Category: NTT Indy

Green Earns a Pair of Sixth Place Finishes, Browne Breaks into Top-Ten Spots

Leeds, Ala. (May 3, 2022) – Turn 3 Motorsport drivers Josh Green and Jonathan Browne had a solid weekend at Barber Motorsports Park during Rounds 3 and 4 of the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, each collecting top ten finishes in both races and earning valuable championship points ahead of the next event.

After ending up P1 in the final session of the pre-event test day, Green qualified the #3 car sixth for Saturday’s Race 1 with less than .3 seconds separating the top six cars. A clean start put Green on the tail of the #90 car of Louis Foster from the get-go where he looked for opportunities to pass on the 2.38-mile circuit known for being difficult to overtake on. Green got the job done on Lap 14, moving up to P5 and fighting a good battle in the final laps with Foster and Braden Eves, eventually crossing the finish line in sixth.

Green qualified on the fourth row in Qualifying 2, setting himself up for another fight in Race 2. By the end of Lap 1, Green was up to P7, and by the end of Lap 3, he had progressed to P6. The field then began to settle into a rhythm as they completed 30 total laps, resulting in another sixth place finish for Green and a solid points gain in the championship.

3 Josh Green // Indy Pro 2000
SessionGuardian / Zimperium / Lionfish Tech Advisors / Mark Green / JHG Investments

“Barber Motorsports Park wasn’t the nicest to us per se, but I have a feeling we left the weekend much stronger than we were when we arrived,” said Green. “With it being a tough weekend, a pair of sixth place finishes is pretty solid and a good points haul in what will be a tight championship fight. I’m really proud of how everyone in the team handled the adversity and continue to be amazed by the connection everyone under the Turn 3 Motorsport tent shares. I hope to see everyone at IMS in two weeks!”

Green currently lies sixth in the overall driver’s championship with 72 total points.

Teammate Jonathan Browne had a successful weekend overall, earning two top-ten finishes and building momentum in his rookie campaign. Browne rounded out the pre-event test day fifth in the final session before heading into practice and Qualifying 1 the next day where he qualified the #2 car 11th for Race 1. Browne drove a great race, improving to tenth in the green-to-checkers contest and claiming his first top-ten finish of the season.

Browne qualified on row six for Race 2 and steadied for another push through the field. He did just that, making his way up to tenth by Lap 2 and then up to ninth by Lap 6. After 30 laps of competitive driving, Browne crossed the finish line in P9, marking his best finish of the season thus far.

2 Jonathan Browne // Indy Pro 2000
Human Centred Movement / CRPS Awareness

“Walking away with a P10 and P9 after a really competitive weekend is okay for us,” said Browne. “We showed really good pace in both races, so I’m happy with that. These still aren’t the positions where I want to be, but it’s a stepping stone to moving further up the grid. A big thanks to all of the team for their hard work this weekend. On to Indy GP!”

“It was an extremely competitive weekend at Barber,” said Team Owner Peter Dempsey. “There was so little between the top eight guys; if you hook up the lap, it’s P1, and if you miss it by the smallest margin, you can be P8. Unfortunately, we never got that special lap to put up us front in either of the qualifying sessions. Barber is hard to pass on after the first few laps, and we found ourselves stuck in the pack with the pace to be at the front. Josh and Jonathan are working well together, and we have to just stick at it and it will come. Looking forward to Indy GP in a couple of weeks now.”

The Indy Pro 2000 series is back on track for the first tripleheader event of the season at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course circuit from May 12-14.

To stay up to date on Turn 3 Motorsport, follow the team on social media using the handle @turn3motorsport.

About Turn 3 Motorsport: Turn 3 Motorsport is a full-service operation specializing in racecar preparation, engineering, and driver development. Founded and managed by racecar driver and coach Peter Dempsey, T3M is focused on professional service, team member growth, and high-level performance across multiple racing series.

In 2019, the team secured the Blue Marble Cocktails Radical Cup North America championship titles in the 1340cc, 1500cc, and overall classes. Later that year, Peter and Turn 3 Motorsport achieved a record-breaking win at the NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill endurance race, piloting the #10 Eastern Racing / Turn 3 Motorsport Radical SR3 RSX 1340 to a dominating win, leading 638 out of 672 laps, and becoming the first car under two liters to achieve the overall win.

In the team’s rookie season, Turn 3 Motorsport attracted attention out of the gate by winning the season opener of the 2020 Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires in a sweeping performance with Singaporean driver Danial Frost. Frost and the team went on to achieve a pole position, six podium finishes, and third overall in the championship in 2020.

In 2021, T3M expanded its presence in the Road to Indy by introducing a two-car program into the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship alongside its Indy Pro 2000 Championship campaign. In its debut USF2000 season, the team found victory at the season finale with American driver Josh Green as well as earning an additional podium and fifth overall in the championship. The team earned further accolades in the Indy Pro 2000 series with a race win at the season finale by Irish driver James Roe as well as a pole position at World Wide Technology Raceway and seventh overall in the championship.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
GRAND PRIX OF ALABAMA
BARBER MOTORSPORTS
TEAM CHEVY POST RACE RECAP WITH QUOTES AND TRANSCRIPT
MAY 1, 2022

PATO O’WARD KEEPS CHEVROLET PERFECT IN 2022 WITH AN EXCITING WIN AT BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK

POLE WINNER RINUS VEEKAY FINISHES THIRD TO GIVE CHEVY TWO SPOT ON PODIUM AT ALABAMA GRAND PRIX

BIRMINGHAM – For the third time in his NTT INDYCAR Series Career, Pato O’Ward took his No 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet to Victory Lane. As has been his trademark so far in his career, he made an exciting move to pass for the lead on lap 61 overtaking pole sitter and race leader Rinus VeeKay in turn five after both had pitted and VeeKay won the race off pit lane. The young driver originally from Monterey, Mexico never looked back.

On the way to keeping Chevrolet perfect so far this season in the NTT INDYCAR Series, O’Ward led 27 laps in a race that saw one caution flag for a total of three laps. With four races in the books, Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin won the first followed by Josef Newgarden capturing the next two, and now adding O’Ward to the list.

The victory is the 99th for Chevrolet since returning to the Series in 2012 as an engine supplier with the 2.2 liter twin turbo direct injected V6 purpose built engine.

Pole winner and top lap leader with 57 completed from the wave of the green flag, Rinus VeeKay in the No. 21 Sonax Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet finished third to give the Gold Bowtie drivers two of the three podium positions . Alex Palou finished second.

