IndyCar
Alex Palou and Scott Dixon grab Top 10’s to lead Chip Ganassi Racing at St. Pete
ST. PETERSBURG, FL (March 10, 2024) – Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou and Scott Dixon grabbed Top 10 finishes in Sunday’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Presented by RP Funding.
Palou, the defending and two-time series Champion, started 13th on grid and by the midway point in the race he had worked his way up to the 11th spot in the No. 10 DHL Honda.
Palou continued to gain spots and after his final pit stop he was just outside the Top 5, finishing sixth.
“I’m happy to finish in the top-six and it’s a great start,” said Palou, who was the fourth biggest mover over the course of the race (+7). “That first yellow really didn’t help us, as it put everyone in the same position so we had 35 laps less of the race to do something. We finished two spots better than what we did last year. We started struggling at the beginning of the weekend, so it was an amazing recovery by Chip Ganassi Racing and the No. 10 DHL Honda team. ”
Dixon started right outside the Top 10 in the 12th position and on the opening lap avoided disaster when several drivers split Romain Grosjean, who appeared to approach Turn 1 cautiously. Grosjean drifted right to avoid the driver on his left, only to make contact with Dixon’s No. 9 PNC Bank Honda. Luckily Dixon was able to continue without damage to his machine eventually finishing 9th.
“It was a bit of a bland day,” said Dixon, who will be inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame on Tuesday. “I thought we had a good situation at the start and then it all kind of closed down to go off-track to make sure that we didn’t hit anybody. There was just no tire degradation so there wasn’t as much racing as I would have liked. Ultimately, I think the PNC Bank crew should have had a fifth, sixth or seventh, so it’s not the absolute best way to start the season.”
Rookie Kyffin Simpson impressed in his INDYCAR debut, starting 23rd and advancing 9-positions to finish 14th in the No. 4 Journie Rewards Honda.
“What an incredible day,” said Simpson, who finished the day as the top placing rookie. “I’m stoked to have such a good first race in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. I felt like we had a good start to the race and then we just kept it clean. It was definitely tight at times with some side-by-side racing, but we were able to push through and keep things clean. We were able to really push it on the greens at the end with great pace. I’m very happy with the entire day for the Journie Rewards team.”
Linus Lundqvist was running ahead of Simpson and was sitting in 15th place at the midway point of the race and was methodically picking up spots. Disaster struck on Lap 64 when Grosjean attempted a pass approaching Turn 10, sending the No. 8 American Legion Honda backwards into the tire barrier. The No. 8 CGR crew replaced the rear wing on pit road and sent the 2022 INDY NXT Champion back into the fight. Grosjean took responsibility for the ill-advised attempt and served a drive-thru penalty but that little solace for the No. 8 team.
“We were fighting on the edge of the top-10 and then sadly got taken out,” said Lundqvist. “It’s quite unfortunate because the guys and girls with the American Legion team did such a phenomenal job to be fighting for that top-10 position. It is a long season and we will definitely bounce back from that and bring the positives from the speed that we had.”
Marcus Armstrong and the No. 11 Ridgeline Lubricants Honda also showed speed all weekend and was the best qualifying car out of the CGR stable starting 11th and working his way into the Top 10 during the first 25-laps of the race.
Turn 10 challenged drivers all day because of a tricky tail wind going into the turn and Armstrong fell victim on Lap 27 when he ended up in the tire barrier.
“I was working on a fuel number and touched the brakes and locked the brakes immediately,” explained a dejected Armstrong. “I’m so disappointed by that mistake and I feel terrible for the No. 11 Chip Ganassi Racing Ridgeline Lubricants group because we were fast. To be honest, we weren’t pushing hard at the time. We were fuel saving and waiting for our time to push. It was a costly mistake and it stinks.”
Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden was basically untouchable all weekend leading 92-of-100 laps en route to the victory.
Next up for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES is the $1,000,000 non-points race at The Thermal Club.
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.”
Colton Herta Wins INDYCAR Music City Grand Prix
Courtney Gains Redemption in the Commonwealth Clash
Kirkwood wins INDYCAR Nashville pole; Ganassi’s Palou starts 24th
Seized the Day
