Category: NTT Indy

INDIANAPOLIS (Saturday, May 13, 2023) – Matteo Nannini drove to his first career INDY NXT by Firestone victory, holding off fellow series rookie Louis Foster in a compelling duel Saturday on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Nannini, from Italy, drove his No. 75 Juncos Hollinger Racing car from the pole to the victory by .3909 of a second over the No. 26 Copart/USF Pro Championship car of Foster, fielded by Andretti Autosport. Nannini led all 35 laps of the INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix despite unyielding pressure from Foster over the last quarter of the race.

“I really wanted this win, mainly for the team,” Nannini said. “We didn’t start the championship where we really wanted, but I know we have the car to do it, the crew to do it. So, I would have been really pissed if I would not have been the winner of this race.”

Kyffin Simpson finished a lonely third in the No. 21 HMD Motorsports with CGR machine, 9.8065 seconds behind winner Nannini on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course.

This was the first INDY NXT by Firestone victory for Juncos Hollinger Racing since September 2019, when current NTT INDYCAR SERIES standout Rinus VeeKay swept the season-ending doubleheader at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. That also was the last INDY NXT by Firestone win for a team other than HMD Motorsports or Andretti Autosport.

Nannini jumped from 17th to fourth in the standings for INDYCAR’s development series with the win.

Hunter McElrea finished fourth in the No. 27 Smart Motors car fielded by Andretti Autosport. Championship leader Christian Rasmussen rounded out the top five in the No. 6 HMD Motorsports with DCR machine after a spirited duel for position with McElrea for much of the second half of the race.

Nannini controlled the race from the start, building a lead of one second after the first green-flag lap and padding that margin to 1.580 seconds by Lap 7.

But Foster stayed in touch, deftly managing his Firestone tires and push-to-pass time for a drive toward the front. With 10 laps to go, Foster closed the gap to within three-tenths of a second.

“I just tried to manage the car to the end of the race,” Nannini said. “I had a little issue with the braking. It was losing (time) quite a bit, but here we are. So happy for the result.”

Foster had two good looks at trying to pass Nannini at the end of the back straightaway entering Turn 7, on Lap 33 and the final lap, but couldn’t pull close enough to make a potentially winning pass stick. Nannini had exhausted his push-to-pass before the final lap, with Foster having five seconds remaining on the final trip around the circuit.

“I was pretty convinced we could get it done there, but with the car and the tires coming off (wearing), it’s unfortunate, really,” British driver Foster said. “Our last two weekends haven’t gone particularly well, so this weekend it was all about points, and we got that. Hopefully we can build on this from here in Detroit.”

The next INDY NXT by Firestone event is a doubleheader June 3-4 at the Detroit Grand Prix on the streets of the Motor City.

1. (1) Matteo Nannini, 35, Running
2. (3) Louis Foster, 35, Running
3. (4) Kyffin Simpson, 35, Running
4. (2) Hunter McElrea, 35, Running
5. (6) Christian Rasmussen, 35, Running
6. (5) Josh Green, 35, Running
7. (8) James Roe, 35, Running
8. (10) Rasmus Lindh, 35, Running
9. (9) Jacob Abel, 35, Running
10. (11) Enaam Ahmed, 35, Running
11. (12) Danial Frost, 35, Running
12. (13) Colin Kaminsky, 35, Running
13. (16) Nolan Siegel, 35, Running
14. (17) Jagger Jones, 35, Running
15. (14) Jamie Chadwick, 35, Running
16. (15) Reece Gold, 35, Running
17. (7) Josh Pierson, 35, Running
18. (18) Christian Bogle, 35, Running

Race Statistics
Winner’s average speed: 110.897 mph
Time of Race: 46:11.1605
Margin of victory: 0.3909 of a second
Cautions: 1 for 2 laps
Lead changes: 0
Lap Leaders:
Nannini, Matteo 1 – 35

INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, May 12, 2023) – Christian Lundgaard capped a resurgent Friday for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, winning his first career NTT P1 Award in qualifying for the GMR Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Lundgaard turned a best lap of 1 minute, 9.3321 seconds in the No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda to become the first Danish driver to win an INDYCAR SERIES pole. He edged Felix Rosenqvist by 27 ten-thousandths of a second, as Rosenqvist will start second after a best lap of 1:09.3348 in the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. It was the closest gap ever between the top two drivers in the Firestone Fast Six format.

“This 45 Hy-Vee Honda has just been fast all day,” Lundgaard said. “I was hoping for this, but I wasn’t quite expecting it, so it’s awesome to be here right now.”

Lundgaard’s previous best career qualifying performance was third as a rookie last season on the streets of Nashville. His best qualifying spot through the first four races of the season was sixth in late April at Barber Motorsports Park.

This was the first pole for Rahal Letterman Lanigan since Takuma Sato took the top spot in August 2020 on the World Wide Technology Raceway oval.

Lundgaard led all three RLL drivers in the top eight, as Jack Harvey will start fourth (1:09.4220) in the No. 30 Kustom Entertainment Honda and Graham Rahal eighth (1:09.4711) in the No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Honda.

It was a sudden and significant rebound for the team, as Lundgaard entered this race 12th, Rahal 16th and Harvey 23rd in the championship standings. The team’s best finish this season is sixth, by Lundgaard last month at Barber and by Rahal in March at the season opener at St. Petersburg.

“Now we have a shot at it (victory),” Lundgaard said. “We’re leading the field to green, so that’s where we want to be. So, we’ve just got to stay there for the rest of the race.

“Every time we come here to IMS, at least this way (road course), we’ve been quick. So, coming into this year, I was confident. The last time I drove on this track (last July), I finished second. I was second in both practice sessions this morning, so I wanted to up it one, and I did.”

Live coverage of the 85-lap race starts at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday on NBC, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

Swedish driver Rosenqvist fell just short of earning his second NTT P1 Award of the season and first this year on a road course. But tight competition was the story of the day, as the margin of .2979 of a second between the top six was the fourth smallest in the history of the Firestone Fast Six format.

“It just came down to nailing a lap at the end,” Rosenqvist said. “I made a mistake, just a little wobble there. I just went for it – all or nothing. Big congrats to Christian. Scandinavian front row – that’s always cool.”

2021 series champion Alex Palou will start third after a best lap of 1:09.3780 in the No. 10 The American Legion Honda, with Harvey next to him on Row 2.

Pato O’Ward qualified fifth at 1:09.5422 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Long Beach winner Kyle Kirkwood rounded out the Firestone Fast Six at 1:09.6292 in the No. 27 AutoNation Honda.

Championship leader Marcus Ericsson will start seventh, just missing the Firestone Fast Six in Round 2 with his best lap of 1:09.4419 in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

While the rocket ride toward the top by RLL captured attention, another big story was the struggles of many of this season’s race winners and title contenders and past winners of this race and past season champions.

Two-time series champion Josef Newgarden (starting 13th), 2022 GMR Grand Prix winner Colton Herta (starting 14th), 2023 Barber winner Scott McLaughlin (starting 16th), and Andretti Autosport’s top championship contender this season, Romain Grosjean (starting 18th), all were eliminated in the first round of qualifying.

