Category: NTT Indy

MADISON, Ill. (Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023) – Josef Newgarden’s quest for an unprecedented sweep of multiple oval races in an INDYCAR SERIES season remained on track after practice Saturday evening for the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline, but it was a costly session for a teammate and a rival.

Newgarden was fastest with a best lap of 180.040 mph in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet on the 1.25-mile oval. Track activity was delayed until the evening due to persistent morning and afternoon thunderstorms in the St. Louis area that forced a schedule shuffle.

“Most of the day was looking like we weren’t going to get out here, so just the fact we got a session, we certainly had a lot of time to try to achieve a lot,” Newgarden said. “I think we got there a little bit with the PPG car. I wasn’t super pleased, to be quite honest. I think we have some work to do.

“But that’s to be expected. You run practice, you try to figure out the weak points, and I think we have a couple that we need to work on. But we have a direction now, which is really good. I think our car can be really quick.”

NTT P1 Award qualifying was delayed until 11 a.m. ET Sunday, followed by the race at 3:30 p.m., as scheduled. Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network will cover qualifying live, with the 260-lap race being broadcast live on NBC, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

Newgarden has won the last five oval races in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, a streak that started with this event last August. He has won this season at Texas Motor Speedway, the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge and swept the doubleheader at Iowa Speedway. Only Sebastien Bourdais has won all the oval races in an INDYCAR SERIES season, but that came in 2006 when he won at Milwaukee, the only circle track on the Champ Car schedule that year.

Newgarden’s teammate Scott McLaughlin was second at 179.353 in the No. 3 Odyssey Battery Team Penske Chevrolet, but he also was part of an incident late in the one-hour session that caused heavy damage to the cars of teammate Will Power and Marcus Ericsson of Chip Ganassi Racing.

2019 WWTR race winner Takuma Sato was third at 179.206 in the No. 11 Deloitte Honda of Chip Ganassi Racing. 2018 WWTR race winner Power was fourth at 178.703 in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet before the late accident. Felix Rosenqvist rounded out the top five at 178.518 in the No. 6 onsemi Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.

Alex Palou, who leads the championship standings by 101 points over Scott Dixon, was 14th at 177.030 in the No. 10 The American Legion Honda fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing. Palou needs to expand his lead to 109 points at this event to clinch his second championship in three years.

Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing crews will have extra work tonight and tomorrow after the late incident involving Power and Ericsson.

McLaughlin spun on the apron of Turn 2 on an out lap with about six minutes remaining, and Power moved high to avoid his teammate. Power’s car lost grip off line and pushed into the SAFER Barrier, bouncing back into the racing line in the path of Ericsson, who had no time to avoid heavy, nose-to-nose contact with Power’s car.

Power and Ericsson were unhurt.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
BOMMARITO AUTO GROUP 500
WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY
MADISON, ILLINOIS
TEAM CHEVY RACE ADVANCE
AUGUST 26-27, 2023

CHEVROLET LOOKS TO CONTINUE 2023 INDYCAR OVAL DOMINANCE IN THE BOMMARITO AUTO GROUP 500 AT WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY

DETROIT (August 23, 2023) – Dominating the ovals so far during the 2023 NTT INDYCAR Series season, Chevrolet, Josef Newgarden, driver of the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet, and Team Penske have their sights set on sweeping the ovals this weekend at the Bommarito Auto Group 500. The 15th of 17 rounds of the 2023 season, World Wide Technology Raceway hosts the 260-lap, 500-kilometer action-packed race that has seen the Bowtie brand strongly successful in the V6 2.2 liter twin turbo injected era.

Four-time and defending winner of the Bommarito Auto Group 500, Newgarden not only looks to capture a fifth victory since the NTT INDYCAR Series returned to the St. Louis-area track in 2017, but looks to also sweep the fifth of five oval events after racing to victory this year in Texas, the Indianapolis 500, and the Iowa doubleheader. Additionally, Newgarden has earned one NTT P1 Pole Award at World Wide Technology Raceway, leading the field to the green flag in 2019.

“It’s obviously been a good year for everyone on the No. 2 PPG Chevrolet team,” said Newgarden. “Every driver would sign up for four wins including the Indianapolis 500. We haven’t had the consistency we all want but we are going to fight all the way to the checkered flag at Laguna Seca, and St. Louis is a good place for us to gain ground. The Team Penske effort on the ovals this year has been extraordinary. To be in a position to sweep all of the ovals this year – let alone join a short list of drivers that includes AJ Foyt and Al Unser, Sr. that have won five consecutive oval races – is surreal. The paddock is going to catch up to us. We know that but we aren’t going to give up our oval crown easily.”

Newgarden’s teammate at Team Penske, Will Power, driver of the No. 12 Verizon 5G Chevrolet, holds the fifth of seven events since the 2017 return, racing to Victory Lane at the 1.25-mile oval in 2018. While looking for his first victory in the 2023 season, Power has shown prowess in qualifying on the oval that includes earned pole awards in 2017, 2020’s Race 1, 2021, and 2022. With Team Chevy, scoring 1,052 of the 1,664 laps led, or 63.2% since the 2017 return, a Chevrolet-powered driver could capture the 112th win of the V6 era (since 2012) this weekend for the Bowtie brand.

