Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Category: NTT Indy

NTT IndyCar news and information

  • Dixon Emerges from Chaos To Win on Streets of Detroit

    Dixon Emerges from Chaos To Win on Streets of Detroit

    DETROIT (Sunday, June 2, 2024) – Yet again, Scott Dixon created clarity from chaos to win an NTT INDYCAR SERIES race.

    Dixon provided another master class in devising tactics on the fly with strategist Mike Hull and saving fuel in his No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, prevailing in a caution-strewn Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear on Sunday on the streets of Detroit.

    Six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Dixon beat fellow Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Marcus Ericsson by .8567 of a second in Ericsson’s best result of the season in the No. 28 Delaware Life Honda fielded by Andretti Global. Marcus Armstrong finished third in the No. 11 Root Insurance Chip Ganassi Racing Honda for his first career podium finish.

    “The team called it perfectly,” Dixon said. “We were on the right strategy. We won, man. How cool is that?

    “It’s just always the variables. Trying to stay out of trouble, trying to keep your car on track. We had rain. It was all over the shop out there. You had no idea how the transitions were going to fall or even the strategy. So stoked for everyone on the team. That was cool.”

    Dixon took the championship lead by 18 points from teammate Alex Palou with his second victory of the season, joining his win in April at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Dixon earned his 58th career victory, pulling him within nine wins of tying A.J. Foyt’s record of 67 career wins.

    “For sure; I think it always is,” Dixon said when asked if he’s focusing on tying Foyt’s record of seven series championships. “Until you’re out of it, you’re going to keep chasing it. It’s a team effort.”

    Kyle Kirkwood finished a season-best fourth in the No. 28 AutoNation Honda fielded by Andretti Global, while Alexander Rossi continued his strong recent form by rounding out the top five in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner Rossi has finished eighth or better in his last three starts.

    Dixon and Hull once again made magic, electing to make their final pit stop under caution at the end of Lap 56 and hope enough yellow flags continued to fly to stretch fuel until the finish at Lap 100. The strategy worked to perfection, as there were two more caution periods after Dixon’s last stop to let him save just enough Shell 100% Renewable Race Fuel to reach the finish while parrying the charging Ericsson.

    We’ve seen this movie before in Dixon’s legendary career – many times and recently.

    Dixon pulled off an improbable fuel save to win in April at Long Beach and did the same last August at World Wide Technology Raceway, making one fewer stop than any other driver to win. That oval victory came one race after Dixon won on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course despite being punted into the grass and falling to the back of the field in Turn 1, using Hull’s strategy to get to the front and his trained right foot to stay there despite dwindling fuel.

    Today in downtown Detroit, it appeared Dixon might cruise to Victory Lane until the last 13 laps of the race on the nine-turn, 1.645-mile temporary street circuit. Then Ericsson passed Kirkwood for third place and then set his sights on Armstrong while lapping nearly a second quicker per circuit than the fuel-sipping Dixon.

    Meanwhile, Dixon was dealing with the turbulence and slower pace of the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of NTT P1 Award winner Colton Herta, directly ahead of him on the tail end of the lead lap. Just 1.6 seconds separated the top three on Lap 94.

    Dixon finally got under Herta on Lap 95 for clean track and air. Ericsson had taken a look under Armstrong a few times but couldn’t complete that pass for second until Lap 99, falling 2.1 seconds behind Dixon at the white flag.

    Still, Ericsson made the most of his final lap, cutting Dixon’s margin more than in half. Still, it wasn’t enough to catch “The Iceman” although Ericsson was thrilled to rebound from the Indianapolis 500, in which he was eliminated on Lap 1 after being caught in Tom Blomqvist’s spin.

    “After the Month of May we had, it was really, really tough mentally,” Ericsson said. “I’m new in this team. I want to show myself as a top driver, as they hired me as. It was really important.

    “We had so much pace. One more lap, and we might have been able to get that win. But great day.”

    The first three-quarters of the race were pure chaos, with all eight caution periods and 47 caution laps in the first 73 laps. The longest stretch of green-flag racing during that span was 13 laps, making strategists’ heads spin on the pit wall as they mulled options on the fly while on the radio with drivers.

    Add in a rapid change in tire strategy in the first 15 laps when the prevailing wisdom of the Firestone Firehawk alternate tire being the quicker rubber was proven wrong when Palou, who started on used alternates, lost grip far earlier than expected and to pit at the end of Lap 11.

    Then toss the arrival of a passing rain shower on Lap 34, which caused strategists and pit crews to scramble up and down pit road as drivers and teams decided whether to pit for rain tires or stay out and gamble that the rain – which didn’t even appear on team radar screens – would leave the area quickly.

    Dixon, Ericsson and Kirkwood were among the eight drivers in the 27-car field who never stopped for rain tires. That helped move them higher in the running order and get into position to earn top-five finishes, as their dice roll worked when the light shower left the area in a hurry.

    That trio only made two stops the entire race. Dixon took the lead for the first time and for good on Lap 66 when 2023 Detroit winner Palou made the last of his five stops in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Two-time and reigning series champion Palou finished 16th, snapping his streak of 23 consecutive finishes in the top eight in points-paying events.

