saturday’s qualifying session featuring just 10 minutes of green flag running or 17 minutes total, whichever comes first. As the five previous sessions have yet to feature a red flag stoppage, drivers will need to get up to speed early or risk having to beat the clock and the opposition.  

Road America Schedule

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Times are Eastern. Road America is in the Central Time Zone


Friday
2:50-3:35 pm: Indy NXT Practice
4-5:15 pm: INDYCAR Practice Peacock

Sat
9:50-10:35 am: Indy NXT Practice
10:55-11:55 am: INDYCAR Practice Peacock
1:15 pm: Indy NXT Qualifying
1:55 pm: INDYCAR Qualifying Peacock

Sun
10:15-10:45 am: Indycar Warmup Peacock
11:15 am: Indy NXT Race Peacock
1 pm: INDYCAR Race USA Peacock

Road America Wrap Up

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Indycar photo by Joe Skibinski

A couple of days late with this, but sometimes life gets in the way. Road America never disappoints for atmosphere, beauty, or racing. The trip there always seems like going to another Indianapolis 500 just a few weeks later. One visit a year doesn’t seem like enough. One day I will have to work the Road America IMSA race into my schedule.

A few more thoughts on the 2022 Sonsio Grand Prix:

Veekay’s Summer Fade 2.0?

In 2021, Rinus Veekay was involved in a bicycle accident which kept him out of the Road America event. When he returned, he didn’t seem to have quite the form he showed earlier in the season. This year, he is again on a downward trend which started with the GMR Grand Prix.

The first four races this season- finishes of 6th, 10th, 13th, and 3rd with one pole. Average finish 8th. 7th in points after Barber.

Races 5-8- finishes of 23rd, 33rd, 16th, and 17th. Average finish 22.2. Currently 14th in points.

I hope VeeKay can turn it around in the second half of the season.

AMSP’s RA Power Shortage

When Pato O’Ward’s car lost power on lap 46 Sunday, it was the second time in two years at Road America that the team had a power failure. In 2021 Kevin Magnussen’s car stopped on lap 33. Their second car finished ninth last year and sixth this year. I’m just pointing out an odd coincidence here.

Indycar Feuds?

Will Power was extremely angry with Devlin DeFrancesco after Sunday’s race. DeFrancesco bumped Power going into turn 5, spinning the then points leader and ruining his chance to extend his lead. Power retaliated after the race by running into DeFrancesco on the cool down lap.

I hope this disagreement is settled off track. Indycar is heading to some tracks where retaliation is dangerous/

Conor Daly also mentioned being angry with certain unnamed drivers. His anger is usually directed toward Santino Ferrucci, who wasn’t driving Sunday.

Indycar feuds don’t usually last too long. The long break between race may cool things off on its own.

Indycar racing has been really good this season. At Mid ohio the series has a chance to tie a 190 mark with nine different pole winners to begin a season. Marcus Ericsson and Alex Palou are still looking for their first pole this year. Just saying.

Stay cool and hydrated during this very hot weather.

Quick Thoughts-Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America

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Andretti Autosport is back. With finishes of third, fourth, and fifth today, the team is beginning to regain its form at the front. Alexander Rossi now has two straight podiums and a pole.

Josef Newgarden got rid of a lot of frustrastion today. Newgarden wasn’t happy at Detroit not winning the race after winning the pole. His frustration mounted when rossi edged him yesterday for the pole.

Is Rossi making a lateral move for 2023? Once again today, slow fueling cost him the lead on the first pit stop. He never regained the lead. His new team, Arrow McLaren SP continued their pit stop issues today with some slow fueling.

Rhahal Letterman Lanigan racing had their best day in quite some time. Graham Rahal finished eighth, Christian Lundgaard was 10th, and Jack Harvey was 13th.

Newgarden is the only driver with multiple wins in 2022.

Simona DeSilvestro finished 21st in her season debut, and on the lead lap. It was a fine start for Paretta Autosport.

Marcus Ericsson is beginning to do championship things. He had a third secured, bit got to second and now leads the title fight by 27 points. It is at least the sixth time the leader has changed after a race this year.

Callum Ilott finally had a decent race and fiished 11th. It was nice to see him run without issues today.

The hill in turn 5
Bottom of turn 5

Today’s crowd had to be one of the biggest I’ve seen since Indycar returned in 2016.

Turn 5 saw lots of passing action and a couple of mishaps today, including Alex Palou going off track and Will Power’s spin.

