Tag: Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca

Palou Leads Morning Warmup

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Alex Palou ran the quickest lap in the warmup for this afternoon’s Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey. Palou qualified fifth but will start 11th follow2ing an engine change last night.

Scott mcLaughlin had the second best lap, Alexander vRossi was third, and David Malukas was fourth. Polesitter Will Power finished the session 18th.

I spent part of the practice watching from turn 4. It is a great place to watch. The cars slow down and flow smoothly through the turn, and you can hear them run over the rumble strip. There could be a perpetual dust cloud here during the race.

Results

Grid Penalty for Palou

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From Indycar

INDYCAR Announces WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Grid Penalty 
 INDIANAPOLIS (Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022) – INDYCAR officials have announced a six-position starting grid penalty for the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing entry for an unapproved engine change following Saturday’s qualifications at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.The team was in violation of:Rule 16.2.3.2 A fifth (5th) Engine is eligible to earn Engine Manufacturer points if a Full Season Entrant has completed the Full Season Entrant Engine Mileage with its first four (4) Engines. Otherwise, a fifth (5th) or more Engine does not earn Engine Manufacturer points and will be considered an Unapproved Engine change-out.According to Rule 16.6.1.2, the penalty is a six-position starting grid penalty on road and street course events and nine positions at oval events and will be served at the series’ next event, which is the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey, today, at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. 

Race Day at Laguna- The Season Ends

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Today’s schedule. All Timnes Pacific

8:00 – 8:15 T&S On Track
8:30 – 8:45 Warmup US Touring Car Championship
9:00 – 9:30 Warmup NTT INDYCAR Series Peacock
10:00 – 10:55 RACE 2 Indy Lights
11:40 Driver Introductions
12:10 Pre-Race
12:30 RACE NTT INDYCAR Series NBC Peacock
3:30 – 4:20 RACE 2 US Touring Car Championshi

Please take a moiment to remember the events of 9/11/2001 today.

Only 95 laps remain un the 2022 NTT Indycar Series season. Will Power looks to cob=nvert his record breaking pole into his second championship today. A victory would pull him even with Micgael Andretti with 42 career wins,

If Scott Dixon can move up from 13th, he could also contenfd for the title, buit he has to get ahead of Power by several placeas.

The forecast calls for cooler temperatures, with 70 degrees predicted at race time.

I’m hearing Alex Palou may have a six spot grid poenalty for an un approved engine change. Confirmation may come by mornung warmup.

History

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The quest is over at last. Will Power not only took a huge step toward his second Indycar championship, he made history today by winning the pole fo the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey. Oower is now the all time career leader in earned poles with 68. Mario Andretti had held the record for 29 years, Andretti greeted Power in the pits to congratulate him.

Indycar photo by Joe Skibinski

Reflecting on his achievement, Power said, “Tremendous milestone. To be out there with an iconic guy like Mario is amazong. When I think about the era he raced i, how dangerous it was and how much more of a risk it was, it just blows my mind I’m there with Mario.”

Power’s title hopes recieved a boost in Round 1 when second place Josef Newgarden spun in turn 8 and stalled the car,ending his day. Newgarden will start last. Scott Dixon, who also trails Power by 20 points, just missed advancing to the next round. He was 0.087 seconds slower than teammate Marcus Ericsson.

Rookie David Malukas led Group 1 and Felix Rosenqvist led Group 2. neither advanced to the Fast Six. Alexander Rossi led the second round, while Power finished third.

In the Fast Six Power took the lead early and held on. Rookie Callum Ilott will start second, 0.02 seconds behind Power.

Ilott starts a career best second tomorrow

Notes

Two time Laguna Seca pole sitter Colton Herta did not get out of round 1 and will start 18th tomorrow. Herta had won the last two races here.

David Malukas will start seventh after leading group 1. Christian Lundgaard starts 16th. Lundgaard has five point lead over Malukas for Rookie of the Year.

If Power wins tomorrow, he will tie Michael Andretti for third place in career victories with 42.

Winning a race from pole has been difficult this season.Only Scott McLaughlin has done it. Mclaughlin won at Long Beach and Portland after qualifying first.

I remeber at the end of the 1977 Indianapolis 500, when A.J. Foyt won his fourth 500, thinking I would never see anything inracing more historic. Shows how much I know.

Palou Sets Pace in Practice 2

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Alex Palou led the pre qualifying practice session for the Firestoine Grand Prix of Monterey this morning with a fast time of 1:11.3847. Alxander Rossi was second fastest at 1;11.6920.

Points leader Will Power was third, 0.33 seconds behind. Josef Newgarden, second in points was fourth, and Scott Dixon, third in points, was sixth.

There was one red flag for Pato O’Ward about halfway throught the session.

