Category: NTT Indy

• Scott Dixon earns 53rd career victory to break tie with Mario Andretti for second-most victories in INDYCAR history.
• Nashville’s Josef Newgarden finishes sixth in second running of Big Machine Music City Grand Prix.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (August 7, 2022) – Six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing captured Sunday’s Big Machine Music City Grand Prix to move into sole possession of second place for career wins in INDYCAR history.

Dixon held off Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin by 0.1067 of a second to secure his 53rd career win – and second of the season – to break a tie with the legendary Mario Andretti. The all-time record of 67 wins is held by another legend, A.J. Foyt.

The 80-lap, second running of the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix had eight cautions on the technical 2.1-mile, 11-turn layout around Nissan Stadium and across the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge that fell nicely into Dixon’s favor. He started 14th, got caught up in an incident and on Lap 29 was actually running last in the 26-car field after a penalty for emergency service of his damaged car in a closed pit. The CGR race strategy included six pit stops – second most in the race – to help move him through the field and into contention.

“Kudos to the team,” Dixon said. “We had a big crash there that took half the floor off the car. We had to take four turns of front wing out, so we had no grip. Nashville is so awesome.”

McLaughlin, the pole sitter, and Dixon’s teammate Alex Palou, who finished third, dominated the first half of the race that led to podium finishes for both. McLaughlin led the first 22 laps before Palou took the point for a race-high 31 laps.

Nashville’s Josef Newgarden inherited the lead but needed a number of caution laps to avoid pitting and losing the lead. The Team Penske led 12 laps before he opted to pit during a caution and settled for a sixth-place finish despite contact with Andretti Autosport’s Romain Grosjean.

Dixon pounced on the opportunity as he took the lead from Newgarden on Lap 66 and was able to hold off a charging McLaughlin for the final 15 laps. McLaughlin made a final dash to the inside of Dixon heading to the checkered flag on the front straight but fell just shy.

“We were worried about him (McLaughlin) because I knew he would take chances,” Dixon said. “He kind of has to with the standings at the moment. He was super fast as well. He had fresh tires, too. I was a sitting duck. If there had been a lap or two more, it would have been really tough to do.”

“We were alongside there across the finish line,” McLaughlin added. “But man, we were 16th on that last pit exchange and had an awesome restart, and then the car was fast. Just fell short at the end. Congrats to Scotty. Always dreamed of racing him to the finish. That was a proper duel.”

The victory moved Dixon into prime contention for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship, improving to second behind Team Penske’s Will Power. Power, who finished 11th, owns a six-point lead over Dixon, 450-444, with three races remaining in the 17-event season.

The race was delayed for 90 minutes due to inclement weather, including lightning in the area.

Sunday Notebook: Linus Lundqvist of HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing continued his dominant season with his series-leading fifth win in Sunday’s Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires race. He started on the pole and led all 35 laps as he cruised to a 7.221-second victory over Sting Ray Robb of Andretti Autosport. Robb’s Andretti Autosport teammate Hunter McElrea was third in the caution-free race. … Justin Wetherill, who finished runner-up in Saturday evening’s opening race, earned the victory in Sunday’s SRO GT America finale. He edged his Triarsi Competizione teammate Onofrio Triarsi, Friday’s race winner, by .0342 of a second to give Ferrari the top two spots. Mirco Schultis, driving a Corvette, finished third for Mishumotors in the SRO3 class. Robb Holland, driving a Porsche for Rotek Racing, was tops for the second time in two races in the GT4 class as he took ninth overall. … Gavin Harlien, who finished runner-up in Friday’s Stadium SUPER Trucks opener, won Sunday’s finale. He nipped Saturday’s winner Matt Brabham by 0.0811 of a second for his second win of the season.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Sunday, Aug. 7, 2022) – On Lap 29 of the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix, Scott Dixon was running last after a penalty for emergency service of his wounded car in a closed pit.

Fast-forward 51 laps, and Dixon was celebrating his 53rd career INDYCAR SERIES victory – breaking a tie with Mario Andretti for second on the all-time list – in an improbable triumph Sunday on the streets of Nashville.

Dixon earned his second victory of the season in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda and pulled to within six points of NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship leader Will Power with just three races remaining. Dixon is trying to match the series record of seven titles held by A.J. Foyt, who also leads with 67 career victories.

“Kudos to the team,” Dixon said. “We had a big crash there that took half the floor off the car. We had to take four turns of front wing out, so we had no grip. Nashville is so awesome.”

Scott McLaughlin finished second in the No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet, just .1067 of a second behind Dixon after a two-lap chase for the checkered after a late red flag. It was the closest margin of victory this season on a street course or road course and the fourth-closest finish on those circuits in INDYCAR SERIES history.

Reigning series champion Alex Palou finishing third in the No. 10 NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, with left front wing main plane flapping over bumps after contact early in the race.

Alexander Rossi rallied from multiple instances of contact during the race that put him a lap down to finish fourth in the No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS/AutoNation Honda. His Andretti Autosport teammate Colton Herta also recovered from early contact and going a lap down to finish an improbable fifth in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda.

The furious finish after 80 laps of full-contact, no-prisoners racing created a points race tighter than a piano wire with three races remaining. Just 33 points separate the top five in the standings, with a minimum of 51 points available to a race winner.

2014 series champion Power, who finished 11th in his damaged No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, leads Dixon by six points. 2022 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Marcus Ericsson, who finished 14th in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, is 12 points behind Power in third.

Nashville-area native Josef Newgarden, who finished sixth in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet, is 22 points behind Power in fourth. And Palou is hanging tough in his effort for a second straight title, 33 points behind Power in fifth.

It was a second straight year of chaos, dice rolling and a winner in Victory Lane that hardly anyone saw coming after 80 laps of racing on the bumpy, tight, 11-turn, 2.1-mile temporary street circuit that includes two trips per lap over the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge over the Cumberland River.

The two-lap dash for the checkered was created on Lap 76 when Newgarden and Romain Grosjean in the No. 28 DHL Honda made contact in Turn 9 on a restart as Newgarden moved up the field, with Grosjean ending up in the tire barrier.