Reigning series champion Will Power made it through to the second round but was eliminated in that session. He will start 12th in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
GMR GRAND PRIX
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING REPORT
MAY 12, 2023

FELIX ROSENQVIST PUTS CHEVROLET ON FRONT ROW FOR THE GMR GRAND PRIX

• Arrow McLaren INDYCAR’s Felix Rosenqvist led Team Chevy drivers, qualifying second and starting from the front row for Sunday’s GMR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
• Rosenqvist’s teammate Pato O’Ward joined him in the Firestone Fast Six.
• Rosenqvist and Team Penske’s Will Power advanced from Round 1, Group 1 in GMR Grand Prix Qualifying.
• O’Ward and Alexander Rossi advanced from Round 1, Group 2 in GMR Grand Prix Qualifying.
• O’Ward led the combined practice results, with his fastest lap time of 01:09.4981 at 126.340 mph in Practice 1.
• O’Ward led second practice for Team Chevy, with his fastest lap of 01:10.2604 to finish third on the leaderboard. Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden (sixth), Scott McLaughlin (seventh), and Power (eighth) followed, rounding out the top-10.
• O’Ward led the first practice session with his quickest lap of 01:09.4981, with McLaughlin next for Team Chevy in fourth. Rosenqvist (sixth), Power (ninth), and Rinus VeeKay (tenth) rounded out the top-10 for the Bowtie brand in the first session of Friday.

TEAM CHEVY TOP-10 QUALIFYING RESULT:
POS. DRIVER
2nd Felix Rosenqvist
5th Pato O’Ward
10th Alexander Rossi

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING:

Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Chevrolet at Team Penske:

“I had two laps of fuel which is pretty much what everyone’s going to do. I did an okay first lap. I was going for it. But you know at this point you can’t go through there with the yellow (from Benjamin Pedersen spin) and go quicker otherwise I’m was going to get a penalty so I backed off a little bit there. Then I decided to it because I thought that I could really go quicker on the whole lap. But, man I lost so much at the start of it that seemed irrelevant at that point. So it was unfortunate because that was the lap to really put it together. I would say it was bad timing again, you know, what are we going to do? I mean, it’s not anybody’s fault outside of the timing.

“I’m not going to go back and like be mad at anybody or even myself, it’s just bad timing. You can’t predict that stuff but I thought the car was good. Timing is going be more important tomorrow. Thanks to Snap On and Team Chevy, we will just go for it tomorrow.”

Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Chevrolet at Team Penske:

“We changed a little bit in Practice 2. Nothing crazy. A little smidgen here or there. Just missed the ballpark. Anyway, it is what it is.”

On the Indianapolis track and how weather sensitive it is…

“I’m sure we’ll get a little bit of sprinkles. Something, but it wasn’t crazy. It’s just tight. INDYCAR is just so hard. It’s why you love it. We just missed it and unfortunately, when you miss it by just a little bit, you’re just too far off. We’ll work hard. We’ve got a great team behind us. Hopefully, we’ll come through at the front.”

Will Power, No. 12 Chevrolet at Team Penske:

“I just tried a different gear in turn 7 to see. We’re just so far off. That was everything I had. I screwed the first lap up so we’re probably going to be 12th. Certainly, we’re missing a half of a second. The car doesn’t feel that bad. I felt in practice we were pretty good, kind of hanging out in the top-10. Never P1 material, but we’ll just have to dig deep tomorrow. We’ve had some pretty good races, so we’ll see if we can get the Verizon car up there. I got a new Chevy engine this week, so got plenty of horsepower. We’ll see what we can do.”

Conor Daly, No. 20 Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing:

“Obviously, we’re going to try and work our butts off to be quick tomorrow but, you know, it’s kind of been the trend of our season. We’ve slipped a little back at every track we’ve been at. We have to do a better job and, you know, we as drivers have to deliver the information as best we can, and we’ve got to work together to make us better because both Rinus (VeeKay) and I can’t be happy with where we’re starting. We just got to be honest with ourselves and we’ve got to be willing to get this to the next level. It’s a real, real shame because obviously, we’ve had a tough year. Hopefully, tomorrow, you never know what could happen. We’ve always raced well here so we’ll try to take this BITNILE.COM Chevrolet forward.”

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

“Today was difficult with the weather being unpredictable. We are missing the balance for the new tires so we are chasing it a bit. A tough session especially when a tenth would move us into the second round. We can race our way forward tomorrow. Even when things are tough like today, we always can make progress. We have an extra set of red tires for tomorrow and the team will do everything they can.”

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

“P5 for us today in qualifying here for the Indy GP. My Turn 1 on that lap definitely didn’t deserve pole today, but we’ve got a strong race car. It should rain overnight, so I think warmup will be interesting, then we’ll give it hell in the race.”

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

“It’s been a tough day to prefer. We’ve been quick since rolling off the trucks. But it’s always hard getting a lap in, and you know, traffic and things happening. It’s very tight, and one-tenth wrong, you’re out. It’s always hard to put it together here and it’s so tight. Big thanks to my Arrow McLaren team, SmartStop. We came together when it mattered in the end. That was our quickest run of the day. I did a little mistake in the snake on the final lap. I’m kind of beating myself up about it a little bit, but hey, we can’t be perfect. That was all I had for that lap.”

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

“That’s pretty much it, unfortunately. We just haven’t quite been able to unlock this car to the level that we need for qualifying. We’re just perpetually seeming to qualify from 12th through 10th which is getting frustrating. You just have to keep working at it. It’s hard on these quick weekends. It’s hard when you only have so many bites at it. We’re close, we just haven’t quite found that tuning tweak that I guess I need.”

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

“We just had another electrical issue that really set us back. Obviously, I just didn’t put together the cleanest one-lap run because we were trying to fight traffic and not impede anybody. It is so tight here. This is the tightest track we come to all year. Everyone’s got a million laps here. Our car is just not in the window yet. We’re working on it. We’re doing the best we can. Nothing like starting from the back and trying to make our way through the field tomorrow, and I’m sure we’ll do that.”

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

“Honestly, it was a really good lap. Unfortunately, we just don’t quite have the speed in the car. Definitely the best lap I’ve done in an Indy car so I’m very proud of that. I think P23 for tomorrow. We’ll see if we can’t work some magic on the strategy perspective and have a really good race and move forward, which is the big goal. First time here in an Indy car and loving it. Just trying to get better and better every day.”

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

“We’re just not in the right direction yet. Not easy. We tried so much stuff to make it work and we’re just missing something. We put the car into a good balance window, but I mean, I think it was seven-tenths to the front. Not easy, not easy. The race is a different story. We’ll see what we can do.”

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

“We didn’t had the best qualifying, honestly. We made some changes. The car feels a little bit worse than practice. In practice, we were better, but it is what it is. We will do our best tomorrow. We’ll try to finish the race and take some points.”

FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 6 ARROW MCLAREN CHEVROLET – Press Conference Transcript:

TELL US ABOUT THAT LAST LAP AND THE LAST COUPLE CORNERS BEFORE YOU HIT THE START-FINISH LINE?

“Yeah, I thought I had a mega lap going and I kind of messed it up a bit in Turn 9. I was just going for make or break and didn’t make. Three thousandths, that’s always tough, but honestly, I’m super happy to be P2. This is a track where, as Christian said, I think a lot of European drivers have excelled, and I’ve had two poles here previously and almost three now, so maybe try starting on P2 instead and see how that goes.”