    The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES event is next Sunday, June 9, with the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Live coverage starts at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

    Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix Race Results

    DETROIT – Results Sunday of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear NTT INDYCAR SERIES event on the 1.645-mile streets of Detroit circuit, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):

    1. (5) Scott Dixon, Honda, 100, Running
    2. (9) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 100, Running
    3. (19) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 100, Running
    4. (6) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 100, Running
    5. (16) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 100, Running
    6. (8) Will Power, Chevrolet, 100, Running
    7. (12) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 100, Running
    8. (22) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 100, Running
    9. (10) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 100, Running
    10. (7) Theo Pourchaire, Chevrolet, 100, Running
    11. (11) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 100, Running
    12. (17) Agustin Canapino, Chevrolet, 100, Running
    13. (15) Pietro Fittipaldi, Honda, 100, Running
    14. (18) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 100, Running
    15. (20) Graham Rahal, Honda, 100, Running
    16. (2) Alex Palou, Honda, 100, Running
    17. (26) Jack Harvey, Honda, 100, Running
    18. (24) Tristan Vautier, Honda, 99, Running
    19. (1) Colton Herta, Honda, 99, Running
    20. (4) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 99, Running
    21. (23) Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, 99, Running
    22. (21) Linus Lundqvist, Honda, 99, Running
    23. (14) Romain Grosjean, Chevrolet, 97, Running
    24. (27) Kyffin Simpson, Honda, 96, Running
    25. (25) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 95, Running
    26. (3) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 94, Running
    27. (13) Christian Rasmussen, Chevrolet, 23, Mechanical

    Race Statistics
    Winner’s average speed: 78.251 mph
    Time of Race: 02:06:07.9684
    Margin of victory: 0.8567 of a second
    Cautions: 8 for 47 laps
    Lead changes: 5 among 6 drivers

    Lap Leaders:
    Herta, Colton 1 – 33
    Newgarden, Josef 34
    Lundgaard, Christian 35 – 40
    Kirkwood, Kyle 41 – 64
    Palou, Alex 65
    Dixon, Scott 66 – 100

    NTT INDYCAR SERIES Point Standings:
    Dixon 216, Palou 198, Power 185, O’Ward 160, Rossi 150, Kirkwood 148, Herta 147, McLaughlin 141, Rosenqvist 140, Newgarden 128, Lundgaard 122, Ferrucci 117, Armstrong 116, Ericsson 108, VeeKay 103, Rahal 101, Grosjean 86, Lundqvist 81, Simpson 76, Canapino 74, Fittipaldi 67, Harvey 60, Pourchaire 58, Rasmussen 55, Robb 46, Tom Blomqvist 46, Callum Ilott 39, Conor Daly 21, Kyle Larson 21, Takuma Sato 19, Castroneves 15, Ed Carpenter 14, Luca Ghiotto 14, Vautier 12, Nolan Siegel 10, Colin Braun 10, Ryan Hunter-Reay 6, Marco Andretti 5, Katherine Legge 5

  • CHEVROLET INDYCAR AT DETROIT: Team Chevy Race Report

    CHEVROLET INDYCAR AT DETROIT: Team Chevy Race Report

    CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
    CHEVROLET DETROIT GRAND PRIX
    DETROIT, MICHIGAN
    TEAM CHEVY RACE REPORT
    JUNE 2, 2024

    ALEXANDER ROSSI LEADS TEAM CHEVY WITH A FIFTH-PLACE FINISH AT THE CHEVROLET DETROIT GRAND PRIX

    • Alexander Rossi, driver of the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, finished fifth in Sunday’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, the highest Team Chevy finisher after a chaotic 100-lap event.
    • Five drivers representing the Bowtie brand finished in the top-10 at Sunday’s checkered flag on the streets of downtown Detroit, Michigan, including Rossi, Will Power of Team Penske (sixth), Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren (seventh), Santino Ferrucci of AJ Foyt Racing (ninth), and Théo Pourchaire of Arrow McLaren (10th).
    • All three Arrow McLaren Chevrolets finished in the top-10.
    • Power, driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet, leaves Detroit 31 points behind the leader in third of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Championship points standings.
    • Race day started with the NTT INDYCAR SERIES warming up on the streets of Detroit, with Josef Newgarden and the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet topping the leaderboard with his fastest lap of 1:02.0463.
    • The NTT INDYCAR SERIES and Team Chevy next head north to Road America in the heart of Wisconsin for the seventh round of the season. The XPEL Grand Prix at Road America takes the green flag live Sunday on NBC at 3:30 p.m. Additional coverage is available through Peacock, INDYCAR Radio, and SiriusXM Channel 218 all weekend long.

    TEAM CHEVY RACE RESULT:
    Pos. Driver
    5th Alexander Rossi
    6th Will Power
    7th Pato O’Ward
    9th Santino Ferrucci
    10th Théo Pourchaire

    WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (QUOTES):

    Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing:

    “First off, really want to apologize to Helio (Castroneves). That’s one of my closest friends in racing and we blatantly got into the back of him and ruined his day for all of those guys, so I’m sorry for that. For us, hell of a rebound getting wrecked at the start, to a stop and go penalty, back to last twice, the rain. I mean, helluva strategy on the stand from the boys to put us back into ninth. I’m just really proud of this Sexton Properties Chevrolet team. It was a solid race day considering all of the emotions of this weekend, and can’t wait to get on to Road America.”

    Sting Ray Robb, No. 41 AJ Foyt Racing:

    “Wow! That was a crazy race! I don’t know if you could ask for more craziness in one event. We went to the front, to the back, to the front, to the back. Unfortunately, our race was hampered by not necessarily a miss-call, but a hindsight call. We should have stayed out when it rained. Then we had contact with the wall with a little help from another car didn’t help us. I couldn’t get it restarted fast enough to get back on the lead lap. So, if we had done that, we would have finished top-12/top-10. Look where our teammate was, we weren’t far behind. So, it’s really unfortunate about what could have been, but I’m really proud of the pace we had, and we had really good pit stops. I’m really looking forward to Road America in the Goodheart.vet Chevrolet.”

    Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:

    “Survival was the name of the game today. We had to nurse the car home ever since Lap 1 where we had a lot of damage. Considering the fact that we were a bit handcuffed in terms of performance, I think it was a really strong day for us and the Arrow McLaren Chevrolet team. I have to say I’m pretty happy with seventh place.”

    Théo Pourchaire, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:

    “Today was the first top-10 finish in my NTT INDYCAR SERIES career. It’s not a bad result, but I am frustrated because I think I could have competed for a win or a podium. I was right there on pace, or even quicker, than the No. 9 through the first part of the race. Then, we were not lucky with the strategy and I made a mistake on a restart. I am sure that we will bounce back in Road America. The first podium and the first win is close to me and the No. 6 onsemi Arrow McLaren Chevrolet crew. We will do an even better job next week.”

    Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:

    “It’s been a really hard weekend, so there’s a lot of relief from that one because it’s been really hard so far. The team did an amazing job with the strategy. We made some strong changes overnight and were able to weather everything. I think we had good pace as well as good strategy. I’m just thankful for being able to bounce back and everyone sticking with it this weekend.”

    Christian Rasmussen, No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:

    “We were caught out by an unforeseen engine issue. It is unfortunate because we were sitting pretty good, and I felt like I had a good racecar. We were in a good spot, so it’s hard when these things happen. It’s part of racing, but it’s extra frustrating when it hits on a good day.”

    Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:

    “Long race, tough race. We made the right decision on tires when it started kind of raining, so that was a good call. We stayed out of all of the drama until someone inserted us into the drama. That was disappointing because it put us to the back in all of the chaos. We stayed out of it the best we could, but I couldn’t really move forward because of the damage to the car. I had to just hold on to it and that was all I could do. Great work by the team to give me a good car, wish we could have had more than P14 to show for it and have a higher result for Team Chevy.”

    Romain Grosjean, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:

    “We had a fast car, second fastest lap of the race and got wrecked. Not much we can do.”

    Agustin Canapino, No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:

    “We finished P12 after a very, very tricky race, honestly. We did a really good job. I was P10 since the beginning of the race. We were P3 before the rain, but after that, everything happened. Unfortunately, I received a pretty big hit from (Théo) Pourchaire and my car was destroyed. The good thing was is we finished the race in a good situation despite the problem with the hit. We are happy. We had a strong weekend in practice. The qualifying not bad. We had a good race. P12 is a good result for us. Now, we are looking forward to Road America.”

    Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet:

    “It is crazy how races in this series can turn on a dime. We were in a great position to capitalize on some of the drama going on around us to possibly win today. Unfortunately, Scott (McLaughlin) had his incident just before halfway and that helped us into second before we hit pit road. That’s kind of where our day went south when the fuel probe valve wouldn’t open initially, costing us a ton of track position. After restarting 19th, it just seemed our day went downhill. Definitely a wild afternoon for not just the Astemo Chevrolet team but for most of the field.”

    Will Power, No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet:

    “That’s a good day. It was very tough, really. All sorts of stuff going on. Felt like Nashville. That’s, I mean, you’ve got everything in there. Rain, everything. Happy to get back to sixth, and go from there, and see what we could do. That is a good points day, man. I knew when it was that sort of race, (Scott) Dixon was going to win it somehow. We just wanted to salvage something.”

    Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

    About Chevrolet

    Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

  • Meyer Shank Racing’s Rosenqvist Takes Hard-Earned Top-10 in Detroit IndyCar Race

    Meyer Shank Racing’s Rosenqvist Takes Hard-Earned Top-10 in Detroit IndyCar Race

    Detroit, Mich. (2 June 2024) – Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) made Sunday lemonade out of a bushel of Saturday’s lemons as Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda) came from 22nd on the grid to finish a hard-fought eighth in today’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.

    After sustaining damage from contact early on in the race, Helio Castroneves (No. 66 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda) held on to finish 25th.

    Rosenqvist overcame his first rough qualifying session of the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season to score his fifth top-10 result of the campaign, gaining 14 spots over 100 trips around the 1.645-mile, nine-turn street course located in downtown Detroit.

    The Swedish veteran made his way through the field by avoiding the maelstrom that swirled around the first 50 laps of the day. Seven caution periods and a brief rain shower scrambled pit strategies and upended track position all day, but Rosenqvist dodged the numerous incidents to claw his way through the field. His charge was helped by strong tire management and a key strategy call as MSR eschewed a tire change to make up ground on his last pit stop, and Rosenqvist made his Firestone primary tires last over the final 56 laps.

    Castroneves made his first non-oval start of the season after taking over for rookie Tom Blomqvist for the next two races and had some good fortune early, climbing seven positions to 18th by skirting a first-lap accident. The optimistic outlook didn’t last long however as Castroneves spun after being hit from behind by the No. 14 car on Lap 17, causing a broken right-rear tow link that cost the No. 66 MSR team five laps to repair. He returned to the track and finished five laps down in 25th.

    Rosenqvist’s workmanlike effort made him one of just six drivers to have as many as five top-10 results over the year’s first six points-paying races. The driver of the No. 60 car that carried the livery of SiriusXM channel Smokey’s Soul Town (SiriusXM Channel 74) honoring Motown legend Smokey Robinson, is provisionally ninth in the points, but is now just 10 markers out of a berth in the top five.

    MSR was fortunate to have Smokey Robinson on-site on Sunday, with the Motown legend seeing his personalized livery in person in addition to serving as Detroit Grand Prix Grand Marshal.

    MSR will wrap up a spate of three races in three weeks next Sunday as it travels to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin for the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America.

    Meyer Shank Racing Driver Quotes:

    Felix Rosenqvist – Started 22nd, finished 8th: “We finished P8 which I’ll take. We had a puncture on the first lap and then we were actually really quick on the reds and then the tires just went off [pace], and then it started raining. Everyone kind of ended up on the same program and we were around P8, P9. We just kind of hung there. We didn’t have great pace and we trimmed a lot, so we were good on the straights. We got hit a couple of times so we had damage so I was just focused on bringing it home. It was a great points day for the team overall.”

    Helio Castroneves – Started 26th, finished 25th: “Wow, what a race. It was unfortunate that we got hit toward the beginning of the race and we had some damage in the rear. But good work from the guys to get it fixed and send me back out. Unfortunately after that we were just kind of running in the back and since we were a few laps down, we were just focusing on bringing the car home at the end. I don’t think we necessarily had the car to win today, but I think we could have hung around the top 12.”

  • Foster’s Victory in Detroit Shakes Up INDY NXT Standings

    Foster’s Victory in Detroit Shakes Up INDY NXT Standings

    DETROIT (Sunday, June 2, 2024) – Louis Foster led all 45 laps to win the Detroit Grand Prix on Sunday, moving closer to the INDY NXT by Firestone championship lead after misfortune struck his two closest title rivals.

