Twin Ring Motegi – The Pit Window by Mike Silver

Pagenaud Strategy Leads to Motegi Win; Two Straight for 500 Winner

April 18, 2020 thepitwindow

Some quick thoughts about today’s race:

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.

Motegi iRace Fast Facts and Spotter’s Guide

April 17, 2020 thepitwindow

From Indycar:

Firestone 175 Fast Facts

When: 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday, April 18

Track: Twin Ring Motegi, a four-turn, egg-shaped, 1.549-mile oval in Motegi, Japan. Turn banking: 10 degrees.

Race distance: 113 laps/175 miles/281.6 km (approximately 75 minutes)

Expected pit stops: Two. Fuel window is expected to be approximately 40 laps. Cars will be allowed one “Fast Repair” during the race.

Twitter: @IndyCar, @iRacing, @motegi_english, #INDYCARChallenge, #INDYCAR

TV/Online: 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday on NBCSN, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports App. Leigh Diffey is the lead announcer, alongside the network’s INDYCAR analysts Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy, and pit reporter Marty Snider. The pre-race activities will be highlighted by Big Machine Records country music star Carly Pearce singing the national anthem and global motorsports legend Mario Andretti giving the command to start engines. The podium finishers will be interviewed on the live NBCSN broadcast. Diffey also will host a post-race virtual press conference with the podium finishers for media members (call-in details will be distributed).

Spotter guide: Click here to see a detailed spotter guide for this Saturday’s race.

Race notes:

• Simon Pagenaud (Team Penske) won Round 3 of the INDYCAR iRacing Challenge on Saturday, April 11, the Chevrolet 275 at Michigan International Speedway. He beat Team Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin by 13.4059 seconds in a race with thrilling action eventually decided by fuel strategy.

• Sage Karam (Dreyer & Reinbold Racing) won the inaugural round of the INDYCAR iRacing Challenge on Saturday, March 28, the American Red Cross Grand Prix at Watkins Glen International. Scott McLaughlin (Team Penske) won Round 2 on Saturday, April 4, the Virtual Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park.

• Two-time and reigning Virgin Australia Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin (Team Penske), from New Zealand, has the best overall record in the series in the No. 2 Shell V-Power Team Penske Dallara, finishing fourth at Watkins Glen, winning at Barber and placing second at Michigan. Veteran sim racer McLaughlin has produced this impressive record despite competing in series races during the middle of the night in Australia, where he lives.

• In an example of the virtual world mirroring the real world, Team Penske is the team to beat so far in the INDYCAR iRacing Challenge. Penske is the only team to score a podium finish in each of the first three races. Will Power placed third in Round 1 at Watkins Glen, Scott McLaughlin won Round 2 at Barber with Power placing second, and Simon Pagenaud won Round 3 at Michigan, with McLaughlin second.

• Sage Karam (Dreyer & Reinbold Racing) is the only driver to lead laps in all three races of this virtual series, also winning the opener at Watkins Glen in the No. 24 DRR WIX Filters Chevrolet. He also has led the most laps in all three races, pacing a dominant 116 of the 175 combined laps so far (66 percent).

• Participation continues to climb in the INDYCAR iRacing Challenge. The field for the Firestone 175 will consist of 33 drivers. Round 3 at Michigan International Speedway had 31 drivers April 11, up from 29 taking the green flag April 4 at Barber Motorsports Park. The series opener March 28 at Watkins Glen had 25 drivers.

• The Firestone 175, Round 4 of 6 in the INDYCAR iRacing Challenge, is the second consecutive oval race in the virtual series, after the Chevrolet 275 at Michigan International Speedway. The first two rounds took place on natural-terrain road courses, at Watkins Glen International and Barber Motorsports Park. Future venues include the Circuit of the Americas road course on Saturday, April 25 and a non-INDYCAR “Dream” track Saturday, May 2.

• Four new drivers will join the INDYCAR iRacing Challenge in the Firestone 175: two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch (INDYCAR Provisional), three-time Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Helio Castroneves (INDYCAR Provisional), 2017 Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) and Rinus VeeKay (Ed Carpenter Racing.).

• Fourteen Indy car races have been conducted at Twin Ring Motegi from 1998-2011. Adrian Fernandez won the first, on March 28, 1998, while Scott Dixon won the most recent, on Sept. 18, 2011. Danica Patrick made history at the circuit April 20, 2008, becoming the only female driver to win an INDYCAR race.

• Ten drivers in the field for the Firestone 175 on Saturday also competed in the last INDYCAR event at Twin Ring Motegi on Sept. 18, 2011: Scott Dixon (winner), Will Power

Castroneves, Sato, Kyle Busch Join Motegi Field

April 16, 2020 thepitwindow

Helio Castroneves, Takuma Sato, and Kyle Busch join the field for Indycar’s iRace at Twin Ring Motegi this Saturday. The 33 car field also will have Indycar rookie Rinus VeeKay in car 21. Ed Carpenter will be in car 50 as Ed Carpenter Racing enters three cars.

The entry list:

Missing from this week’s field MMMMMJ

James Dai

James Davidson and Dale Earhardt, Jr. will not participate this week.

