Tag: NTT IndyCar Series

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Alex Palou bags $500,000 in Thermal Club Challenge race

Alex Palou cruised to victory Sunday morning in IndyCar’s Thermal Club $1 Million Dollar Challenge exhibition race at The Thermal Club, a private motorsports club in Palm Springs, California, bagging himself half a million dollars.

Alex Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing Team celebrate winning the Thermal Club $1 Million Dollar Challenge race in victory lane (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)
  • Palou becomes half a million dollars richer
  • Empty pockets
  • Heat results
  • Main race results

3 min read

Palou becomes a half a million dollars richer

The Chip Ganassi Racing driver and reigning two-time IndyCar champion had been in control of his destiny all weekend long, qualifying on the pole, and then comfortably winning his heat race to start on pole for the main 20-lap 12 car feature race where victory never looked in doubt, leading all 20 laps, and taking the checkered flag with over five seconds over second place Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, who still won $350,000 for being runner-up.

The final race was divided into two ten-lap segments with a ten minute halftime break, with teams having to keep the same set of tyres on for the whole race.

Drivers like Colton Herta chose not to push for the first 10-lap segment and instead hanged back of the pack and sought to save his tyres for the second 10-lap segment.

Herta was able to go from tenth to fourth but still bagged himself $500,000 of the $1.7 million total purse, but was not able to reach Palou, who was out front in clean air all race long.

Palou said: “I was a bit surprised how the competitors did the first 10 laps, saving tires. I was like: ‘All right, that’s our game. I like it.”

When asked by NBC how he was going to spend his winnings he replied: “I need to buy a lot of diapers and pyjamas.”

Heat one runner up Scott McLaughlin was Alex Palou’s nearest competitor on track in the main race but two laps in, Palou had pulled a 1.7 second gap, and despite the halftime reset, Palou only extended the gap over McLaughlin further by over five seconds come the end of the race.

Alex Palou leads the Thermal Club main race with Scott McLaughlin in second (second), and Felix Rosenqvist in third (third) (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)

Colton Herta only just made it into the main race in heat one by holding off rookie and fellow California native Nolan Siegel who was making his IndyCar Series debut, Ferrucci, and Will Power for sixth place, with only the top six out of the 14 drivers in heat one advancing to the main race.

Herta said: “Our strategy worked in the second half. Yeah I didn’t care. I went to feast in the second half.”

Heat one polesitter and Meyer Shank Racing driver Felix Rosenqvist had an impressive outing again, leading right where he left off in St. Pete, by holding off McLaughlin for the heat one win, and was able to bring the car home third and secure himself $250,000.

Empty pockets

Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Romain Grosjean did not share in the fortunes of Palou’s dominant display or his ex-Andretti teammates’ fourth place, nor did Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon, after he collided with Grosjean in the heat one race start in the turn one braking zone, sending Grosjean out of control into the pack as they went through the turn one hairpin, collecting innocent bystander Rinus VeeKay in the process, taking them both out of the race.

Romain Grosjean goes skidding across the sand in turn one moments before he collides with Rinus VeeKay in the start of heat 1 (Photo by Joe Skibinksi/Penske Entertainment)

Dixon was given a drive through penalty under green conditions following the restart for avoidance contact.

Grosjean said: “It’s not what I signed up to IndyCar for.”

It was intense heat two battle for Arrow McLaren with their drivers Callum Ilott, Alexander Rossi, and Pato O’Ward as they fought over seventh, with Rossi and O’Ward finding a way past Ilott, who was standing in for David Malukas and is not scheduled to compete in any more races, with Rossi managing to get past Meyer Shank Racing driver Tom Blomqvist for the final transfer spot.

Callum Ilott (front), Alexander Rossi (second), and Pato O’Ward (third) battle over seventh place in heat 2 (Photp by Chris Jones/Penske Entertainment)

Rossi then scrapped with two-time IndyCar champion Josef Newgarden following the halftime break in the main race, making contact on lap 12 and driving both wide off track, allowing Lundqvist and Herta to sneak by for fifth and sixth place respectively.

Rossi finally finished ahead of Newgarden in seventh after finding a cleaner way past by the end of the lap. Newgarden finished eighth.

Pietro Fittipaldi, who had finished in fifth place in heat one, was disqualified from the main race come the halftime break due to the team not getting the car full of fuel for the race, as required by IndyCar.

The next IndyCar Series race is the prestigious Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 21st with the race starting 3pm ET time.

Heat 1 results 

  1. Felix Rosenqvist
  2. Scott McLaughlin
  3. Josef Newgarden
  4. Christian Lundgaard
  5. Agustin Canapino
  6. Colton Herta
  7. Nolan Siegel
  8. Santino Ferrucci
  9. Will Power
  10. Kyle Kirkwood
  11. Sting Ray Robb
  12. Scott Dixon
  13. Rinus VeeKay
  14. Romain Grosjean

Heat 2 results 

  1. Alex Palou
  2. Marcus Armstrong
  3. Graham Rahal
  4. Linus Lundqvist
  5. Pietro Fittipaldi
  6. Alexander Rossi
  7. Pato O’Ward
  8. Tom Blomqvist
  9. Callum Ilott
  10. Christian Rasmussen
  11. Kyffin Simpson
  12. Marcus Ericsson
  13. Colin Braun

Main race results 

  1. Alex Palou
  2. Scott McLaughlin
  3. Felix Rosenqvist
  4. Colton Herta
  5. Marcus Armstrong
  6. Linus Lundqvist
  7. Alexander Rossi
  8. Josef Newgarden
  9. Christian Lundgaard
  10. Agustin Canapino
  11. Graham Rahal
  12. Pietro Fittipaldi

Featured Image:  Alex Palou celebrates winning the Thermal Club $1 Million Dollar Challenge Race (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)

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Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge race preview

The NTT IndyCar Series are getting set to race for $1 million plus dollars near Palm Springs, California at the 17-turn three mile Thermal Club circuit, in a non-points paying exhibition race, the first of it’s kind since IndyCar’s Nikon 300 at Surfers Paradise in 2008.

The Thermal Club logo printed on the straight of the Thermal Club circuit (Photo by Chris Jones/Penske Entertainment)
  • Race day breakdown
  • Qualifying 
  • Full qualifying results 

5 min read

There is a $1.7 million total purse for the race, with the winning driver being awarded $500,000.

The race event will consist of two 10 lap/20 minute heat races on Sunday starting 8:45am PT/3:45pm UK time with the main race starting 9:30am PT/4:30pm UK time.

Full course yellow laps will not count towards the lap total during the heat races but the time will, the first that’s completed, either 10 laps or 20 minutes, will end each heat race.

Drivers will only be granted one set of tyres for their heat races.

The top six finishers from each heat race will advance to the main race to have a chance of winning the $500,000, with even second and third winning $350,000 and $250,000 respectively.