    Pole sitter Foster drove his No. 26 Copart/Novara Technologies car of Andretti Global to victory under caution. It was his second victory of the season and second in a row, as he won the second race of the doubleheader last month on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

    Foster’s fourth career victory helped him jump from third to second in the standings, 25 points behind leader Jacob Abel. He entered this race 44 points behind Abel.

    Abel finished fifth in the No. 51 Abel Construction entry fielded by Abel Motorsports. Nolan Siegel, who entered this race second in points, 25 behind Abel, finished 18th after sitting in the pits for the first three laps of the race due to a half-shaft problem in his No. 39 HMD Motorsports car. Siegel dropped to third in points, 44 behind leader Abel.

    “We’re second in points now,” Foster said. “Unfortunate for Nolan, he didn’t start the race. That’s a shame. But it’s good for us. Abel didn’t have a great race, either. We’re just continuing our pace throughout the season. Hopefully we just keep getting decent luck, not any more bad luck, and I’ll be happy.”

    Two rookies from HMD Motorsports shared the podium with Foster. Caio Collet pressured Foster for nearly the entire race before ending up a career-best second with his second consecutive podium finish in the No. 18 machine. Callum Hedge earned his first podium finish with a career-best result of third in the No. 17 car.

    Rookie Myles Rowe produced an inspired drive to a career-best fourth after starting 19th in the 21-car field in the No. 99 HMD Motorsports with Force Indy car.

    While Foster led every lap around the nine-turn, 1.645-mile temporary street circuit, this race was far from a parade. Foster stayed out front on three restarts despite constant pressure from Collet, and there were multiple jousts for position throughout the field.

    Collet stayed within about a second of Foster for most of the race, with Foster only extending that gap to two-plus seconds before a caution flag flew on Lap 39 due to a spin by the No. 7 HMD Motorsports car driven by Christian Bogle.

    Brazilian rookie Collet stayed within about one-half second of Foster on the restart on Lap 41 before James Roe spun in his No. 29 Topcon car fielded by Andretti Autosport on Lap 42, collecting the cars of Nolan Allaer, Christian Bogle and Niels Koolen in the incident, which triggered the race-ending caution period.

    “At the start, I was just managing the gap,” Foster said. “About midway through, I pulled quite a gap on him (Collet), thinking it killed his tires. But to be fair to him, he came back at me quite hard in the late stages of race. It was getting close, but I think we had enough Push to Pass to keep him off.”

    One of the most spirited duels of the race also came in the closing laps, between Hedge and Rowe for third. It appeared Rowe had barged past Hedge for his first career podium finish, but that move came just after the race-ending caution period started. So, Hedge was credited with third.

    The next race is the Grand Prix at Road America on Sunday, June 9. Live coverage starts at 1:05 p.m. ET on Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

    INDY NXT by Firestone Detroit Grand Prix Race Results

    DETROIT – Results Sunday of the INDY NXT by Firestone Detroit Grand Prix INDY NXT by Firestone event on the 1.645-mile streets of Detroit circuit, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, laps completed and reason out (if any):

    1. (1) Louis Foster, 45, Running
    2. (3) Caio Collet, 45, Running
    3. (6) Callum Hedge, 45, Running
    4. (19) Myles Rowe, 45, Running
    5. (2) Jacob Abel, 45, Running
    6. (16) Reece Gold, 45, Running
    7. (18) Salvador de Alba Jr., 45, Running
    8. (14) Josh Pierson, 45, Running
    9. (13) Jonathan Browne, 45, Running
    10. (5) Michael d’Orlando, 45, Running
    11. (20) Christian Bogle, 45, Running
    12. (4) Jamie Chadwick, 45, Running
    13. (15) Niels Koolen, 44, Running
    14. (9) Yuven Sundaramoorthy, 44, Running
    15. (8) Jack William Miller, 43, Running
    16. (10) James Roe, 41, Contact
    17. (17) Nolan Allaer, 41, Contact
    18. (7) Nolan Siegel, 41, Running
    19. (21) Lindsay Brewer, 38, Running
    20. (11) Bryce Aron, 2, Contact
    21. (12) Ricardo Escotto, 0, DQ

    Race Statistics
    Winner’s average speed: 79.206 mph
    Time of Race: 00:56:04.5065
    Margin of victory: Under caution
    Cautions: 4 for 13 laps
    Lead changes: 0

    Lap Leaders:
    Foster, Louis 1 – 45

    INDY NXT by Firestone Point Standings: Abel 221, Foster 196, Siegel 177, Collet 149, Rowe 140, Hedge 128, d’Orlando 124, Gold 124, Browne 114, Roe 110, de Alba 109, Bogle 93. Chadwick 87, Pierson 81, Koolen 77, Aron 72, Miller 71, Allaer 71, Sundaramoorthy 62, Brewer 60, Jordan Missig 29, Josh Mason 27, Ricardo Escotto 0.

  • Herta Rebounds with First Pole of Season at Hectic Detroit

    Herta Rebounds with First Pole of Season at Hectic Detroit

    DETROIT (Saturday, June 1, 2024) – Less than one week ago, Colton Herta’s Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge ended in 23rd place after he struggled following contact with the SAFER Barrier in the first half of the race.

    What a difference six days makes.

    Herta earned his first NTT P1 Award of the season by taking the top spot Saturday for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear on the streets of Detroit. Herta drove to his 12th career pole with a lap of 1 minute, .5475 of a second in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda fielded by Andretti Global w/Curb-Agajanian.

    “A complete 180 and just super happy for the team,” Herta said of his rebound from Indianapolis disappointment. “They worked their tails off in the Month of May. To come back with some redemption, it feels good.”

    The pole continued a strong weekend for Herta. He led practice Saturday morning and set a track record with his session-leading lap of 1:00.2304 in the Round of 12 qualifying that preceded the Firestone Fast Six. Andretti Global teammate Kyle Kirkwood set the previous track record of 1:01.5305 in June 2023, the first year for this nine-turn, 1.645-mile temporary street circuit in downtown Detroit.