Palou gets out of his car

I will have a full wrap up tomorrow. Thanks for following along this weekend. The next race isn’t for three weeks. Enjoy the break.

Race Day at Road America

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Today’s schedule: All Times Central

June 12, 2022
7:00 a.m. Gates Open
8:25 a.m. Indy Pro 2000 R#2
9:40 a.m. GF INDY LIGHTS Race Peacock
10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Family Fun Zone Hours
11:45 a.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES RACE NBC; Peacock
2:15 p.m. RADICAL CUP R#3
3:20 p.m. Vintage Indy Registry

Tire choices:

Colton Herta will serve a six place grid penalty for an unapproved engine change.

It appears Will Power wil try to use the same strategy he used in Detroit last week. I’m not sure that will work on a longer track without a yellow period.

Race time temperature is expected to be 64 degrees and only moving up to 65 by race end.

Alex Palou was fastest in the final warmup yesterday afternoon.

We could see the points leader change again today. Power has a lkead of just three over Marcus Ericsson and just 14 over Alex Palou in fourth.

Alexander Rossi hopes to convert his pole spot into his first win in three years today. His last win came at Road America in 2019.

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Rossi’s Black Strategy Pays off with Road America Pole

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It worked for Josef Newgarden last year at Road America, and it worked again for Alexander Rossi in 2022. Rossi ran the entire eight minbutes of the The Fast Six on sticker primary tires, and he becomes the eighth pole sitter in eight races this season.

Rossi’s pole winning lap of 1:44.8656 edged Newgarden by0.0715 seconds.

Rossi explained the tire choice in the post qualifying press conference.

“I think the Firestone blacks, the
primaries, were a pretty easy decision based on what Josef
did last year. I think you saw quite a few guys besides
myself on them as well.
It’s just with the nature of the track, it being so long, a new
black is usually a little bit better than a used red. That
being said it was still a lot of work to get it done. Happy we
were able to achieve it.”

Rossi backed up his second place finish at Detroit last weekend with two strong days in practice and qualifying. The last time Rossi started on the front row at road America, in 2019, he led flag to flag and won by 28 seconds. I’m not expecting that kind of blowout tomorrow, but Rossi does know how to control a race.

Josef Newgarden

Josef Newgarden looked to have the strongest car going into qualifying, but he chose to run used red s. It was an odd choice considering he used the black tires to win the pole last year.

Will Power, who won Detroit from 16th on the grid, will have to nearly duplicate that feat Sunday as he starts 15th.

The only incident came at the start of Round 2 when Callum Ilott locked up the reartires in turn 14 and slid off track. Ilott made the second round after sitting out last week with a hand injury.

Notes

The Fast Six had cars from what we can now call the Big Four- Team Penske, Arrow McLaren SP, and two cars each from Chip Ganassi Racing and Andretti Autosport.

The last time eight different pole winners began the season? 1961. That year the first nine races had a different pole winner. No, I cannot name them.

Colton Herta had the fastest lap of the entire session, 1:44.4038 in Round 2.

A final 30 minute practice is scheduled for 4:20 pm. Rain is expected around 4:15.

O’Ward Fastest in Morning Practice

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Pato O’Ward led the pre qualifying practice with a time of 1:45.268. Will Power held the lead before O’Ward’s hot lap and he finished just behind the leader with a 1:45.3849 lap. Alex Palou was third and Alexander Rossi fourth.

Qualifying for the Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America begins at 12:45 Central time.

I arrived at the track about 10 minutes into the practice session and immediately headed to turn 5. New this year at Road America are placards with the turn number and a QR code to bring upo a track map.

Simona DeSilvestro turned her first laps in an Indycar since rthe 2021 Indianapolis 500 yesterday. As expected the team is till seeking some speed.

Qualifying Groups

Group 1

Will Power

Alexander Rossi

Colton Herta

Romain Grosjean

Scott Dixon

Christian Lundgaard

Simon Pagenaud

Callum Ilott

Devlin DeFrancesco

Rinus VeeKay

\akuma Sato

Dalton Kellett

Tatiana Calderon

Group 2

Pato O’Ward

Alex Palou

Josef Newgarden

Marcus Ericsson

Scott McLaughlin

Felix Rosenqvist

Helio Castroneves

David Malukas

Conor Daly

Graham Rahal

Jack Harvey

Jimmie Johnson

Kyle Kirkwood

Simona DeSilvestro