Finally, Chevrolet once again will pace the INDYCAR field at World Wide Technology Raceway, with the 2023 Corvette Z06 that also paced the Indianapolis 500 this year in Red Mist Metallic leading the field to the green flag in Sunday’s Bommarito Auto Group 500. The first generation of the Corvette to offer a hardtop convertible, the pace car features two-tone Jet Black and Sky Cool Gray with Torch Red accents, as well as Spider-designed forged aluminum wheels finished in Tech Bronze for a race-ready look.

The Bommarito Auto Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway kicks off first with first practice on Saturday, Aug. 26 at 11 a.m. ET, with qualifying following at 2 p.m. ET. A final practice wraps Saturday at the 1.25-mile oval at 5 p.m. ET. Sunday’s 260-lap, 500-kilometer race near St. Louis takes the green flag live on NBC at 3:30 p.m. ET. All practice and qualifying will be live on Peacock, INDYCAR Radio, and SiriusXM Channel 160.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (QUOTES):

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

“I like going back to St. Louis. I’ve had a good amount of podiums there in the past, and we were really close last year, so hopefully we can get back on it this year. We’re going back to an oval, which always produces some good racing. This weekend, we have a different tire and a different extra tire, so I think that will keep everyone on their toes on strategy. It will be interesting to see who comes out on top.”

Felix Rosenqvist, No. 6 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:

”Last oval of the year. We’ve been pretty much at winning pace at ovals this season, so hopefully we can end with a mega result here in St. Louis.”

Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:

”World Wide Technology Raceway has always been an awesome track because of how different the two ends of the track are. Turns 1 and 2 are like a road course, whereas Turns 3 and 4 are your more traditional short oval corners. I’ve had great races here in the past, and it’s going to be an exciting weekend with the addition of running the Firestone Alternate tires for the first time on an oval. The fans who always turn out in a big way here are in for quite a treat in what will be our final oval race of the year.”

Gavin Ward, Race Director at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:

“We’re heading to our last oval race of the season, ready to give it all we’ve got. We’ve been chasing a win all year, and across all three cars, we have the pace to make it happen at World Wide Technology Raceway. This kicks off three back to back races to end the season, and we want to have a strong finish to 2023.”

Ryan Hunter-Reay, No. 20 Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing:

“World Wide Technology Raceway presents us with another opportunity to test some experimental short oval setups. This track is quite different than Iowa Speedway, our last oval. WWT Raceway is relatively smooth versus Iowa’s bumpiness, so hopefully that will allow us to find some positive setup changes.”

Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing:

“After a pretty good last race at IMS, I am super excited to get to WWT Raceway. The first year I raced there in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, I finished P4 so that was pretty cool! It’s a great track and I’ve had some great passes and moments there. It’s such an interesting oval, it’s a lot different from the rest of the calendar so it should be a really interesting race. It will be fun! I am excited to get there and hopefully myself and the team to do well!”

Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 Chevrolet at AJ Foyt Racing:

“I feel like Gateway has always been a very good track for my driving ability. It has a lot of similarities to the [Indy] 500. I’ve also come very close to winning this race my rookie season, and this is definitely one that I would like to win for sure.”

Benjamin Pedersen, No. 55 Chevrolet at AJ Foyt Racing:

“World Wide Technology Raceway is a special place for me, because it’s where I had my first ever oval race in the Indy NXT Series a couple of years ago. I have been on the podium every time I have been there, so I have had a lot of success at this track. It’s a very smooth track, still a short oval though. Overall, it’s a special place for me and a track that I really enjoy driving.“

Callum Ilott, No. 77 Chevrolet at Juncos Hollinger Racing:

“We had a lot of potential at Gateway last year. Especially within the race, we had a good amount of speed. At our recent test, there were lots of little things that we learned from. That resulted in a really positive experience. Going into this weekend’s race, I’m feeling positive. I think that we can make some good headway and get a strong result.”

Agustin Canapino, No. 78 Chevrolet at Juncos Hollinger Racing:

“I’m looking forward to competing this weekend. It’s the last oval race of the season, and we have been fast on the ovals this year. Hopefully it will be a good opportunity for us to record a positive result. Even though the race will be another new experience for me, it will be good to

arrive this weekend with some experience from last week’s test which went

well.”

CHEVROLET AT WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY (V6 era):

Wins at WWTR: 5

2017: Josef Newgarden

2018: Will Power

2020 (Race 2): Josef Newgarden

2021: Josef Newgarden

2022: Josef Newgarden

Pole Awards at WWTR: 5

2017: Will Power

2019: Josef Newgarden

2020 (Race 1): Will Power

2021: Will Power

2022: Will Power

Podiums at WWTR by Team Chevy: 13, since the 2017 return to World Wide Technology Raceway.

Laps Led at WWTR by Team Chevy: 1,052 of 1,664 laps led since the 2017 return to World Wide Technology Raceway – 63.2% of laps led.

2023 CHEVROLET BY THE NUMBERS:

196: NTT INDYCAR SERIES races as V6 engine supplier since 2012 return to INDYCAR.

111: Wins in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES since 2012.

125: Earned poles since 2012.

7: Manufacturer Championships since 2012.

7: Driver/entrant champions since 2012.

12: Indianapolis 500 victories by Chevrolet at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

5: Indianapolis 500 wins by Chevrolet since 2012 in the V6 2.2-liter twin turbo direct injected era.

26: Wins by Will Power since 2012 – all with Chevrolet power – most of any driver with the same manufacturer.