    Up next is a 30-minute race warm-up session at 9:30 a.m. ET Sunday (Peacock, INDYCAR Radio Network). Live coverage of the 100-lap race starts at noon ET Sunday on the USA Network, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

    Reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion and current points leader Alex Palou will join Herta on the front row after qualifying second at 1:00.6995 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Palou won this race last year.

    Reigning two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden celebrated his contract renewal with Team Penske by qualifying third at 1:00.9607 in the No. 2 Hitachi Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet. His teammate Scott McLaughlin will join him in Row 2 after qualifying fourth at 1:01.3344 in the No. 3 Gallagher Team Penske Chevrolet.

    Six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Scott Dixon will start fifth after a best lap of 1:01.3905 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

    Kirkwood rounded out the Firestone Fast Six at 1:04.2926 in the No. 27 AutoNation Honda. He was third on the provisional grid, but his best two laps were erased as a penalty for overshooting Turn 1 and stalling on his final flying lap, triggering a red flag.

    That red flag with slightly more than one minute to go gave the remaining five drivers in the Firestone Fast Six one final lap to gain ground. But none improved upon their existing times due to the difficulty of finding open track during a last-gasp dash on the tight, bumpy circuit.

    “This qualifying session is so difficult here at this track,” Herta said. “Obviously, it’s hard to pass, but also it’s so hard to just get a clean lap. It’s probably the most aggressive place we go to as far as bumps and walls, so it feels good to get this one.”

    Theo Pourchaire was the top-qualifying rookie, a career-best seventh at 1:00.7342 in the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet in his fourth NTT INDYCAR SERIES start.

    Formula 2 champion Pourchaire just missed earning a spot in the Firestone Fast Six for the first time by .0287 of a second. His previous best starting spot was 18th at the Sonsio Grand Prix last month on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

    Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix Qualifying Results

    DETROIT – Qualifying Saturday for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear NTT INDYCAR SERIES event on the 1.645-mile streets of Detroit circuit, with qualifying position, car number in parentheses, driver, engine, time and speed in parentheses:

    1. (26) Colton Herta, Honda, 01:00.5475 (97.808)
    2. (10) Alex Palou, Honda, 01:00.6995 (97.563)
    3. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 01:00.9607 (97.145)
    4. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 01:01.3344 (96.553)
    5. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 01:01.3905 (96.464)
    6. (27) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 01:04.2926 (92.110)
    7. (6) Theo Pourchaire, Chevrolet, 01:00.7342 (97.507)
    8. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 01:00.7612 (97.464)
    9. (28) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 01:00.8505 (97.320)
    10. (14) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 01:01.0351 (97.026)
    11. (45) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 01:01.1663 (96.818)
    12. (5) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 01:03.0479 (93.929)
    13. (20) Christian Rasmussen, Chevrolet, 01:01.3930 (96.461)
    14. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 01:01.1336 (96.870)
    15. (77) Romain Grosjean, Chevrolet, 01:01.4933 (96.303)
    16. (30) Pietro Fittipaldi, Honda, 01:01.3684 (96.499)
    17. (7) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 01:01.5905 (96.151)
    18. (78) Agustin Canapino, Chevrolet, 01:01.5566 (96.204)
    19. (21) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 01:01.6040 (96.130)
    20. (11) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 01:01.7406 (95.917)
    21. (8) Linus Lundqvist, Honda, 01:01.6297 (96.090)
    22. (60) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 01:01.7441 (95.912)
    23. (4) Kyffin Simpson, Honda, 01:01.7770 (95.861)
    24. (41) Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, 01:01.8454 (95.755)
    25. (51) Tristan Vautier, Honda, 01:02.2091 (95.195)
    26. (66) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 01:01.9687 (95.564)
    27. (18) Jack Harvey, Honda, 01:02.1185 (95.334)
  • Newgarden inks new multi-year contract extension with Team Penske

    Newgarden inks new multi-year contract extension with Team Penske

    Josef Newgarden has inked a new multi-year contract extension to continue to pilot the No. 2 Dallara-Chevrolet for Team Penske in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, beginning in 2025.

    The news comes as the two-time IndyCar Series champion from Hendersonville, Tennessee, is coming off his second consecutive triumph in the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he led 13 of 200 laps and overtook Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward on the final lap en route to the victory. As a result, Newgarden is the first competitor in 22 years to win back-to-back Indianapolis 500s, a feat last made by Helio Castroneves between the 2001 and 2002 seasons, and he delivered the record-setting 20th Indy 500 victory for team owner Roger Penske.

    “Driving for Roger Penske and this iconic team is a dream that I never thought I would realize,” Newgarden said in a statement. “I’m thankful for the opportunities that I’ve been given during my time at Team Penske. I have a great amount of respect for the individuals that comprise our group, incluidng the partners who support us. Our time together has been filled with hard work, teamwork and dedication; and I’m so excited that we will continue on for many more years to come. I’m sure we can achieve much more in the future. I still believe we haven’t reached our full potential together just yet.”

    Newgarden, who first competed in IndyCar in 2012, was announced as a Team Penske competitor for the 2017 season in early October 2016. Three races into the 2017 season, he secured his first victory as a Penske competitor at Barber Motorsports Park. He would proceed to claim three additional victories and a total of nine podiums while contending for the driver’s championship throughout the 17-race schedule. With a runner-up finish in the season-finale event at Sonoma Raceway, Newgarden claimed the title by 13 points over teammate Simon Pagenaud and became the first American competitor to win an IndyCar championship since Ryan Hunter-Reay made the last accomplishment in 2012.

    In the six-plus years that follow since winning his first championship during his first season with Team Penske, Newgarden recorded a second IndyCar title in 2019 after beating Pagenaud for a second time, this time by 25 points. He also achieved his first Indianapolis 500 victory in 2023 after overtaking and fending off the 2022 Indy 500 champion Marcus Ericsson during a one-lap dash to the finish. As a result, he became the 75th competitor overall and the first American competitor since Alexander Rossi made the last accomplishment in 2016 to win the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” event at Indianapolis.