Callum Ilott (front), Pato O’Ward (middle), and Christian Lundgaard (rear) race around the Thermal Club circuit (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)

The starting order for the heats was decided by two eight minute heat qualifying sessions, one for each of the two groups, Saturday afternoon that saw Felix Rosenqvist and Alex Palou take pole for each heat respectively.

The main race, the Sprint for the Purse, will be a 20-lap race broken down into two 10 lap segments, with a 10-minute halftime break after lap 10.

There will only be one set of tyres made available for the main race and will have no time limit for but will finish by all 20 laps being completed.

During the 10-minute halftime break, drivers will come pit road, and be able to take fuel and make adjustments.

Due to both groups of drivers only merging together for the main race with the top six from each groups’ heat races, group two have been awarded priority spots for equivalent starting positions for the main race due to Palou, who is in group two, laying down a faster pole time compared to Rosenqvist’s group one pole time.

There is a strong likelihood of teams infighting for the top six advancement through to the main race in both heats due to all three Team Penske cars being in group one, and all three Arrow Mclaren cars being in group two, three of the four Chip Ganassi Racing cars in heat two, as well as both Juncos Hollinger Racing cars of Romain Grosjean and Agustin Canapino starting next to each for heat one.

It is not the first time IndyCar have tried out heat racing, last doing so at the Iowa Speedway oval in 2012 and 2013, with current drivers Graham Rahal and Scott Dixon winning heat races in those events.

Current Indy NXT championship points leader and California native Nolan Siegel, is making his IndyCar Series debut at the event and qualified 12th for his heat one race.

Siegel was the 2023 IndyCar development series’ Rookie of the Year, and the 19-year-old is scheduled to also make IndyCar Series starts at the Grand Prix of Long Beach, the Indianapolis 500, and the Grand Prix of Toronto.

Nolan Siegel (front) and Christian Lundgaard (rear) race around the Thermal Club circuit (Photo by Chris Jones/Penske Entertainment)

Push to pass for the drivers is being made available for a total time of 40 seconds, for each qualifying session, the heat races and both 10-lap segments of the main race.

Qualifying

Qualifying consisted of two eight minute sessions, with the two group makeups being decided by a random draw, and only had one set of tires to lay down their qualifying laps.

Group 1 qualifying saw Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist bag a consecutive pole with a lap time of 1.38.5831, after grabbing pole two weeks ago in the season opener at St. Pete.

Rosenqvist talking to NBC said: “It’s so tricky out there, wind and dirt on the track. Felt confident. The speed is there.”

Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, who qualified third in group one, speaking to NBC said: “That was awesome, it was like an old-school Supercars shootout, you go out there, and bam bam bam.”

Andretti Global’s and California native Colton Herta struggled to put a fast lap together, lacking grip at the end of the session, and will start 11th out of 14th for heat one.

Group 2 qualifying saw a dramatic change in weather conditions after a late session red flag brought out by Marcus Ericsson, that saw Palou shoot to the top with a lap time of 1.38.5675, to secure pole for heat two.

Palou, who was quickest in both test sessions on Friday, speaking to NBC said: “Amazing, looking forward to tomorrow, happy with that. Had 14 seconds of push to pass, car was good.”

Palou’s pole lap came following the 10-minute red flag, that had been brought out by Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson after he lost his car over the bumps in turn eight as engaged push to pass, and went backwards into the tyre wall.

When the red flag was lifted, wind gusts had eased, creating more favourable conditions for the drivers.

Both Arrow McLaren teams of Callum Ilott and Pato O’Ward, who were sat one two on the timesheet at the time of the red flag, did not go out to do one final lap, unlike the other 11 drivers in group two, and ended up eighth and ninth for qualifying, over half a second down to Palou.

O’Ward speaking to NBC during the red flag said that the “track is very sensitive to heat and wind. I could never get the car to set, it was going in the opposite direction to where I wanted to go. It’s just really gusty and feels icy out there.”

Graham Rahal qualified third for heat two in his final lap attempt following the red flag.

Speaking to NBC Rahal described his attempt as “the old fashioned pull it out.”

Don’t miss the Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge race beginning 8:45am PT Sunday.

Full qualifying results

Group 1 qualifying results for Heat 1 

  1. Felix Rosenqvist
  2. Scott McLaughlin
  3. Rinus VeeKay
  4. Christian Lundgaard
  5. Josef Newgarden
  6. Will Power
  7. Romain Grosjean
  8. Agustin Canapino
  9. Scott Dixon
  10. Santino Ferrucci
  11. Colton Herta
  12. Nolan Siegel
  13. Kyle Kirkwood
  14. Sting Ray Robb

Group 2 qualifying results for Heat 2

  1. Alex Palou
  2. Marcus Armstrong
  3. Graham Rahal
  4. Linus Lundqvist
  5. Tom Blomqvist
  6. Pietro Fittipaldi
  7. Alexander Rossi
  8. Callum Ilott
  9. Pato O’Ward
  10. Kyffin Simpson
  11. Christian Rasmussen
  12. Colin Braun
  13. Marcus Ericsson

Featured Image: Colton Herta practices around the Thermal Club circuit in Friday’s test session (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)

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Josef Newgarden soars to third St. Pete victory

Josef Newgarden ruled the streets of St. Pete Sunday afternoon in IndyCar’s season opening race, leading 92 of the 100 laps to secure his third St. Pete win and first street course win for Team Penske after Penske went winless on street courses in 2023.

  • Josef Newgarden takes third St. Pete victory
  • Rest of race recap
  • Full race results/points standings 

3 min read

Newgarden converted his pole starting position to an over seven second lead over runner up Pato O’Ward come the checkered flag, with the win only ever looking in doubt when the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet machine lost three spots on pit road during the first pit stop cycle of the day but quickly gained them back and the lead after the restart.

Josef Newgarden and his No. 2 Chevrolet Team Penske team celebrate winning the 2024 GP of St. Pete (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)

Newgarden said: “I had a lot of fun today. I think it’s so deserving for the work they (Team Penske) put in. We’ve worked really hard to close the gap. We didn’t have the speed we needed on road and street courses last year, at least on a consistency basis, and today we brought that speed.”

It was Newgarden’s 30th IndyCar Series win, passing Team Penske legend Rick Mears for 13th on the all-time IndyCar Series wins list.

Team Penske and Chevrolet have appeared to have got their street course package back on track, with all three Penske cars finishing in the top five with 2022 St. Pete winner McLaughlin finishing third and two-time St. Pete winner Will Power finishing fourth.

Last year Honda won all five street course races. Sunday saw Andretti Global’s Colton Herta, who won the 2021 edition of the race, be the highest finishing Honda in fifth.

Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward was Newgarden’s closest contender throughout the race, keeping Newgarden within two seconds of him until the final twenty laps where he extended it to an eight second lead while O’Ward had to drive with his rearview mirrors to keep the late charging McLaughlin and Power behind to hold on to the runners up position.

Josef Newgarden leads with Pato O’Ward giving chase (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)

O’Ward said: “I think it’s a very solid foundation to what is going to be a very tight, very competitive rest of the year.”

Power and McLaughlin, on the softer alternate tyre were able to charge down O’Ward despite the No. 5 Arrow McLaren driver being on the harder primary tyre. Power had yet to take the alternate green lined tyre before his final pit stop, so as per IndyCar rules of having to run at least two laps on each tyre compound, Power was forced to take the softer tyre.

Rest of race recap

Josef Newgarden and Felix Rosenqvist led the 27-car field to green with Newgarden comfortably leading the opening stint.

The start of the St. Pete GP (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Armstrong brought out the first caution of the race on lap 26 when he locked up his No. 11 Ridgeline Honda in turn 10 slamming it into the outside tyre wall, taking himself out of the race.

Sting Ray Robb brought out the second of three cautions on lap 35 when he parked his No. 41 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet in the turn one escape road. Christian Lundgaard who had inherited the lead after not pitting during the previous caution due to pitting earlier in the race for a puncture, handed the lead back to Newgarden, who had raced past Rosenqvist and Herta to work back up to second prior to the caution.

Last year’s St. Pete winner Marcus Ericsson had to retire early from the race on lap 53 due to a mechanical failure. Ericsson had been running seventh before the failure.

Romain Grosjean’s late lunge on rookie Linus Lundqvist for 12th place on lap 68 saw the caution fly again as Lundqvist went spinning into the turn 10 outside tyre wall.

Lundqvist’s Chip Ganassi Racing team was able to replace his rear wing but would finish the race three laps down. Grosjean would later retire with gearbox failure after completing his drive through penalty for avoidable contact.

The next event is The $1 Million Challenge, a special, non-points race at 12:30 p.m. ET Sunday, March 24 at The Thermal Club near Palm Springs, California.

Full race results/points standings

  1. Josef Newgarden 54
  2. Pato O’Ward 40
  3. Scott McLaughlin 35
  4. Will Power 32
  5. Colton Herta 31
  6. Alex Palou 28
  7. Felix Rosenqvist 26
  8. Alexander Rossi 24
  9. Scott Dixon 22
  10. Rinus VeeKay 20
  11. Santino Ferrucci 19
  12. Kyle Kirkwood 18
  13. Callum Ilott 17
  14. Kyffin Simpson 16
  15. Pietro Fittapaldi 15
  16. Graham Rahal 14
  17. Tom Blomqvist 13
  18. Agustin Canapino 12
  19. Jack Harvey 11
  20. Christian Lundgaard 10
  21. Christian Rasmussen 9
  22. Colin Braun 8
  23. Rinus Lundqvist 7
  24. Romain Grosjean 6
  25. Marcus Ericcson 5
  26. Sting Ray Robb 5
  27. Marcus Armstrong 5

Featured Image: Josef Newgarden celebrates winning the 2024 GP of St. Pete (Photo by Chris Jones/Penske Entertainment)

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Grand Prix of St. Pete race preview

The traditional NTT IndyCar Series season opener, the Grand Prix of St. Pete in Florida, gets underway this Sunday with a 27-car grid including five rookies, with Josef Newgarden and Felix Rosenqvist locking out the front row for Sunday’s 100-lap race.

Start of the 2023 GP of St. Pete (Photo by Chris Jones/Penske Entertainment).
  • Race preview/qualifying 
  • Full qualifying results

3 min read

IndyCar returns to St. Petersburg, Florida for it’s season opener in what will be the 21st running of the Grand Prix of St. Pete; a 100-lap, 180 mile race around the streets of downtown St. Pete and the Albert Whitted Airport with the race starting at 12pm ET/4pm UK time.

The 14-turn temporary street circuit never fails to bring the action as last year’s race was won in the final laps as Pato O’Ward’s car temporarily lost power, allowing Marcus Ericsson to drive by and take the checkered flag three laps later.

Marcus Ericsson leads Pato O’Ward in the 2023 GP of St. Pete (Photo by Chris Jones/Penske Entertainment)

Saturday’s qualifying saw Team Penske’s two-time St. Pete winner Josef Newgarden  put his No. 2 PPG Chevrolet on pole with a 59.5714 second lap.

Newgarden said: “I get jacked up every time I show up for an IndyCar race. This is a rockstar team.”

One of Newgarden’s main goals for the 2024 season was to secure a pole position, It is Newgarden’s third St. Pete pole, having gone without a pole in the 2023 season, last being on pole for the 2022 Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle.

Josef Newgarden in the No. 2 PPG Chevrolet for Team Penske at St. Pete (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)

Felix Rosenqvist, now racing for Meyer Shank Racing after being replaced at Arrow McLaren, joins Newgarden on the front row, having done a 59.5772 lap.

Rosenqvist said: “We don’t want to get carried away; the race is a different challenge. But we had a feeling from practice, from rolling off the truck, and that’s great.”

Rosenqvist broke the track record in the Group of 12 qualifying session with a lap of 59.2706 to advance to the Firestone Fast Six, beating Will Power’s 59.3466 lap in the Group of 12 session in 2022.

Six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon could only manage an 11th starting place. Dixon is still winless at St. Pete after 19 previous attempts.

Will Power also failed to make the fast six, with an eighth-place effort. Power had secured nine of the last 14 poles at St. Pete, also being a two-time winner, winning in 2010 and 2014, with Newgarden winning the 2019 and ’20 race respectively.

Tom Blomqvist was the best of the rookies, qualifying 17th with a lap time of 59.9968, driving for Meyer Shank Racing

Graham Rahal, Colton Herta, Scott McLaughlin, and Marcus Ericsson also have wins at St. Pete; 2008, 2021, 2022, and 2023 respectively.

Different for this years’ race is the turn three repave, removing heavy bumps that means drivers can now go flat out through the corner.

Also different is the use of lighter chassis components on the cars including a new 3D-printed titanium aeroscreen top frame, saving seven pounds, as well as the switch to a magnesium gearbox casing and bellhousing. This is all in preparation for the arrival of the 2.2-litre twin-turbocharged V6 engines with hybrid technology this summer.

Catch the 2024 Grand Prix of St. Pete on Sunday at 12pm ET/4pm UK time.