Race officials decided to throw the red flag on Lap 77 so the eventful race, which also included eight caution periods, could end with one more thrill show.

Both Dixon and NTT P1 Award winner McLaughlin had similar amounts of push-to-pass left for the restart, so this would come down to a two-lap duel of who blinked first. Neither did in a masterful display of driving skill, but Dixon timed the restart perfectly and built a small gap on McLaughlin.

As the two New Zealand drivers marched around the circuit for the final time, McLaughlin wasn’t close enough to Dixon to slingshot past him on the bridge. Dixon bobbled slightly on the final corner before the checkered, but McLaughlin couldn’t sneak past.

“We were worried about him because I knew he would take chances,” Dixon said of McLaughlin. “He kind of has to with the standings at the moment. He was super fast, as well. He had fresh tires, too. I was a sitting duck. If there had been a lap or two more, it would have been really tough to do.”

McLaughlin said: “We were alongside there across the finish line. But man, we were 16th on that last pit exchange and had an awesome restart, and then the car was fast. Just fell short at the end. Congrats to Scotty. Always dreamed of racing him to the finish. That was a proper duel.”

Palou wasn’t far behind at the finish, either, finishing just .6100 of a second behind Dixon. In fact, the top four cars all finished within one second, as Rossi was just .9412 of a second behind the winner.

Dixon was collected in a chain-reaction incident on Lap 26 that damaged his floor and required emergency service in a closed pit on Lap 27, and he was ordered to the rear of the running order as a penalty. Dixon made his final pit stop under green on Lap 51 and caught a break one lap later when the No. 21 Bitcoin Racing Team with BitNile Chevrolet of Rinus VeeKay and the No. 15 United Rentals Honda of Graham Rahal made contact in Turn 4 and triggered a caution period.

The top 10 cars in the field pitted during that caution, which helped Dixon cycle toward the front of the field. Dixon took the lead for the first time – and for good – when Newgarden made his final pit stop on Lap 66.

Dixon earned $10,000 from the PeopleReady Force for Good Challenge for the victory, to be split between his team and his charity, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES event is the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline on Saturday, Aug. 20 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. Live coverage on the USA Network and the INDYCAR Radio Network of the last oval race of the season starts at 6 p.m. ET.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Sunday, Aug. 7, 2022) – Linus Lundqvist showed why he is the class of the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires field this season, leading all 35 laps from pole Sunday to win the Indy Lights Music City Grand Prix on the streets of Nashville.

Lundqvist earned his series-leading fifth victory this season in the No. 26 HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing entry, beating second place Sting Ray Robb to the checkered flag by 7.2221 seconds in the caution-free race. Lundqvist expanded his series lead to a commanding 95 points with just four races remaining this season.

Swedish driver Lundqvist was fourth quickest in both practice sessions this weekend but started from pole when the field was set by entrant points after qualifying was canceled Saturday due to thunderstorms.

“So excited and so, so happy,” Lundqvist said. “We showed that we had the pace on street courses. In practice, I just had to dial myself in a little bit. Obviously, we got maybe a little bit lucky with qualifying, but I think we showed in the race that we had the pace to win.”

Andretti Autosport teammates Robb and Hunter McElrea finished second and third, respectively. Robb passed McElrea on Lap 32 for second, the highlight of a stirring duel between the duo for many laps on the 11-turn, 2.1-mile temporary street circuit that includes two trips per lap over the Cumberland River via the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge.

Matthew Brabham finished fourth in the No. 83 Andretti Autosport car, with Christian Rasmussen rounding out a 2-3-4-5 result for Andretti Autosport in the No. 28 Road to Indy/Stellrecht entry.

McElrea stayed close to Lundqvist for the first six laps around the tricky, bumpy circuit. McElrea nearly hit the rear of Lundqvist’s car in Turn 4, exiting the bridge, on Lap 5 as he tried to look for an opening.

But Lundqvist gradually pulled away, growing his lead to .9513 of a second on Lap 10 and 6.3779 seconds by Lap 25.

Lundqvist’s checkout from the rest of the field shined a spotlight on the fierce race for second between teammates Robb and McElrea.

Robb looked for a way past many times over the closing half of the race. He finally made the decisive pass on Lap 32 as both drivers exited the bridge and headed toward Turn 9. Robb’s No. 2 Sekady car and McElrea’s No. 27 Andretti Autosport machine made contact, but Robb quickly gathered himself and dove under McElrea for second place.

McElrea’s car appeared damaged from the contact, and Robb drove away to beat his teammate to the finish by 3.1723 seconds.

While Lundqvist holds a lead of nearly two races’ worth of points over second-place McElrea, the tight duel between Robb and McElrea mirrors the race for second in the standings. McElrea leads third-place Robb by just eight points, with Andretti Autosport teammate Matthew Brabham is just 20 points behind McElrea in fourth.

The next Indy Lights race is the second and final oval race of the season, Saturday, Aug. 20 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. Live coverage starts at 4:15 p.m. ET on Peacock Premium and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

Indy Lights Music City Grand Prix Race Results

1. (1) Linus Lundqvist, 35, Running
2. (3) Sting Ray Robb, 35, Running
3. (2) Hunter McElrea, 35, Running
4. (4) Matthew Brabham, 35, Running
5. (5) Christian Rasmussen, 35, Running
6. (6) Benjamin Pedersen, 35, Running
7. (11) Christian Bogle, 35, Running
8. (12) Kyffin Simpson, 35, Running
9. (8) Jacob Abel, 35, Running
10. (7) Danial Frost, 33, Running
11. (10) Ernie Francis Jr., 31, Running
12. (9) James Roe, 21, Running

Race Statistics
Winner’s average speed: 91.574 mph
Time of Race: 00:48:09.4677
Margin of victory: 7.2221 seconds
Cautions: 0 for 0 laps
Lead changes: 0

Lap Leaders:
Lundqvist 1 – 35

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Point Standings:
Lundqvist 436, McElrea 341, Robb 333, Brabham 321, Rasmussen 302, Pedersen 296, Frost 278, Abel 235, Simpson 234, Bogle 218, Francis Jr. 217, Antonio Serravalle 204, Roe 195, Ryan Phinny 77, Manuel Sulaiman 48

About Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires

Celebrating 35 years, Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires develops drivers and teams to compete in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. Past champions include INDYCAR SERIES champions Tony Kanaan, Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden, Paul Tracy and Cristiano da Matta. In 2021, 20 drivers in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES were Indy Lights graduates, including rising stars and race winners Colton Herta, Pato O’Ward and Rinus VeeKay. The 2022 season consists of 14 races in the United States. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Indy Lights, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IMS Productions are owned by Penske Corporation, a global transportation, automotive and motorsports leader. For more information on Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, please visit www.indylights.com. For more information on INDYCAR and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, please visit www.indycar.com.