Early in the session, thre rrokies were up front. Callum Ilott led, followed by David Malukas and Christian Lundgaard. It was a fun glimpse at the future of Indycar.

Callum Ilott

Lundgaard finished the session in seventh, Ilott was ninth, and Malukas tenth.

Results

Qualifying May Determine Title Chances

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Colton Herta looks to dominate at his home track again

Today’s Schedule All Times Pacific

:45 – 8:00 T&S On Track
8:15 – 8:45 Qualifying Spec Racer Ford
9:00 – 9:15 Warmup US Touring Car Championship
9:30 – 10:00 Qualifying 1 and Qualifying 2 Indy Lights
10:15 – 11:15 Practice 2 NTT INDYCAR Series Peacock
11:30 – 12:00 Race 1 Spec Racer Ford
12:25 – 1:20 Race 1 Indy Lights Peacock
2:05 – 3:20 Qualifying NTT INDYCAR Series Peacock
3:30 – 4:00 Autograph Session Indy Lights
3:35 – 4:25 Race 1 US Touring Car Championship
4:40 – 5:10 Race 2 Spec Racer Ford
5:25 – 6:35 Two Seater Rides

Good morning from cloudy California. A brief rain shower may occur in about an hour, but it should have no impact on today;s action. Qualifying today could give us a better idea of who may take possession of the Astor Cup tomorrow.

:45 – 8:00 T&S On Track
8:15 – 8:45 Qualifying Spec Racer Ford
9:00 – 9:15 Warmup US Touring Car Championship
9:30 – 10:00 Qualifying 1 and Qualifying 2 Indy Lights
10:15 – 11:15 Practice 2 NTT INDYCAR Series Peacock
11:30 – 12:00 Race 1 Spec Racer Ford
12:25 – 1:20 Race 1 Indy Lights
2:05 – 3:20 Qualifying NTT INDYCAR Series Peacock
3:30 – 4:00 Autograph Session Indy Lights
3:35 – 4:25 Race 1 US Touring Car Championship
4:40 – 5:10 Race 2 Spec Racer Ford
5:25 – 6:35 Two Seater Rides

Will Power can help hgis title hopes with another pole

Drivers described the track as slippery with high tire degradation yesterday. We could see qualifying rounds with minimal laps run.

Team Penske looks to be the favorite for the pole as of yesterday, with all three cars in the top 11 in practice. Colton Herta can never be counted out at this track either.

The Ganassi team, who =tested here last Monday, ended practice 10th (Ericsson), 14th (Palou), and 17th (Dixon), In a post practice statement, Dixon said they decided to try something new in practice. Seems a bit late wigth a championship on the line. I hope they find their way back,

I’ll be back after the morniung practice with a summary ab=nd to set up the qualifying rounds.

Some action from practice yesterday

Newgarden Leads Finale’s Opening Practice

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Josef Newgarden fired the first shot as the battle for the series title began this afternoon at Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca. Newgarden’s lap of 1:11.410 beat Colton Herta by 0.41 seconds.

Andretti Autosport finished second, third, and forth. Herta was followed by Romain Grosjean and Alexander Rossi.

Callum Ilott was fifth fastest.

Points leader Will Power was seventh. The other title contenderrs, Marcus Ericsson and Scott Dixon, were 10th and 17th. The Ganassi team tested here Monday.

Dixon explained, “We came with a pretty different setup than what we did at the test. WE just wanted to try a few different things. We could see that the 8 car already backed up some of those, so mit looked like he moved in a positive direction. Still, all of us outside the top 10 is not ideal. We’ll work out of here and see, make what we can out of it. It’s going to be a pretty high (degradation) race.”

David Malukas, second nin the rookie of the year battle, was ninth, and rookie leader Christian Lundgaard had the 15th fastest lap.

Asked if his quick time is representative of his advantage over the field,, Newgarden said,

“It’s hard to say. I didn’t even really put together my best lap, and I’m sure that was the case for the majority of the field. It’s always hard to read off the first session. I think we’ll tighten up tomorrow.
But just the early read is good. I felt like we made really
good use of our short time that we had today and short set
of tires that we had. We didn’t have a lot to work off of. So
I feel good early, but I feel like it’s early days.”