14: Consecutive seasons with at least one win by Will Power, including the past 11 with Chevrolet power.

9: Wins from the pole by Will Power with Chevrolet power since 2012, most by any driver.

46: Pole starts by Will Power since 2012 in a Chevrolet-powered car, most of any driver.

*Will Power’s career total of 70 poles makes him the all-time pole winner in INDYCAR.

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. 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.

Lundqvist back with MSR as stand in for Simon Pagenaud

Pataskala, Ohio (21 August 2023) – With the end of the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season nearing its end, Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) has shown solid improvements in qualifying and race results over the last month and is hoping to continue that string of results through the next three races of the season.

The final stretch will begin with Sunday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 (3:30pm ET, NBC, SXM Ch. 160), to be run on the 1.25-mile World Wide Technology Raceway (WWTR) near St. Louis.

Sunday’s 260-lap race will be the last oval race of the ’23 season but may be a welcome sight for MSR’s Helio Castroneves. The driver of the No. 06 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda has carded his best results of the year on the circular layouts, qualifying a season-best eighth in Iowa and setting a high-water race-day mark of 10th on the Texas Motor Speedway oval.

As is the case with many tracks on the INDYCAR circuit, the Brazilian has had success on the egg-shaped track formerly known at Gateway. Castroneves won from pole there while leading 96 laps in 2003 and finished third in two other starts. The four-time Indianapolis 500 champion only has four starts on the WWTR oval but has led more than 50 laps in three of those starts.

As was the case in Nashville and two weeks ago on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, Castroneves will partner with rookie Linus Lundqvist, as the Swedish driver stands in for the injured Simon Pagenaud for the third consecutive race.

Lundqvist (No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda) will be making his first-ever INDYCAR oval start, but he has visited WWTR on three occasions during his two years in the INDY NXT by Firestone series, winning the pole in 2022.

Sunday’s 260-lap race will air on NBC starting at 3:30 pm ET. Qualifying takes place on Saturday, August 26, beginning at 2 pm ET with live coverage on Peacock. SiriusXM will also host live race coverage on XM Ch. 160.

Meyer Shank Racing Driver Quotes:

Helio Castroneves:

“I’m definitely very excited to get back to another oval, they are definitely tracks that I love, especially WWTR. The team has been really picking up the pace these last few races and the No. 06 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda has been great to drive, so I’m confident that we can keep that going this weekend. So far, we’ve had some good results on ovals, so here’s to finishing out the final oval of the season with a good result.”

Linus Lundqvist:

“I’m extremely happy to be joining MSR again in St. Louis this weekend. The last few weekends in Nashville and at Indy have been the time of my life and I can’t wait to continue to work with this team. We’ve been through some challenging race formats – Nashville a street course, Indy a road course, and now St. Louis, an oval. I will be learning once again. I know that it is going to be tough and tricky, but I know the team is going to give me a good car to have a solid result like we had at Indy. I’m also very much looking forward to working with Helio as a teammate. Working with him on an oval is something that every driver would want to do and I’m just going to learn from it as much as I can this weekend.”

INDIANAPOLIS (Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023) – Scott Dixon continued two remarkable streaks Saturday on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, one at the green flag and another at the checkered.

Six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Dixon rallied from a spin into the grass after being collected in an accident on Lap 1 to win the Gallagher Grand Prix in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Dixon, from New Zealand, extended his INDYCAR SERIES record streak to 19 consecutive seasons with at least one victory on a day when he also set a series record with his 319th consecutive start.

“What a day to win on,” said Dixon as he held his 3-year-old son, Kit. “It makes it so fun, especially for this little guy. He gets to see it. It’s been a little while since I’ve had a win, probably over a year. It makes it worthwhile, and we’re going to keep trying to win on (start) No. 320.”

NTT P1 Award winner Graham Rahal finished a season-best second in the 85-lap race, as his late charge to catch Dixon fell just .4779 of a second short in the No. 15 Code 3 Associates Honda fielded by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. It was the closest INDYCAR SERIES finish ever on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile IMS road course.

Pato O’Ward finished third in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Christian Lundgaard, who joined RLL teammate Rahal on the front row at the start, placed fourth in the No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda. Alexander Rossi, who won this event last year, rounded out the top five in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.

Championship leader Alex Palou finished seventh in the No. 10 The American Legion Honda of Chip Ganassi Racing to expand his points gap to 101 over Dixon, who leapfrogged Josef Newgarden for second. Newgarden also was caught in the melee that collected Dixon but immediately lost a lap due and finished a season-low 25th in the No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet, two laps down. Newgarden is third in the standings, 105 points behind Palou with three races remaining.

“Finishing the race today was important,” Palou said. “A good result for the team with Scott winning the race today and a good result for us in the championship.”

Dixon’s “spin to win” maybe wasn’t as dramatic as Danny Sullivan’s similar maneuver in the short chute between Turns 1 and 2 of the IMS oval to win the 1985 Indianapolis 500, but it was arguably just as improbable.

On the first lap, Palou nudged the rear of the No. 11 IU Simon Cancer Center Honda of rookie teammate Marcus Armstrong in heavy traffic in Turn 7 at the end of the back straightaway, and Armstrong spun. The concertina effect of drivers trying to avoid the incident caused Romain Grosjean’s No. 28 DHL Honda to touch Dixon, spinning Dixon’s car into the grass. Then Newgarden, who started 25th, arrived at the scene with nowhere to go, and his car climbed over the nose of Armstrong’s stopped car, damaging Newgarden’s front wing.