FELIX, WITH HOW TIGHT IT WAS TO CHRISTIAN, LOOKING BACK OVER THAT LAP, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY THAT MIGHT HAVE GOTTEN YOU POLE, OR WAS THAT THE FASTEST THAT CAR WAS GOING TO GO?

“I mean, you can always go better. I think maybe Christian could probably go a tenth or two quicker (…) That’s why I don’t bother anymore saying I could have, should have. We all go all in, all out, out there, and it’s always so tight. This track honestly, if you’re one or one and a half tenths off, it can normally be the difference of maybe starting like 16th or P5. Like it’s so tight. You have to really put it together every qualifying segment. It’s hard. There’s traffic out there. There’s different challenges coming towards you, and when it’s so tight, you just have to be perfect all the time. But yeah, we always look back and that’s why we get better every time. This time it didn’t work out, but I’m happy for Christian. That was an awesome run, and he really deserves it.”

DOES THIS CIRCUIT SEEM MORE EUROPEAN THAN THE OTHER ROAD CIRCUITS ON THE SERIES, AND IF SO, WHAT MAKES IT THAT WAY?

“It’s just more about maximizing what you have rather than being like close to the walls or close to the gravel. I think here if you can make the car work for you, you can make a difference, and maybe it’s a bit of a smoother lap. You don’t see anyone really fighting the car a lot. You have a couple of snaps here and there, but it’s not like Detroit or Nashville or even Iowa, something like that. It’s a fairly smooth lap, smooth surface, high grip, and also the fact that we can do the lap in lap one is kind of unique. At least we can have kind of a slow out lap and then do a lap and then the tires are gone. I think that, at least for Christian, Formula 2, it’s pretty similar to that. But it’s not like we’re only good here, I think. But may be in other favor a bit.”

FELIX, YOU’VE QUALIFIED WELL BEFORE THIS YEAR, BUT THE RESULTS HAVEN’T QUITE BEEN THERE. ANY REASON, ANY KIND OF PRE-RACE MEETING YOU’LL HAVE TO FIGURE OUT, HEY, HOW CAN WE EXECUTE AND GET THE FINISH THAT BACKS UP QUALIFYING?

“Well, I think our year has basically been two DNFs on the first two races, set us back a lot. We were pretty much last in the standings after those two races, and since then we’ve been in the mix pretty much everywhere. We haven’t really had a proper weekend in terms of everything coming together, which is normal, but we’ve been top 10 pretty much every session, qualifying race. I think this weekend things just kind of worked out a bit better so far at least, and that’s just INDYCAR. You just need to put yourself in that position as many times as you can in the season, and hopefully we can get on a bit of a roll from here, and I think it will come to us.”

WHAT SEGMENT OF THIS TRACK THAT IF YOU GET IT RIGHT, YOU KNOW YOU’RE ON A HOT LAP? IS THERE ONE PART OF THIS TRACK THAT’S THE TELLTALE FOR WHAT’S COMING?

“My first attempt on the first set of reds, I blew it in Turn 1, so it’s kind of like you have to go for it, but we’re doing our laps in the first lap, so if the tires aren’t in, and you go for it, you’re not going to make it. That’s kind of what Christian said, when you pass that corner you know what grip you have, you know what you need to do, but you never really know until you turn in for Turn 12, which is after the timing line.”

About Chevrolet

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INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, May 12, 2023) – Matteo Nannini came to Indianapolis Motor Speedway this week needing a boost after a tough start to the season.

Consider that wish granted. Rookie Nannini earned his first INDY NXT by Firestone pole position Friday for the INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Nannini, from Italy, finished 15th in both of the first two races of the season in the No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing car.

Nannini’s top lap was 1 minute, 15.3194 seconds in the eight-minute session on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course. His previous best start this season was ninth at the season opener in March at St. Petersburg. It also was the first INDY NXT by Firestone pole for the JHR team since current NTT INDYCAR SERIES standout Rinus VeeKay swept both poles for the season-ending doubleheader in September 2019 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

“We really needed the result as a team,” Nannini said. “We didn’t start the championship in the best way possible. So, definitely starting in Indy with P1 is really satisfying. I’m really happy for the team, really happy for myself and the group that is supporting me.”

Live coverage of the 35-lap race starts at 1 p.m. ET Saturday on Peacock, INDYCAR LIVE and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

“In this series, qualifying is important,” Nannini said. “When you start in the middle of the pack, the possibility to have a crash is much higher. Now we make sure that we can finish the job tomorrow.”

Hunter McElrea will join Nannini on the front row after qualifying second at 1:15.4467 in the No. 27 Smart Motors car fielded by Andretti Autosport.

Rookie Louis Foster helped to put two Andretti Autpsport cars in the top three of qualifying, as he will start third in the No. 26 Copart/USF Pro Championship car after a best lap of 1:15.5070.

Kyffin Simpson, who led morning practice, qualified fourth at 1:15.5334 in the No. 21 HMD Motorsports with CGR machine. Josh Green was the third rookie in the top five, ending up fifth at 1:15.6517 in the No. 3 HMD Motorsports with DCR car.

Series championship leader Christian Rasmussen qualified sixth at 1:15.6814 in the No. 6 HMD Motorsports with DCR machine.

Rank Car Driver Name C/E/T Time Speed Diff Gap Best Lap Laps
1 75 Nannini, Matteo (R) D/ /F 01:15.3194 116.576 –.—- –.—- 3 6
2 27 McElrea, Hunter D/ /F 01:15.4467 116.379 0.1273 0.1273 5 6
3 26 Foster, Louis (R) D/ /F 01:15.5070 116.286 0.1876 0.0603 5 6
4 21 Simpson, Kyffin D/ /F 01:15.5334 116.245 0.2140 0.0264 4 6
5 3 Green, Josh (R) D/ /F 01:15.6517 116.063 0.3323 0.1183 3 6
6 6 Rasmussen, Christian D/ /F 01:15.6814 116.018 0.3620 0.0297 3 7
7 14 Pierson, Josh D/ /F 01:15.7763 115.873 0.4569 0.0949 4 6
8 29 Roe, James D/ /F 01:15.7949 115.844 0.4755 0.0186 3 6
9 51 Abel, Jacob D/ /F 01:15.8840 115.708 0.5646 0.0891 2 7
10 76 Lindh, Rasmus D/ /F 01:15.9196 115.654 0.6002 0.0356 6 6
11 47 Ahmed, Enaam (R) D/ /F 01:15.9371 115.627 0.6177 0.0175 5 7
12 68 Frost, Danial D/ /F 01:15.9399 115.623 0.6205 0.0028 4 7
13 57 Kaminsky, Colin (R) D/ /F 01:16.0357 115.477 0.7163 0.0958 5 7
14 28 Chadwick, Jamie (R) D/ /F 01:16.0817 115.408 0.7623 0.0460 4 6
15 10 Gold, Reece (R) D/ /F 01:16.0982 115.382 0.7788 0.0165 4 6
16 39 Siegel, Nolan (R) D/ /F 01:16.2173 115.202 0.8979 0.1191 5 7
17 98 Jones, Jagger (R) D/ /F 01:16.2753 115.115 0.9559 0.0580 4 6
18 7 Bogle, Christian D/ /F 01:16.4292 114.883 1.1098 0.1539 4 6

INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, May 12, 2023) – Hoosier Olympian Lilly King will ride in the Fastest Seat in Sports at the GMR Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 13, leading the full field of drivers to the green flag of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES road course race.