About Cooper Tire

Cooper Tire, a subsidiary of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NASDAQ: GT), specializes in the design, manufacture, marketing and sale of passenger car, light truck, medium truck, motorcycle and racing tires. Cooper is headquartered in Findlay, Ohio, with manufacturing, sales, distribution, technical and design operations located in more than one dozen countries around the world. For more information on Cooper, visit www.coopertire.com, www.facebook.com/coopertire or www.twitter.com/coopertire.

About Goodyear

Goodyear is one of the world’s largest tire companies. It employs about 72,000 people and manufactures its products in 55 facilities in 23 countries around the world. Its two Innovation Centers in Akron, Ohio, and Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg, strive to develop state-of-the-art products and services that set the technology and performance standard for the industry. For more information about Goodyear and its products, go to www.goodyear.com/corporate.

• Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin earns second NTT P1 Award on the season; Nashville’s Josef Newgarden to start sixth.
• 14-year-old Brent Crews wins Trans Am race, Nashville’s Scott Borchetta grabs first career podium.
• Onofrio Triarsi takes first GT America race, Matt Brabham wins Stadium SUPER Trucks opener

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (August 6, 2022) – Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin captured the pole position Saturday for the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix with a stellar final lap in qualifying on the temporary street circuit in downtown Nashville.

McLaughlin (No. 3 Chevrolet) recorded a final lap of 1 minute, 14.5555 seconds (101.401 mph) on the 2.1-mile, 11-turn layout in the Firestone Fast Six to secure his second pole of the season. His other pole came at the season-opening race on the streets of St. Petersburg, where he went on to his first career NTT INDYCAR SERIES win.

Romain Grosjean (No. 28 Honda) of Andretti Autosport qualified a season-best second with a lap of 1:14.6975 (101.208 mph). Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing rookie Christian Lundgaard Lundgaard (No. 30 Honda) also established a season-best qualifying performance by taking third with a lap of 1:14.7149 (101.185).

Defending NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou (No. 10 Honda) of Chip Ganassi Racing qualified fourth (1:14.9087 | 100.923 mph) and Arrow McLaren SP’s Pato O’Ward (No. 5 Chevrolet) was fifth (1:14.9261 | 100.899).

Nashville’s Josef Newgarden (No. 3 Chevrolet) of Team Penske rounded out the Firestone Fast Six with a lap of 1:15.1461 (100.604 mph).

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES will return to the track at 9:15 a.m. CT Sunday for a 30-minute warm-up session. The 80-lap Big Machine Music City Grand Prix, Round 14 of the 17-race NTT INDYCAR SERIES, will take the green flag at 2:30 p.m. NBC television coverage begins at 2 p.m.

Saturday Notebook: Fourteen-year-old Brent Crews (No. 70 Ford), who became the youngest Trans Am winner in history last race at Road America, made it two in a row with a win in Saturday’s race. Crews, who started second, earned a 1.54-second victory over Connor Mosack (No. 28 Chevrolet) in the 70-minute timed race. Nashville’s Scott Borchetta (No. 48 Ford), who finished 3.213 seconds back of Crews, finished third for the first podium of his career. … Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires qualifying was cancelled due to inclement weather. The starting line-up will be based off entry points. Points leader Linus Lundqvist of HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing will start on the pole while Hunter McElrea of Andretti Autosport will start second. Lundqvist leads McElrea by 76 points coming into Sunday’s race that begins at 12:10 p.m. … Onofrio Triarsi went wire to wire to take the win in the SRO GT America opener of the weekend doubleheader. Justin Wetherill finished runner-up to give Ferrari the top two spots. Jason Daskalos, in an Audi, was third with SRO3 drivers sweeping the podium. Robb Holland was the top GT4 finisher in a Porsche, taking 10th overall. The weekend finale is a 40-minute, timed race that starts at 10:55 a.m. Sunday. … Matt Brabham won the opening race of the Speed Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks doubleheader weekend, edging Gavin Harlien by 0.7009 of a second in the 10-lap event. Max Gordon finished third. Brabham’s win was his first of the season and 24th of his career, which ranks third all time.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022) – Scott McLaughlin won the NTT P1 Award for the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on Saturday, grabbing his second career pole on his last flying lap in the Firestone Fast Six.

McLaughlin’s best lap was 1 minute, 14.5555 seconds in the No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet on the 11-turn, 2.1-mile temporary street circuit that includes two trips per lap over the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge. The pole came after New Zealand driver McLaughlin led practice earlier in the day at 1:15.4609.

“The car was phenomenal,” McLaughlin said. “We did that on one lap, used tires. One of those good laps.”

The start of qualifying was delayed by 90 minutes due to thunderstorms and lightning that rumbled through downtown Nashville this afternoon. The rain changed the grip level of the tricky, bumpy street circuit.

2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Rookie of the Year McLaughlin’s previous pole came this February at the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, which he won from the top spot for his first career series victory. He also won The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2023 Civic Type R in early July from the second starting spot.

“Tell you what, this DEX car is really good, man,” McLaughlin said. “We’ve been going really fast in this car. Won the St. Pete opener with it. Won Mid-Ohio and now we’re pole at Nashville, which is an amazing racetrack.”