Results

Fast Facts-Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey

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Photo and content from Indycar


 Race weekend: Friday, Sept. 9 – Sunday, Sept. 11
Track: WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, a 2.238-mile permanent road course in Monterey, California
Race distance: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 95 laps / 212.61 miles | Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires: 35 laps / 78.33 miles / 55 min
Push-to-pass parameters: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 150 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation. | Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires: 150 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation
Firestone tire allotment: Six sets primary, four sets alternate. Teams must use one set of primary and one new set of alternate tires in the race. (Note: A seventh set of primary tires is available to any car fielding a rookie driver.)
Twitter:@WeatherTechRcwy, @IndyCar, @IndyLights, #FirestoneGP, #INDYCAR
Instagram: @weathertechraceway, @IndyCar, #FirestoneGP, #INDYCAR
Facebook: @WeatherTechRaceway, @IndyCar, @IndyLightsOfficial, #FirestoneGP, #INDYCAR
TikTok: @IndyCar, #FirestoneGP, #INDYCAR
INDYCAR website: www.IndyCar.com
Indy Lights website: www.IndyLights.com
2021 race winners:NTT INDYCAR SERIESColton Herta (No. 26 Gainbridge Honda)Indy Lights Presented by Cooper TiresRace 1: Kyle Kirkwood (No. 28 Andretti Autosport)Race 2: Kyle Kirkwood (No. 28 Andretti Autosport)
2021 NTT P1 Award winner: Colton Herta (No. 26 Gainbridge Honda), 1:10.7994, 113.798 mph
Qualifying records:NTT INDYCAR SERIESHelio Castroneves, 1:07.722, 118.969 mph, Sept. 8, 2000
Indy Lights Presented by Cooper TiresMax Chilton, 1:14.2329, 108.534 mph, Sept. 12, 2015
NBC Sports race telecast: Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey 3 p.m. ET Sunday, Sept. 11, NBC (live). Leigh Diffey is the play-by-play announcer for NBC’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe.
Peacock Premium Live Streaming: All NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice sessions and qualifying will stream live on Peacock Premium, NBC’s direct-to-consumer livestreaming product, while NBC’s race telecast of the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey will be simulcast on the streaming service. Peacock Premium’s exclusive post-race show – featuring driver interviews, podium ceremonies and post-race analysis – will be streamed following the race. The Indy Lights Grand Prix of Monterey doubleheader (3:15 p.m. ET Saturday and 12:50 p.m. ET Sunday) will be streamed on Peacock Premium with practice and qualifying being shown on INDYCAR Live!
INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside analyst Davey Hamilton. Jake Query, Nick Yeoman and Michael Young are the turn announcers. Georgia Henneberry, Ryan Myrehn and Dan Rusanowsky are the pit reporters. Charlie Kimball will provide additional commentary. The Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey race (3 p.m. ET Sunday), Indy Lights Grand Prix of Monterey doubleheader (3:15 p.m. ET Saturday and 12:50 p.m. ET Sunday) and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES and Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires 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 local):
Friday, Sept. 9 (All Times Local)
1:15-2:05 p.m. – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires practice 1, INDYCAR Live!
2:30-3:45 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice 1, Peacock Premium
Saturday, Sept. 10
9:30-10 a.m. – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Qualifying (Two 12-minute sessions / Session 1 determines the lineup for Race 1, Session 2 determines the lineup for Race 2), INDYCAR Live!
10:15-11:15 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice 2 (45 minutes limited guarantee), Peacock Premium
12:20 p.m. – Indy Lights Grand Prix of Monterey Race 1 “Drivers Start Your Engines”12:25 p.m. – Indy Lights Grand Prix of Monterey Race 1 (35 laps / 78.33 miles / 55 minutes)
2:05 p.m. –  Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey NTT P1 Award qualifying (three rounds of knockout qualifying), Peacock Premium
Sunday, Sept. 119 – 9:30 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES final practice, Peacock Premium
9:55 a.m. – Indy Lights Grand Prix of Monterey Race 2 “Drivers Start Your Engines”10 a.m. – Indy Lights Grand Prix of Monterey Race 2 (35 laps / 78.33 miles / 55 minutes)
Noon – NBC on air12:23 p.m. – Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey “Drivers, start your engines”
12:30 p.m. – Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey (95 laps/212.61 miles), NBC (Live)
Championship facts:Will Power leads the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship with one race to go for the fifth time in his career. Power previously led the championship with one race to in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014. He won the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship in 2014.There are five drivers still mathematically eligible for the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship: Power leads Josef Newgarden by 20 points with Scott Dixon (-20), Marcus Ericsson (-39) and Scott McLaughlin (-41) behind.Power assumed the point lead following the Gallagher Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 30. The lead has changed hands seven times between McLaughlin, Newgarden, Alex Palou, Power and Ericsson.Since the first INDYCAR SERIES race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, the winning driver has won the INDYCAR SERIES championship six times: Bobby Rahal (1986 and 1987), Danny Sullivan (1988), Michael Andretti (1991), Alex Zanardi (1998) and Cristiano da Matta (2002).
Point differential: The 20 points that separate Will Power, Josef Newgarden and Scott Dixon is the sixth closest margin with one race remaining since 2008. The 41 points separating the top five drivers in the championship is the tightest title race since 2003, when 30 points separated the top five. The average deficit with one race to go since 2008 is 25.86 points.
Key championship point statistic: This is the 17th consecutive year that the NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion will be determined at the final race of the season.
Race notes:There have been eight different winners in 16 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races in the 2022 season. Scott McLaughlin (Streets of St. Petersburg, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Portland International Raceway), Josef Newgarden (Texas Motor Speedway, Streets of Long Beach, Road America, Iowa Speedway-1, World Wide Technology Raceway), Pato O’Ward (Barber Motorsports Park, Iowa Speedway-2), Colton Herta (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course-1), Marcus Ericsson (Indianapolis 500), Will Power (Raceway at Belle Isle Park), Scott Dixon (Streets of Toronto and Streets of Nashville) and Alexander Rossi (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course-2) have all won in 2022. The record for most different winners in a season is 11 in 2000, 2001 and 2014.
The Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey will be the 25th INDYCAR SERIES race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, but just the third since 2004. Teo Fabi won the first INDYCAR SERIES race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in 1983. Colton Herta, who won the two most recent races at the track in 2019 and 2021, and Helio Castroneves, who won at the track in 2000, are the only former winners entered in this year’s race.Thirteen INDYCAR SERIES drivers have won at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca from the pole – Teo Fabi (1983), Bobby Rahal (1985), Danny Sullivan (1988), Rick Mears (1989), Danny Sullivan (1990), Michael Andretti (1991 and 1992), Paul Tracy (1994), Alex Zanardi (1996), Bryan Herta (1998 and 1999), Helio Castroneves (2000), Cristiano da Matta (2002), Patrick Carpentier (2003) and Colton Herta (2019 and 2021).Team Penske has won six times at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Penske’s winning drivers are Danny Sullivan (1988 and 1990), Rick Mears (1989), Paul Tracy (1993 and 1994) and Helio Castroneves (2000). Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has three wins, with Bryan Herta (1998-99) and Max Papis (2001). Chip Ganassi Racing has two wins, with Alex Zanardi in 1996 and Jimmy Vasser in 1997.
Twenty-one drivers entered in the event have competed in past INDYCAR SERIES races at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Helio Castroneves has five starts, most among the entered drivers. Six entered drivers have led laps at the track (Colton Herta 174, Helio Castroneves 92, Will Power 6, Romain Grosjean 4, Scott Dixon 2 and Simon Pagenaud 1)
.Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires notes:The Indy Lights Grand Prix of Monterey doubleheader will be the series’ 25th and 26th races at WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca. Previous Indy Lights winners at Laguna Seca include Bryan Herta, Andre Ribeiro, Greg Moore, Tony Kanaan, Cristiano da Matta, Scott Dixon, Townsend Bell, Spencer Pigot and Rinus VeeKay. Current NTT INDYCAR SERIES rookie Kyle Kirkwood swept the Indy Lights Grand Prix of Monterey doubleheader in 2021.
Linus Lundqvist of HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing is enjoying a dominant season, leading the series in wins (five), poles (six) and top-five finishes (12) through 12 races. Lundqvist, a native of Sweden, owns a commanding 103-point lead over second-place Matthew Brabham of Andretti Autosport. Lundqvist will clinch the season championship by scoring points in Race 1.Benjamin Pedersen joined Danial Frost, Christian Rasmussen, Hunter McElrea as first-time Indy Lights race winners in 2022. Can another talented prospect such as Sting Ray Robb, Kyffin Simpson, Ernie Francis Jr. or series newcomers Flinn Lazier or Nolan Siegel score a first series win at Laguna Seca?Push-to-pass could play a key strategic role at Portland as Indy Lights 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.