Next on the schedule is the start of the month of May with the GMR Grand Prix on the Road Course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 14, 2022.

DRIVER QUOTES
PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, RACE WINNER:
WHAT A SMOOTH WEEKEND FOR THE 5 BUNCH. NICE TO SEE YOU IN VICTORY LANE PATO! WIN NUMBER THREE, BUT I HAVE TO ASK YOU ABOUT HOW AGGRESSIVE YOU HAD TO PLAY THAT PASS ON VEEKAY TO GET THE LEAD. AT THE MOMENT DID YOU KNOW THAT MAYBE THAT WAS THE PASS FOR THE WIN?
“Yeah, Taylor told me we are fighting for the win. We almost got them in the pit stops, so I said no this is your chance man. It’s so tough to follow just because it’s such a fast and flowing circuit. I knew if I would have the opportunity, it would have been right then and there. I got on my button and got around him into (Turn) five and then I knew if he would get into clean air, we can kind of control the thing. Once we did that it was a cruise to victory lane.”

THERE WAS A LOT OF TURMOIL AROUND THIS TEAM JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO. YOU CAME INTO LONG BEACH SAYING I’M PUTTING IT ALL BEHIND ME. HOW MUCH DID THAT MENTAL SHIFT HELP YOU BEHIND THE WHEEL?
“Man, it sucks to be at war within your own team. I’m glad there’s been very positive talks for the future and man I wanted to do it for these guys. I wanted to do it for Arrow McLaren SP, Team Chevy. They’ve swept this year so far, so I think it’s great for them. Yeah, man I was just tired of being 10th and 11th and fifth. I said let’s get a win under our belt so we can claw our way back to this championship fight.”

RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 SONAX ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 3RD:
“It was going really well. The car was really super fast even saving fuel. Then that last pit stop I was a little too on the brakes turning into five and that’s where he (Pato O’Ward) got me. Then I lost some time and Alex Palou got me and we dropped to third. Normally I should be the happiest guy on earth with a podium, but now…but we are headed to the Indy Road Course and that’s been good for us, and then the 500. I feel ready and excited to get there.”
WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON 5G TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 4TH:
As the race was winding down, I did my very best to take advantage and make those moves early on and get by Dixon and all those guys as quickly as possible. We made some dive bombs to get there. I’m so happy to have this Verizon Chevy up there. I honestly didn’t expect it.
“We just have to keep doing the same thing this year, finishing near to top. We have to qualify better, it will make it a lot easier on us during the race. But this team is working hard. We had better tires near the end and great strategy. I’m just trying to enjoy this as I go along. I’ve been here 17 years. Ready for Indy.”

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 PPG TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 14TH:
“We could just never gather much traction today with the No. 2 PPG Chevy on the three-stop strategy. Obviously, not testing here like the other teams did a few weeks ago put us a bit behind but I felt that we made great gains throughout the weekend. To tell you how well our team is working right now, we completely switched over to the 2 car’s setup yesterday – and it was a much better feel for me – but the two-stop strategy was the way to go in the end. At the end of the day, two wins and a very solid start to the year heading into the month of May. We’re in a good spot, for sure.”

FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 7 VUSE ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, FINISHED 16TH :
“It was a disappointing race. It was a really good first stint that was positive with good pace on the Firestone red tires, but then we had a miscalculation on the fuel. That made us pit way too early, and we had to save a bunch of fuel for the rest of the race. We have to analyze everything to see if our fuel numbers are correct. We were quick, but couldn’t really do anything because of the fuel situation. Congrats to Pato, that is really good for him and the team. Just wish we could’ve been there with him, but we will push to be there next time.”

CONOR DALY, NO. 20 BITNILE ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 19TH:
: “It was a tough race today. Obviously qualifying yesterday hurt us as it would have been good to start farther up. But now we’ve got the month of May coming up and we’ve been fast on both the road course and the oval at IMS, so we’ll focus on that now and get this BitNile Chevy back towards the front!”
KYLE KIRKWOOD, NO. 14 ROKIT AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 22ND:

DALTON KELLETT, NO. 4 K-LINE AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 23RD

CALLUM ILOTT, NO. 77 JUNCOS HOLLINGER RACING, FINISHED 25TH::
“I honestly don’t even know what to say about that one. We had a great start. Moved up to eighth. We had a good pit stop and I was just pjshing slightly too hard trying to defend from Helio on cold tires. I went a little wide and after that I was just a passenger. It’s a shame to end a good weekend like that, I feel sorry for myself, for the team. It’s just a shame. Will take the positives. We had lots of pace. So we will take the positives and move toward the Grand Prix in Indy.”

We have to qualify better, it will make it a lot easier on us during the race. But this team is working hard. We had better tires near the end and great strategy. I’m just trying to enjoy this as I go along. I’ve been here 17 years. Ready for Indy.”

TATIANA CALDERON, NO. 11 ROKIT AJ FOYT RACING, FINISHED 26TH:

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference
Rinus VeeKay, Pato O’Ward, Taylor Kiel
Press Conference Transcript