Live coverage of the 80-lap race starts at 3 p.m. ET Sunday on NBC and the INDYCAR Radio Network. A 30-minute warmup starts at 10:15 a.m. ET, with live coverage on Peacock Premium and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

Romain Grosjean will join McLaughlin on the front row for Sunday’s race after his best lap of 1:14.6975 the No. 28 DHL Honda. This was the best qualifying effort of the season for the Frenchman, whose previous-best start was fifth in the season opener at St. Petersburg.

Rookie Christian Lundgaard continued his impressive weekend by qualifying a career-best third at 1:14.7149 in the No. 30 Shield Cleansers Honda. The Dane’s previous-best start was fourth last August in the road race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Lundgaard, who led practice Friday, came to Nashville after earning a career-best second-place finish last Saturday in the Gallagher Grand Prix on the IMS road course.

Joining Lundgaard in Row 2 is reigning series champion Alex Palou, who qualified fourth at 1:14.9087 in the No. 10 NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

Pato O’Ward qualified fifth at 1:14.9261 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet. Two-time series champion and Nashville-area native Josef Newgarden rounded out the Firestone Fast Six at 1:15.1461 in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet.

Newgarden made an interesting gamble that didn’t pay off. He was the only driver in the Firestone Fast Six to qualify on Firestone primary tires. The other five drivers used Firestone alternate tires, which this weekend are constructed with rubber derived from the drought-resistant guayule shrub native to the American Southwest. The primary tire lasts longer but isn’t as grippy as the alternate tire.

Still, Newgarden, O’Ward and Palou are the trio among the top six drivers in the series standings who will start the treacherous street race from the first three rows. Points leader Will Power, 2022 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Marcus Ericsson and six-time series champion Scott Dixon weren’t so lucky.

Power, who leads Ericsson by nine points with four races to go, will start eighth in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. He lost his quickest lap of the second round of qualifying, which would have advanced him into the Firestone Fast Six, when he was penalized for causing a local yellow that affected the lap of the trailing O’Ward late in that session. Power ran long into a run-off area.

“It’s always tough in quali with track position and penalties and getting caught by reds (flags),” Power said. “That’s just the way it is. It’s hard.”

Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Dixon and Ericsson didn’t make it out of the first round of qualifying. Dixon will start 14th in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda as he pursues his record-tying seventh season championship.

Ericsson will start 18th in the 26-car field in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. But he can take heart knowing he won the inaugural race on this circuit last year from the same starting spot.

“We need to come up with a good strategy and play the race how it comes,” Ericsson said. “There have been a lot of incidents this weekend, again like last year. I think there are still going to be opportunities. We’re just lacking a bit too much speed at the moment.”

Qualifying Saturday for the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix NTT INDYCAR SERIES event on the 2.1 mile-Streets of Nashville circuit, with qualifying position, car number in parentheses, driver, engine, time and speed in parentheses:

1. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 01:14.5555 (101.401)
2. (28) Romain Grosjean, Honda, 01:14.6975 (101.208)
3. (30) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 01:14.7149 (101.185)
4. (10) Alex Palou, Honda, 01:14.9087 (100.923)
5. (5) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 01:14.9261 (100.899)
6. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 01:15.1461 (100.604)
7. (18) David Malukas, Honda, 01:14.9616 (100.852)
8. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 01:14.9818 (100.824)
9. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 01:15.3112 (100.383)
10. (21) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 01:15.3897 (100.279)
11. (45) Jack Harvey, Honda, 01:15.9758 (99.505)
12. (4) Dalton Kellett, Chevrolet, 01:16.5600 (98.746)
13. (60) Simon Pagenaud, Honda, 01:19.4039 (95.209)
14. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 01:15.3179 (100.375)
15. (7) Felix Rosenqvist, Chevrolet, 01:21.1784 (93.128)
16. (14) Kyle Kirkwood, Chevrolet, 01:15.4382 (100.214)
17. (27) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 01:21.4579 (92.809)
18. (8) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 01:15.4501 (100.199)
19. (77) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 01:57.6982 (64.232)
20. (51) Takuma Sato, Honda, 01:15.5935 (100.009)
21. (16) Simona De Silvestro, Chevrolet, No Time (No Speed)
22. (20) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 01:16.3955 (98.959)
23. (26) Colton Herta, Honda, No Time (No Speed)
24. (06) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 01:16.5898 (98.708)
25. (29) Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda, No Time (No Speed)
26. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Honda, 01:17.5888 (97.437)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Friday, Aug. 5, 2022) – Benjamin Pedersen led the opening practice for the Indy Lights Music City Grand Prix on Friday as the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires championship prepares to race on the streets of Nashville for the first time.

Pedersen, from Denmark, produced a top lap of 1 minute, 21.8473 seconds in the No. 24 Global Racing Group with HMD entry on the 11-turn, 2.1-mile temporary street circuit that includes two trips over the Cumberland River via the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge on each lap. Pedersen’s best time was more than four-tenths clear of any other driver during the 50-minute session.

“Overall, this was a great way to start Practice 1, with being fastest,” Pedersen said. “We accomplished exactly what we had in our test plan, and this place is just awesome to drive. It really rewards being on the absolute ragged edge, and it’s just such a big commitment place. Really looking forward to tomorrow and continuing to push ourselves.”

Danial Frost was second at 1:22.2616 in the No. 68 HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing car. Hunter McElrea – winner of the last two series races, at Mid-Ohio and Iowa – was third at 1:22.3069 in the No. 27 Andretti Autosport car.

Series points leader Linus Lundqvist was fourth at 1:22.3188 in the No. 26 HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing entry. Lundqvist leads second-place McElrea by 77 points with five races remaining this season.

Matthew Brabham rounded out the top five at 1:22.3457 in the No. 83 Andretti Autosport entry. While Indy Lights never has raced on this circuit, Brabham has experience on the bumpy, tricky layout by racing here in the Robby Gordon Stadium SUPER Trucks series.

