IndyCar
Indianapolis 500 Notebook
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Here is everything you need to know about the 107th running of ‘The Greatest Spectacle In Racing’, the Indianapolis 500.
What
- 107th 500-mile INDYCAR SERIES race conducted on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s oval. Ray Harroun won the inaugural race in 1911. Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Ericsson is the defending race winner.
Nine Previous Winners In the Field
- Nine drivers entered have won the Indianapolis 500. Helio Castroneves has won the race four times (2001, 2002, 2009 and 2021) while Takuma Sato (2017 and 2020) has won twice. Scott Dixon (2008), Tony Kanaan (2013), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2014), Alexander Rossi (2016), Will Power (2018), Simon Pagenaud (2019) and Marcus Ericsson (2022) are the other former winners in the field.
Roger Penske Winningest 500 Owner
- Team Penske has 18 wins at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the most of any team. Andretti and Chip Ganassi Racing have won five times while A.J. Foyt Enterprises and Rahal Letterman Racing have won twice. Meyer Shank Racing has one win.
Four Rookies In The Field
- Four Indianapolis 500 rookie drivers qualified for the race: Agustin Canapino, RC Enerson, Benjamin Pedersen and Sting Ray Robb.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou On Pole Position
- Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou won the NTT P1 Award with the fastest four-lap average for a pole winner at 234.217 mph in the No. 10 American Legion ‘Be The One’ Honda. Twenty-one drivers have won the race from the pole – most recently Simon Pagenaud in 2019.
Palou Going For Month of May Sweep
- Alex Palou has a chance to join Will Power and Simon Pagenaud as a winner on both the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and the famed 2.5-mile oval in the same season. Power accomplished the feat in 2018, while Pagenaud did it in 2019 – both sweeping the Month of May.
Sato Fastest in ‘Carb Day’ Final Practice
- Chip Ganassi Racing’s Takuma Sato posted the fastest speed in the ‘Carb Day’ final practice for the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500. Sato turned a fast lap of 227.855 mph in the No. 11 Deloitte Honda with his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon right behind in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda.
Scott Dixon’s Ganassi Team Wins Pit Stop Competition
- PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Scott Dixon and his No. 9 ‘Wolfpack’ crew beat the Team Penske crew of Will Power to win the annual Miller Lite Carb Day Pit Stop Competition on Friday, winning the best-of-three stops to win $50,000 and a cool ring from Jostens.
Angela Brown to sing ‘God Bless America’
- World-renowned opera singer and Indianapolis-native Angela Brown will reprise her role of singing “God Bless America” during pre-race ceremonies for the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on May 28. She last performed the beloved patriotic tradition for the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 in 2017.
Jewel to perform National Anthem
- Jewel, a multi-platinum singer-songwriter, actress, mental health lived experience expert and best-selling author, will perform the national anthem before the start of Sunday’s Indy 500. Jewel went from a girl who grew up with no running water on an Alaskan homestead to earning 26 music award nominations, becoming a multi-platinum recording artist who released one of the best-selling albums of all time.
Stephanie Beatriz Indy 500 Grand Marshall
- Stephanie Beatriz, from Peacock’s ‘Twisted Metal’ will serve as the Grand Marshall of ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing’. As grand marshal, Beatriz will give the traditional command for drivers to report to their cars during the official pre-race ceremonies and will walk the Indy 500 red carpet. The command will be shown live on NBC’s Race Day broadcast, which kicks off at 11 a.m. (ET) and runs all the way through the Indy 500 checkered flag.
Pacers Tyrese Haliburton to drive Pace Car
- Indiana Pacers Guard Tyrese Haliburton, who had a breakout season in 2022-23, has been named honorary Pace Car driver for the 107th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. Haliburton will drive the 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 hardtop convertible and lead the field of 33 drivers to the start of ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.’ “It’s a tremendous honor to be given the opportunity to drive the Pace Car and lead the field to start the Indy 500. Basketball and racing are big in Indiana, and it’s such a cool experience to represent the Pacers at the biggest race in the world.” said Haliburton.
Adam Driver Named Honorary Starter
- Indiana native Adam Driver, whose various accolades include nominations for two Academy Awards, four Primetime Emmy Awards and a Tony Award, will serve as honorary starter, waving the green flag on Sunday. “Indy 500 Race Day is full of meaning for our drivers, our fans across the globe and most especially our active-duty military members and veterans,” said J. Douglas Boles, Speedway President. “Adam is not only a star recognized across the world but also a former U.S. Marine who will be a very fitting addition to ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.’”
SUNDAY, MAY 28 Schedule
10:30 a.m. – Cars to the Grid
11:47 a.m. – Driver Introductions
12:14 p.m. – Indy 500 Pre-Race Ceremonies
12:29 p.m. – “Drivers to Your Cars”
12:38 p.m. – Command to Start Engines
12:45 p.m. – 107th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge (200 laps/500 miles), NBC/Peacock, INDYCAR Radio Network
LEEDS, AL (April 28, 2024) Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin put an emotional week in the rear-view mirror by winning Sunday’s Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix presented by AmFirst.
McLaughlin employed a three-stop, flat-out pedal to the floor strategy while several others attempted a two-stop strategy. McLaughlin’s move paid off with the victory, his second in-a-row at Barber.
McLaughlin, who led 58 of the 90 laps after earning the NTT P1 Award in qualifying Saturday, took the lead for the final time on Lap 76 after his final pit stop.
“Definitely one of my best drives in terms of execution and just knocking out the laps,” said McLaughlin, who had his third-place finish at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding stripped earlier in the week for illegal push-to-pass software and using it. “Very happy we could advance to the checkered flag there and bring home a W for Team Penske and for Roger (Penske).”