King is a breaststroke swimming specialist, who has been one of Team USA’s most consistent performers since 2016.

She won the women’s Olympic 100-meter breaststroke title at the Rio 2016 Olympics before teaming up with Kathleen Baker, Dana Vollmer and Simone Manuel to deliver the women’s 4×100-meter medley relay gold medal.

A year later, King landed the 100-meter breaststroke world title in a world record time of 1:04:13.

At the 2019 World Championships, she defended that crown, added the 50-meter world title and helped Team USA break the 4×100-meter medley relay world record.

King demonstrated her versatility at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, winning the 100-meter breaststroke bronze before moving up a distance to claim the 200-meter breaststroke silver medal. She went on to land the 200-meter world title in 2022.

To date, the Evansville swimmer has won five long-course world titles across the 50-meter, 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke events.

“Lilly knows speed, but there’s nothing like the action-packed and exhilarating NTT INDYCAR SERIES experience at IMS,” said Alex Damron, Penske Entertainment Corp. vice president of corporate communications. “We’re honored to give her one of the best seats in town and a first-hand look at what it’s like to tackle the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course at IMS.”

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 medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, 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.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
GMR GRAND PRIX
THE ROAD COURSE AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
TEAM CHEVY RACE ADVANCE
MAY 12-13, 2023

CHEVROLET LOOKS TO ADD TO MAY SUCCESS AT THE GMR GRAND PRIX

DETROIT (May 11, 2023) – The month of May in Indianapolis kicks off this weekend for Team Chevy NTT INDYCAR Series drivers and teams with the GMR Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway near Indianapolis, Indiana.

Dominant on the road course in the V6 2.2-liter twin turbo direct injection era, the Bowtie brand has won six events in nine races (since 2014’s debut of the event), seven pole awards, 11 podiums, and holding 393 laps led on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn permanent road course integrated within the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Last year’s winner Alexander Rossi, who joined Chevy-supported Arrow McLaren INDYCAR in the offseason, carries both momentum from the early season as well as success on both courses at Indianapolis. He is looking to the weekend to deliver a repeat win as well as hand Chevrolet their 109th victory in the series since 2012.

”Entering the Month of May and Indy GP, I’m looking forward to the challenge ahead,” noted Rossi. “Last year’s victory has me eager to perform well, and as a new group, we’re close to having our breakout weekend. With rain in the forecast, adaptability will be key, but we’re prepared to face any conditions on race day. I’m excited to tackle the challenges, and I hope we can put on a great show for the fans, rain or shine.”

With Chevrolet’s success that includes a win and/or pole award in each year since 2015, 2021’s event winner, Rinus VeeKay of Ed Carpenter Racing, has his sights set on kicking his month of May off at this weekend’s GMR Grand Prix with a return visit to victory lane.

“I am very excited to race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course again,” exclaimed VeeKay. “Of course, it’s the place where I won my first race and it’s great to come back as a previous winner. Hopefully double it up this year! I am ready to get back to good results and if there’s a perfect place to do it, it’s at IMS for the road course and the Speedway itself! I can’t wait to get the Month of May started. I’m ready for the adventure!”

“The GMR GP on the IMS Road Course sets the stage for the Chevrolet-powered teams in the NTT INDYCAR Series for the remainder of the month of May leading into the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500,” said Rob Buckner, INDYCAR Program Manager at General Motors. “While there aren’t many similarities between the road course and the speedway packages, the GP is an important step in helping our teams start to get the rhythm of The Speedway, and the atmosphere of events.

Coming off a win at Barber Motorsports Park, our Chevrolet engineers with our teams are fine-tuning what we learned at Barber with the goal of winning on the IMS Road Course. In addition, drivers will be able to deliver feedback on track conditions relative to tire wear. We are ready to kick off May with a victory on Saturday.”

The GMR Grand Prix kicks off with Practice 1 Friday, May 12 at 9:30 a.m. ET, with Practice 2 starting at 1 p.m. ET. Qualifications then start at 4 p.m. ET Friday. A final warm-up will start race day Saturday at 11:15 a.m. ET. All practice and qualifying will be live on Peacock, INDYCAR Radio and SiriusXM Channel 160. The 85-lap, 207.32-mile race Sunday, May 13 will take the green flag at 3:30 p.m. ET live on NBC.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

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

“Last year, the Indy GP was one of the craziest races that we’ve had in a couple years. I’m looking forward to starting the Month of May and trying to finish better here than we did last year.”

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

”It’s good to be back at the GP. It’s probably one of my best qualifying tracks with two poles here, including one last year. I think the race has been a bit more difficult for us historically, especially when it’s warm. We race twice here every year, so it’s important for us to get all the data we can for when we come back later in the summer. I’m ready for the Month of May to get going.”

Gavin Ward, Race Director at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:

“For as often as we get to race at the Indy GP, it’s always surprising how different the track behaves each time we race here. And with mixed weather in the forecast, I’m sure we’ll get something different again. The team’s focus is unchanged; we’re happy to go racing again and we take each race as a chance for us to grow and get better as a team. If we keep that mindset, the results will take care of themselves in time.”

Conor Daly, No. 20 Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing:

“The GMR Grand Prix is one of my favorite events! The IMS Road Course has been a successful place for me in the past, both in qualifying and the race. Just need to get on the podium now! We hope that we have the same speed we had last year, if anything be faster! We will all work together and get a good result. We need the season to turn around now, it has been really difficult to handle so far. Hopefully, all smiles and happiness this month and starting off strong at the Indy GP always helps!”

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

“I’m looking forward to this weekend. I like the IMS road course because I feel it fits my driving style pretty well. The track is very flowy, very fast. It’s always been an enjoyable race for me, an enjoyable time to be inside IMS. So, hoping that we can bring that spirit this weekend and carry on with our development of the Sexton Properties Chevy.”

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

“Very excited for this weekend for the GMR Grand Prix. I’ve raced here in the past in INDY NXT, but obviously, not here in INDYCAR, so really looking forward to that. Have had really good success here in INDY NXT. There’s a chance of rain. Feeling very optimistic, and really looking forward to this weekend in the Sexton Properties Chevrolet.”

CHEVROLET AT INDIANAPOLIS ROAD COURSE:

Wins at GMR Grand Prix (since 2012): 6

2015 – Will Power

2016 – Simon Pagenaud

2017 – Will Power

2018 – Will Power

2019 – Simon Pagenaud

2021 – Rinus VeeKay

Chevrolet Driver with the Most Indianapolis Road Course Wins (since 2012): Will Power, 3 (2015, 2017, 2018)

Number of Team Chevy Pole Awards at Indianapolis Road Course (since 2012): 7 (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022)

Chevrolet Driver with the Most Indianapolis Road Course Pole Awards (since 2012): Will Power, 4 (2015, 2018, 2020, 2022)

Number of Team Chevy Podiums at Indianapolis Road Course (since 2012): 11

Number of laps led by Team Chevy at Indianapolis Road Course (since 2012): 393

2023 CHEVROLET BY THE NUMBERS

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

108: Wins in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES since 2012.

121: Earned poles since 2012.

7: Manufacturer Championships since 2012.