Full qualifying results

  1. Josef Newgarden
  2. Felix Rosenqvist
  3. Pato O’Ward
  4. Colton Herta
  5. Romain Grosjean
  6. Marcus Ericsson
  7. Rinus VeeKay
  8. Will Power
  9. Scott McLaughlin
  10. Marcus Armstrong
  11. Scott Dixon
  12. Christian Lundgaard
  13. Alex Palou
  14. Santino Ferrucci
  15. Alexander Rossi
  16. Callum Ilott
  17. Tom Blomqvist (R)
  18. Kyle Kirkwood
  19. Linus Lundqvist (R)
  20. Agustin Canapino
  21. Christian Rasmussen (R)
  22. Graham Rahal
  23. Kyffin Simpson (R)
  24. Sting Ray Robb
  25. Colin Braun (R)
  26. Pietro Fittipaldi
  27. Jack Harvey

Featured Image: 2023 GP of St. Pete (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)

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Will Power surges to second IndyCar championship; Palou wins Firestone GP in dominant display

Will Power ran an intelligent race allowing title rival and teammate Josef Newgarden past on lap 46, settling for third place in the race to ensure locking up the championship by 16 points while Álex Palou stormed out to a 30 second lead over Newgarden by the end to win the Firestone Grand Prix at Laguna Seca.

Will Power managing his race (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)

Will Power led the opening 14 laps before a roulette of strategies began playing out on pit road. Palou took the lead away from Power on lap 27 while Newgarden squeezed past Power for second heading into the corkscrew on lap 46.

In the closing stages a train of cars threatened to undo Power’s championship hopes with Arrow McLaren SP’s Felix Rosenqvist leading it but Power held on and created enough distance to ward off any threat and take the last spot on the podium and earn his second IndyCar championship.

Will Power (front) running 2nd trying to hold off Felix Rosenqvist, Pato O’Ward and Josef Newgarden in the corkscrew (Photo by James Black/Penske Entertainment)

Power post-race said: “I just knew I had to absolutely get the most out of those stints and not lose any more positions.”

The 41-year-old Australian won just one race this season, that being the final Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle compared with championship runner up Josef Newgarden’s five wins but his 12 top-five finishes, being three more than any other driver, bolstered him to his second NTT IndyCar Series championship, giving Team Penske their 17th IndyCar championship. 

Roger Penske (left) and Will Power (right) celebrating Team Penske’s 17th IndyCar Championship and Power’s 2nd (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)

Power speaking to NBC said: “I had to drive the thing today. It was on the edge, very loose. Man, what a relief. What a relief to get that done.”

Will Power won his first championship in 2014 also with Team Penske. 

Will Power celebrating his second NTT IndyCar Series Championship with the Astor Cup trophy (Photo by James Black/Penske Entertainment)

Newgarden did nearly all he could to steal the championship away from Power on the final weekend but a crash in qualifying saw him start 25th compared to Power taking his 68th pole position, gaining a bonus championship point, and surpassing Mario Andretti’s record for all-time poles.

Newgarden started off aggressive gaining five positions on the opening lap before going long and switching to the softer red tyre that saw him move all the way up to seventh by lap 34. On pit strategy, Newgarden briefly took the lead for a few laps on lap 69 when Palou pitted but could not match Palou’s overall pace.

Post-race Newgarden said: “Even yesterday, with the heartache there, we came back, we fought, and we nearly got there. I’m proud of the effort. We’re going to come back stronger next year.”

Josef Newgarden racing in the Firestone Grand Prix at Laguna Seca (Photo by James Black/Penske Entertainment)

Palou had blistering pace all race long but narrowly escaped trouble when leaving his pit box on his second stop as he scraped the rear of Rosenqvist’s car as  he left his pit box.

IndyCar, despite it appearing to be an unsafe release, declared no action would be taken. This otherwise would have led to a penalty that could have unraveled Palou’s race. He had already overcome a six-place grid penalty for an unapproved engine change that saw him start the race 11th.

Apart from making contact with Rosenqvist on pit road, Palou seem unfazed that he was still being sued by his own team owner, unsure where he will be racing next year.

Palou had a 20 second lead over Newgarden with 20 laps to go and led 67 of the 95 laps in total to earn his fourth career win and first win of the season for Chip Ganassi Racing.

Álex Palou out front in the Firestone Grand Prix at Laguna Seca (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)

Palou said: “Today was awesome. Strategy was on point. It’s good to finish a season with a win. We had some power there and good fuel mileage.”

Álex Palou celebrating in victory lane with his team (Photo by Travis Hinkle/Penske Entertainment)

Palou’s and Power’s teammates and remaining championship contenders did not appear to have anything for them and Newgarden.

Dixon and Ericsson struggled to keep from dropping out of the top 15 and attempted to work their way up the order by going off strategy but Dixon found himself down in 23rd after pitting while Ericsson came out 15th just past the 30 lap mark.

Scott Dixon racing in the Firestone Grand Prix at Laguna Seca (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)

The same can be said for Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin as he found himself in 20th after pitting on lap 53 while Dixon was 24th.

Their strategy and pace did come to some fruition as McLaughlin, Ericsson, and Dixon found themselves nose to tail by lap 63 with McLaughlin playing defence for his Penske teammates up front.

Scott McLaughlin (left) keeping Scott Dixon (right) at bay (Photo by Travis Hinkle/Penske Entertainment)

By the end, McLaughlin impressively worked all his way up to finish sixth but not before having multiple scraps with Ericsson that saw the Swede take to the sand on multiple occasions. Ericsson also made an incredible save in the corkscrew after contact with Colton Herta. Ericsson finished ninth while Dixon finished 13th.

Dixon, McLaughlin, and Ericsson would finish third, fourth, and sixth respectively in the championship.

Dixon will have to wait to another year to attempt to become a seven-time IndyCar champion tying A.J. Foyt for the most championships, while McLaughlin has excelled in just his second season with three wins this year while Marcus Ericsson won this year’s Indianapolis 500, an outstanding achievement that has changed his life forever.

Scott McLaughlin travelling down the hill at the corkscrew (Photo by Travis Hinkle/Penske Entertainment)

Away from the championship battle, it was a bittersweet day for British rookie Callum Ilott who had qualified second for the race and for the opening laps held his position. He was still running inside the top 10 after the first stint but as he was leaving the pit exit he a mechanical failure and stopped just past the Andretti hairpin, ending his day and brought out the only full course yellow of the race on lap 39.

Will Power (front) and Callum Ilott (left behind Power) lead the field to green for the Firestone Grand Prix at Laguna Seca

It would be Denmark’s Christian Lundgaard who would be the highest finishing rookie in fifth. Lundgaard also wins the Rookie Of The Year competition finishing on 323 points, beating David Malukas by 18 points who finished 13th in the race.

Christian Lundgaard entering the corkscrew during the Firestone Grand Prix (Photo by Travis Hinkle/Penske Entertainment)

Jimmie Johnson had a breakout day for his IndyCar road course programme being competitive all race-long, including making aggressive passes in the corkscrew and would finish 16th.