Dixon kept his engine running in the infield grass, straightened his car and returned to the track. He pitted on Lap 5 on an alternate strategy and started his march toward the front.

Meanwhile, Devlin DeFrancesco continued to hold the lead after a daring dive from his fifth starting position to the front in Turn 1 on the opening lap in the No. 29 TRUBAR/Jones Soda Honda. But Rahal dove under DeFrancesco in Turn 1 on Lap 9 to take the top spot.

Rahal, Lundgaard and Dixon then traded the lead through pit cycles over the next 50 laps before Dixon made his final stop on Lap 59 after turning blazing laps before entering pit road.

Dixon also turned scintillating out laps after his final stop. Rahal pitted from first on Lap 64 for his final stop but exited in second behind Dixon.

On Lap 66, Dixon led Rahal by 6.1866 seconds, with both drivers on Firestone alternate tires. But Rahal’s fresher tires paid dividends, and he began to claw ground on Dixon.

“The only problem there toward the end I think on my out laps I pushed it too hard to kind of create that gap on Graham and unfortunately burned the tires up a little bit,” Dixon said. “It was a little sketchy at the end, but we tried to put on a show for everyone.”

Dixon’s lead dropped to 3.8448 seconds by Lap 72, with Rahal pulling to within 1.6028 seconds on Lap 80.

Both drivers then reached lapped traffic, and Rahal closed the gap to .5076 of a second on Lap 82 after he and Dixon cleared the slower cars. The margin shrank to .2689 of a second with two laps to go, and it appeared Rahal was setting up for a final-lap showdown for the win with Dixon.

But Dixon padded his lead to .8639 of a second at the white flag and hung on during the final trip around the circuit that includes portions of the famous 2.5-mile oval and the Yard of Bricks at IMS.

“I was on overtake on the second-to-last lap; he was, too,” Rahal said. “And I just wasn’t gaining ground. I was holding dead even with him for some reason. I don’t know why. I just couldn’t make a lunge at him. I thought that was going to be a really good run at it, a really good shot.

“We have nothing to be ashamed of. We’re going against the best, the best of all time, by far. Nineteen straight seasons with a win? It’s ridiculous. It’s absolutely insane.”

Dixon will split $10,000 with Chip Ganassi Racing and his chosen charity, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, for his victory as part of the PeopleReady Force For Good Challenge.

Palou will earn the $1 million PeopleReady Force For Good Challenge bonus if he wins the next NTT INDYCAR SERIES race, the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline on Sunday, Aug. 27 on the World Wide Technology Raceway oval. The bonus is presented to the first driver who wins on a road course, street circuit and oval in a season. Palou already has victories this season on road course and street circuit.

The WWTR event is the final oval race of the season and starts a stretch of three consecutive race weekends to crown a series champion. Palou can clinch his second title in the last three seasons if he leads by 108 points or more after the Aug. 27 race.

Gallagher Grand Prix Race Results

INDIANAPOLIS – Results Saturday of the Gallagher Grand Prix NTT INDYCAR SERIES event on the 2.439-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):

1. (15) Scott Dixon, Honda, 85, Running
2. (1) Graham Rahal, Honda, 85, Running
3. (4) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 85, Running
4. (2) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 85, Running
5. (3) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 85, Running
6. (16) Will Power, Chevrolet, 85, Running
7. (8) Alex Palou, Honda, 85, Running
8. (10) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 85, Running
9. (13) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 85, Running
10. (17) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 85, Running
11. (19) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 85, Running
12. (12) Linus Lundqvist, Honda, 85, Running
13. (11) Colton Herta, Honda, 85, Running
14. (14) Jack Harvey, Honda, 85, Running
15. (18) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 85, Running
16. (27) David Malukas, Honda, 85, Running
17. (24) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 85, Running
18. (6) Romain Grosjean, Honda, 84, Running
19. (5) Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda, 84, Running
20. (21) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Chevrolet, 84, Running
21. (22) Agustin Canapino, Chevrolet, 84, Running
22. (23) Sting Ray Robb, Honda, 84, Running
23. (20) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 84, Running
24. (7) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 83, Running
25. (25) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 83, Running
26. (26) Benjamin Pedersen, Chevrolet, 79, Running
27. (9) Felix Rosenqvist, Chevrolet, 68, Mechanical

Race Statistics
Winner’s average speed: 111.647 mph
Time of Race: 1:51:24.7579
Margin of victory: 0.4779 of a second
Cautions: 1 for 6 laps
Lead changes: 8 among 4 drivers

Lap Leaders:
DeFrancesco, Devlin 1 – 8
Rahal, Graham 9 – 23
Lundgaard, Christian 24 – 26
Dixon, Scott 27 – 31
Rahal, Graham 32 – 47
Lundgaard, Christian 48 – 51
Dixon, Scott 52 – 58
Rahal, Graham 59 – 63
Dixon, Scott 64 – 85

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Point Standings: Palou 539, Dixon 438, Newgarden 434, McLaughlin 395, O’Ward 388, Ericsson 377, Power 365, Lundgaard 330, Kirkwood 312, Rossi 306, Herta 302, Grosjean 253, Rosenqvist 246, Rahal 241, VeeKay 218, Ilott 216, Malukas 195, Armstrong 179, Castroneves 177, Ferrucci 170, Canapino 151, Harvey 146, DeFrancesco 145, Conor Daly 120, Robb 113, Pedersen 102, Simon Pagenaud 88, Hunter-Reay 86, Takuma Sato 65, Ed Carpenter 40, Lundqvist 23, Tony Kanaan 18, Marco Andretti 13, Tom Blomqvist 5, RC Enerson 5, Katherine Legge 5

INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, Aug. 11, 2023) – Hunter McElrea drove to his first INDY NXT by Firestone victory of the season Friday on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, leading all 35 laps from pole.