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon. We are joined by the third-place finisher, Rinus VeeKay.
Tell us about your day and maybe after that second pit stop coming back out the battle you had in turn five.
RINUS VEEKAY: Yeah, actually the weekend has been pretty good. We started out the first two-thirds of the race very strong, leading, saving a lot of fuel. Very happy with that.
Unfortunately I got held up a little bit before getting into my second pit stop, so Pato was on me, really on me. I did beat him out of pit lane. Coming into turn five, I just took it a little bit too conservative, and he got around me. Yeah, he drove away basically. Lacked a little bit of pace on the last set of tires. Pato and Alex were a little bit too fast for me to hang with.
Yeah, I think third place is pretty good still.
THE MODERATOR: It was a 1.8 second gap going into the pit stop. I think I heard you say you were caught up behind Jimmie.
RINUS VEEKAY: Yeah, Pato was really on my tail coming into the pit box. He was right in front of me in the box. Yeah, I did beat him out so we can a pretty good pit stop.
Yeah, unfortunately I didn’t push enough on that out lap. Another lesson learned. Unfortunately the hard way.
THE MODERATOR: Questions.
Q. Rinus, why do you think you were so conservative?
RINUS VEEKAY: Well, I have screwed myself a few times in the past braking a little too deep, locking a tire, yeah, basically destroying my whole last stint.
I did not know Pato was going that deep. Yeah, I was looking in my mirrors a lot. Maybe that distracted me a little bit. Yeah, I don’t know. If I could go back, I would go way deeper and stay ahead of him. I was also struggling a little bit more on my last set of tires.
Yeah, he was definitely faster on that last stint. Deserved win for him. Fortunately I still got a podium out of it.
Q. Considering how you went like this after your injury last year, this weekend, do you feel like this is your first full, complete weekend?
RINUS VEEKAY: Yeah, no, I feel like we’re definitely back. I felt like that at St. Pete already, qualifying fourth, finishing sixth. That was a great way to bounce back. Leading in Texas. Definitely running out of fuel, still finishing 10th.
I think we started out really well already. This weekend really, yeah, was the cherry on the cake with the pole position and having a car to win the race, all race.
Q. Rinus, the two laps where Pato gets you for the lead, then all of a sudden the very next lap the guy next to you gets in between you and Pato, takes over second, at that point what did you think…
RINUS VEEKAY: Yeah, you feel bummed at that moment. There’s still so many laps left in the race, you never give up and you kind of reset and try to make the best out of it still.
Definitely still surprised by how Alex got between us. Yeah, I think I could have made a run for him. I came out of turn five fully sideways, that’s kind of where I lost touch with him.
Yeah, I did not really expect that to happen. It’s INDYCAR. Anything can happen. Level is extremely high. You weaken a little bit for one second and you’re being passed from the lead.
Q. Today’s podium, we talk so much about the young drivers in INDYCAR, it’s like today youth wasn’t only on display, it was showcased. What is it like to have that all young podium this week?
RINUS VEEKAY: Yeah, I think it’s great for the youth movement now. All the young guys, of course, Alex has done it a few times last year, and already this year. Same with Pato.
I’m happy to get there with those guys. I think it really shows that young guys are coming through, the new generation is kind of taking over.
THE MODERATOR: I want to say we’ve had eight different drivers, podiums, in the four races we’ve had so far. It’s a growing number, competitive as ever certainly.
Q. Rinus, the first half of the race, two stints, were you managing the gap or is that everything you had? Could you have gone bigger?
RINUS VEEKAY: Yeah, I was managing the gap a little bit, especially on the reds. I tried to keep it around two, two and a half seconds. Yeah, I think also that second run I felt very good just saving fuel. I was all the time saving a little more than the team asked me to. We always had a little bit of a buffer if we needed to go an extra lap or anything. I felt pretty good, good rhythm.
Yeah, I was in my element there.
Q. Did either of you guys get to spend any time around Romain today?
RINUS VEEKAY: No, I think he was behind me at one point just before the caution. But it’s hard to see a different car now. I was always looking at the purple car. Now it was the DHL car, now it’s the blue car.
I think it was him behind me at one point, yeah.
Q. Rinus, is there a really big confidence booster going into the month of May?
RINUS VEEKAY: Yeah, it’s a big confidence booster. Of course I struggled a little bit in Long Beach with pace. That was a tough race. Then coming here, first road course of the season, yeah. Just very happy. We were very fast in qualifying. Just in the race also we had the pace to win the race.
Yeah, I’m happy. I think coming into the month of May I know Indy road course is going to be good for us, Indy 500. I think we’re in a good position.
THE MODERATOR: Obviously joined now by the champion of this year’s race, Pato O’Ward.
Pato, a lot of momentum heading into the month of May. A good ‘W’ for you guys.
PATO O’WARD: Thanks, man.
Yeah, it was a great day for us. I think it was a very slow-paced race, at least where we were at. Last year we did the strategy that we didn’t do today. Today was a bit different in terms of really seeing where these tires would take us in terms of blacks to reds, reds to blacks.
But it was good. I think we managed it. We stayed very patient. Rinus was very quick. Alex was, as well. I think it was definitely kind of like a follow-the-leader type of situation.
When the opportunities came, we were able to take advantage of that, yeah, challenge these guys for the lead of the race.
THE MODERATOR: Follow the leader was after the pit stop, the scrap between you and Rinus.
PATO O’WARD: I knew the only opportunity I was going to have was then and there. Like I said, it’s such a fast and flowing circuit where you stay within probably a second and you can probably get within maybe 7/10ths of the car in front once their tires are heated up. It’s really hard to strike, especially if they are also on the same strategy of fuel saving, ‘push to pass’, et cetera.
Yeah, it was a good scramble. I think it was really nice to race along someone where I feel like we’ve always respected each other when we race. I think that’s fantastic to have whenever you’re fighting for the lead.
THE MODERATOR: We’ll continue with questions.
Q. You ended up with 120 seconds of ‘push to pass’ remaining. Was that a plan going into the race to help fuel saving?
PATO O’WARD: I couldn’t use it, man, because I was handicapped by the fuel. I would have loved to use them. I used them whenever they counted.
Yeah, I was traveling — I was trying to hit a number, and it was a pretty big number. Obviously when you use the ‘push to pass’, it eats through this mileage of fuel that you have pretty quickly.
Yeah, that’s probably why I ended with so much ‘push to pass’ left.
Q. The average age of the three guys on the podium is 22.7. I don’t know if that’s one of the younger ones, but I’m assuming it is. What is it like to be part of this youth movement?
PATO O’WARD: It’s great, man. I think we’ve seen it not just this year but the past two years. I think it’s awesome to see the young ones coming to the series and giving the veterans a hard time.
At the end of the day these guys that we’re racing against, Dixon, Power, Newgarden, we’ve been watching them for so many years. They’re basically idols of all of us when we were coming through the ranks trying to get to INDYCAR.