Jimmie Johnson racing in the Firestone Grand Prix at Laguna Seca (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)

Full race results: 1st Álex Palou, 2nd Josef Newgarden, 3rd Will Power, 4th Felix Rosenqvist, 5th Christian Lundgaard, 6th Scott McLaughlin, 7th Romain Grosjean, 8th Pato O’Ward, 9th Marcus Ericsson, 10th Alexander Rossi, 11th Colton Herta, 12th Scott Dixon, 13th David Malukas, 14th Rinus VeeKay, 15th Devlin DeFrancesco, 16th Jimmie Johnson, 17th Simon Pagenaud, 18th Graham Rahal, 19th Helio Castroneves, 20th Jack Harvey, 21st Kyle Kirkwood, 22nd Simona de Silvestro, 23rd Takuma Sato, 24th Conor Daly, 25th Dalton Kellett, 26th Callum Ilott.

Top 10 in championship standings: 1st Will Power (560), 2nd Josef Newgarden (544), 3rd Scott Dixon (521), 4th Scott McLaughlin (510), 5th Álex Palou (510), 6th Marcus Ericsson (506), 7th Pato O’Ward (480), 8th Felix Rosenqvist (393), 9th Alexander Rossi (381), 10th Colton Herta (381).

Featured Image: Will Power and his No. 12 Team Penske celebrating the championship title with the Astor Cup trophy (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment

 

 

 

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Will Power ties Mario Andretti for most all-time poles

Will Power put his Team Penske Verizon Chevrolet on pole in Friday afternoon’s qualifying session, tying Mario Andretti for most all-time IndyCar poles with 67.

With a two-lap average of 182.727 he cleared his championship rivals and Team Penske teammates for the top spot for Saturday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway and secured his fourth pole of the season.

Will Power qualifying (Photo by Sean Birkle/Penske Entertainment)

Power received the complementary bonus point for securing pole, giving him a now seven point championship lead over Scott Dixon with just three race remaining.

Speaking to NBC Power said: “This is a big victory for me, to reach the 67 number and equal such a legend of the sport in Mario Andretti. I just can’t believe that I’m right there with Mario because there’s been no one like him.”

It could very well have been Power’s teammate Josef Newgarden who would have taken his second pole of the season but a mistake in turns three and four on lap one causing him to downshift, meant he had to settle for only third with a two-lap average of 181.629.

On the radio Newgarden said, “I goofed the first one” and later said to NBC “I wish I could have a redo.”

Josef Newgarden discussing qualifying with his team (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)

Joining Power on the front row is 2022 Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson who also broke the 182mph mark with a 182.070 two-lap average after using all of the race track to do it.

Marcus Ericsson out on track (Photo by James Black/Penske Entertainment)

Power’s other teammate Scott McLaughlin qualified fourth. Ericsson’s teammates Palou and Dixon qualified fifth and sixth respectively.

It proved to be a frustrating qualifying for Arrow McLaren SP with Felix Rosenqvist spinning out on his qualifying attempt while Pato O’Ward felt he was too conservate on his.

Rosenqvist spun coming out of turn two on lap one in an effort to keep his car off the wall, and ended up tagging the inside tyre barrier before coming to a stop.

O’Ward qualified seventh with is first lap holding him back to a two-lap average of 180.303.

Takuma Sato impressively qualified eighth after the 2019 winner of the race, used up all of the race track saying he “had to pedal it” due to experiencing oversteer.

Takuma Sato qualifying (Photo by Sean Birkle/Penske Entertainment)

Romain Grosjean was the best of the Andretti Autosport cars qualifying ninth, continuing his good record at the track after a strong IndyCar oval debut at WWT Raceway last year.

Grosjean however has to take a nine-place grid penalty for Saturday’s race due to an unapproved engine change and will consequently start 18th.

A happy Romain Grosjean sat on the pit wall (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)

Andretti teammate Devlin DeFrancesco left off from where he did in practice and qualified 10th. Alexander Rossi qualified 11th. The last of the Andretti crew Colton Herta, had to contend with a wiggle in turns three and four on his qualifying run, resulting in a 12th starting spot.

The field of cars lined up on pit road readying to go out to qualify (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)

The Ed Carpenter Racing cars were uncharacteristically slow, with Conor Daly, Rinus VeeKay and Ed Carpenter qualifying 16th, 23rd and 25th respectively with Carpenter saying he was not happy with the setup of the car.

Jimmie Johnson only managed 21st after putting it down to needing more track time since he had not raced at the track since 2002 in the NASCAR Xfinity series, whereas at Texas and Iowa he had more experience and time to adjust to the track.

Jimmie Johnson out on track during practice (Photo by James Black/Penske Entertainment)

Full qualifying results: 1st Will Power, 2nd Marcus Ericsson, 3rd Josef Newgarden, 4th Scott McLaughlin, 5th Álex Palou, 6th Scott Dixon, 7th Pato O’Ward, 8th Takuma Sato, 9th Romain Grosjean, 10th Devlin DeFrancesco, 11th Alexander Rossi, 12th Colton Herta, 13th David Malukas, 14th Simon Pagenaud, 15th Jack Harvey, 16th Conor Daly, 17th Graham Rahal, 18th Hélio Castroneves, 19th Christian Lundgaard, 20th Kyle Kirkwood, 21st Jimmie Johnson, 22nd Callum Ilott, 23rd Rinus VeeKay, 24th Dalton Kellett, 25th Ed Carpenter, 26th Felix Rosenqvist.

Will Power and Marcus Ericsson will  lead the field to green for the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at WWT Raceway flies Saturday at 6pm ET. 

Featured Image: Will Power celebrates earning the P1 Pole Award with his crew (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)

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Rossi wins Gallagher GP ending three year drought!

Alexander Rossi led the second half of the Gallagher Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, after race leader and teammate Colton Herta had to retire the car on lap 42 after losing power, to go on to end his 49 race winless streak and win the Gallagher Grand Prix.

Alexander Rossi taking the checkered flag to win the Gallagher GP (Photo by James Black/Penske Entertainment)

Rossi started the race on the front row alongside polesitter Felix Rosenqvist but just eight laps into the grand prix saw Herta move up from ninth place to take the lead away from Rosenqvist. Rossi would keep Herta honest for the first half of the race keeping the gap hovering around the two second mark.

Colton Herta leading the field down the back straightaway (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)

Once Rossi inherited the lead he never looked back, maintaining a healthy four second gap to second place rookie Christian Lundgaard for most of the remainder of the race.

Rossi, who is joining Arrow McLaren SP in 2023 after seven seasons with Andretti Autosport, said in victory lane to NBC’s Dillon Welch, “It’s a relief man, I do feel for Colton, but I’m happy. There’s been so much belief for so long, it’s nice to finally accomplish it. It was the 27’s turn.”