7: Driver/entrant champions since 2012.

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.

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

*Will Power’s career total of 68 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.

Pataskala, Ohio (9 April 2023) – The Month of May couldn’t come at a better time for Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) as the Ohio-based team looks to jump-start its 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season with a visit to the site of some of its best performances.

The 2.439-mile, 14-turn Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, site of Saturday’s GMR Grand Prix, has provided many of the milestones and pride points for MSR beginning with the team’s first visit in 2019, where it scored its first-ever IndyCar podium finish.

That legacy of success, which includes not only MSR’s first podium, but also its first front-row start and first laps led in the series, continued growing last year when Simon Pagenaud came from 20th on the grid to finish second.

Pagenaud’s 2022 podium was the most recent in a long history of success at the circuit for the Frenchman, who won the inaugural series event on the road course in 2014. The trip to Victory Lane was the first of a trio of wins for Pagenaud at the twisty IMS layout, followed by a 2016 effort where he took the pole and led 57 laps on his way to the top spot. He snared his third victory in 2019, passing for the lead on the penultimate lap of the day to take the win.

Helio Castroneves has threatened in a number of road-course races at Indianapolis, finishing third in 2014 and second to Pagenaud in 2016. The Brazilian has also led in three separate races for a total of 46 laps.

The 85-lap GMR Grand Prix will air on NBC on Saturday starting at 3:30pm ET. Friday’s qualifying will be shown live on Peacock beginning at 4:00pm ET. SiriusXM will also host live IndyCar Radio coverage of both sessions on XM Ch. 160.

MSR INDYCAR Driver Quotes:

Simon Pagenaud:

“I’m pretty excited to officially start the Month of May at Indy. We had a great test on the Speedway, but first is the Indy Grand Prix which has been an event that has treated me very well. Hopefully we can get on the podium once again like last year, so I really look forward to that race.”

Helio Castroneves:

“The GMR Grand Prix is coming, which means the Indianapolis 500 is coming. The GP is first and that’s sort of like preparation and getting warmed up for the Indy 500. I know the MSR cars have been quick on the road course at Indy, so I’m hoping we can have a little more luck this year and start the Month of May off strong.”

2023 CHILDREN’S OF ALABAMA INDY GRAND PRIX
BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
TEAM CHEVY POST RACE RECAP

APRIL 30, 2023

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN SCORES VICTORY AT BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK
McLaughlin Captures Chevrolet’s 8th Victory at Barber in 11 Events, Team Chevy’s 108th in INDYCAR Since 2012

• Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske earned his fourth career victory in the NTT INDYCAR Series and Chevrolet’s 108th victory since 2012.
• Team Penske’s Will Power joined McLaughlin on the podium finishing third.
• Five Team Chevy drivers finished in the top-10 at Barber Motorsports Park.
• All three Arrow McLaren INDYCAR Chevrolets finished in the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix top-10.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (April 30, 2023) – Capturing his first win of 2023, and the fourth of his NTT INDYCAR Series career, Scott McLaughlin and the No. 3 Good Ranchers Team Penske crew aced the day to win Chevrolet’s 108th victory in the 2.2-liter twin turbo direct injected era. As an engine manufacturer, the Bowtie brand has now captured the eighth victory at Barber Motorsports Park in 11 races since 2012.

“I call it a happy driver strategy,” reflected McLauglin. “I was a lot happier doing that. So thankful and first weekend with Good Ranchers on the car. What an amazing thing for them to be with us this weekend. My team advanced me there to victory lane. We had great fuel, went past (Romain) Grosjean there on a little bit of strategy, advanced past him and feel really good about it. Really happy to advance to victory lane and I am really happy about it.”

Taking over the lead from Grosjean with 19 laps remaining, McLaughlin cruised to victory on a three-stop strategy after leading 24 of the 90 laps. Grosjean finished second, and McLaughlin’s teammate Will Power, in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, completed the podium in third.

Leading the pack of Team Chevy drivers at the green flag from third, Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward, also on a three-stop strategy in the No. 5 Chevrolet, finished in the top-five in fourth to close the gap in the championship standings from 15 points behind to three. Joining him in the top-10, teammates Alexander Rossi, in the No. 7 Chevrolet, and Felix Roseqvist, finished 8th and 9th, respectively.

Up next for Team Chevy is the prestigious month of May, shifting gears to the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the GMR Grand Prix May 12-13, 2023 followed by the Indianapolis 500 Sunday, May 28, 2023.

TEAM CHEVY TOP-10 RESULTS:

POS. DRIVER

1st Scott McLaughlin

3rd Will Power

4th Pato O’Ward

8th Alexander Rossi

9th Felix Rosenqvist

2023 CHEVROLET BY THE NUMBERS:

186: NTT INDYCAR SERIES races as V6 engine supplier since 2012 return to INDYCAR.
108: Wins in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES since 2012.
121: Earned poles since 2012.
7: Manufacturer Championships since 2012.
7: Driver/entrant champions since 2012.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (QUOTES):

Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Chevrolet at Team Penske:

WAS IT THE CONTACT AT THE START OF THE RACE THAT CAUSED YOUR ISSUES TODAY?

“It sure felt like it. It’s hard to say, but right after this hit, I felt like I had a right rear going down. So, I radioed in for them to check the right rear pressure and it looked fine, but something else felt very odd. The story of the race was that when there were new tires on the car, it was drivable. It was off, definitely the right to left asymmetrically off, but it was drivable on new tires. And that was masking it. The problem was the left rear was getting destroyed, which is not the tire that was hit. But whatever was going on over here, was having some effect over there. We just couldn’t hang on at all and it went bad. I just wish we had the car that we had in warmup, and we would have been just fine. But this was just evil. Just an evil-handling car. We were literally just holding on the whole race. Every second after was just a disaster and what a shame because obviously, we had the winning strategy. It was a great day for Team Penske so I am obviously happy for the team, but we were in position and another one just gets away. This one got away pretty badly. So, very demoralizing for the whole group.”

THE RESULTS SO FAR THIS SEASON HAVE TO BE FRUSTRATING?

“Yeah, just pretty unlucky. I hate saying luck, but it’s a big part of it. Luck and timing kind of go hand in hand and it’s certainly not been on our side. If we are getting that out of the way and we are going to have great timing and great luck for the rest of the year, then I am all good with it. It would be a shame if that trend continues. We will just turn the page and go to the month of May. Incredible group here and it’s not anything to do with them, it’s just some unfortunate timing.”

THE GP IS FIRST, BUT ON THE OVAL YOUR CAR LOOKED PRETTY AMAZING. WHAT IS THE CONFIDENCE LEVEL GOING INTO THE MONTH OF MAY?

“Yeah, sky high. I felt really good that day in practice. I felt so good this morning and I was ready for today and ready for what we were doing. So, that is what makes it so demoralizing. We literally had the car three hours ago and for something to happen and to go so disastrously it’s just odd. You can’t even get mad about it. It’s just a strange situation. My confidence level is still sky high with this group.”

Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Chevrolet at Team Penske:

AS FAR AS THE BATTLE WITH GROSJEAN, WAS ST. PETE IN THE BACK OF YOUR MIND?