But this was far from a stroll on Easy Street.

McElrea, from New Zealand, held off Andretti Autosport teammate James Roe by .4370 of a second to earn his third career victory in the INDYCAR development series and his first since July 2022 at Iowa Speedway.

Roe, who trailed by nearly seven seconds with seven laps remaining, earned his first career podium finish in the No. 29 Topcon car after starting second. His previous best was fourth last Sunday at Nashville.

SEE: Race Results

“That was the hardest race of my life,” McElrea said. “From about Lap 15, I burned my rears (tires) off. I think we probably favored the qualifying car a bit much this weekend. I think it was a bit self-inflicted, but it (car) was a handful. I was hanging on for dear life.”

McElrea jumped to second in the championship standings, 33 points behind leader Christian Rasmussen, who finished sixth in the No. 6 HMD Motorsports with DCR car. Four races remain this season.

Rookie Reece Gold finished third in the No. 10 HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing machine, his best result since earning his first career victory in June at Detroit.

Jacob Abel rallied from the eighth starting spot to finish fourth in the No. 51 Abel Motorsports entry. Kyffin Simpson rounded out the top five in the No. 21 HMD Motorsports with CGR car.

The race between McElrea and Roe on the final lap was the second tight duel for the race winner on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course.

Andretti Autosport teammate Louis Foster passed Roe for second early in the race and began his pursuit of McElrea. Foster closed to within .594 of a second on Lap 21 and caught McElrea on Lap 23. The two drivers went side by side on the back straightaway, with McElrea holding the lead into Turn 7.

On Lap 27, Foster tried to dive under McElrea for the lead in Turn 10, but McElrea closed the space, with the cars making contact and Foster hitting the curbing hard at the apex of the corner. That contact bent the suspension on Foster’s No. 26 Copart/USF Pro Championship car, and Roe and Gold quickly passed Foster’s slowing car.

The damage forced Foster to retire on Lap 29.

“I was watching him, and he was sliding around more than I was,” Foster said of McElrea. “We had more push-to-pass, as well. I went for a move, and he turned in on me, and I got damage. It’s unfortunate. We’re teammates. I would have expected a bit more space being given. I would have given more space myself.”

Said McElrea: “I had nothing for Louis there. I hate to see that. He should have been fighting for the win the whole way. He was very fast. It’s tough, man. I respect him a lot. It’s hard racing.”

McElrea led by 6.7817 seconds over Roe with seven laps remaining. But Roe gained huge chunks of time, around one second per lap, until the white flag.

Roe locked his front tire in Turn 1 on the final lap while chasing, giving McElrea the gap he needed to hang on for the win.

“I went conservative to start on push-to-pass,” Roe said. “Louis got by me; I knew he was quick. I saved push-to-pass. I didn’t use it for 20 laps. The deg (tire degradation) was pretty big here this weekend. I burned a lot of the tire off.

“When I went to use the push-to-pass there at the end, I didn’t have the tire to match the amount of the push-to-pass that I had. But, hey, a podium here. We’ve been on a run recently. We were super fast in Nashville, and here we go.”

The next race is the INDY NXT by Firestone OUTFRONT Showdown on Saturday, Aug. 26 at World Wide Technology Raceway. It’s the last oval race of the season.

INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix Race Results

INDIANAPOLIS – Results Friday of the INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix INDY NXT by Firestone event on the 2.439-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, laps completed and reason out (if any):

1. (1) Hunter McElrea, 35, Running
2. (2) James Roe, 35, Running
3. (5) Reece Gold, 35, Running
4. (8) Jacob Abel, 35, Running
5. (3) Kyffin Simpson, 35, Running
6. (9) Christian Rasmussen, 35, Running
7. (12) Danial Frost, 35, Running
8. (6) Josh Pierson, 35, Running
9. (13) Kiko Porto, 35, Running
10. (10) Jamie Chadwick, 35, Running
11. (19) Colin Kaminsky, 35, Running
12. (7) Nolan Siegel, 35, Running
13. (15) Christian Bogle, 35, Running
14. (14) Ernie Francis Jr., 35, Running
15. (16) Rasmus Lindh, 34, Running
16. (17) Francesco Pizzi, 33, Running
17. (4) Louis Foster, 28, Contact
18. (18) Jagger Jones, 15, Mechanical
19. (11) Victor Franzoni, 9, Mechanical

Race Statistics:
Winner’s average speed: 113.037 mph
Time of Race: 00:45:18.6916
Margin of victory: 0.4370 of a second
Cautions: None
Lead changes: None

Lap Leaders:
McElrea, Hunter 1 – 35

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
GALLAGHER GRAND PRIX
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY ROAD COURSE
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
TEAM CHEVY RACE ADVANCE

AUGUST 11, 2023

CHEVROLET QUALIFIES TWO IN THE TOP-SIX FOR SATURDAY’S GALLAGHER GRAND PRIX AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY ROAD COURSE