Alexander Rossi racing in the Gallagher GP (Photo by Tim Holle/Penske Entertainment)

Rossi led 44 of the 85 laps to claim his eighth win, last winning at Road America in June 2019. Rossi’s first win also came at the IMS when he won the 2016 Indy 500 in his rookie and first season with Andretti Autosport.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing rookie Christian Lundgaard had a career breakout race coming home second after qualifying sixth. After the first stint thirty laps in, Lundgaard had worked his way up to third behind Rossi where he would remain after Herta’s retirement, securing him the runner-up spot and his first ever podium finish.

Christian Lundgaard racing in the Gallagher GP (Photo by Dana Garrett/Penske Entertainment)

Lundgaard’s best finish in IndyCar was eighth place in the Toronto GP last month and better’s his debut race which came at the IMS Road Course last year where he finished ninth after qualifying fourth. Lundgaard leads the rookie points battle and is also the highest finishing rookie this season.

After a wild and bumpy start, Will Power came home third and has taken over the championship lead from Marcus Ericsson by nine points. In turn two on the opening lap, Power got pushed into Pato O’Ward by Herta, sending O’Ward spinning in front of Power, forcing him to lose a bunch of places before a few laps later Castroneves would send it ambitiously down the middle of a sandwich in turn eight with Power on the outside and made contact with Power.

Will Power running third in the Gallagher GP with Scott McLaughlin behind him (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)

After plummeting down the order, Power would pit on lap five after a yellow had come out a for a stalled Dalton Kellett in turn seven where Power would get a fresh set of alternate red tyres and then would go long on them giving him the lead while others pitted until Power just pitted prior to another caution coming out on lap 35 for a stopped Pagenaud who ran out of fuel that saw him cycle through to fourth place.

Power would remain in third for the rest of the race following Herta’s retirement. Speaking to NBC, Power said: “You can never expect a normal day in IndyCar.”

A happy Will Power after finishing third (Photo by Matt Fraver/Penske Entertainment)

Marcus Ericsson had been the championship leader going into the weekend but due to an engine issue in qualifying, Ericsson would start in 25th place. Ericsson’s race pace was strong enough to see him work his way through the field to come home to finish in a respectable ninth place.

Marcus Ericsson racing in the Gallagher Grand Prix (Photo by Paul Hurley/Penske Entertainment)

The race itself saw the red alternate tyre be both the quicker and more durable tyre with all drivers ending up opting for the three stop strategy, and all using the primary black tyre for the shortest stint.

The rest of Team Penske would also have a strong day at the boss’s own race facility, with Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden coming home fourth and fifth after putting pressure on Power in the closing laps.

Ed Carpenter Racing’s Conor Daly had a strong start to the race running inside the top 10, but a stall and lengthy delay on pit road after the first stint saw Daly go to the back where he would only recover to a 17th place. His teammate Rinus VeeKay had good race pace and would finish 6th.

Conor Daly getting serviced (Photo by Walt Kuhn/Penske Entertainment)

Castroneves would have more contact during the race and got sent to the back of the field for avoidable contact on lap 49 after spinning Kyle Kirkwood out when he got into his rear.

Race 14 of the NTT IndyCar Series is the Big Machine Music Grand Prix on the Nashville Street Course on 7th August. The green flag flies at 3pm ET.

UPDATE: Alexander Rossi was docked 20 points after it was found that the team had used the weight of a water bottle to make the car meet minimum weight in post-race inspection. Rossi would still hold onto the win.

Full race results: 1st Alexander Rossi, 2nd Christian Lundgaard, 3rd Will Power, 4th Scott McLaughlin, 5th Josef Newgarden, 6th Rinus VeeKay, 7th Graham Rahal, 8th Scott Dixon, 9th Felix Rosenqvist, 10th Álex Palou, 11th Marcus Ericsson, 12th Pato O’Ward, 13th David Malukas, 14th Callum Ilott, 15th Takuma Sato, 16th Romain Grosjean, 17th Conor Daly, 18th Devlin DeFrancesco, 19th Hélio Castroneves, 20th Jack Harvey, 21st Dalton Kellett, 22nd Jimmie Johnson, 23rd Kyle Kirkwood, 24th Colton Herta, 25th Simon Pagenaud.

Top 10 in points standings: 1st Will Power (431), 2nd Marcus Ericsson (422), 3rd Josef Newgarden (399), 4th Scott Dixon (393), 5th Pato O’Ward (385), 6th Álex Palou (379), 7th Scott McLaughlin (350), 8th Felix Rosenqvist (299), 9th Alexander Rossi (298), 10th Colton Herta (285).

Featured Image: Alexander Rossi celebrating Gallagher GP win in victory lane (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment) 

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Newgarden wins one million dollars by capturing Road America victory

Josef Newgarden got ahead of polesitter Alexander Rossi in the first pit exchange on lap 16, partly due to Rossi getting held up by Newgarden’s teammate Scott McLaughlin as he came into his pit box as Rossi was attempting to leave. Newgarden then led the rest of the 55 lap race to win the Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America for the second time but and win the one million dollar PeopleReady Force for Good Challenge bonus, half of which would be going to Newgarden’s charities of choice.

It was not an assured victory though, as Rossi kept Newgarden honest throughout the stints until a five second gap had been made before pitting in what was a three-stop race for both drivers. In the final stint however Rossi had closed the gap to 2.8 seconds with eight to go.

Newgarden then had to manage two late race restarts after O’Ward’s engine failure and Castroneves’ 360 spin-and-stall brought out full course yellows. Newgarden’s last restart saw him get a big launch over Rossi and comfortably took the chequered flag for his third victory of the season.

The No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet of Josef Newgarden racing in the Sonsio Grand Prix (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)

Speaking to NBC’s Marty Snider in victory lane Newgarden said: “For me it’s just the best series in the world. I just love IndyCar.”

When Newgarden was asked about whether he feared he would lose the race on a late race restart like he did in 2017 and 2021 when Scott Dixon and Álex Palou won, Newgarden said he was focused on the road ahead and getting a good launch.

In just the first eight races in the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series championship, Newgarden has completed the PeopleReady Force for Good challenge by winning on each type of race track. To win the one million dollars, a driver had to win on a street course, an oval and a road course within the season.

Josef Newgarden celebrates with one millon dollar cheque (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)

Half of the money is being split between Newgarden’s two nominated charities, the SeriousFun Children’s Network and Wags and Walks Nashville.

Alexander Rossi would end up finishing third as on the final restart, Rossi would not get as good a launch as he had previously and Marcus Ericsson, the 2022 Indy 500 winner, would charge by him on the front straightaway and clear him going into turn one with three laps to go. Ericsson was unable to chase Newgarden down for the win.