It’s really cool to be able to battle with them. Ultimately what you want to do when you get to race against them, you can have your fan boy moment for a couple seconds, but then you want to beat ’em.
THE MODERATOR: Also fortunate to be joined by the president of Arrow McLaren SP, Taylor Kiel. A big win for you heading into the month of May.
TAYLOR KIEL: It’s huge for us. We knew we had this potential all year long. We had a rough start to the season. It’s nice to get back on track, perform how we know how to, ultimately bring a win back home for everybody that works at Arrow McLaren SP and our extended family at McLaren. I think it’s a big boost for us heading into the month of May as Pato said.
THE MODERATOR: Your thoughts on the battle with Rinus?
TAYLOR KIEL: I told him in Victory Lane that pass into five was everything. It was huge for us to be able to clear Rinus, ultimately take the lead. Also it was huge to us to defend against Alex on the overcut as well.
The boys did a great job in pit lane to do their job, execute. Pato did what he needed to do. Ultimately it ticked both boxes. We were able to advance our position and defend against Alex who did a great job certainly closing the gap to us.
THE MODERATOR: Questions for Pato or Taylor.
Q. Pato, I know last year you were bummed out to say the least after starting on pole, finishing fourth. Did you know because of how last year played out that that’s what you were going to shoot for, see how things played out, or was there anything in the race that made you pick that strategy?
PATO O’WARD: I think ultimately what allowed us to do it was the pace was honestly super slow. Everybody was doing that. I think that was for sure the fastest way to get around for the 90 laps. Obviously not for the fastest lap, but we wanted to win the race.
Last year I think we got fastest lap but we crossed the finish line in fourth. I think it was all about how can we save as much fuel and also we were a bit into the mercy of how long are we going to make the reds last? I think that was probably the biggest thing, just making sure that we can make the reds last up until lap, I don’t know when I pitted, 28 or 30 or something. I think that was the biggest thing, just making sure we didn’t just overshoot the tire in the first 10 laps because we weren’t going to make it to do the two-stopper.
I think it’s a combination of a lot of things. Whenever you’re saving so much fuel, it makes the saving of the tire a lot easier.
TAYLOR KIEL: I’d say looking, I think the biggest threats to us on that strategy were Newgarden, Herta and Grosjean. We did that last year. It’s really hard to make it work. It’s hard to pass, especially Pato talked about it in our strategy brief this morning. A full fuel car, you can be pushing it, but it’s difficult.
To do what you have to do to make that work, you have to make up the pit loss time, pass a lot of cars. It’s just a difficult way to go about it. Our thought was, Let’s make it easy, as easy as we can on ourselves, let’s take advantage of being out front. He had the pace to do it, the tires lasted. He drove in a way that we were able to maintain pace and keep the tires under us. For us it was kind of a no-brainer to stick to that.
Q. Pato, you said you were in this great rhythm, your mindset on and off the track had changed completely closing in on your new contract extension. Was today and this weekend’s performance feeding off that or was this just a great race weekend?
PATO O’WARD: I think the shift that we kind of felt was in Long Beach actually. I just think we had a great race there. I think a top-five finish in this series is pretty stellar because it’s so competitive, there’s so many factors that have to go right in order to be up there.
I just think this weekend was the perfect weekend to do it. I love this place. We had a great car here. No reason why we wouldn’t have had a good car here this weekend, which we just proved that we were the guy to beat. We missed it just by a little bit in qualifying, but I knew I had the pace, I knew the car had the pace. It was just kind of playing a bit of a waiting game.
These races are so long where it’s not a sprint race. If would have started, it’s 30 or 40 laps, you maybe approach it a bit different. But it’s 90 laps. It’s so, so long. I wasn’t really stressing. I was just managing my fuel, my tires, and just taking care of everything. Whenever the opportunity would come to us, I was sure to be ready to take advantage of it.
Q. Taylor, as someone who is as close as anyone to Pato, have you been able to notably see that mental shift on and off the track?
TAYLOR KIEL: Well, I think just as an entire group of people, certainly Pato and our whole team, I think we’ve kind of hit the reset button. As he said, Long Beach was a catalyst for us to show that we can perform at a high level again after last year to back it up.
For me, I want to give him the tools to succeed, and the rest is up to him. He takes advantage of it. Certainly when we have a good car to compete at the front, we compete at the front. That’s the goal for us, is to continue to put in the work and put in the effort and make sure we have a car, a team and a group of people that can support Pato. The rest is up to all of us to execute.
I think today proves that we can do that and we’ll continue to do that. That’s where we’re at.
Q. Did the 5 team need the driver’s mindset to change to reach its potential?
TAYLOR KIEL: I don’t know if it needs a mindset. I’ve said to him before, the driver in our team, I don’t know how it is with everybody else, is the quarterback, right? As the quarterback goes, the rest of the team goes. As the driver goes, the rest of the team goes. He has such an infectious spirit, such an energy, that it’s impactful to what we do in a very good way.
I think there’s kind of two things there: he’s a very important part of what we do, but as a team you have to be able to compartmentalize things, too. We’re moving from race to race, different circuit type to different circuit type, testing, racing. We’re doing so many things, we have to focus on what we’re doing today.
I would say the drivers in our organization are certainly impactful to the general aura of what we’ve got going on. Ultimately us as a team, we have to be able to withstand whatever might happen. That’s kind of where we’re at with that.
Q. When he gets out of the car at Long Beach, he is Pato. He’s Pato again here. Do you feel like you can win this week?
TAYLOR KIEL: I always feel like we can win honestly.
PATO O’WARD: Angry Pato can win, too (smiling).
TAYLOR KIEL: I always feel like we can win. That’s the beauty of having Pato drive one of our cars, is that we’ve now won at a road course, we’ve won at a street course, we won at a superspeedway. If we had —
PATO O’WARD: I also needed to make sure Josef didn’t win that award.
TAYLOR KIEL: I’m just saying, ultimately for us, I think we’ve got a driver that can compete and win at any circuit type. We put a good car together. If we come prepared, roll off the truck in a good window, it’s hard to beat.
Q. Pato, I asked you Friday if happy Pato is dangerous to the rest of the field. You said you didn’t know.
PATO O’WARD: What do you think?
Q. I thought you were a little dangerous going through turn five. Not dangerous bad.
PATO O’WARD: Patient Pato (smiling).
Q. Now you head into a very important month. What do you got planned?
PATO O’WARD: Yeah, the big boy. Everybody wants to win that one. It’s the massive cookie that everybody wants to have in their room, looking at it, thinking about it.
I’m pumped. I’ve never been able to do an Indy 500 with a bunch of people. Last year there was a bunch, but this year I think it’s going to be double or something. I’m really excited to see that.
There’s nothing like it. It’s just crazy. I tell everybody that you need to go and experience it in person for you to be able to, like, grasp what an event that is. Obviously I can’t even imagine what it would be like winning it.
Q. Can you win it?