    To date, Newgarden has recorded 27 victories, 17 poles, 43 podiums, 3,432 laps led and an average-finishing result of 7.7, all while competing for Team Penske. With his three other victories occurring between CFH Racing and Ed Carpenter Racing between the 2015 and 2016 seasons, Newgarden sits in 13th place on the all-time IndyCar wins list at 30.

    “Josef Newgarden is a true winner, and we are excited that he will continue as a part of Team Penske for years to come,” Roger Penske added. “What he did Sunday in the Indianapolis 500 shows how Josef consistently delivers for our team and our partners on the track, and he is just as impressive off the track as well. We are proud to have Josef continue with our organization as his skill and passion embody what it means to be a Team Penske driver.”

    Newgarden is currently ranked in seventh place in the 2024 driver’s standings, where he trails the points lead by 61 points. His second Indy 500 victory rallies him and the No. 2 team from their disqualification from winning the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg for violating the sport’s push-to-pass regulations in February, an issue that also affected Team Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin.

    With his future set, Josef Newgarden’s quest to win a third NTT INDYCAR Series championship in 2024 continues with this weekend’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix at the Streets of Detroit, Michigan, where he is set to start in third place after posting the third-fastest qualifying lap at 97.145 mph in one minute, 0.9607 seconds. The event is scheduled to commence on Sunday, June 2, and air at noon ET on USA Network.

  • Outside pole for ABEL Motorsports at Detroit

    Outside pole for ABEL Motorsports at Detroit

    • INDY NXT by Firestone points leader Jacob Abel will start Sunday’s Grand Prix of Detroit on the outside of the front row in the series 500th race
    • Teammate Yuven Sundaramoorthy earns a season-high qualifying position of ninth

    DETROIT (1 June 2024) – INDY NXT by Firestone points leader Jacob Abel scored his fifth straight front row start on Saturday, while teammate Yuven Sundaramoorthy earned his season’s best starting position for Sunday’s Grand Prix of Detroit on the streets of the Motor City.

    This weekend, Abel carries a color scheme on his No. 51 Dallara that represents the new BlueOval SK pair of facilities: a six square mile auto production complex in Tennessee and a pair of plants in Kentucky that will manufacture the next generation of electric vehicle batteries. The BlueOval SK Battery Park in Glendale, Ky., ABEL Construction Company’s largest project to date, will create 5,000 new jobs when it reaches capacity.

    Drivers Jacob Abel (Louisville, Ky.) and Yuven Sundaramoorthy (Oconomowoc, Wis.) came into the weekend determined to post top finishes in the INDY NXT series’ 500th race. Teams had a total of 90 minutes of practice time between Friday afternoon and Saturday morning sessions to dial in the pair of Dallaras. With Abel and Sundaramoorthy each working on finding the balance between speed and consistency on the bumpy streets of Detroit, their combined practice times put them in fourth and 18th, respectively.

    With the series splitting the 21-car field into two groups for qualifying, Abel started in group one – which turned out to be the unfavorable draw, as the IMSA sports car warm up had deposited a different kind of rubber on the racetrack just before the session. Undeterred, Abel immediately went to the top of the time sheets, holding P1 as the field decreased their times with each lap. But with six minutes remaining, a car in the turn 1 tires brought out a red flag. The session went green again with just enough time for Abel to post one timed lap but not enough time to get the tires up to temperature, as he took the checkered flag in P1 by half a second over James Roe, guaranteed a front row start.

    “Our car was strong from the start of the weekend,” said Abel. “There was way more in it – being in the first group with the IMSA rubber down put us behind, so we knew it was going to be tough to get pole. Then the red flag made it pretty much impossible. But we’ll definitely take the front row start, especially given how tough the circuit is. It’s tight, and traffic is always a problem, but we were able to put it together in qualifying, we were just in the wrong group. We know how tricky turn 1 is here so we’ll watch the starts from last year to see what the best course of action might be.”

    In group two, Sundaramoorthy was determined to move up the timing sheet, pushing hard early – hard enough to glance off both the turn 6 and turn 7 walls, bending the toe links and setting the steering wheel askew. But Sundaramoorthy refused to relent, continuing the charge and posting a lap just over a tenth back of Abel’s before a late red stopped the action. With only one timed lap possible when the green came back out – and knowing from the previous session that the tires would not come up to temperature – Sundaramoorthy returned to pit lane to conserve his tires, having put himself into a season-high ninth place on the grid.

    “I guess I would have been P2 in the first session!” said Sundaramoorthy. “I messed up on lap two and hit the wall, I think we had much more in it, but I got a decent lap and worked on bringing it home. Both toes were off, but I still think we could have gone faster. A long race tomorrow to make some moves.”

    ABEL Motorsports thanks partners ABEL Construction Company, Advance Ready Mix, Boyd Cat®, S Team Motorsports and OMP for their continued support.

    The INDY NXT by Firestone Detroit Grand Prix takes the green flag Sunday, June 2 at 10:20 a.m. ET. The race will be streamed live in the U.S. on Peacock, while international viewers can watch via INDYCARLIVE, with INDYCAR Radio available at indycar.com and on Sirius XM.

    About BlueOval SK
    BlueOval SK is the joint venture between Ford Motor Company and SK On to produce batteries for future Ford and Lincoln electric vehicles. SK On is a subsidiary of SK Innovation and has deep expertise in battery production. BlueOval SK will operate twin battery manufacturing facilities in Glendale, Kentucky and one battery plant in Stanton, Tennessee starting in 2025. BlueOval SK will electrify the future of mobility with innovative technology.

    About Abel Construction Company: ABEL Construction is one of the largest general contractors in Kentucky, holding licenses in thirteen states. The company has offices in Lexington, Kentucky and Indianapolis, Indiana, with the corporate office in Louisville. Their expertise spans many areas, including general contracting, construction management, design-build, Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), and facilities maintenance.

    Abel Construction has helped build some of the region’s most recognizable landmarks. Their projects cover diverse sectors, including automotive, healthcare, post-secondary education, commercial, food/beverage, tech, and industrial/manufacturing. They prioritize client satisfaction, focusing on efficient project delivery regardless of size or cost. The company’s skilled professionals utilize cutting-edge technology and software to ensure successful outcomes. abelconstruct.com/.