Alexander Rossi leading at the start of the race (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)

Ericsson had got ahead of Rossi briefly on lap 17 after jumping him in the pit cycle before Rossi got back of ahead of him for second after he dipped wheels on the grass in the turn seven to eight straight.

Ericsson retakes over the championship lead from Will Power after finishing second with a total of 293 points. The runner up position did not come without drama though for Ericsson, as on a lap four restart, Ericsson made contact with Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Palou in turn three. As he went to the inside and turned in, he made contact with Palou’s left front tyre, braking the toe link, forcing the defending race winner out of the race.

Álex Palou stuck in the turn three sand after his toe link broke after contact with teammate Marcus Ericsson (Photo by James Black/Penske Entertainment)

Speaking with NBC’s Kevin Lee, Ericsson said he was really sorry to Palou but it was a “nice racing move” and that “it was a really good race, p2, great day for the championship.”

Marcus Ericsson running second behind Josef Newgarden (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)

Colton Herta would finish fifth, after running inside the top ten for nearly all of the race and coming through the field from 11th to 6th in the opening stint. With just over a lap to go, Herta had been all over the back of Rossi for third but slipped up in the final corners, allowing Romain Grosjean to get the run on him to take over fourth instead.

Colton Herta (left) and Romain Grosjean (right) battling side by side (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)

Will Power had a truly challenging race that began with Devlin DeFrancesco slamming into the back of him on lap eight as they headed towards turn three, spinning Power out and ended up losing his front wing as he hit the wall. Power was able to continue, and DeFrancesco received a stop-and-go penalty for the incident.

Power found himself at the back of the pack, and was only able to work his way up to a best of 18th before VeeKay shoved Power off in turn four with two laps to go, relegating him to 20th. Power came home 19th but only dropped one place in the championship, now 27 points behind Ericsson. Power maintained his more composed and mild-mannered approach to the 2022 season when NBC’s Marty Snider asked Power about DeFrancesco with Power saying: “he’s a young man.”

Arrow McLaren SP’s Felix Rosenqvist would finish an impressive sixth after completing an alternative fuel-saving two stop strategy. Rosenqvist chose to pit early under the second caution of the day that came out on lap nine for Power’s crash, and then stretched his stint until pitting on lap 26 with Graham Rahal also doing the same. With caution laps at the ending stage of the race, and 91 seconds of push to pass, Rosenqvist was able to hold sixth to the checkered flag. Rahal would finish eighth.

Felix Rosenqvist racing in the Sonsio Grand Prix (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)

Christian Lundgaard was the highest finishing rookie of the race in what proved to be a strong day for the Rahal Letterman Lanigan organization, with Rahal and Jack Harvey finishing 13th. The first half of the race saw Lundgaard gain several positions with good pace after starting 13th.

The start of the race like the end of the race saw multiple cautions, with Jimmie Johnson bringing out the first on the opening lap after Tatiana Calderón squeezed out Johnson on the run down to turn two as she came up behind her A.J. Foyt Racing teammate Dalton Kellett with Johnson spinning off into the grass. He was able to continue and finished 24th.

Jimmie Johnson going off in the sand (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)

The Sonsio Grand Prix was the first IndyCar race since 2015 to have two female drivers in the field. Alongside Tatiana Calderón , was veteran IndyCar driver Simona De Silvestro, who was doing her first of three races for this season. De Silvestro finished 21st and Calderón finished 25th.

Simona De Silvestro racing in the Sonsio Grand Prix (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)

The IndyCar series now takes leave for its summer break before returning on July 3rd for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio.

Full race results: 1st Josef Newgarden, 2nd Marcus Ericsson, 3rd Alexander Rossi, 4th Romain Grosjean, 5th Colton Herta, 6th Felix Rosenqvist, 7th Scott McLaughlin, 8th Graham Rahal, 9th Scott Dixon, 10th Christian Lundgaard, 11th Callum Ilott, 12th Simon Pagenaud, 13th Jack Harvey, 14th Conor Daly, 15th Takuma Sato, 16th David Malukas, 17th Rinus VeeKay, 18th Devlin DeFrancesco, 19th Will Power, 20th Kyle Kirkwood, 21st Simona De Silvestro, 22nd Hélio Castroneves, 23rd Dalton Kellett, 24th Jimmie Johnson, 25th Tatiana Calderón, 26th Pato O’Ward, 27th Álex Palou.

Top 10 in points standings: 1st Marcus Ericsson (293), 2nd Will Power (266), 3rd Josef Newgarden (261), 4th Pato O’Ward (248), 5th Álex Palou (246), 6th Scott Dixon (224), 7th Alexander Rossi (218), 8th Felix Rosenqvist (203), 9th Scott McLaughlin (199), 10th Simon Pagenaud (197).

Featured Image: Josef Newgarden celebrates his 2nd Road America win and for winning the one million dollar People Ready Force for Good Challenge (Photo by James Black/Penske Entertainment) 

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Newgarden bags pole in Chevy’s backyard

Hondas outnumbered Chevrolets in the Firestone fast six four to two, but Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden with the clock having run out, beat Takuma Sato’s time by one tenth of a second to take his 16th IndyCar Series career pole and earn back to back poles at Belle Isle Park in Detroit with a lap time of 1.15.2153.

Speaking to NBC’s Marty Snider, Newgarden said: “I was about hitting the wall every lap, or every corner I should say. That was a good pole.”

Josef Newgarden celebrating the pole with his team (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)

Newgarden was the sole Penske driver to make the Firestone fast six and becomes the seventh different pole winner in seven races so far in this year’s championship. Newgarden said the bigger challenge for them is to convert the pole into a win on Sunday, something they have yet to do at Belle Isle although he did win the first of two 2019 races after starting second.

The fast six was all about the smaller teams as all four of the Daly Coyne Racing and Meyer Shank Racing cars made the fast six. Rookie David Malukas continued his strong performance for Dale Coyne Racing from practice to top the opening session of qualifying in group two and topped the charts again halfway through the fast 12 session with a time that put in him in the fast six for the very first time.

David Malukas qualifying around Belle Isle (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)

In the fast six, Malukas on a flying lap lost the back end in turn five and had to back out but still set a fast lap later to qualify sixth being only three tenth off fifth place Pato O’Ward. Speaking to NBC, Malukas said: “What an amazing car.”

His Dale Coyne Racing teammate Takuma Sato qualified second after an impressive run when he went to the top with a 1.15.3 with just over a minute to go in the fast six before Newgarden went faster in the final moments.

DCR with RWR’s Takuma Sato qualifying around Belle Isle (Photo by Karl Zemlin/Penske Entertainment)

The two Meyer Shank racing cars will make up the second row with Simon Pagenaud qualifying third and Hélio Castroneves qualifying fourth.