PATO O’WARD: Sure as hell the plan (smiling).
Q. Talking about the younger guys coming up, who have you fan boyed over on track?
PATO O’WARD: I remember like it was yesterday actually. I was in Sonoma, my first INDYCAR test. I usually look at Dixon, Power and Newgarden. I think I spun four times, so I caused four red flags in the span of like 35 minutes in the chicane in the Sonoma. Every time I spun, Josef come around looking at me, shaking his head. I was like, Shit (laughter).
Yeah, but then I had a good race there, which made it a lot better.
Q. Oval, road course, street circuit, you checked the box, the bingo card. Did you think you could do all those that quickly from the diversity standpoint?
TAYLOR KIEL: Did you just ask him if he thinks he has the talent to win (smiling)?
Q. He did those three things that quickly.
PATO O’WARD: I was pretty bummed we didn’t win a road course last year. Man, I love this place. I also wanted to complete it because I’ve had the chance to win here in Mazda and in Indy Lights. I really wanted to win in INDYCAR to kind of complete the three formulas that I’ve raced around here.
It’s a great circuit. Like ever since the first time I came, I loved it. It’s super well taken care of. It’s just a beautiful facility. I think today was a great turnout, beautiful day, very different than what the rose in the morning like, which was cool to not have a very overcast, cloudy day.
Yeah, great day to go racing.
Q. Let me ask it a different way. Of the three different circuits you run, would you have thought a road course was first or an oval first or street course?
PATO O’WARD: Oval was the last one I think I would have won. It was the first one. First one I think would probably be a street course, then a road course. Kind of switched around. I don’t mind it, though.
Q. Pato, you’ve won here in Pro Mazda, Indy Lights, now here. How great is it to say you won in all three of those now?
PATO O’WARD: It’s awesome, man. It’s just a track that I really enjoy driving. You can really feel out the limits of whatever car you’re driving, which make it extra fun in terms of just the physical aspect, from a racing standpoint. It’s not an easy track to pass. I think whenever you do see a pass around here, it’s somewhat exciting. I hope that pass was somewhat exciting because I feel like the rest of the race was pretty boring, at least for me up there.
Was there a lot of action behind us? That’s good stuff. I can’t wait to watch the race again.
Q. (No microphone.)
PATO O’WARD: What happened with them? I’ll watch. Two egos going at it (laughter).
Q. Rinus had a two-second gap on you before the pit stop. Where did you gain the time where you got the pass on him?
PATO O’WARD: I (indiscernible) it on the brakes.
Q. Taylor, about a dozen laps left in the race, you told Pato he was free to take overtake. Pato said, I got it, don’t stress. Did your stress level go down after that?
TAYLOR KIEL: My stress level is pretty much down all the time.
PATO O’WARD: That’s a lie.
TAYLOR KIEL: I just try to stay like that.
Honestly, when you get feedback like that, it makes you feel comfortable that everything is in our control, which is all you can ask for when you’re leading the race.
At that point I would say, yeah, honestly a little bit. But you never know. You never know what he’s experiencing in the car, so… Felt under control. Looked under control. It was.
Q. Pato, over the last two, three months, do you feel like you’re in a better place as a person and driver than you were at the end of last season?
PATO O’WARD: Yeah, I feel great, man. I think what last year gave us as a group was kind of that year of fighting for a championship under our belt. We obviously didn’t come out on top, but we fought for it until the end of the season. And that’s huge.
We had the championship mindset all year, and I think it helps when you have it into your memory bank and going through the calendar, the year after that, and I think sometimes it helps you be patient. I think that’s the best way I can put it. I think you mental-ize and you realize what is needed to win a championship.
A lot of the times it just matures your patience levels, which ultimately pay off at the end of the race.
Q. I wanted to know how close you are to confirming your contract.
PATO O’WARD: I’d say it’s close. But honestly, you know, we’re into the season already, so I’m kind of — I don’t want to worry about it. I think things will shape up. There’s been very positive conversations. I think the vibe in the team is fantastic. I think that’s what we need going into the month of May. The rest I think will take care of itself.
I don’t have a date for you. I guess whenever it’s signed, you’ll probably see it in the media somewhere. Probably be one of the first ones to know actually.
Q. Taylor?
TAYLOR KIEL: Yeah, what Pato said. We’re in a good place.
Q. What’s the situation with Felix?
PATO O’WARD: All smiles and unicorns, man.
TAYLOR KIEL: Situation with Felix? Ultimately for us, I think we want to take our time with any driver decision. His situation, as I’ve talked about it quite a bit, for us, we want to get through a lot of the season, just kind of understand where we’re at. I want to take more of a sample size than what we’ve got.
We’ll make that decision when the time’s right and you guys will know.
Q. Where do you feel the balance between Chevy and Honda is at at the moment?
PATO O’WARD: Do you want to take it?
TAYLOR KIEL: I’ll speak.
I don’t know where Honda is at. All I know is that Chevy has put a tremendous amount of work into their package in the off-season. I can sit here and say they’ve given us everything that we’ve asked for. They’ve worked relentlessly to close any perceived gaps that they thought they had.
We certainly as a team have felt a huge shift in performance from year to year. I think we did a lot in the backcourt as a team to improve car performance. Chevy has done a fantastic job as well.
At this stage in the engine game, as far advanced as we are, for them to find the gains they have is remarkable. Kudo to everyone at Chevy, Pratt & Miller, Ilmor, all the work they’ve done.
PATO O’WARD: I’ll just add to that.
I think they’ve done a great job. They have really brought it to us this year. I think it’s great that they’ve been so open to our suggestions and to all the Chevy teams’ suggestions to making us go faster, to helping us in every way they can.
Yeah, I mean, it’s been fantastic. I think it’s a Chevy sweep for all the races so far. That’s awesome. Hopefully we can keep it rolling into the month of May.
Q. (Question about the road package.)
PATO O’WARD: Like Taylor said, we’re coming into the end of an aero package, the end of these engines, in this specific second. It’s so hard to make gains. The little gains you make make a big difference.
We identified our issues last year where we lacked and we’re getting better. We’re getting better. From my side, I think I’m doing the best job that I can in order for us to make those steps.
Whenever you make those steps, it just opens your strategy windows. When the races are so long, like here in INDYCAR, it’s all about your strategy. Ultimately it pays off to qualify up front. As we saw today, it was a lot about track position.
At the end of the day if you can just open up the decisions that the team can do at certain times in the race to make critical decisions for a pass for the lead or whatever it may be, those little bits and pieces make a big difference.
Q. Taylor?
TAYLOR KIEL: Yeah, not much else to add to that other than that last year I would say road courses were our biggest weakness. Based on today I would say they’re a strength of ours. That’s really just a testament of identifying what the priorities were in the off-season and tackling those and making sure that we don’t sit on deficiencies, making sure as a team we continue to improve and move forward. Proud of that.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, everyone.