Up next is the second practice at 11:15 a.m. ET and qualifying at 3:40 p.m. ET Saturday, with live coverage of both sessions on INDYCAR Live! and the INDYCAR Radio Network. Peacock Premium and the INDYCAR Radio Network will provide live coverage of the 35-lap race at 1 p.m. ET Sunday.

Event: Indy Lights Music City Grand Prix
Track:
Report:
Session: Practice 1
Indy Lights
2.1 mile(s)
Round 10
Rank Car Driver Name C/E/T Time Speed Diff Gap Best Lap Total Laps
1 24 Pedersen, Benjamin D/ /C 01:21.8473 92.367 –.—- –.—- 28 29
2 68 Frost, Danial D/ /C 01:22.2616 91.902 0.4143 0.4143 18 18
3 27 McElrea, Hunter (R) D/ /C 01:22.3069 91.851 0.4596 0.0453 27 27
4 26 Lundqvist, Linus D/ /C 01:22.3188 91.838 0.4715 0.0119 23 29
5 83 Brabham, Matthew D/ /C 01:22.3457 91.808 0.4984 0.0269 18 27
6 2 Robb, Sting Ray D/ /C 01:22.5222 91.612 0.6749 0.1765 24 24
7 28 Rasmussen, Christian (R) D/ /C 01:22.5489 91.582 0.7016 0.0267 26 26
8 11 Roe, James (R) D/ /C 01:23.0465 91.033 1.1992 0.4976 28 29
9 51 Abel, Jacob (R) D/ /C 01:23.1164 90.957 1.2691 0.0699 18 22
10 7 Bogle, Christian D/ /C 01:23.2822 90.776 1.4349 0.1658 24 24
11 21 Simpson, Kyffin (R) D/ /C 01:23.3664 90.684 1.5191 0.0842 25 25
12 99 Francis Jr., Ernie (R) D/ /C 01:26.0251 87.881 4.1778 2.6587 21 23
(R) Rookie Total Laps: 303

INDIANAPOLIS (Saturday, July 30, 2022) – The drought finally is over for Alexander Rossi.

Rossi won the Gallagher Grand Prix on Saturday on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course to snap a 49-race winless streak, earning his first victory since capturing the NTT INDYCAR SERIES race June 23, 2019 at Road America, 1,133 days ago. This was Rossi’s eighth career victory.

“It’s a relief, man,” Rossi said. “It’s been so many things for so long. Thankfully something came our way.”

Andretti Autosport driver Rossi crossed the finish line in his No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS/AutoNation Honda 3.5441 seconds ahead of rookie Christian Lundgaard, who earned a career-best second place in the No. 30 Shield Cleansers Honda.

Will Power finished third in the 85-lap race in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet and took the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship lead with just four races remaining. Power holds a nine-point lead over Marcus Ericsson, who rallied from starting last in the 25-car field to finish 11th in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

Team Penske ended up with all three of its drivers in the top five. Scott McLaughlin finished fourth in the No. 3 Gallagher Insurance Team Penske Chevrolet, with two-time series champion Josef Newgarden fifth in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet.

Rossi, who started second, took the lead for good on Lap 42 when leader and teammate Colton Herta lost drive after navigating Turn 8 on the 11-turn, 2.439-mile road course in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda. Herta was able to coast to the entry of the pit lane, but his race was over. He was credited with 24th place.

The mechanical problem was a cruel twist of fate for Herta, who started ninth and drove to the lead by Lap 8, passing NTT P1 Award winner Felix Rosenqvist in Turn 7. Herta and Rossi emerged as the class of the field as the early laps unfolded, with rival teams unsuccessfully trying multiple strategies to neuter their advantage.

“I do feel for Colton; I do,” Rossi said. “I think he was definitely strong. We had pretty much the same race car. It would have been interesting. I don’t want to take away anything from what he did from ninth. To get to that position was incredible. But it was the 27’s turn. That’s awesome.”

Once Herta was out of the race, Rossi built a steady gap of around four seconds to Lundgaard. The Danish rookie made things interesting late in the race, closing to within 2.7 seconds with 10 laps remaining.

But Rossi pulled away over the closing laps for a decisive win, ending Lundgaard’s chance of becoming the first rookie to win an NTT INDYCAR SERIES race since Rossi shocked the racing world with his victory in the 2016 Indianapolis 500.

“At the end of the third stint, I was catching Alex,” Lundgaard said. “I was really hoping because every pit stop we always caught up. We lost a bit in the beginning of the stint. The Andretti car had just so much better power down than we did today. That’s what killed our rear tires, and we struggled on the long run.

“The result speaks for itself. Coming in this weekend, we knew we had a strong car.”

Rossi, who led 44 laps, will split $10,000 with his team and his chosen charities, AutoNation’s Drive Pink Campaign and Leilani Mae Horse Rescue, for the victory as part of the PeopleReady Force for Good Challenge.

Power once again produced a composed drive, overcoming early near-calamity, to take the points lead. Power made contact with the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet of Pato O’Ward in a three-wide traffic jam in Turns 1 and 2 on the first lap and also had an early dustup with the No. 06 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda of Helio Castroneves, finding himself in 16th in the early laps.

But Power calmly drove through the field to earn his seventh podium finish of the season.

“A great recovery, man,” Power said. “You can never expect a normal day in INDYCAR. Everyone is very aggressive, and it’s so hard to win in this series. It’s the toughest series in the world. Great job by the Verizon 5G guys. It’s amazing we can go back there and recover all the way to third.”

Less than a race worth of points separates Power from fifth-place O’Ward, who is 46 back. Newgarden is third, 32 out of the lead. Six-time series champion Scott Dixon, who finished eighth in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, is 38 points back in fourth.

The hectic recent schedule for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES continues with the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on Sunday, Aug. 7 on the streets of Nashville, Tennessee. Live race coverage starts at 3 p.m. ET on NBC and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

Indianapolis, Ind. (30 July 2022) – Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) faced several challenges during Saturday’s Gallagher Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.

Helio Castroneves led the team with an 18th-place finish in No. 06 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda, while Simon Pagenaud’s race ended early while in sixth in the No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda to finish 25th. Pagenaud did set the fastest lap of the race of 1:11.453-seconds.