Round one of qualifying did not go so well for Newgarden’s teammate Will Power who missed out on the fast 12 by three tenths, qualifying 16th . On one of his flying laps, he was unintentionally disrupted by the wake of Álex Palou’s car. Palou also failed to make it out of the opening session, only qualifying 18th. Power, known as the pole master, said to NBC he has still yet to figure out a way to get it done in qualifying at Belle Isle but is optimistic about his chances of getting to the front in the race once again like last year.

Álex Palou (right) racing down to turn two in qualifying at Belle Isle (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)

The disappointment continues for McLaren SP’s Felix Rosenqvist at Belle Isle as he blocked Jimmie Johnson coming out of the pits when Johnson was on a flying lap and was consequently penalized by being parked and had his time disallowed. He will now start 26th.

Felix Rosenqvist racing down to turn 12 in qualifying at Belle Isle (Photo by James Black/Penske Entertainment)

The fast 12 saw drivers experimenting between the primary and alternate tires as rubber was getting laid down fast and with grip lasting only for three laps on the alternate red tyres, it was uncertain which tyre compound was better to qualify with. Pagenaud topped the chart midway through the session on the primary black tyre with a 1.15.4 before Newgarden went second on sticker reds, only one tenth of Pagenaud’s time.

Qualifying had been going well for Andretti Autosport with three of their four cars making the fast 12, with Devlin DeFrancesco just missing out, but things suddenly went downhill for them. With less than five minutes to go, Alexander Rossi, who topped second practice, was 12th in the session while Colton Herta was seventh.

Colton Herta qualifying around Belle Isle (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)

The bottom six including Chip Ganassi Racing drivers Marcus Ericsson and Scott Dixon were all on faster flying laps than the leaders as the track became increasingly rubbered in but then Romain Grosjean slapped the wall coming out of turn 12, and broke a toe link that caused his car to veer to the right before violently spinning around into the concrete wall in the final turn bringing out the red flag and ending the session, and consequently stopping his Andretti teammates from being able to progress into the fast six. A frustrated Grosjean said afterwards: “We sucked.”

During the fast 12, Dixon said he had to back up into Ericsson after having to slow down for Rossi and Pagenaud ahead that ultimately cost Ericsson and Dixon any chance of making the fast six.

Full qualifying results: 1st Josef Newgarden, 2nd Takuma Sato, 3rd Simon Pagenaud, 4th Hélio Castroneves, 5th Pato O’Ward, 6th David Malukas, 7th Colton Herta, 8th Marcus Ericsson, 9th Scott Dixon, 10th Scott McLaughlin, 11th Alexander Rossi, 12th Romain Grosjean, 13th Conor Daly, 14th Rinus VeeKay, 15th Kyle Kirkwood, 16th Will Power, 17th Santino Ferrucci, 18th Álex Palou, 19th Christian Lundgaard, 20th Jack Harvey, 21st Devlin DeFrancesco, 22nd Jimmie Johnson, 23rd Graham Rahal, 24th Tatiana Calderón, 25th Dalton Kellett, 26th Felix Rosenqvist.

Josef Newgarden and Takuma Sato will lead the field to green for the final Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle tomorrow at 3:45pm ET.

Featured Image: Josef Newgarden qualifying around Belle Isle (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)

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IndyCar Weekend Preview: The final IndyCar race at Belle Isle Park

This weekend sees the NTT IndyCar Series tackle the twisty and bumpy streets of Belle Isle Park island in Detroit for what will be the 30th and final running of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix on the island.

The raceway at Belle Isle Park is a 14-turn temporary street course and is 2.35 miles in length. The IndyCar drivers will race for 70 laps around Belle Isle Park in Sunday’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix (164.5 miles).

Belle Isle is the seventh round of the season with five different race winners in the first six rounds of this year’s championship. Just one week after the Indy 500, race winner Marcus Ericsson comes into the weekend as the points leader.

Belle Isle Park is the perfect way for the Chip Ganassi Racing driver to maintain momentum as Ericsson earned his first IndyCar career win at Belle Isle Park in 2021 in the first of two races.

Marcus Ericsson celebrating his first NTT IndyCar Series win at Belle Isle Park next to the fountain (Photo by Chris Owens/IndyCar Media)

Fellow Swede Felix Rosenqvist had a scary crash in last year’s race one at Belle Isle when his throttle stuck heading into turn six, accelerating him hard into the tyre wall. He was hospitalized overnight.

Team Penske’s Will Power had led the most laps of the race but while in the lead, he was not able to get his car refired on pit road after the end of a red flag period late on in the race.

Will Power stuck on pit road (Photo by Matt Fraver/IndyCar Media)

Arrow McLaren SP’s Pato O’Ward, last weekend’s Indy 500 runner up, won the second Belle Isle race in 2021. A.J. Foyt Enterprises’s rookie Kyle Kirkwood won both of last year’s Indy Lights races at Belle Isle with Andretti Autosport. 

Pato O’Ward (front) racing in the 2021 Detroit Grand Prix Race 2 (Photo by Matt Fraver/IndyCar Media)

Santino Ferrucci, after having a strong Indy 500 run and finishing 10th, stands in for Callum Ilott this weekend at Juncos Hollinger Racing, as Ilott was injured in a crash in last weekend’s Indy 500 when he hit the turn two wall.

Rookie Tatiana Calderón returns in her road course and street course only race schedule with A.J. Foyt Enterprises after not partaking in the Indy 500. Calderón’s teammate Dalton Kellett has received a six-position starting grid penalty for Sunday’s race after an unapproved engine change before the start of last weekend’s Indy 500.

Active race winners include three-time winners Hélio Castroneves, who last won in the second race in 2014, and Scott Dixon who last won in the second race in 2019. Castroneves is also the active driver with the most poles with three, with the last coming for the first of two 2014 races.

The weekend comes as Alexander Rossi announced earlier this week that he will join Arrow McLaren SP in 2023 as Kyle Kirkwood returns to Andretti Autosport next season but now at the top level of IndyCar racing.

Alexander Rossi racing in the 2021 Detroit Grand Prix Race 2 (Photo by Matt Fraver/IndyCar Media)

The NTT IndyCar Series will have a single 45 minute practice session on Friday at 3:30pm ET before an early second 45 practice session on Saturday starting at 8:30am ET. The three round knockout qualifying session returns on Saturday starting at 12:35pm ET.

Sunday will see the 30 minute warm up session starting at 10:15am ET. The green flag for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear flies at 3:45pm ET.

You can watch any of the sessions through your TV network provider or through IndyCar’s own free streaming service IndyCar Live for sessions that are not provided by your TV network. (https://www.indycar.com/ways-to-watch/stream)

Featured Image: Pato O’Ward leading the 2021 Detroit Grand Prix Race 1 (Photo by Joe Skibinski/IndyCar Media)

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