“No, we racers just get on with it. You are only as good as your last race and you get on with it. We talked man to man and as far as I am concerned and he is concerned is that we race hard and press on. There’s no hard feelings between the two of us, but I am glad to get a win here for the Thirsty Threes. It’s been coming, we have been close, we just couldn’t get it the last few rounds, but we got it now.”

THE MONTH OF MAY STARTS TOMORROW, HOW IMPORTANT IS THAT?

“May is going to be an awesome time for us and I can’t wait. Best race in the world is coming up here soon. We ended April on a good note. Just happy for my team, for Chevy for the fuel mileage. We had a hell of a strategy here today and I am super pumped.”

Will Power, No. 12 Chevrolet at Team Penske:

“Yeah, it was an extremely good day. When I saw everyone saving fuel there, we talked about doing a three-stop and I felt like it was better to do that, but the guys made the call. It was just super-fast when we got clear air. That was the key to getting up to third. I had a real fast car and it’s a pity we didn’t start further up. Chevy did a great job with the engine and obviously got to thank Verizon for all the support because we are on another championship run. We are just chipping away here, and we are going to get a win soon. We just have to keep at it, improve in qualifying, and just having fun. Enjoying it a lot.”

WHAT DID YOU NEED TO GET UP TO SECOND AND POSSIBLY CHALLENGE MCLAUGHLIN?

“The tires had gone too much. Like I could do a faster lap time, but as soon as I got to his dirty air, I just couldn’t get close enough. I tried everything I could and even made a couple of big mistakes just trying and I just couldn’t get to him. I tried to save the push to pass until I got to him, but there’s nothing….you just get to that air pocket and you just can’t. The tires were gone too much. It wasn’t worth throwing a third place away trying something stupid, so I just took the points.”

HOW ARE YOU FEELING AFTERWARDS FROM A SORT OF HOT DAY?

“Pretty good. It’s always tough the first 10-15 laps, then your muscles settle in and you are good to go. But yeah, I was able to push the whole way. Still fit for an old bloke.”

Conor Daly, No. 20 Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing:

“We definitely had pace when we decided to switch to the three-stop strategy. Unfortunately, we got caught behind the 14 car and he decided to put me off the track. Not soon after, we got ran off by the 15 car and that one definitely sent us to the back. It was just too hard to recover from there.”

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

“This was a tough race! It started off pretty well even though I was saving tires and fuel pretty hard. It turned out not to be enough and at the end of my first stint, I was just too far off. We were committed to the two-stop strategy and we had to stay out. The next two stints on black tires were pretty good, but I think that yellow helped out some guys on the three-stopper. I did everything I could, but it’s really hard to get the tire deg right and save fuel at the same time.”

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

“We had to get a massive number, and I really don’t know how we kept up the pace like that at the end. It was a great car, and I’m very happy with how we did this weekend. Obviously, when you look back now with how everything played out, I think we were on the wrong strategy. No one made a mistake, that’s just a roll of the dice you have to take at the beginning of the race. Scott McLaughlin and Will Power were on the good end of it, a couple others too. Nevertheless, it was a really strong result for us. I’m happy with P4.”

THAT CAN’T BE SUPER COMFORTABLE SITTING IN THE CAR LIKE THAT AFTER A LONG RACE?

“I was lifting so much, and we had to get a massive number and I really don’t know how we kept up the pace like that. Great car, and if we look back at this weekend and look back at how we played that, I think we were on the wrong strategy. But no one made a mistake, that is just a roll of the dice you have to take. That’s racing. Scotty (McLaughlin) was on the good end of it, (Will) Power was on the good end of it and a couple of other guys. Nevertheless, it was a really strong result for us. Happy with fourth, but the month of May is coming up, the busiest month of the year. The big cookie is also coming up, so pumped for that.”

HAD YOU BEEN ABLE TO GET UP FRONT, MIGHT THAT HAVE CHANGED THE STRATEGY?

“It might have changed the strategy a little bit. I mean Scott was behind us and he finished first. It was all about that we didn’t make the call to come in for the three-stopper. When you look at it back now, we might have done it a little bit differently if you see exactly how the yellows played out and all that stuff. But that was a chance in one in a hundred. They really got lucky with that one. All the three-stoppers. It is what it is and we made the best of what we had, and we maximized it. We were against arguably four Hondas that were extremely strong and it definitely had us on the edge of our seat to keep them behind us.”

DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE BACK IN A RHYTHM NOW? AND ARE THESE THE DAYS THAT CAN LEAD TO A CHAMPIONSHIP?

“Yeah, I mean obviously Long Beach was not the ideal (race). This is what we want, and this is what we know we can do. We will go into the Indy GP with the same approach just like we will the rest of the season. We want to win races. We have yet to win in 2023, but we have been there every single race. Obviously, not all of them have worked out the same. This is really solid. For four races, we have had three top-fives.”

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

“I’ve bummed for my McClaren team. In the first lap, I just didn’t anticipate how early everyone would brake, and I touched Josef (Newgarden). So, luckily he didn’t get caught into it but I basically spun myself doing it. Got out into the gravel and got back. Yeah, we were last at a point, but the guys just did such a good job on the stand getting us back in the game. It was really fun. I thought for most of the race we were just rolling. Hell of a recovery for basically starting last.”

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

“There were a lot of positives from today. I think we underperformed in qualifying. You can look at everything in hindsight and look at it differently, but, ultimately, the car was fast all weekend. We are continuing to gel and learn together as a team, so overall, I’m happy. It’s just when you have pace, and only walk away with eighth, it’s disappointing. It’s a good problem to have.”

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

“It was a solid Sunday for us considering we didn’t qualify. Just tough with strategy, we struggled with the car. I think we were a little bit too free on entry and a little too tight in the middle but all in all a top 20 for us is something to walk away with. We completed all the race laps and you know what, can’t complain. So, looking forward to the month of May now and we’ll go from there.”

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

“Great race here at Barber, finished P22 after starting pretty close to the back [P25]. Crazy race, lots of really cool passes, always something going on, very busy race. Pretty proud of what we were able to do today. I think there was potential to maybe be in the top 15, but we had a couple mistakes happen, but overall very positive and very happy with the race.”

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

“It was a bit of an interesting race for a while. We were struggling quite a bit. Took a gamble in the middle to try and overcut some people with better fuel and make the tires last. It wasn’t working; we were P24 for a while, and then into that final restart I was P24 and we managed to pull it back to P13. So we just came alive, the car came alive. It was a good effort. Really happy with that. Gets us positively moving on to the rest of the year. It will be exciting to get to the Indy road course. It’s another track that’s quite good for us. A few things to improve. I think it was an enlightening weekend for that, but yeah, definitely a lot of positives going on for the next one.”

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

“We finished here P26. It’s a shame that the position we lost, we did a pit stop on the strategy. But anyway, it is what it is. But on the racing, we’re still learning. I’m really happy with finishing the race. I’ll continue my improvement.”

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 GOOD RANCHERS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET — Win Press Conference Transcript:

A LOT OF STORYLINES FOR YOU IN THIS RACE. TO GET A WIN HERE, IT’S GOT TO FEEL GOOD.

