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Felix Rosenqvist leads opening practice at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg; Ganassi’s Armstrong 3rd quickest

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Penske Entertainment: Joe Skibinski

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).

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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.

IndyCar

Team Penske Suspends Cindric and Three Others Involved In Push-to-Pass Violation

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Penske Entertainment: James Black

MOORESVILLE, NC (May 7, 2024) Team Penske has suspended four members involved in the push-to-pass cheating scandal including team President Tim Cindric.

Managing Director Ron Ruzewski, No. 2 Race Engineer Luke Mason and Senior Data Engineer Robbie Atkinson join Cindric on the sidelines for the next two NTT INDYCAR SERIES races, this weekend’s Sonsio Grand Prix on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500.

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES discovered that Team Penske installed software that bypassed the push-to-pass system at the season opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and stripped race-winner Josef Newgarden of the victory and third-place winner Scott McLaughlin of his podium finish.  The Series said the software was discovered prior to the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

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INDYCAR’s subsequent investigation and penalties were announced prior to last week’s race at Barber Motorsports Park and the series said it was over and done with, but not for Penske.

Team Owner Roger Penske, who also owns the series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, met with several team owners and team principals at Barber but apparently felt he needed to take further action.

“After a full and comprehensive analysis of the information, Team Penske has determined that there were significant failures in our processes and internal communications,” Team Penske said in a statement.

“I recognize the magnitude of whaat occurred and the impact it continues to have on the sport to which I’ve dedicated so many decades,” said Team Owner Roger Penske in the same statement.  “Everyone at Team Penske along with our fans and business partners should know that I apologize for the errors that were made and I deeply regret them.”

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IndyCar

McLaughlin goes back-to-back at Barber Motorsports Park

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Penske Entertainment: Chris Owens

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).”

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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.

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IndyCar

Scott Dixon on top of INDYCAR Championship Standings after Team Penske Penalty

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James Black - Penske Entertainment

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.

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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.

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