Pagenaud was hoping to pick up right where he left off, finishing second in the May edition of the IMS road course event. The No. 60 crew was confident in its strategy heading into the event, and it was playing to the team’s favor which saw Pagenaud make it up to sixth position by lap 35.

Unfortunately, just as Pagenaud’s pit window opened for his second stop of the race, the three time IMS road course winner was left stranded on track, without fuel and a mechanical issue. Pagenaud’s race ended early to finish 25th.

Castroneves started 16th, but had a strong jump at the start to gain three positions on the first lap. The No. 06 crew opted to bring Castroneves in for an early stop on lap 10 to switch over to the favored Firestone alternate tires.

He worked his way up to 15th over the course of his second stint, and then pitted on lap 36, anticipating the caution for his stalled teammate. Castroneves returned to the race in 22nd, and gained two positions before a penalty for avoidable contact that sent him back several positions.

Stretching his final pit stop, Castroneves was running third when he pitted with 22 laps remaining. He returned to the fray in 20th, and managed to gain two positions in the run to the checkered flag to finish 18th.

It will be another short turnaround for MSR, with the team competing next weekend in the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on the streets of Nashville.

Driver Quotes:

Helio Castroneves:
“With the No 06 SiriusXM / AutoNation car, we started really well and I had an opportunity on the back stretch with Will (Power) and (David) Malukas. It was incredible, and I don’t know how it wasn’t a big accident. We were about to scuff it out and I was back at 15th or 16th. Then, we had a good strategy trying to save fuel, which was working out, but unfortunately, the yellow came out and that caught us out. I had a penalty as well, that was my bad, and I hit the No. 14 car. So, we lost another 10 seconds. So honestly with all this craziness, 19th is bad but it’s not bad to be honest because it could be much worse. Great job everyone here, and we’ve got to keep going with the process and move forward.”

Simon Pagenaud:
“The silver lining is that we had the fastest lap of the race today! There are a lot of positives but it doesn’t show in the result. We have made major improvements on the car for our road course package and I’m very excited for when it will all pay off in the end! Maybe Nashville!?”

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
GALLAGHER GRAND PRIX
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA

TEAM CHEVY RACE RECAP & QUOTES

POWER PUTS CHEVY ON THE PODIUM AT INDY ROAD COURSE

LEAVES INDIANA WITH NINE-POINT LEAD IN THE STANDINGS

INDIANAPOLIS

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA (July 30, 2022) – Will Power put his No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet on the podium for the Gallagher Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) Road Course. With the strong run to third, Power leaves with nine-point lead in the standings with four races remaining in the 2022 NTT INDYCAR Series Season. It is the 92nd career podium for Power.

Following close behind Power in the final order was teammate Scott McLaughlin driving the No. 2 Gallagher Insurance Chevrolet to finish in the fourth position. The second year Team Penske driver is seventh in the point standings.

Capturing the fifth spot in the final order is two-time Series’ champion Josef Newgarden, giving Chevrolet powered drivers three of the top-five finishing positions. Newgarden sits third in the standings.

Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Bitcoin Racing Team with BitNile, crossed under the double checkered flags in sixth position. Pole winner Felix Rosenqvist finished ninth in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet to give Team Chevy five of the top-nine in the finishing order. Alexander Rossi was the race winner and Christian Lundgaard completed the podium.

Chevrolet continues to lead the NTT INDYCAR Series Manufacturer standings 1086 points to 999.

Next on the calendar is the Music City Grand Prix on the Streets of Nashville on August 7, 2022 and will be broadcast on NBC 3:00 p.m. ET

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 4TH, FINISHED 3RD:

TELL US HOW THIS DAY WENT AND WHAT MORE YOU MIGHT HAVE NEEDED? “Yeah man, it was a crazy start and some pretty questionable driving there at the beginning. It was a great recovery for us, and we kept out of trouble and then we were able to get to third. What a day.”

FOURTH TO THIRD SEEMS ROUTINE, BUT YOU WERE DOWN AS FAR AS 16TH: “It definitely was a rough start. I got pushed around in Turn One, I got pushed into Pato (O’Ward), which spun him. Then Helio (Castroneves) went for a big move and pushed me on the curb. It was a great recovery. You can never expect a normal day in INDYCAR!”

YOU HAD SOME COMMENTARY ABOUT THE DRIVING OF THOSE AROUND YOU AT THAT TIME. “It was just one of those things. Everyone is very aggressive. It’s so hard to win in this series. It’s the toughest series in the world, and everyone fights for position. You just have to keep it clean. Great job today by the Verizon 5G guys. It’s amazing that we can go all the way back there and recover to third, and thanks to Chevy for such great fuel mileage.”

YOU’RE LEADING THE CHAMPIONSHIP THROUGH YOUR CONSISTENCY. “That was the goal from the very beginning… to play the long game, and we’ve been doing that. We’re doing what we know, and that’s what I’ve been doing. I know this game so well, and I know it can change very quickly. But you take what you can get every day and every race.”

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 GALLAGHER INSURANCE CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 15TH, FINISHED 4TH:

“It was as good as we could have hoped. P4 after qualifying 15th, with a great start and we were able to press on and get going. Very proud because Team Chevy gave us great fuel mileage and we were able to just control it to the end.”

I’m pretty pumped. We needed one of those. To get from 15th to fourth in the Gallagher Chevy in the Gallagher Grand Prix was fantastic. The car was good. I was pumped. I was trying to push this guy (teammate Will Power)… I was like, ‘C’mon, let’s go!’ I had a bit of a blister on my right-front but he controlled it really well. We just missed out on the podium but a top-five was a great day for us.”

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 PPG TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 5TH, FINISHED 5TH”Good day for our PPG Team Penske Chevrolet. I am just glad to be back out there on the track and get this race under my belt. We were able to come away with a solid top-five finish and make up some points, which is a pretty solid day. We had great strategy and Team Chevy brought some great power today, which allowed us to stay up front. Overall, a really good day for our PPG team.”