“Feels awesome. I think we have had the pace. Obviously, St. Pete we were strong, contending for wins, maybe not Texas, but Long Beach we were right there. I’m really proud to sort of execute today. Probably the most complete race I’ve ever driven in an INDYCAR, to be honest, from a strategy perspective, picking people off. It was getting pretty tough in the middle when we were making passes, lap traffic, whatnot. Ultimately when Grosjean got me out of the pits, didn’t catch me by surprise. Well, he caught me napping. It was a great move by him. To reset, go again, then pass him back with the pace that we had, that’s a proud drive for me personally, but from a team perspective, really proud. Good Ranchers first time on the car. They’re going to be big supporters in INDYCAR. Their enthusiasm they have got for the series I think is just great. They have people like that willing to spend money in our series, that are so passionate. They didn’t have customers here this weekend, they had staff and the CEO. It’s a good vibe. Really proud for them. Yeah, perfect way to kick off what is going to be a massive month.”

THE BATTLE BETWEEN YOU AND ROMAIN, IMMEDIATELY EVERYONE WAS THINKING ST. PETE.

“I knew it.”

WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND AS YOU’RE TRYING TO HOLD HIM OFF?

“I thought if I hit him this time, it would be bad (smiling). Racing him like we normally do, very clean. I knew it was going to be hard passing him. It was a matter of me biding my time. I asked the guys, Where are we at on fuel? Had a bit more than him. Allowed me to pressure him a bit more, use a bit more to overtake, whatever. I had a lot more overtake up my sleeve. Ultimately that’s what helped me pass him. I think the way I got the run up into turn eight was purely by push to pass. I was able to save that. Once we got out in front, it was just a matter of managing it till the end.”

WHEN THAT BATTLE IS HAPPENING, YOU KNOW YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE THE FRESHER TIRES AT THE END OF THE DAY, WOULD HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A MOVE, TRY TO REPASS HIM.

“Yeah, but it was hard. I thought I’d be on the safe side when I had the reds on. Thought I might have been able to get him back. But he had great pace. I knew I couldn’t sit behind him too long. I had to pressure him. Yeah, that’s what we did, managed to get the pass.”

RACING AT ALABAMA, BARBER, YOUR TAKE ON WHAT IT’S LIKE RACING OUT THERE?

“Personally, I think this is our best road course that we go to. Especially now it’s my favorite (smiling). Honestly, it’s a great place. The state of Alabama do a fantastic job with how they look after things. Obviously (indiscernible) before that. A beautiful place. I remember coming here the first time going, Whoa, this is amazing. But to drive an INDYCAR around here at high speeds, high commitment, is some of the best driving you’ll ever do. I’m telling all my friends back in Australia like Shane van Gisbergen. People are asking, like, the track looks awesome. Yeah, this is next-level commitment. They’ve got a gym here. I’m very excited they extended the contract multi-year for more races here, especially now I know I’ve got a good car. Very cool, cool place.”

THE INDY 500, YOU DOUSE YOURSELF IN MILK. THE NESTLE DRUM STICKS, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THAT?

“John has been there for 40 years. He always as ice creams after, especially after we win. I had an ice cream after qualifying yesterday and I sucked. Maybe I just needed more ice cream.”

OBVIOUSLY, WITH THE NEW SPONSOR, THE STAKES ARE HIGH. WHEN GROSJEAN GETS PAST YOU, WHAT’S YOUR LEVEL OF FRUSTRATION? ARE YOU THINKING WITH EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED IN ST. PETE, YOU KNOW THERE’S GOING TO BE MAJOR CONTACT, IT’S NOT GOING TO GO AS NICELY THIS TIME AROUND?

“Never thought that. I ultimately was just like, Okay, got past me, caught me napping. That was a great move by him. I had car pace and fuel on hand. I think ultimately, I would have got past him anyway with how much he had to save fuel. I wasn’t stressed. I was annoyed I cost myself maybe cruising in some ways, saving fuel, driving to my number. Ultimately it made the race win a lot more satisfying passing for the lead after being passed at the end of the exchange.”

POWER WAS ON REDS TILL THE END. DID HIS PACE CONCERN YOU AT ALL?

“No, no, no. I was full, like, in control. Honestly, I felt like the car was so good, I was just hitting my number, did what I needed to do. I knew if Power got to me, I had pace and fuel on hand to push till the end.”

THERE WAS CONCERN ON THE RADIO ABOUT FUEL. DID THEY TELL YOU WHY?

“No. Ultimately I think we were looking after our engine. Whenever you get that call halfway through the last lap, you poop your pants a little bit. Yeah, I was pretty nervous.”

WHEN YOU’RE RUNNING ON A DIFFERENT STRATEGY TO THE TWO-STOPPERS WERE, THE RACE STARTS TO PLAY ITSELF OUT, HOW MUCH IN YOUR MIND ARE YOU THINKING YOU HOPE YOU MADE THE RIGHT MOVE OR WE SHOULD HAVE GONE THE OTHER WAY?

“Yeah, I just trust my team. The only concern I had was why we stopped a couple laps after Josef and we lost track position on him. We eventually sort of caught up and passed him. I wasn’t too stressed about that. It was just a matter of just maximizing what I had, what my cards were. That was getting through traffic and using that car pace. We talked about that in the strategy meeting this morning. Sort of knew what I had to do. At the end of the day I see a 10th of what everyone else sees on the stand. I know I’ve got the best guys in pit lane calling my strategy. I just trust them. It’s a boring answer, but legitimately for me I was ticking laps off in my head, driving the best I could, doing what I needed to do.”

HOW CLOSE DID YOU COME TO TOUCHING ROMAIN? DID YOU TOUCH IN EITHER OF THOSE?

“I think we touched when he passed me a little bit. But it was fair game. It was awesome racing, man. It was exactly what INDYCAR was. Yeah, ain’t no procession here, that’s for sure. It was a lot of fun.”

WHEN YOU HAVE HAD AN INCIDENT LIKE YOU HAD IN ST. PETE RACING WHEEL TO WHEEL THROUGH A CORNER, DO YOU HAVE TO APPROACH WHEN YOU’RE PASSING SOMEONE ANY DIFFERENT OR DO YOU LEARN SOMETHING FROM THAT TYPE OF INCIDENT TO BETTER PREPARE YOU TO PASS THAT SPECIFIC DRIVER COMING INTO ANOTHER SITUATION THAT WAS SIMILAR TODAY?

“No, no, no. Just play your cards as you get dealt. Take risks where you need to. You got to learn from your mistakes obviously. We both had our opinions on the incident from St. Pete. We’re over it now. For me, I think for him as well, it was just press on. Yeah, I think we showed today it’s no big thing affair. It’s just hard racing. We’ll race each other to every bit of the track, use each other up when we need to. That’s just part of it and that’s why I enjoy racing Romain.”

WHAT DID YOU SEE FROM YOUR VANTAGE POINT WHEN YOU MADE YOUR MOVE IN TURN FIVE? WAS IT A LITTLE BIT OF A WIGGLE COMING THROUGH? DID YOU FIND YOURSELF AT THAT POINT WAITING FOR HIM TO MAKE A MISTAKE OR MOVE?

“I was pressuring him. I knew he was starting to save fuel and stuff. I was biding my time. I was really surprised. I didn’t think I was going to pass him at that point. Sort of just took my chance. I had a lot more push to pass than he did. I just used push to pass all the way up to seven, managed to clear him. He was never going to sort of pass me into eight. If he did pass me into eight, he was probably going to crash me. Just sort of hoped to God that he didn’t do that, and he didn’t. We got out of there and pressed on.”