• Alexander Rossi and Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren INDYCAR will represent Chevrolet in the second row of the starting grid for Saturday’s Gallagher Grand Prix, qualifying third and fourth respectively in Firestone Fast Six qualifying.
• Arrow McLaren teammate Felix Rosenqvist will round out the top-10 in starting positions for the Bowtie brand, starting 10th.
• Rosenqvist led Team Chevy by finishing second in the first Gallagher Grand Prix practice with his fastest lap of 1:09.9267. Rossi followed in fourth with his lap of 1:10.1333.
• Scott McLaughlin (Team Penske, third), Callum Ilott (Juncos Hollinger Racing, fourth), Rinus VeeKay (Ed Carpenter Racing, sixth), and Agustin Canapino (Juncos Hollinger Racing, ninth) finished in the top-10 of final practice that wrapped Friday track action at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

TEAM CHEVY TOP-10 QUALIFYING RESULT:
Pos. Driver
3rd Alexander Rossi
4th Pato O’Ward
10th Felix Rosenqvist

TEAM CHEVY TOP-10 FIRST PRACTICE RESULT:
Pos. Driver
2nd Felix Rosenqvist
4th Alexander Rossi
6th Scott McLaughlin
8th Pato O’Ward

TEAM CHEVY TOP-10 FINAL PRACTICE RESULT:
Pos. Driver
3rd Scott McLaughlin
4th Callum Ilott
6th Rinus VeeKay
9th Agustin Canapino

Green flag for the 85-lap, 207.32-mile 2023 Gallagher Grand Prix waves the green flag live from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course Saturday, Aug. 12 at 2 p.m. ET on USA Network. Additional coverage of the race can be found on Peacock, INDYCAR Radio, and SiriusXM Channel 160.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (QUOTES)

Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Chevrolet at Team Penske:

“Frustrating day for all of Team Penske, not just the Hitachi Chevrolet. It has been a strange year for us when it comes to qualifying. I’m sure we will have good pace tomorrow and hopefully we can catch a break with a caution or two to get some track position. We just need to be a better hold on qualifying moving forward, particularly over the off-season. It’s something we’ve been working on but we still need to keep improving.”

Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Chevrolet at Team Penske:

“Not too bad today for the Gallagher Chevy. We will roll off P10 after the penalties tomorrow. The car isn’t the fastest but I think we’ve made some sort of inroads, but we’re still trying to look for a little balance here on the Indy road course, compared to all the other road courses. I think we got a really good race car, just a matter of qualifying at outright pace. So keep working, keep trying to find things. I think there is still a lot more work to be done but still start at the top 10.”

Will Power, No. 12 Chevrolet at Team Penske:

“Definitely a little disappointed in our qualifying results. It was just quite difficult for us to put a good lap together. I think we do have good Verizon Chevrolet here – we did when we raced here in May – and there are a lot of good cars and drivers starting back where we are so it will be a very interesting race. It’s a tough track and it should be tough. This is INDYCAR and you just can’t leave anything on the table.”

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

“In Practice, we made a few changes to go in the right direction. We’re still not where we have to be and we’d still like to make it better. From when we raced here back in May to now in August this place has completely changed. Some of the drivers who are usually near the front aren’t today. I feel like we have had some very good Qualifying sessions here in the past but we have sometimes struggled to capitalize. It was a different story earlier this year in May when we did well. I hope we can get ourselves starting from there and hopefully make it go a little bit better.

Firestone have brought a different red tire and it hasn’t been the same, so it’s been tough to judge where that line is. Historically, this has been a red race – in May, it was a coin toss whether it was used blacks or used reds. Now, the tire is behaving really differently and I’m trying to cater to that, but it’s not quite in the window yet.

Tomorrow, we have to make things a little easier on ourselves by making the car better.”

Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:

“Qualifying today was good for us. It’s our best Qualifying of the year, the team did a really good job. This is the first track that we’re seeing twice in the season, so starting from where we do on a familiar track; I’m happy with that. We will see what we can do tomorrow, we know we have a great car. It is of course disappointing to feel like we’re missing out a little bit, being close to the Front Row, but with a great car for tomorrow we can get a great result.”

Ryan Hunter-Reay, No. 20 Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing:

“Qualifying is always super close here. Unfortunately, we just got a little loose on our run and had a little bit of rear instability. A few tenths of a second would make all the difference in the world. We’ll keep searching for some grip in warm up and hopefully move forward in the race tomorrow.”

Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing:

“I was pushing so hard, it’s so hard to get it right! My lap time was way down, but it looked like we were going to get through on that last lap. The entry of Turn 10, previous lap it was fine. Last lap, it was too loose and I lost three-tenths or something. It’s a bummer. At this point in the season, advancing for us would mean a lot. It would have been very nice, but unfortunately, there was that one moment.”

Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 Chevrolet at AJ Foyt Racing:

“Obviously just with the qualifying, you’re two-and-a-half tenths off of advancing and you’re P11, so it’s tight here at Indy. We’re just two-tenths off in practice from being in the top five, so yeah, that’s all we need.”

Benjamin Pedersen, No. 55 Chevrolet at AJ Foyt Racing:

“Unfortunately not the result we were hoping for as a team for both cars. We were trying a lot of different things in practice one to get the car ready and unfortunately with both cars we couldn’t quite get it right for qualifying but we have one more practice today to try and figure out what will be a good package for the race and see what we can come up with to finish the day as strong as possible.”