Fewer Venues, More Doubleheaders on Revised Schedule

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The NTT Indycar Series released another new schedule this afternoon in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in hopes of getting in as many races as possible.  To do that, Detroit has been cancelled and Iowa and Laguna Seca will host doubleheader weekends.

Texas is now the scheduled opener on June 6. Toronto remains on the schedule, but the city’s closed order going until June 30, I don’t see how there will be enough time for the track build. The situation remains fluid, but I think the series might be better served to hold off on schedule announcements until necessary. There will likely be more changes. I could see the Indianapolis 500 becoming the opener with a compacted schedule rather than the one previously announced.

What is good about the new schedule? The two night races at Iowa, one of which is on a Friday night. The October race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway brings back a hint of the Harvest Classic race meet run at IMS in  the fall of 1916. The October race shares the track with the previously scheduled sports car program. Both road course races at the Speedway will share time with other racing disciplines. I love the concept of seeing multiple series on the same weekend. We might see the beginning of a trend here.

St. Pete is still listed as an October TBA and will possibly be the finale. Including St. Pete, the schedule is now 15 races at 12 venues. I’m glad the race count stays where it is, but I don’t like the limited number of venues. I realize these are extraordinary circumstances.

I don’t think this schedule is done yet. Stay tuned.

The schedule as of today:

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