IndyCar
Scott Dixon leads Day 2 of practice for Indy 500
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Six time and reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES Champion Scott Dixon is atop the speed charts after two days of practice for the 105th running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.
Dixon’s No. 9 PNC Bank Grow Up Great Chip Ganassi Racing Honda turned a fast lap of 226.829 MPH with teammates Marcus Ericsson fourth fastest in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Honda (226.007) and Tony Kanaan fifth in the No. 48 American Legion Honda (225.774). Alex Palou was 8th fastest in the No. 10 NTT DATA Honda.
“I think as most will say, the big times don’t really mean much,” said Dixon. “You just kind of get a bit lucky and throw them up, but I think our cars definitely have good speed, all four in the top 8 there, which is good to see. Again, I think it doesn’t mean too much, but as far as race stuff, at least being able to get speed out of the car is always kind of nice.”
The different agendas of practice were on full display as some teams focused on race runs while a few even worked through qualifying simulations.
“We’re obviously working on what we need for the race,” said Kanaan. “We went out with the teammates, did a few long runs. Nothing out of the ordinary, just really trying to figure out what we need for next weekend.”
The good day for the Ganassi guys stole a little bit of thunder away from Ed Carpenter Racing.
ECR was second and third fastest on the speed chart Wednesday. Conor Daly was second at 226.372 in the No. 47 U.S. Air Force Chevrolet, while team owner Ed Carpenter was third at 226.103 in the No. 20 SONAX Chevrolet.
“I think the team has done an incredible job,” said Daly. “Both of our cars were fast last weekend, which is great, and I think our cars have a lot of speed here, as well.”
ECR is surging during the Month of May, as Rinus VeeKay won the GMR Grand Prix for the team last Saturday.
“I think anytime you win a race, it’s so hard to win races in this series, so anytime a driver or car on your team wins a race, I think it does lift everyone up,” said Carpenter, the only owner-driver in series. “You don’t get to celebrate the Indy GP as long as you do some other races because we’re just turning the page and getting ready for the 500, but I think it makes it easier for the guys that come in to work excited about spending most of their hours out here for the rest of the month, and they deserve it.”
The speed charts showed the unpredictable and competitive nature of this year’s deep field, which features nine “500” winners. 2018 Indy 500 winner Will Power, who led practice Tuesday at 226.470 mph, was 15th today at 224.785 in the No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet.
Practice resumes from noon-6 p.m. (ET) Thursday. It’s the last day before boost levels are elevated in the engine turbochargers for Fast Friday practice and Crown Royal Armed Forces Qualifying on Saturday and Sunday.
LOS ANGELES, CA (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Fox Sports, the new television partner for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, is aggressively getting the word out that INDYCAR has a new home for 2025.
Sunday Fox Sports debuted the first promotional ad during the network’s NFL coverage, featuring two-time Series Champion and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden.
This is the first of three promotional ads that Fox Sports will be rolling out between now and the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding on March 2, 2025. The remaining two spots will feature three-time and reigning series Champion Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing and the series most-popular driver Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren.
PLAINFIELD, IL (January 13, 2025) – Dale Coyne Racing is adding INDY NXT by Firestone Vice-Champion Jacob Abel to it’s 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES roster.
Abel will drive the No. 51 DCR Honda for the entire 2025 season beginning in March with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding.
“We are excited about running another Indy NXT by Firestone Vice-Champion here at Dale Coyne Racing,” said team owner Dale Coyne.
Abel, a Louisville Kentucky native, won three races in 2024 and finished on the podium in 10-of-14-races, which placed him second in the final standings – a steady progression from his 5th and 8th place Championship finishes the previous two seasons.
“It’s a lifelong dream come true… I can’t thank everyone who’s helped out along the way enough,” said Abel, who impressed in an evaluation day at Sebring last fall.
“We have watched Jacob over the years and did an evaluation test with him at the end of the 2023 season, where he showed great promise in these cars,” said Coyne. “It will be good to run one driver in the #51 car for the whole season, so that we can work on the consistency needed in the highly competitive NTT IndyCar Series.”
“I’ve had a great relationship with Dale for the last couple of years, and I’m very thankful for the confidence he has in me,” said Abel. “The team has some very experienced personnel joining and returning to the program, and I have full confidence they will deliver a great race car and help me learn the ropes of the NTT IndyCar Series. It’s going to be a fun but challenging journey, and I can’t wait to get started.”
Coyne said talks are progressing to fill the other vacant seat in the DCR stable.
“Our plans for our second driver are coming along quite nicely, and we will have more news on that in approximately three weeks.”
The 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season kicks off February 28 – March 2 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding.
LEBANON, TN (September 15, 2024) – Andretti Global’s Colton Herta passed Pato O’Ward with four laps to go in the Sunday’s Big Machine Music City Grand Prix to claim his first oval NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory of his career.
“I’m so happy,” said Herta, whose No. 26 Gainbridge Honda crossed the finish line 1.8206-seconds ahead of O’Ward. “We knew we were going to have a hot rod in the race. It’s been an amazing year.”
The victory also vaulted Herta a couple of spots up in the final standings of the year.
“I just saw I finished second in the championship, which is awesome,” said Herta. “Hoping to do a little bit better next year.”
The second place finish was the sixth of the year for O’Ward and the twenty-sixth of his career and said afterwards he was lucky to finish there.
“Yeah, I wish I could have done it a little bit harder on him,” said O’Ward. “Those reds (Firestone alternate tires) at the end, I couldn’t see straight with so much vibrations. Could barely talk to the team with just how much was going on in the car. I think one more lap, Josef would have gotten me for sure. I was dying.”
Josef Newgarden finished third in the No. 2 Hitachi Chevy. The Tennessee native was not in the Championship hunt after being stripped of a season-opening win at St. Petersburg after he and teammate Scott McLaughlin were found to have illegal software that allowed them to use push-to-pass when others couldn’t.
“Team did a great job today,” said Newgarden. “They put a good car on the track, a great car. We’re going to come back next year and hopefully have a little different cadence would be nice. I’m going to be happy to leave all this in 2024.”
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou finished 11th and claimed his second straight Championship and third overall in four years. Dario Franchitti was the last driver to win three championships in four year, winning three straight for CGR from 2009-2011.
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