Will Power made it Team Penske 1-2 by finishing second in the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet, 1.3194 seconds behind McLaughlin.
“It was a hard-fought 1-2 for Penske,” Power said. “We were certainly fast, but obviously a lot of strategy played into that. We were able to use our speed to come out in front again.”
Chip Ganassi Racing rookie Linus Lundqvist rounded out the podium by finishing third in the No. 8 American Legion Honda, the best finish of his young career.
“Man, it was amazing,” said Lundqvist of his sixth career start. “I think for the first time ever I was not on the save fuel strategy. I was not the one being passed, which was nice.”
The next race for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES is the Sonsio Grand Prix on Saturday, May 11 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, which kicks off the Month of May activities at IMS culminating in the 108th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 26 on the IMS oval.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (April 24, 2024) Scott Dixon and the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing team are leading the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Championship standings after Team Penske was penalized for violating the series ‘push-to-pass’ parameters.
INDYCAR disqualified Josef Newgarden’s win and Scott McLaughlin’s third place finish in the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and docked Will Power 10-Championship points for the infractions.
Dixon’s epic win in this past Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach vaulted him into second position in the Championship standings, 12-points behind Newgarden. That changed following Wednesday’s penalties.
Dixon now holds a 2-point lead over Andretti Global’s Colton Herta and a 12-point lead over teammate and reigning INDYCAR Champion Alex Palou.
Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward sits in fourth position, 15-points back, following his elevation to winner at St. Pete. Power sits in fifth position, 20-points behind Dixon despite the 10-point reduction.
Dixon heads into this weekend’s Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix powered by AmFirst at Barber Motorsports Park having never won at the picturesque 2.3-mile, 17-turn road course in Birmingham Alabama.
“Barber has been interesting,” said Dixon, a six-time series Champion. “Second six times. Never won there. The goal was always to try and step on the top step again.”
Dixon is hoping a recent test will help him park the No. 9 Honda in victory lane.
“We had a really good test at Barber,” added Dixon. “Only probably half of the grid did, so it will be interesting to see how that applies.”
The first 75-minute practice session gets underway on Friday from 2:40 p.m. to 3:55 p.m. and will be live-streamed on Peacock.
McLaughlin is the defending race winner.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (April 24, 2024) Team Penske is in hot water for violating NTT INDYCAR SERIES rules regarding push-to-pass and Josef Newgarden has been stripped of his win in the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding.
Team Penske was in violation of the following “Push to Pass” parameters:
- Rule 14.19.15. An indicator to enable Push to Pass will be sent via CAN communication from the timing and scoring beacon on board the Car to the team data logger. This signal must be passed on to the ECU unmodified and uninterrupted during all Road and Street Course Events.
- Rule 14.19.16. Race Starts and any Race Restart that occurs before the lap prior to the white flag or prior to three minutes remaining in a timed Race Event will have the Push to Pass system disabled and will be enabled for a given Car once that Car reaches the alternate Start/Finish line.
The issue came to light at this past weekend’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach when INDYCAR officials discovered the possible violation during the morning warmup. The Series made sure the advantage that was discovered could not be implemented during Sunday’s race.
The series then began an extensive review of data from the St. Petersburg race, which revealed that Team Penske manipulated the overtake system so that the No. 2, 3 and 12 cars had the ability to use Push to Pass on starts and restarts. According to the INDYCAR rulebook, use of overtake is not available during championship races until the car reaches the alternate start-finish line.
It was determined that Newgarden’s No. 2 and the No. 3 of Scott McLaughlin gained a competitive advantage by using Push to Pass on restarts while the No. 12 of Will Power did not. McLaughlin was stripped of his third-place finish and Power was docked 10-Championship points. All three entries have been fined $25,000 and will forfeit all prize money associated with the Streets of St. Petersburg race.
The integrity of the INDYCAR SERIES championship is critical to everything we do,” said INDYCAR President Jay Frye. “While the violation went undetected at St. Petersburg, INDYCAR discovered the manipulation during Sunday’s warmup in Long Beach and immediately addressed it ensuring all cars were compliant for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Beginning with this week’s race at Barber Motorsports Park, new technical inspection procedures will be in place to deter this violation.”
Team Penske issued a statement where President Tim Cindric blamed the violation on software that was not removed following a test session.
“Unfortunately, the push-to-pass software was not removed as it should have been, following recently completed hybrid testing in the Team Penske Indy cars. This software allowed for push-to-pass to be deployed during restarts at the St. Petersburg Grand Prix race, when it should not have been permitted. The No. 2 car driven by Josef Newgarden and the No. 3 car driven by Scott McLaughlin, both deployed push-to-pass on a restart, which violated INDYCAR rules. Team Penske accepts the penalties applied by INDYCAR.”
Newgarden’s disqualification handed the victory to Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward elevated PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon to the top of the Championship standings.
Dewease and Hammaker Get First Wins for New Car Owners at Williams Grove Speedway
Mother Nature winning the weekend as local tracks cancel events
McLaughlin goes back-to-back at Barber Motorsports Park
Macri Gets Third Straight Kauffman Classic at Port Royal; Amantea and Craig Perigo Also Score
Flick, Norris, Rudolph and Dietz Victorious at Lernerville
Borden Thrills at Port Royal; Robinson, Covert, and Hart also Score
Team Penske Penalized for St. Pete Infractions. Newgarden Stripped Of Win
Historic Stock Cars to run at Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix
Pittsburgh’s PA Motor Speedway Cancels Saturday Program; Pivots To Flood Relief Drive