Agustin Canapino, No. 78 Chevrolet at Juncos Hollinger Racing:

“We finished P24 and will start there for tomorrow. Of course, it’s not the position we wanted but on the personal side, I’m happy because I qualified with the best car of the team. Tomorrow we will have the chance to finish in the top-20, perhaps top-15, and we will try to do it.”

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. 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.

INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, Aug. 11, 2023) – WWE Superstar Ricochet will ride in the Fastest Seat in Sports at the Gallagher Grand Prix on Saturday, Aug. 12 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, leading the full field of drivers to the green flag of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES road course race.

Ricochet will star in the WWE Fastlane on Saturday, Oct. 7 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, which will be streamed live exclusively on Peacock in the United States.

One of the world’s most innovative high-flyers, Ricochet uses his whiplash-inducing speed and unfathomable aerial mastery to take on opponents of any size.

After dazzling the international scene for more than a decade, Ricochet emerged in NXT in 2018, capturing the NXT North American Championship, and later won the 2019 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic alongside Aleister Black. He landed on Monday Night Raw the following year, dazzling the WWE Universe in sensational clashes against the likes of AJ Styles. In early 2022, Ricochet added to his trophy cabinet by winning the Intercontinental Championship.

During the 2023 WWE Draft, Ricochet was drafted to Monday Night Raw and appears on USA Network every Monday at 8 p.m. ET.

INDYCAR’s Fastest Seat in Sports is a high-speed, high-octane, super-charged thrill ride in a custom INDYCAR SERIES car with a special back passenger seat. At almost every race on the schedule, the car advances the field of drivers to the start/finish line to signify the beginning of the race, with a special passenger in the guest seat. Previous participants in the Fastest Seat in Sports include Lady Gaga, NBA champions Steph Curry and Kawhi Leonard, Olympic gold medalists Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Lilly King, actors Simu Liu and Channing Tatum, and many others.

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES represents the ultimate challenge in racing, with drivers competing at speeds of 200+ mph across a demanding set of ovals and road and street courses. The full schedule can be viewed here.

INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, Aug. 11, 2023) – Graham Rahal earned his first NTT P1 Award in six years, powering to the pole Friday for the Gallagher Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in a 1-2 tour de force for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

Rahal turned the top lap of 1 minute, 10.1132 seconds in the No. 15 Code 3 Associates Honda during the Firestone Fast Six. It was his fourth career INDYCAR SERIES pole and first since June 2017 at Belle Isle in Detroit.

The site of Rahal’s long-awaited pole also was significant due to the contrast of emotions from when he last competed at the Racing Capital of the World, in May. Rahal celebrated with his wife, Courtney, and their two young daughters on pit lane today, a welcome change from their heartbreaking despair when Rahal was bumped from the 107th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge during qualifying.

“It means a lot,” Rahal said. “Everybody has seen it: We’ve had to work ridiculously hard to get back. This isn’t a win, but it feels like it for us. It’s just nice to feel competitive; it’s nice to be able to push and get something out of the car. You ask for it, you demand it, and it’s there. It feels really sweet.”

Rahal’s teammate Christian Lundgaard qualified second at 1:10.2286 in the No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda as the team owned by 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal, late night TV icon David Letterman and business magnate Mike Lanigan took the top two spots in qualifying for an NTT INDYCAR SERIES race for the first time since April 2019 at Barber Motorsports Park, when Takuma Sato won the pole and Rahal started second.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do tomorrow,” Toronto race winner Lundgaard said. “The team is strong. I certainly think we can do something great tomorrow. We’ve got two opportunities on splitting strategy and seeing what works best. I’m definitely hungry for another win, but at this point, I’m really happy for Graham to get his pole.”

Live coverage of the 85-lap race on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile starts at 2 p.m. ET Saturday on USA Network, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

Three teams – RLL, Arrow McLaren and Andretti Autosport – comprised the competitors in an ultra-competitive Firestone Fast Six session. Just .2889 of a second separated the six drivers, the third-tightest margin in the format’s history.

2016 Indianapolis 500 winner Alexander Rossi qualified third in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet at 1:10.2932, tying his season best set on the oval at Texas. Teammate Pato O’Ward was fourth at 1:10.3453 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.

Devlin DeFrancesco was another one of the stars of the three rounds of qualifying. He earned a career-best starting spot of fifth at 1:10.3938 in the No. 29 TRUBAR/Jones Soda Honda fielded by Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport after driving into the Firestone Fast Six for the first time in his two-year NTT INDYCAR SERIES career.

Romain Grosjean rounded out the Firestone Fast Six at 1:10.4021 in the No. 28 DHL Honda fielded by Andretti Autosport.

Narrow time margins were a theme of the three-round session, as rookie Marcus Armstrong qualified seventh at 1:10.2106 in the No. 11 IU Simon Cancer Center Honda fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing. He missed a spot in the Firestone Fast Six by .0008 of a second, the second-closest miss in this qualifying format’s history.

Jack Harvey completed a magical day for RLL, qualifying eighth at 1:10.2228 in the team’s No. 30 Kustom Entertainment Honda.

Championship leader Alex Palou qualified ninth at 1:10.2974 in the No. 10 The American Legion Honda fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing. It’s his second-lowest qualifying performance on a road or street course this season, with only 15th at Toronto lower. But any sting for Palou may be eased because his closest rival in the title hunt, Josef Newgarden, qualified a season-low 19th at 1:10.6150 in the No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet.