    About ABEL Motorsports: Team principal Bill Abel began racing motocross in 1972, earning numerous championship titles as he continued the family racing tradition. In 2015, ABEL Motorsports was launched, starting in the USF2000 series and building up the junior open wheel ladder. The team captured the inaugural Formula Regional Americas Championship with driver Kyle Kirkwood in 2018.

    ABEL Motorsports currently competes in the INDY NXT by Firestone series, the official development series for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, led by third-generation driver Jacob Abel. The team made its INDYCAR debut in 2023 with driver RC Enerson in the Indianapolis 500. For more information visit the official team website at abelmotorsports.com.

    ABEL Motorsports social media

    Facebook: ABEL Motorsports
    Twitter/X: ABEL Motorsports
    Instagram: ABEL Motorsports

  • CHEVROLET INDYCAR AT DETROIT: Team Chevy Qualifying Report

    CHEVROLET INDYCAR AT DETROIT: Team Chevy Qualifying Report

    CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
    CHEVROLET DETROIT GRAND PRIX
    DETROIT, MICHIGAN
    TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING REPORT

    JUNE 1, 2024

    TEAM PENSKE’S JOSEF NEWGARDEN AND SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN REPRESENT TEAM CHEVY IN THE SECOND ROW AT DETROIT

    • Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden, driver of the No. 2 Chevrolet (third), and Scott McLaughlin, driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet (fourth), represented Team Chevy in the Firestone Fast Six and will start in the second row of Sunday’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix in downtown Detroit, Michigan.
    • Théo Pourchaire, driver of the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, qualified seventh and narrowly missed the Firestone Fast Six in what is his highest NTT INDYCAR SERIES career qualifying effort so far.
    • Rounding out the top-10 in qualifying, Team Penske’ s Will Power will start Sunday’s 100-lap event eighth, with AJ Foyt Racing’s Santino Ferrucci starting 10th.
    • Representing the Bowtie brand, Team Penske’s McLaughlin and Newgarden transferred to the Firestone Fast Six from the second round.
    • Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward transferred to the second round representing Chevrolet from Group 2.
    • Group 1 of qualifying saw Arrow McLaren’s Pourchaire (first in the group), Team Penske’s McLaughlin (second in the group), Newgarden (third in the group), Power (fifth in the group), and AJ Foyt Racing’s Ferrucci (six in the group) transfer to the second round.
    • Race day on the streets of Detroit kicks off with warm-up at 9:30 a.m. ET. The 100-lap, 164.5-mile Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix takes the green flag live on USA Network at 12 p.m. ET. Additional coverage can be found on Peacock, as well as INDYCAR Radio Network and SiriusXM Channel 218.

    TEAM CHEVY FIRESTONE FAST SIX QUALIFYING RESULT:
    Pos. Driver
    3rd Josef Newgarden (1:00.9607)
    4th Scott McLaughlin (1:01.3344)
    7th Théo Pourchaire (1:00.7342)
    8th Will Power (1:00.7612)
    10th Santino Ferrucci (1:01.0351)

    WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (QUOTES):

    Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:

    “First off, I just want to say sorry for what I said, and how I acted to Kyle (Kirkwood) and towards Colton (Herta). They’re great competitors. I was definitely hot out of the car, and I love racing. It’s good now, but this is where I kind of feel the 14 Sexton Properties Chevrolet should be. I feel like we’re a top-10 car. I kind of missed it on the lap a little bit to move it a little further forward. It’s real tight. Looking forward to a good race tomorrow. Obviously, I actually had no idea it was (Romain Grosjean). I thought it was Will (Power) because that’s the last car that I passed and Larry (Foyt) just reading off gaps and trying to do a cool down and push. It’s tight here, man. It’s tough. If INDYCAR’s not calling it, it’s really not a big deal. He honestly didn’t look that close to me when checking the mirrors. It’s just a small track, short track racing on a street course.”

    Sting Ray Robb, No. 41 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:

    “A little disappointed with the result in qualifying. I thought we had a better car than that yet again, but good to see Santino (Ferrucci) do well. I think we had a good idea of where we need to be. Little changes here and there make a big difference around this place. We’re in the window and we weren’t too far off. A little bit here and there with the Goodheart Chevy, and we’ll be back at it tomorrow.”

    Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:

    “I was just trying to get out of the way. Honestly, we shouldn’t have even transferred into Q2 just because I was in Felix’s (Rosenqvist) gearbox, and everybody is trying to lap. There’s cars on fliers that come out before the sequence I guess, and you can’t back up because then you’re going to mess up their lap. You also can’t speed up because you’ll ruin your own chance to get a lap in. (Kyle) Kirkwood was coming behind me, and I knew there was still going to be stack up later on after turn five. So I decided to give him room here because that was probably the best area to kind of give him a chance and not get a penalty. Sadly, these cars don’t have rear-wheel steering. I couldn’t get the radius down and then I stalled the car whenever I tried to get it back into neutral. It’s a new week, a new race weekend. I think we had an opportunity get into the Fast Six. It’s just, it’s so tight. You can’t be playing around with gaps. You either have to give up with an extra laps and just get three clean laps, or you’re going to end up like me or (Will) Power.”

    Christian Rasmussen, No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:

    “That’s what this place is all about, just hustling it through! Just so close! I felt pretty maximized on my lap in terms of what we were able to do. In past qualifiyings, I always come in and say “Ok, there’s a little more to gain here” or “a bit more to gain there,” today; I felt like we got everything out of it and I am happy about that! But to miss advancing by that little, you just want it that much more!”

    Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:

    “That was a tough qualifying. We struggled much of Practice 2 to get tire temperature up, so we made the choice to go out on greens and stay on greens for the full session. I am pretty happy with my lap, I pushed as hard as I could. Our strategy just did not work out with the track’s evolution. It was worth a try! A lot of stuff can happen tomorrow and I am looking forward to the race to see what we can do. A tough one for us, but good job by Christian!”