RINUS VEEKAY, BITCOIN RACING TEAM WITH BITNILE, QUALIFIED 8TH, FINISHED 6TH: “Pretty happy actually. Got in the mess at the start with everyone where I think Pato (O’Ward) spun to the inside, which you don’t see that often. It was a bummer because I think I chose the wrong side and lost some positions there. I think I went from like sixth or seventh to 13th or 14th. So, that didn’t really help but for the rest of the race, good pace. Again, not much luck at the yellow with me pitting just before. That would have brought me much more of an advantage if it didn’t go yellow. I’m pretty happy, because that is stuff we cannot control that didn’t go our way. But everything we could control was great.”

FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 7 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, QUALIFED POLE, FINISHED 9TH:

“Today was a tough race. I gave it everything. The first stint on blacks was pretty poor; good in the beginning and then we started losing ground. I feel like the car felt good, but we just didn’t have any pace so we just kept losing positions. The Andretti cars just left us in the distance.

“We started out in like P12 or P13 after the first sequence and from there on there was nothing really happening as we were just doing the same lap times as others on the reds. The car felt good, but I think we had some issue like a dragging brake as we kept losing ground on the straights and it felt a bit abnormal so we will have to look into that.

“We have to nail the details on days like this, and it seems like today we didn’t. To come away with P9, though, were were able to collect some good points. We’ll have a look at everything and go to Nashville.”

PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED , FINISHED 12TH:

“What looked to be like it was going to be a good day, turned out to be really tough for both cars. I got hit during the start which damaged the car and I kind of had to nurse it until the end. We basically went all the way to last place and had to shift strategy-wise. The car wasn’t far off, but this wasn’t a good race for us today.”

CALLUM ILOTT, NO. 77 JUNCOS HOLLINGER CHEVROLET, JUNCOS HOLLINGER RACING , QUALIFIED 19TH, FINISHED 14TH: “It was quite a tough race. We ended up 14thh and ran out of fuel over the line so I lost one position. It was tough, especially in the first half. When the track was low-grip, it was taking awhile to get the car to work, and I was struggling to get past other cars. We had good pace in clean air but I was always stuck behind someone. Once we ended up getting some free air in that last stint-and-a-half. The pace was quite strong, actually. We were catching Pato (O’Ward) but then I had to go into fuel-saving mode… eco-friendly and tried to save it. It was a bit unfortunate. I almost caught him but then almost didn’t finish. But it was a great result to end with. We needed to find a bit of pace earlier in the weekend. We struggled for pace when it was low-grip conditions. Overall I’m happy with P14 from P19. It wasn’t too bad.”

CONNOR DALY, NO. 20 BITNILE CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 10TH, FINISHED 17TH:

“I made a mistake today in pits, stalling the car. The team gave me a really great car, it was really fast. I can admit when I make a mistake and it was a real shame. We will try to bounce back next week. I am thankful the car was fast as it was.”

DALTON KELLETT, NO. 4 K-LINE CHEVROLET, AJ FOYT RACING, QUALIFIED FINISHED 21ST: “We moved up in the race with the No. 4 K-Line car, so that was good not to finish where we started because we were toward the back after a tough qualifying. We made improvements to the car from the start of the weekend, figured a few things out and was able to collect some spots. It was a decent race overall for us. We’re making some progress on our road-course car. We’re trying to work on showing up for these races and knowing where we need to be in that window. We head to Nashville next weekend and I’m really excited. It was a fun track last year and it will be a fun party in Country Music Town. It should be a lot of fun.”

KYLE KIRKWOOD, NO. 14 SEXTON PROPERTIES CHEVROLET, AJ FOYT RACING – FINISHED 23RD: “It was actually a fun race; we were just on the wrong strategy. We started off on the red tires, which didn’t work out for anyone except Scott McLaughlin and he went long on them. We just didn’t really have the pace on the black tires. From there we went to an old set of reds because it was all we had left. We were the only ones to use reds in practice. We got hit in Turn Nine… that ultimately gave us too much damage to have any pace for the rest of the race. It ultimately put us a lap down with an extra pit stop due to an issue with the rear-right tire from that incident. It was an unfortunate day, but we made improvements this weekend. We’ll take the positives from it, and that was definitely one of them. We’ll go on to Nashville and another street course. Fingers crossed we’ll be good there.”

PRESS CONFERENCE INTERVIEW WITH WILL POWER:

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everyone. Wrapping up the Gallagher Grand Prix here at the world famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. We are joined by the now-once-again points leader in the NTT INDYCAR Series, Will Power, driver of the Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, his 92nd career podium today, which ties him with Dario Franchitti for seventh all time, seventh podium of the season and retakes the points lead and now has a nine-point advantage over Marcus Ericsson.

Congratulations on another podium. You got the points lead again. You’ve got to feel pretty good coming out of here.

WILL POWER: Yeah, I do, yeah. Considering the start of the race, yep, great recovery, man. Great recovery. It’s amazing some of the runs we’ve had this year. But yep, just kept my head and did what I could in the situation. I had to get a big fuel number and go as fast as I can.

Very good day. Good day for the team all around.

THE MODERATOR: Outside of Iowa and here, I know you were begging for starts of races up front because it didn’t happen there for a while where you didn’t have to make up big ground like you did at Mid-Ohio, and so far so good the last three races.

WILL POWER: Yeah, that’s right. It’s always hard starting fourth or the outside row at this track. You get — I don’t know, you get freight trained. So it’s tough going into 1. We didn’t make the most of that, but we definitely made the most of the rest of the race.

THE MODERATOR: Final restart and all that, at least towards the end, did you have anything for Rossi?

WILL POWER: No, not with the fuel number I had to get. I had to get a big fuel number because we pitted five laps before everyone.

THE MODERATOR: And played catch-up a little bit after that because of chasing the fuel?

WILL POWER: Yeah, pretty much all the way to the end we were on a number that was definitely holding us back. We had definitely a lot of pace in hand.

THE MODERATOR: We welcome all of you joining us on Zoom. We’ll get to your questions in a matter of moments. Let’s begin with questions in person.