HE CAME INTO THE SPORT AT THE SAME TIME, ROOKIE SEASONS UPS AND DOWNS AT THE SAME TIME. EVEN THOUGH YOU HAD THE INCIDENT IN ST. PETE, SEEMS LIKE YOU HAVE A LOT OF RESPECT, AREN’T AFRAID TO BANG WHEELS, HAVE A LOT OF TRUST IN EACH OTHER. HOW DO YOU VIEW OR HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE ROMAIN AS A COMPETITOR ON TRACK?

“ He’s got a never-give-up attitude. I think that’s why he’s been in F1 for so long, come over here and been quite successful. At the end of the day you know you’re going to have a hard battle with him. I feel it’s give or take. If you give him nothing, he will give you nothing. It’s the whole tit for tat. I really enjoy racing him. No hard feelings. We spoke about what happened, yeah, and just get on with it. I’ve had great battles with him. I actually really enjoyed the battle today. It’s a lot of fun. Obviously, I came out on top, but it’s still a lot of fun.”

WE’VE HAD A WIDE VARIETY OF RACES. ST. PETE WAS A BRAWL. THE BIG OVAL AT TEXAS, ANOTHER INTERESTING RACE. TALK ABOUT HOW YOU APPROACH IT WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO GET WHEN YOU COME TO A RACETRACK.

“I think it’s just the product of INDYCAR. But play your cards how you’re dealt. Today could have been a two-stop, or a three-stop like we did. We thought it was a three-stop was the right way. We have the opportunity as a series to change that up. That’s why it makes it so exciting. I think the addition of push to pass, stuff going on as well, is a good thing. It’s such a good racing product. I don’t know how to explain it. I think we’re very lucky with the level of drivers, how hard we can race the cars. The cars are very strong. The difference in compounds. The tires are really good. Firestone built a really good tire that’s able to race in hard conditions all the time. Yeah, I don’t know. I just think it’s INDYCAR. It’s not a about winning every race in this racing series, it’s all about just being consistent in the championship. That’s exactly what our goal has sort of been since the start.”

YOUR STRATEGY MEETING, YOU WRITE EVERYTHING IN PENCIL, HERE IS WHAT WE THINK WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO?

“It all depends on yellows. If there was an early yellow, our thing probably wouldn’t have worked that well. Two-stoppers would have looked really good. Yeah, you just got to play your cards how you think you’re going to be right, hopefully, it comes off. You can’t beat car pace. That’s the best part, you can’t beat car pace.”

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET — Podium Press Conference Transcript:

TELL US ABOUT YOUR DAY. TRYING TO CLOSE THE GAP ON ROMAIN (GROSJEAN) TOWARDS THE END.

“Yeah, in the first stint when I saw everyone saving fuel about eight to 10 laps in, I said to the guys, maybe we should switch to a three-stopper here. Do you want me to push? It was the best thing to do at that time. Yeah, it worked out well. We had a very fast car. Any time we had clear air, we were pumping out some seriously quick times. During that last sequence is where we gained a ton of track position. I was able to do 67s in the last few laps. Yeah, using the tires up. As soon as I started getting Romain’s dirty air, he was doing a really good job of sort of saving fuel and also getting big exits, not making mistakes. I did everything I could to get to him and I just couldn’t get there.”

WILL, DID WE SEE YOU GO BACK TO MAYBE LAST YEAR’S CHAMPIONSHIP STRATEGY WHERE BETTER TO GET THIRD THAN TO PUSH IT?

“I mean, I did everything to get to him and try to get him. Yeah, obviously there’s that fine line, right? You can overdo it, which I did have a big moment in turn two where I was opposite like that.”

“So, yeah, I mean, just had to weigh that up. I simply couldn’t close that gap. Yeah, he was doing a good job. My tires were sort of used up. Dirty air. Tried with push to pass. Nothing I could do. That’s the most I could get out of the day. Extremely happy with it. Extremely, extremely happy to finish third.”

TWO TEAM PENSKES IN THE TOP THREE, WITHOUT ONE OF THEM BEING JOSEF, SHOWS HOW FAST THIS MCLAUGHLIN KID IS.

“Yeah, two races where I followed him on the same bloody strategy. He ended up ahead. That all ebbs and flows in the season when you’re doing a good job. If you’re doing your job, you’ll get what you deserve, whether that’s good or bad. Depends how good you do your job.”

WILL, YOUR SEASON HASN’T BEEN BAD, BUT IT HASN’T BEEN GOOD. A QUARTER OF THE WAY THROUGH THE SEASON NOW, HEADING TO INDIANAPOLIS, HOW IMPORTANT WAS IT TO GET THE KIND OF FINISH YOU GOT TODAY?

“Yeah, look, if I finished fifth I would have been happy, or sixth, even eighth honestly. There are days that it’s a bad day that get you. I would say in the start of my season, it’s just been pretty good. I wouldn’t say it’s a bad start of the season at all. I’ve been happy with all the results except for one, which was Texas. You can’t win ’em all. In fact, it’s very difficult to win one or two in a season. You just have to keep racking up good finishes.”

WILL, HOW MUCH OF A BENEFIT IS FINISHING ON THE PODIUM GOING INTO THE MONTH OF MAY? DOES IT BODE WELL FOR THE MONTH OF MAY?

“Yeah, I mean, it’s good for the whole group on the car. Obviously mentally for yourself, it’s a very positive thing. Everything’s heading in the right direction. Indy is a very, very different animal in terms of the 500. Obviously, you have the Grand Prix before that. But, yeah, the 500 is a very standalone, tough, unique event. Yeah, we’re hoping to be in the game this year. We’ve been pretty disappointed with the performance the last few years. We’ll wait and see. You don’t say anything. We’ve done a lot of work.”

WILL, YOU WERE THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT COIN. WHAT DOES THAT FEEL LIKE?

“I mean, last year I did the two-stop, was doing what he had to do, went from 19th to 4th. This year we did the opposite thinking that the fuel mileage will be harder. If there’s not a yellow, the number is going to be too big and the lap time deficit is too much. Yeah, it kind of turned out like that. I think the yellow helped the three-stoppers a bit. Would have saved those guys a little bit of fuel. It was perfect timing for our pit stop. But, yeah, it’s a lot more fun when you get to just go all out, qualifying laps every lap. I really enjoy that sort of racing. I have to say what he did is extremely difficult and technical. To finish 20 seconds ahead of the next guy is pretty impressive.”

WILL, YOU HAD GREAT PACE TOWARDS THE END OF THE RACE. YOU’VE DONE WELL HERE AT BARBER. IS THERE SOMETHING ABOUT THIS TRACK THAT FITS YOUR DRIVING STYLE?

“They’re all different. These days you’ve got to be an expert at every track. It requires a lot of homework, which every single driver does now, as you can see from qualifying. I’ve just got a good group around me making the right decisions in the race. It is a real process to put a whole race weekend together without mistakes. That’s what I’ve worked very hard on over the last couple years. I struggled this weekend. I basically qualified 11th. I think our potential was just on the verge of the top six. We were pretty close to where we needed to be. Then executed in the race. Yeah, I love the track. I think it’s a phenomenal event. The appearance, presentation they do, is really good. It’s setting the example for all promoters. Yeah, I hope we continue to come here for years.”

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