    Romain Grosjean, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:

    “They need to do a better job of not blocking people; not crashing people. Just being aware of who is around them. He screwed me in qualifying. I don’t know what he slowed on his lap. I was seven tenths down on my lap, he was three tenths down and I lost four tenths behind. I called out INDYCAR race control. If that’s not blocking, I don’t know what is. I’m really…I know we’ve had a tough weekend, but I think the car came alive during qualifying. I just couldn’t get my lap. Too many mistakes on our end. Pressure just not right, and we’ve been suffering from lack of top speed. But that one is not on us.”

    Agustin Canapino, No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:

    “Every time we have the same issue. Every time we are good in practice, we are not good in qualifying. It is what it is. Last time I started 18th I think and finished ninth, so it isn’t such a bad of position, of course in the middle of the war. I am going to try to survive and do the best I can.”

    Will Power, No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet:

    “Some frustration because if you are the last one across the line in that situation, the track is just better. The first part of my lap is just slippery, then it was a very good last sector. I’m not just frustrated because I didn’t make it. It’s a tough field man. And I just needed the littlest bit. If you went out last, you would have had a better shot, but it is what it is. It’s fine. I’ve been good. I just know when it is that close, where you go really matters. We could have controlled that, but again, you can get caught out by a yellow as well when you are the last one to cross the line. It’s one of those things. It’s tough.”

    About Chevrolet

    Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

  • Foster Smashes Track Record To Win INDY NXT Pole at Detroit

    Foster Smashes Track Record To Win INDY NXT Pole at Detroit

    DETROIT (Saturday, June 1, 2024) – Louis Foster obliterated the INDY NXT by Firestone track record Saturday to win the pole for the Detroit Grand Prix.

    Foster earned his first pole of the season and fifth of his career in the INDYCAR development series with a top lap of 1 minute, 5.1079 seconds in the No. 26 Copart/Novara Technologies car fielded by Andretti Autosport.

    English driver Foster, who has led all three on-track sessions this weekend, broke the track record of 1:06.8374 he set last year in the debut of this nine-turn, 1.645-mile temporary street circuit in downtown Detroit. He also enters this event with the momentum of his first win of the season, at the most-recent event May 11 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

    “It’s about time, really,” Foster said. “We’ve had a lot of pace. It’s nice to get the monkey off the back, so to speak. Tomorrow we can have a good race.

    “We’ve been fast all season. Just haven’t had the best of luck and a few mistakes by me. Happy to get a pole, and hopefully we can get a win.”

    Live coverage of the 45-lap race starts at 10:20 a.m. ET Sunday on Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

    The starting grid was determined after the field was split into two qualifying groups. Championship leader Jacob Abel will start second after leading the first qualifying group at 1:06.0048 in the No. 51 Abel Construction car fielded by Abel Motorsports.

    Rookie Caio Collet will start third in the No. 18 HMD Motorsports machine after his best lap of 1:05.4952 in the second group. Jamie Chadwick will join him in the second row after her best lap of 1:06.5050 in the No. 28 VEXT car of Andretti Global. That was a career-best start for second-year driver Chadwick, whose previous best was fifth earlier this season at Barber Motorsports Park.

    Rookie Michael d’Orlando qualified fifth at 1:05.6157 in the No. 3 Flat Rock Motorsports Park/Rising Stars machine fielded by Andretti Cape INDY NXT. Callum Hedge was the third rookie to qualify in the top three rows, as he will start sixth after a best lap of 1:06.7954 in the No. 17 HMD Motorsports car.

    Another rookie, Myles Rowe, suffered a tough break late in the session. Rowe was quick enough to secure the No. 3 starting spot late in the second group when he crashed the No. 99 HMD Motorsports with Force Indy car in Turn 9, triggering a red flag and losin

  • Practice Makes Perfect: Palou Sets Early Pace at Detroit

    Practice Makes Perfect: Palou Sets Early Pace at Detroit

    DETROIT (Friday, May 31, 2024) – Alex Palou, one of the smoothest drivers in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, sure has taken a liking to the rough-and-tumble Streets of Detroit circuit since its debut in 2023.

    Palou opened his defense of his Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear victory last year by leading the first practice for this year’s event Friday with a top lap of 1 minute, 1.7210 seconds in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

    Two-time and reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Palou will aim for his second consecutive pole on the nine-turn, 1.645-mile circuit on bumpy city streets and lined with concrete barriers during NTT P1 Award qualifying at 12:15 p.m. ET Saturday (Peacock, INDYCAR Radio Network). Palou leads the championship by 20 points over Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon after five of 17 points-paying races this season.

    “It was busy,” Palou said. “I visited the run-off areas a couple of times here and there, just trying to find the limit and the grip of the track. The track is grippier, a lot grippier, than last year. Pretty happy. The car feels good so far.”

    Pato O’Ward, runner-up last Sunday in a thrilling finish of the 108th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, was second in the 75-minute session today under sunny skies in the Motor City with a top lap of 1:01.7315 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Colton Herta was third at 1:01.7968 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global w/Curb-Agajanian.

    Kyle Kirkwood, winner of street-circuit races last season at Long Beach and Nashville, was fourth at 1:01.8103 in the No. 27 AutoNation Honda as Andretti Global was the only team with two drivers in the top five.

    Scott McLaughlin rounded out the top five at 1:02.0959 in the No. 3 Gallagher Team Penske Chevrolet.

    Josef Newgarden, who earned his second straight Indy 500 win last Sunday, was sixth at 1:02.2377 in the No. 3 Hitachi Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet despite contact with Kirkwood when traffic backed up on the course.

    Wall contact by Jack Harvey forced a red flag with less than 15 minutes left in the session. Harvey clipped the left-side barrier in Turn 7, careening across the track and hitting the right-side barrier before his No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda stopped between Turns 7 and 8. Harvey was unhurt.

    Up next is a one-hour practice at 9:10 a.m. ET Saturday (Peacock, INDYCAR Radio Network), followed by qualifying in the early afternoon. Live coverage of the 100-lap race starts at noon ET Sunday on the USA Network, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.