Palou leads Newgarden by 84 points – a gap of 1.5 races – with four races remaining.

“Confident for tomorrow, but obviously a bit bummed not being in the Fast Six,” Palou said. “We’re starting P9 tomorrow, right? So, it’s not a bad starting position. We can do a lot from there, especially being such a long race with the strategy.”

Newgarden, who has won four races this season – all on ovals, wasn’t the only star to be eliminated in a wildly unpredictable first round of qualifying. He was joined by Long Beach and Nashville race winner Kyle Kirkwood (starting 15th), six-time series champion Scott Dixon (16th), reigning series champion Will Power (17th) and St. Petersburg winner Marcus Ericsson (18th).

Gallagher Grand Prix Qualifying Results

INDIANAPOLIS – Qualifying Friday for the Gallagher Grand Prix NTT INDYCAR SERIES event on the 2.439-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, with qualifying position, car number in parentheses, driver, engine, time and speed in parentheses:

1. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 01:10.1132 (125.232 mph)
2. (45) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 01:10.2286 (125.026)
3. (7) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 01:10.2932 (124.911)
4. (5) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 01:10.3453 (124.819)
5. (29) Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda, 01:10.3938 (124.733)
6. (28) Romain Grosjean, Honda, 01:10.4021 (124.718)
7. (11) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 01:10.2106 (125.058)
8. (30) Jack Harvey, Honda, 01:10.2228 (125.036)
9. (10) Alex Palou, Honda, 01:10.2974 (124.904)
10. (6) Felix Rosenqvist, Chevrolet, 01:10.4389 (124.653)
11. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 01:10.4782 (124.583)
12. (06) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 01:10.5207 (124.508)
13. (26) Colton Herta, Honda, 01:10.4398 (124.651)
14. (60) Linus Lundqvist, Honda, 01:10.4570 (124.621)
15. (27) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 01:10.4869 (124.568)
16. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 01:10.5006 (124.544)
17. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 01:10.5237 (124.503)
18. (8) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 01:10.6348 (124.307)
19. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 01:10.6150 (124.342)
20. (21) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 01:10.7249 (124.149)
21. (14) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 01:10.6461 (124.287)
22. (20) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Chevrolet, 01:11.0083 (123.653)
23. (18) David Malukas, Honda, 01:10.8687 (123.897)
24. (78) Agustin Canapino, Chevrolet, 01:11.0611 (123.561)
25. (51) Sting Ray Robb, Honda, 01:11.5658 (122.690)
26. (77) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 01:11.1027 (123.489)
27. (55) Benjamin Pedersen, Chevrolet, 01:11.2971 (123.152)

Indianapolis, Ind. (11 August 2023) – Making a second trip back to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course this season, Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) continued it’s strong run at the 2.439-mile road course during qualifying on Friday.

Friday’s qualifying session for the Gallagher Grand Prix saw Helio Castroneves (No. 06 AutoNation / Cleveland-Cliffs Honda) and Linus Lundqvist (No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda) combine to post MSR’s best two-car road course qualifying of the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES campaign.

Just a few hours after MSR announced Castroneves joining the team’s ownership group as a minority partner and continue his Drive for 5 with an Indianapolis 500 only entry in 2024 with MSR, Castroneves went out and led his squad, transferring to the Fast 12.

The four-time Indianapolis 500 champion posted a best time of 1:10.3196-seconds in first round of qualifying to finish fourth in the session and punch his ticket for the 12-car second outing. The Brazilian was in the top four in the 10-minute Fast 12 at the halfway point before settling for a season-best 12th with a time of 1:10.5027-seconds.

Competing in his second weekend as a stand-in for the injured Simon Pagenaud, Lundqvist narrowly missed advancing into the Fast 12 and will start on the inside of the seventh row for Sunday’s race. Lundqvist started an impressive 11th in the previous INDYCAR round in Nashville for MSR and will look to continue that pace on Saturday.

Although showing pace in qualifying, the No. 06 Honda of Castroneves will receive a six-spot grid penalty for tomorrow’s race for a fifth unapproved engine change following the Nashville weekend.

The Gallagher Grand Prix gets underway at 2:00pm ET on Saturday August 12th with live broadcast coverage on USA Network and Peacock. SiriusXM will also host live IndyCar Radio coverage on XM Ch. 160.

Meyer Shank Racing Driver Quotes:

Helio Castroneves:

“I think I overcooked the tires on my first flying lap and then when I went out on the second lap, the rears weren’t as planted as I needed them to be. I don’t know that we had enough for pole, but we may have been able to get into the Fast Six with the car we had today. Overall I feel like we have a very strong chance in the race tomorrow. Unfortunately we have the six place grid penalty for the engine change, but we will work our way back up in the race tomorrow.”

Linus Lundqvist:

“Very close qualifying session here at Indy. First of all, I am very happy to be back for my second-ever INDYCAR weekend. There are still plenty of new things for me to learn. The package that we had roll off the trucks was competitive and I think we had it in ourselves to move on to the Fast 12 and maybe even the Fast Six. Unfortunately, we couldn’t put it all together and that’s a little on me, but we’ll tune that for tomorrow. We’ll see what the weather does, but I think we’ll have a fast race car tomorrow.”