ABOUT CHEVROLET
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 80 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.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Sunday, May 1, 2022) – With a clear mind and a fast car, Pato O’Ward returned to his winning ways Sunday by capturing the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by AmFirst at Barber Motorsports Park.

O’Ward, from Mexico, earned his first victory of the season in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, beating reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion and 2021 Barber winner Alex Palou to the checkered flag by .9800 of a second. NTT P1 Award winner Rinus VeeKay finished third in the No. 21 SONAX Chevrolet.

The third career win came after O’Ward admitted he was distracted by contract talks with Arrow McLaren SP at the first two races of the season, at St. Petersburg and Texas, where he finished 12th and 15th, respectively. O’Ward rebounded by placing fifth last month at Long Beach and returned this weekend to the form that helped him finish third in the 2021 championship standings.

“It sucks to be at war within your own team, right?” O’Ward said. “I’m glad there have been very positive talks for the future. I wanted to do it for these guys, for Arrow, for McLaren SP, Team Chevy. I was tired of being 10th and 11th and fifth, so I said, ‘Let’s get a win under our belts so we can claw our way back into the championship fight.”

O’Ward climbed from ninth to fifth in the standings with his first victory since winning Belle Isle-2 last June.

There was also movement at the top of the championship, as Palou took the lead with his third podium finish in four starts this season in the No. 10 The American Legion Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. The Spaniard leads Scott McLaughlin, 144-141, as just 10 points separate the top four drivers in the standings.

Two-time series champion Josef Newgarden, who led the points entering this race, dropped to third after finishing 14th in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet.

The race, which took place in dry, sunny conditions after morning thunderstorms, unfolded as a strategic duel between drivers who chose a three-stop strategy and those who opted for two stops. Newgarden, Colton Herta, Romain Grosjean and Marcus Ericsson were among the contenders who elected for three stops, hoping they could lean harder on their Firestone tires during shorter stints.

But that strategy unraveled when rookie Callum Ilott spun his No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet into the gravel trap adjacent to Turn 9 on Lap 32. That incident triggered the only full-course caution of the race and essentially returned the entire 26-car field to the same tire strategy.

Nearly every driver pitted either just before or after Ilott’s incident, with VeeKay leading O’Ward, McLaughlin, Palou and Alexander Rossi as the top five on the restart on Lap 35.

Dutch driver VeeKay built a lead of 2.0875 seconds over O’Ward by Lap 60. VeeKay, O’Ward and McLaughlin pulled into the pits for their final stops in lockstep on Lap 62, with VeeKay and O’Ward taking new primary Firestone tires, while McLaughlin opted for used primary tires on his No. 3 Sonsio Team Penske Chevrolet.

VeeKay won the race off pit lane, but O’Ward pounced on the out lap. He passed VeeKay with a brave outside move in the hairpin Turn 5 and never trailed thereafter.

“(Team president Taylor Kiel) told me we were fighting for the win,” O’Ward said. “We almost got him in the pit stops. I said, ‘Man, this is the chance.’ It was so tough to follow because it’s such a fast and flowing circuit. I knew if I had the opportunity, it would have been right then and there. I knew if we got into clean air, we could kind of control the thing. Once we did that, it was cruise to Victory Lane.”

Palou made his final pit stop on Lap 64, producing sizzling in and out laps and re-entering the racetrack behind O’Ward but ahead of VeeKay. Palou kept O’Ward on his toes until the checkered flag, pulling to within .8951 of a second on Lap 73 of the 90-lap race.

But O’Ward kept his cool, managed his tire wear and eased away for victory.

“He was running second at that time,” Palou said of O’Ward on the restart. “I think we’re running fourth and just that track difference, that’s what what got us. I think I did a mistake on a restart and the 27 (Rossi) got us there. So, I think that was all the difference.

“The No. 5 (O’Ward) was really fast today. But yeah, so we’re happy with the No. 10 American Legion Honda car was super-fast this weekend and another podium, so we were fighting until the end. We couldn’t make it today, but we’ll try to win at the next one.”

Up next for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES are two races at the hallowed ground of the sport, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The GMR Grand Prix is set for Saturday, May 14 on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile IMS road course, while the 106th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge will run Sunday, May 29 on the historic 2.5-mile oval. Both races will be televised live by NBC, with live coverage also from the INDYCAR Radio Network. Tickets for both races are available at IMS.com.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
GRAND PRIX OF ALABAMA
BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
TEAM CHEVY RACE WINNER QUOTE PATO O’WARD
MAY 1, 2022

PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARR OW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, captured the third win of his young NTT INDYCAR Series by taking his No. 5 Chevrolet to Victory Lane at Barber Motorsports Park.

His first two victories were in 2021 at Texas Motor Speedway and the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.

The win kept Chevrolet in INDYCAR perfect thus far in the 2022 season.
Chevrolet now sits at 99 victories out of 169 races since returning to the American open wheel series in 2012.O O’

PAT O’WARD QUOTE:
WHAT A SMOOTH WEEKEND FOR THE 5 BUNCH. NICE TO SEE YOU IN VICTORY LANE PATO! WIN NUMBER THREE, BUT I HAVE TO ASK YOU ABOUT HOW AGGRESSIVE YOU HAD TO PLAY THAT PASS ON VEEKAY TO GET THE LEAD. AT THE MOMENT DID YOU KNOW THAT MAYBE THAT WAS THE PASS FOR THE WIN?
“Yeah, Taylor told me we are fighting for the win. We almost got them in the pit stops, so I said no this is your chance man. It’s so tough to follow just because it’s such a fast and flowing circuit. I knew if I would have the opportunity, it would have been right then and there. I got on my button and got around him into (Turn) five and then I knew if he would get into clean air, we can kind of control the thing. Once we did that it was a cruise to victory lane.”

THERE WAS A LOT OF TURMOIL AROUND THIS TEAM JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO. YOU CAME INTO LONG BEACH SAYING I’M PUTTING IT ALL BEHIND ME. HOW MUCH DID THAT MENTAL SHIFT HELP YOU BEHIND THE WHEEL?
“Man, it sucks to be at war within your own team. I’m glad there’s been very positive talks for the future and man I wanted to do it for these guys. I wanted to do it for Arrow McLaren SP, Team Chevy. They’ve swept this year so far, so I think it’s great for them. Yeah, man I was just tired of being 10th and 11th and fifth. I said let’s get a win under our belt so we can claw our way back to this championship fight.”

ABOUT CHEVROLET
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 80 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.

Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by AmFirst Race Results

1. (2) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 90, Running
2. (3) Alex Palou, Honda, 90, Running
3. (1) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 90, Running
4. (19) Will Power, Chevrolet, 90, Running
5. (13) Scott Dixon, Honda, 90, Running
6. (4) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 90, Running
7. (8) Romain Grosjean, Honda, 90, Running
8. (9) Graham Rahal, Honda, 90, Running
9. (5) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 90, Running
10. (10) Colton Herta, Honda, 90, Running
11. (24) Simon Pagenaud, Honda, 90, Running
12. (12) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 90, Running
13. (17) Takuma Sato, Honda, 90, Running
14. (7) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 90, Running
15. (14) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 90, Running
16. (6) Felix Rosenqvist, Chevrolet, 90, Running
17. (20) Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda, 90, Running
18. (15) Jack Harvey, Honda, 90, Running
19. (22) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 90, Running
20. (18) David Malukas, Honda, 90, Running
21. (16) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 90, Running
22. (21) Kyle Kirkwood, Chevrolet, 89, Running
23. (23) Dalton Kellett, Chevrolet, 89, Running
24. (26) Jimmie Johnson, Honda, 89, Running
25. (11) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 88, Running
26. (25) Tatiana Calderon, Chevrolet, 88, Running

Race Statistics
Winner’s average speed: 114.304 mph
Time of Race: 1:48:39.4368
Margin of victory: 0.9800 of a second
Cautions: 1 for 3 laps
Lead changes: 5 among 4 drivers

Lap Leaders:
VeeKay 1-29
Palou 30
Newgarden 31-32
VeeKay 33-60
Palou 61-63
O’Ward 64-90

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Point Standings:
Palou 144, McLaughlin 141, Newgarden 135, Power 134, O’Ward 114, Dixon 113, VeeKay 106, Grosjean 101, Ericsson 84, Rahal 84, Herta 79, Pagenaud 69, Rossi 62, Sato 61, Lundgaard 57, Rosenqvist 56, Castroneves 55, Johnson 51, Daly 50, Kirkwood 46, Harvey 44, Malukas 44, Ilott 37, DeFrancesco 33, Kellett 30, Calderon 25, Ferrucci 22, Carpenter 18, Hildebrand 17

RINUS VEEKAY PUTS CHEVROLET ON POLE IN ALABAMA
PATO O’WARD QUALIFIES SECOND TO MAKE ALL-CHEVY POWER FRONT ROW

BIRMINGHAM – After setting the fastest lap through the first two practice sessions, Rinus VeeKay backed up that effort with the fastest time of the 26-car field to win the NTT INDYCAR Series P1 award.

VeeKay’s No. 21 Sonax Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet-powered team made all the right choices for Qualifying Session One (Q1).

The young driver from the Netherlands transferred to Qualifying Session Two – trimmed to the 12-fastest cars (Fast 12) – and again, with the right decisions from his team, he moved to Qualifying Session Three – The Firestone Fast Six, and waited until the last lap of of the session as the clock ran out to lay down a pole-winning run of one-minute 6.2507 seconds on the heals of a drive-through penalty for pit lane violation.

This is the second NTT P1 Award of VeeKay’s career and the third for Chevrolet in the 2022 NTT INDYCAR Series season.

Chevrolet has won the pole at Barber Motorsports Park nine of the 10 races since returning to INDYCAR competition in 2012 with the 2.2 liter twin turbo charges direct injected V6 purpose-built engine.

Last season’s pole sitter, Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, qualified second to give Team Chevy the front row for the start of the Honda Grand Prix of Alabama.

Giving Chevrolet four of the top-six starters in tomorrow’s 90-lap race on the 2.3-mile, 17-turn circuit just outside Birmingham, Alabama, are Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Sonsio Team Penske Chevrolet, qualified fourth and Felix Rosenqvist, No. 7 VUSE Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, qualifying for the sixth starting position.

Three-time Barber Motorsport Part winner, Josef Newgarden, No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet, qualified seventh to give Bowtie Brand five of top-seven qualifiers.

Chevrolet and the NTT INDYCAR Series continue with round four of the 2022 season at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 1 from Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala. The race will air live on NBC, the Peacock streaming service and SiriusXM IndyCar Nation (Channel 160). Live timing and scoring will be available at racecontrol.indycar.com.

DRIVER QUOTES
RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 SONAX ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET, POLE WINNER:
“Very good qualifying! We put the SONAX Chevrolet on pole, the Ed Carpenter Racing team did a great job. “We had potential and we knew we were in a good position, but to actually put it on pole was an accomplishment. I think the whole team maximized everything. We made the right decisions with tires, setup, everything. Confidence is high. I think from here we can have a great race and fight for the win, definitely.”

PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 2ND:
“It was a solid day for Arrow McLaren SP. We had a strong qualifying and we can do a lot from there. We are starting second tomorrow and the car has felt good and comfortable. We will have to see what the best strategy is going to be in the race; I think the weather is going to have a lot to say about that. We are looking forward to having a good race tomorrow.”

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 SONSIO TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 4TH:

FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 7 VUSE ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED SIXTH:
“Another good qualifying and Firestone Fast Six appearance for the No. 7 Vuse Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet. We have been on a roll in qualifying. Obviously you want to be better than sixth when you make the Fast Six but we will definitely take that position after what started as a tricky weekend. We got a pretty good read on both tires during the final practice so now we just need to execute tomorrow.”

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 PPG TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED SEVENTH:

CALLUM ILOTT, NO. 77 JUNCOS HOLLINGER RACING, QUALIFIED 11TH:
“Good result for us. P11 our first Fast 12. Good result but I think there was a little more in there. However, we got caught out by the red flag. P11 Amazing feeling. I think all the Juncos Hollinger guys are happy. Chevy is happy. We have a little bit of work to do overnight to see if we can make the car a little faster for the race. Excited to have Racing for Children on the car. Amazing organization and it really awesome to have all the kids have their hand prints on the car.”

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON 5G TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 19TH:

KYLE KIRKWOOD, NO. 14 ROKIT AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 21ST:
“We didn’t have the best of qualifying, we finished 11th in our group. Not sure what the issue was. Honestly the [car’s] balance felt pretty good, we’re just lacking speed there towards the end on red tires. I think our race pace is good. We’re going to find out here in warmup but tomorrow might rain so that could throw a curveball at everyone and that could potentially help us so we’ll see what happens.”

CONOR DALY, NO. 20 BITNILE ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 22ND:
“We had sectors quick enough to transfer to the next group, but we ran into a lot of dirt because of another car that went off in front of us. Then there was a red flag, so we couldn’t get in any more laps. We had a great car, fast enough, obviously, since our teammate is on pole which is wonderful. I’m still excited for tomorrow, we know we are fast, we just got a bit unlucky today.”

