IndyCar
Felix Rosenqvist leads opening practice at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg; Ganassi’s Armstrong 3rd quickest
ST. PETERSBURG, FL (March 8, 2024) Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist set the fastest lap of the first practice session of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding.
Rosenqvist’s fast lap of 1:00:3380 (107.393 mph) was 0.4722 quicker than the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet of Pato O’Ward (100.8112/106.559).
“It was a really good run for us,” said Rosenqvist who added “everbody knows the Andretti package is good on the road and street circuits,” referring to their technical partnership with Andretti Global.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Armstrong was third quick in the No. 11 Ridegline Honda with a fast lap of 100.81822 (106.547 mph) followed by Will Power in the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet (100.8408/106.547).
“While we were third-fastest, I think we can look through the data and find even more speed,” said Armstrong. “Tomorrow will be a different day and it will bring different temperatures and different ambient temperatures. We have some homework to do but we’re in a good spot for day one.”
The practice session included the whole field for the first 20-minutes followed by two 10-minute sessions of a split field. Power said he approved of the new format.
“I don’t mind that,” said Power, who added “there’s more room on track and less backing up. I felt like overall the session was pretty good.”
Ed Carpenter Racing’s Rinus VeeKay rounded out the Top 5 in the No. 21 Chevrolet (100.8848/106.431).
Armstrong’s more experienced teammates Alex Palou, the two-time and defending series champion, finished the session P8 in the No. 10 DHL Honda with a quick lap of 1.01.0200 (106.195) around the 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit.
“It was a very good day with it being the first practice of the year in the new DHL Honda,” said Palou. “We obviously ran through some new stuff, not only as a team starting a new season, but with a new practice format, as well. We were focused on getting a lot of laps and it was nice out there without a ton of traffic. The car honestly felt pretty good. Of course, there is a lot of work to do as always, but it’s good to be back.”
Six-time Series Champion Scott Dixon finished P12 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda (1.01.0728/106.103).
“Today was quite interesting with the split sessions,” said Dixon. “We missed a bit and probably weren’t aggressive enough with the changes throughout those sessions, but we’re optimistic and hopeful that there is a lot of speed to come. Looking forward to another practice and qualifying tomorrow with the PNC Bank crew.”
Rookies Linus Lundqvist finished 18th (1.01.3377/105.645) in his inaugural outing in the No. 8 American Legion Be The One Honda and Kyffin Simpson ended the session P23 (1.01.7223/104.986) in the No. 4 Journie Rewards Honda.
“It was a great first practice and I was glad to run the most laps today, as that was one of the goals for this session,” said Lundqvist. “We are taking it step by step, but I feel that our Honda is in a pretty good place with the primary tires. When we went to the alternates, we didn’t kind quite get a quality run with the red flags that came out. But overall, we’re happy and I know the entire American Legion team will continue to work hard as we progress through the weekend.”
“It was great to drive an IndyCar for the first time and to do so here in St. Pete with the Journie Rewards crew,” said Simpson. “But, I thought it was a pretty tough session. I know our entire team will just continue to keep working, get as many laps in as we can and prepare for these upcoming sessions. I’m excited to get back on track tomorrow to continue learning and looking for more pace.”
The NTT INDYCAR SERIES returns to the track for Practice No. 2 Saturday morning at 9:35 a.m. followed by three rounds of knockout-style qualifying for the NTT P1 Award from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
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.
LEBANON TN (September 14, 2024) – Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood starts Sunday’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES season finale, the Music City Grand Prix, from the pole position.
Kirkwood’s two-lap average in the No. 27 AutoNation Honda of 201.520 mph (47.5189) was .0395-seconds faster than Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden, who will start on the outside of the front row in the No. 2 Hitachi Chevrolet.
Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist starts third in the No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda with Championship contender Will Power starting alongside in the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet for Team Penske. Power trails Championship leader Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing by 33-points and must finish third or better to challenge Palou for the title.
“We’ll do what we can in the race tomorrow,” said Power, a two-time series Champion. “You know how these things roll. If it’s our day, it will be our day. If not, we’ll try again next year.”
Palou, the reigning series Champion, qualified 15th in the No. 10 DHL Honda, but will start 24th due to a 9-position grid penalty for an unapproved engine change following the last race in Milwaukee.
“The first lap wasn’t too bad, then the second lap was really, really bad,” said Palou, himself a two-time series Champion. “Not what we wanted, not what we needed.”
Palou needs to finish ninth or better to secure his third title in the last four seasons. He led the opening practice on Saturday at 199.862.
“The car was really good this morning. Hopefully we can make up some spots. It’s time to see what we can do.”
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, Ed Carpenter Racing’s Christian Rasmussen, Arrow McLaren’s Alexander Rossi and Rossi’s teammate Nolan Siegel also received the nine-spot grid penalty for changing their engines.
The 206-lap season finale starts Sunday at 3 p.m. ET, and will be televised by NBC, Peacock, Universo, and can be heard on the INDYCAR Radio Network.
NEWTON, IA (July 14, 2024) – NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers feel something needs to be done to make the Hy-Vee Doubleheader weekend at Iowa Speedway as exciting on-track as it has been historically.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t bummed about the race and how it raced,” said Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren Racing, who finished second Friday night. “Really tough to get that second lane working, compared to I don’t know how many on-track passes we had last year, probably not even a 10th of that. That was a bit frustrating because I thought we had a very strong car, definitely a car that was capable of winning. Just no way to get around a car.”
In 2023 for race one there were 1,502 total passes, of which 319 were for position. Conversely in race one of 2024 there were 192-total passes Saturday night, 100 of those were for position.
“Unfortunately I don’t think our car and our formula works super well for this type of track adjustment,” said Saturday night’s third place finisher Josef Newgarden about the partial track repave. “We’re different than a Cup car. We’ve developed our car differently than they have. It doesn’t always mesh. It definitely didn’t mesh tonight.”
“Bit of a shame that couldn’t really do anything to pass or to do anything,” said Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing, who finished second on Sunday. “It’s the most boring thing I’ve ever done. It was yesterday, as well. It’s a shame that we couldn’t really put on a better show. I think everybody will agree that it was a very boring race to drive.”
INDYCAR reduced downforce levels by about 450-pounds heading into the race weekend and tire supplier Firestone came with new right side tires after heat-related issues during a recent test session at the track. The combination led to a parade-like race on Saturday and Sunday.
“I feel like we go into it and not do the right amount of study or whatnot to get it done and to get it to work,” said Saturday night’s winner Scott McLaughlin, who finished third on Sunday. “That’s not a shot at the sport, not a shot at anything. It’s working together with the amazing people and the geniuses we have up and down pit lane. It’s just a matter of making it work.”
“I think INDYCAR could go to work with downforce levels, working with Firestone on a few other things,” McLaughlin explained. “But you just can’t blame the track because at the end of the day they have to repave this at some time.”
“We went from the best oval race we would have all season to potentially the least amount of passing,” said Sunday’s winner Will Power. “Maybe just a softer tire might just work with this downforce level. Just a softer tire. If it degrades, people go out. You can roll to the outside. I don’t know what the answer is, but we certainly got to do something for next year.”
Joey Logano steals Vegas win; clinches Championship 4 berth
Marks Makes $20G in Lincoln’s Final 50
A.J. Allmendinger locks up spot in Championship Race with win in Vegas
Colton Herta Wins INDYCAR Music City Grand Prix