Firestone 175, 2:30 p.m. (ET), Saturday, April 18, NBCSN

Castroneves, Sato, Busch join INDYCAR iRacing Challenge for Round 4 at Twin Ring Motegi oval

Field grows to series-high 33 drivers for Firestone 175 Saturday on NBCSN

INDIANAPOLIS (April 16, 2020) – As the INDYCAR iRacing Challenge leaves the United States for the first time Saturday, April 18, three fan favorites of American motorsports who are new to the virtual racing series are coming along for the ride.

Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves, 2017 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Takuma Sato and two-time reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch will make their respective series debuts in the Firestone 175 on the 1.549-mile oval at Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, Japan.

The fourth of six rounds in the series featuring NTT INDYCAR SERIES stars and special guest drivers will be the second straight event on an oval, with a series-high field of 33 drivers ready to race for 113 laps on the tricky, asymmetrical oval that hosted INDYCAR races from 1998-2011. The race starts at 2:30 p.m. ET, with live coverage on NBCSN.

Click here: Entry List

Castroneves joins the series in the No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet with a certain distinction besides having his face on the Borg-Warner Trophy three times, more than any other driver in the field. He is one of three drivers in the Firestone 175 who has won at Twin Ring Motegi in NTT INDYCAR SERIES competition, capturing victories there in 2006 and 2010 for Team Penske.

Other Motegi race winners competing Saturday are Scott Dixon in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda (2009 and 2011 Motegi winner) and Tony Kanaan in the No. 14 7-Eleven Chevrolet (2007 Motegi winner).

2017 “500” winner Sato will make his INDYCAR iRacing Challenge debut in the No. 30 Panasonic/Keihin Honda fielded by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. While this is Sato’s first race in this series, he knows Twin Ring Motegi well. Japanese native Sato has two career NTT INDYCAR SERIES starts at the track, in 2010 and 2011, and he also has visited the actual circuit for the annual Honda Thanks Day every year since his 2017 Indy victory.

The addition of Castroneves and Sato increases the number of Indianapolis 500 winners in the Firestone 175 field to eight, along with Dixon, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Kanaan, Simon Pagenaud, Will Power and Alexander Rossi.

Two-time Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard winner Busch is the latest NASCAR star to join the INDYCAR iRacing Challenge. He will drive the No. 51 Rowdy Energy Dallara as the lone NASCAR representative at Motegi in his INDYCAR debut, virtual or real.

Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson raced in the first two rounds, on March 28 at Watkins Glen International and April 4 at Barber Motorsports Park. Two-time Daytona 500 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished third April 11 in the first oval race of the series, at Michigan International Speedway.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES rookie Rinus VeeKay is the fourth newcomer to the series in the Motegi field. He will drive the No. 21 SONAX Chevrolet fielded by Ed Carpenter Racing.

All newcomers – and most of the rest of the field – will have their eyes on the Team Penske trio of Scott McLaughlin, Power and Pagenaud.

Two-time and reigning Virgin Australia Supercars champion McLaughlin, from New Zealand, has the best overall record in the series in the No. 2 Shell V-Power Team Penske Dallara, finishing fourth at Watkins Glen, winning at Barber and placing second at Michigan. Veteran sim racer McLaughlin has produced this impressive record despite competing in series races during the middle of the night in Australia, where he lives.

2014 NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion and 2018 Indianapolis 500 winner Power is just behind McLaughlin in terms of strike rate. Another experienced sim racer, he has finished third at Watkins Glen, second at Barber and fourth at Michigan in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet and is aiming to become the third Penske driver to win in this series.

2016 NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion and reigning Indy 500 winner Pagenaud was the latest Team Penske driver to take the checkered flag, using patience and deft fuel strategy to win last Saturday, April 11 at Michigan in the No. 22 DXC Team Penske Chevrolet. The victory marked the pinnacle of a climb of steady improvement for the Frenchman, as he finished sixth at Watkins Glen and fifth at Barber.

While recent results may not indicate it, INDYCAR and Indianapolis 500 veteran Sage Karam must be considered another favorite for victory at Motegi.

Vastly experienced and successful iRacing competitor Karam is the only driver to lead laps in all three races of this virtual series, also winning the opener at Watkins Glen in the No. 24 DRR WIX Filters Chevrolet. He also has led the most laps in all three races, pacing a dominant 116 of the 175 combined laps so far (66 percent).

Karam finished 27^th at Barber after a collision while dueling with position with Felix Rosenqvist’s No. 10 NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing Honda midway through the race, and he ended up 14^th at Michigan due to a spin in traffic while climbing back toward the front after an early pit stop.

Threading the needle in traffic will be a primary concern for all contenders, as thickets of cars should form in the big field on an oval approximately a half-mile shorter than last week’s thrilling race at Michigan. The fuel window is expected to be approximately 40 laps, creating a two-stop race that will add plenty of strategic options.

The starting lineup will be set through a 10-minute qualifying session prior to the event.

Two races remain in the six-round series after Saturday, the Circuit of the Americas on April 25 and a non-INDYCAR “Dream” track May 2. he INDYCAR iRacing Challenge will not crown an overall champion but will add a special element where INDYCAR will make a donation to one of its partner charities.