Q. Will, you kind of said you made what you had today and you referenced in your post-race interview that you’ve been playing the long game all season. Are you pleased with where the long game has gotten you with four races to go?

WILL POWER: Yeah, definitely. It’s not necessarily the long game, it’s just that sort of attitude switch where you know these races are long, the season is long, and you’ve got to make the most of every situation, even if you’re fighting for like 12th. If that’s your day to finish 12th, well, finish 12th, not 24th.

Yeah, it’s certainly working very well.

Q. You also kind of referenced outside that there’s a point at which it switches now in the last four races. Did you have to sort of race points for a week or two here now? How do you look at the rest of the way?

WILL POWER: That totally depends on the situation, how you qualify, who’s in front of you, where you’re running, and where the guys that you are fighting or you believe will be the people or the drivers that you have to fight at the end. It becomes a little more obvious with three to go.

The next couple races you’ve got to know, okay, this is definitely the lead guys that we’re racing. We’ve got to cover them on strategies and such.

Yeah, it’s still not completely clear. A lot of guys still clustered up — I think there’s probably still five guys are out in the game, so still a long way to go.

Q. Otto told us Thursday that he feels like it’s going to go down to Laguna obviously but with five guys. Do you expect the same thing? Are you keeping your eye on anybody in particular or do you feel like it’s going to be five guys all the way to the end?

WILL POWER: I mean, that’s impossible to predict, but it’s still pretty close right now. It will always — it feels like it’s always going to go down to the last race. I expect to be having a fight at Laguna. Yeah, we’ll see how it plays out. Impossible to predict in this series. There’s just too many fast guys, good teams, good drivers, everything. It’s just try and pick a winner each week and try and pick a pole sitter. Impossible.

THE MODERATOR: Just 46 points separating the top 5 right now as an illustration of how tight it is.

Q. It’s been a while since you’ve been this deep into the season as the points leader. It happened a lot early in your career. Do you think that experience is beneficial to you to know what it takes to get through the day-to-day pressure that’s going to come with that?

WILL POWER: Absolutely. So different to what it was back then. Just know the game so well. Mentally just miles ahead mentally in every respect than I was back then.

Yeah, just a tremendous amount of experience in this series.

Q. Also, I hate to use the term “wild card,” but because of its unpredictable nature, do you see next week’s race at Nashville as being one of the ones that could cause somebody to go over the cliff?

WILL POWER: Yeah, I hope no one does go over the bridge (laughter), but it could be like Toronto where it could be an absolute crazy race, but it could also be very green. You just can’t predict. You don’t know. We don’t know.

Obviously last year, yeah, with track blockages, this sort of thing, it was pretty crazy, but sometimes a race gets into a flow and it goes. But honestly I think if it goes yellow, it’s going to breed more yellows for sure. That’s when people go for the big moves.

Yeah, we’ll see what happens.

Q. What was it like racing behind the Great Dane today?

WILL POWER: I could only see him as a dot in the distance. He took off. He was too fast.

Q. Will, you and Pato and Sato both pitted underneath the first yellow. You’re here in third, Pato finished 12th and Sato was 15th. What was the major differentiator? Was it tire strategy or something else that worked well for you?

WILL POWER: I think it was our pace on the fuel mileage we had to get. Definitely we were able to make some hay just getting big numbers that we had to get. We had a great car. Car was really fast. Yeah.

Q. It seems like something wild happens to you pretty much every other race this season, whether it be qualifying or in the race, and you were able to bounce back from that so well. Just wondered if it’s kind of crept into your mind yet that you feel like the favorite in the championship based off that because you’re able to come back from some of these crazy situations?

WILL POWER: Yeah, I mean, to this point we’ve had a fantastic year, obviously leading the points right now. Just got to keep doing what I’m doing. I know the game so well, been in it so long. We have great potential to win the championship, but there’s four other guys that also do. It’s going to be hard fought to the end.

I’m enjoying it. I really am.

Q. Will, a couple laps in when you’re in 16th, what’s going through your mind? What’s your approach in a situation like that?

WILL POWER: Well, at that point you’re starting to think of what can we do, if there’s an alternate strategy, then the yellow comes and you’re like absolutely, all right, I think the guys understand, and we talked about it before the race, like we’ll pit, and try and make it on two more stops from there. Yeah, big fuel number, and that was a great call.

Yeah, never got upset or — just yep, that’s what it is. That’s how it rolls in this series. Just kept going.

Q. Obviously you knew you had a chance to take over first place in the standings; is that something on your mind during the race? Is that something you try not to think about? What’s your perspective on that?

WILL POWER: You’re just focusing on the race. You are aware of championship contenders if you’re around one or you do understand if there’s one — somebody racing behind you that you’re competing for the championship, you’ll definitely do your absolute best to keep him behind, but if it’s someone else, you’ve got to save big fuel, you might not fight him as hard.

Q. Will, you talked a while ago about seeing a dot in front of you, ahead of you, as opposed to maybe getting up on somebody’s tailpipe. When did that settle into your brain that third was going to be the best you could do today? How do you actually settle that into your brain?

WILL POWER: Well, when it all reset and all those guys pit, I had to pit before it went yellow. When we reset, it was, okay, we don’t have to get as big a fuel number now, and we’re P3, so if I can finish P3, that’s a great day.

Q. Will, this maturation process, you’re more settled, you keep talking about experience. How much of that is on the track and also off the track? Beau is getting a little older, the family man thing —

WILL POWER: Yeah, it is on both sides. It simply feels like the older you get, the more relaxed you get, just understand how life is. Life is not easy, it doesn’t flow that way like you expect when you’re younger that everything should just go right, but it simply just never does. That’s just the way it is. You get more relaxed about that.

Q. Do you enjoy moments like this a little bit more as you get older?

WILL POWER: Oh, yeah, yeah, I’m loving the racing. It’s a privilege to feel nervous before a race because there’s going to be a time that you don’t get to do that for decades. Some people never get to do that.

Q. You get to go into full dad mode.

WILL POWER: Yeah, exactly.

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