DALTON KELLETT, NO. 4 K-LINE AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 23RD:
“Not the qualifying session we were looking for. It was the whole Foyt team really, we seemed to struggle out there. The car felt alright but the pace wasn’t there so that’s something to look at between the three cars and see what we can come up with for warmup. We’ll test a couple things for the race tomorrow. It probably looks like a two-stop race so we’ll be working on fuel mileage stuff and see what we can come up with from a setup standpoint.”

TATIANA CALDERON, NO. 11 ROKIT AJ FOYT RACING, QUALIFIED 25TH:
“I think we’ve been making steps forward. I’m more comfortable with the balance of the car. We still need to find a little bit more grip, particularly with the red tires so that’s something to work on towards the free practice three [final warmup] to prepare for the race. I think we’re making steps forward and that’s the most important thing. We’ll see what the weather does tomorrow. It should be an interesting race.”

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Friday, April 29, 2022) – Andretti Autosport was on the pace Friday at Barber Motorsports Park as Colton Herta led opening practice for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by AmFirst with a best lap of 1 minute, 6.5149 seconds in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda.

Defending race winner and reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou followed closely behind in second at 1:06.5657 in the No. 10 The American Legion Honda, just .05 of a second behind Herta’s quick lap.

“I was really happy with how the car was,” Herta said. “We were one of the lucky ones that got to test here (recently), so we did a lot of stuff on that day to help us prepare for this weekend, and it showed. We came in here and rolled off the truck, and the car was really nice right away.”

Herta’s Andretti Autosport teammates followed closely behind as Alexander Rossi placed his No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS/AutoNation Honda third at 1:06.6657 and Romain Grosjean put the No. 28 Enevate/DHL Honda fourth with a best lap of 1:06.7046.

The Andretti Autosport trio’s rookie teammate also proved strong on the 17-turn, 2.3-mile road course. Devlin DeFrancesco spent time fastest in the practice session before ending the session in a solid 14th at 1:07.3817 in the No. 29 PowerTap Honda.

Scott McLaughlin, who won the season opener at St. Petersburg, rounded out the top five as the fastest Chevrolet driver in the No. 3 Sonsio Team Penske Chevrolet with a best lap of 1:06.8705. Callum Ilott was the fastest rookie of the day, putting down a best lap of 1:07.0861 in the No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet early in the session, good for eighth overall.

Less than a second separated the top 17 drivers in the 26-competitor field.

Missing from the top half of the practice sheets were former Barber Motorsports Park winners Josef Newgarden (2015, ’17, ’18), Simon Pagenaud (2016) and Takuma Sato (2019). Newgarden was 18th quickest at 1:07.5505 in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet, while Pagenaud was 21st at 1:07.6916 in the No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda and Sato was 22nd at 1:07.7473 in the No. 51 Nurtec ODT Honda.

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES is back in action Saturday with practice at 10 a.m. (ET), followed by NTT P1 Award qualifying at 1 p.m. and final practice at 5:20 p.m. All sessions will be live on Peacock Premium and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Friday, April 29, 2022) – Danial Frost started the Indy Lights Grand Prix of Alabama race weekend hot by pacing Friday’s sole Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires practice session.

Frost turned a best lap of 1 minute, 12.6511 seconds in the No. 68 HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing car around Barber Motorsports Park after being the first driver to dip below the 1:13 mark.

Frost, from Singapore, showed his strength throughout practice, besting his top lap of the session multiple times in the 45-minute practice around the 17-turn, 2.3-mile road course.

“We’re just kind of getting in the rhythm of things and starting off the weekend pretty well,” Frost said. “It’s always about momentum, so we’ve got a good start. I think it’s going to be pretty good for the rest of the weekend right now.”

Last year’s Indy Pro 2000 champion Christian Rasmussen was second fastest in the No. 28 Road to Indy/Stellrecht car at 1:12.6684, with 2021 Barber-1 winner Linus Lundqvist third at 1:12.8248 in the No. 26 HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing car and Benjamin Pedersen fourth at 1:12.8544 in the No. 24 Global Racing Group with HMD car.

Hunter McElrea rounded out the top five at 1:13.0577 in the No. 27 Andretti Autosport car.

So far this weekend in Birmingham, Alabama, the Indy Lights field appears to be incredibly close on the time sheet. The top 10 drivers are separated by less than a second, as Jacob Abel produced the 10th-best time at 1:13.4244 in the No. 51 Abel Speedwagon, just .7733 of a second behind Frost’s quick time.

“Now we have to keep digging in and looking for more time, because these guys are going to be doing the exact same thing,” Frost said. “Fourteen cars behind me looking for the same spot as I am. I have to do the actual work and now look for where I can find a little bit more.”

Abel was at the center of the most noteworthy incident to come out of practice. As time was running out in the session, he exited Turn 4 side-by-side with Kyffin Simpson in the No. 21 TJ Speed Motorsports car. Abel dipped his right-side tires off track and did a 360-degree spin, but he sustained no damage to the car and continued.

Indy Lights will be back in action Saturday for practice at noon (ET), followed by qualifying at 3:35 p.m. The INDYCAR Live! streaming platform and the INDYCAR Radio Network will provide live coverage of both sessions.

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.

Agreement Includes INDYCAR Primary Sponsorship, Race Entitlement, IMS Branding

INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, April 29, 2022) – Gallagher, a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting services firm, today announced a new, multiyear partnership with Penske Entertainment, which will span across various assets within the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and branding within the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The partnership includes entitlement sponsorship of the Gallagher Grand Prix NTT INDYCAR SERIES event on Saturday, July 30, part of the historic Brickyard tripleheader road racing weekend on NBC that includes races for the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series. In addition, Gallagher will sponsor a Team Penske entry at two upcoming NTT INDYCAR SERIES events.

“It is exciting that a global brand like Gallagher recognizes the opportunities to grow as a partner with the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Team Penske, aligning with our goals and our vision,” said Roger Penske. “We know that Gallagher shares many of the core values that are important across our Penske Entertainment and Team Penske motorsports properties. Gallagher plans to take full advantage of our partnership to not only showcase their brand, but provide a special, one-of-a-kind experience through motorsports.”

Gallagher also will become the branded partner of the all-new Gallagher Pavilion in Pagoda Plaza at IMS, which hosts countless hospitality events throughout the year, including during the action-packed Month of May. Gallagher also will have additional signage at the track during the Indianapolis 500 and other IMS race events.

“In partnering with Penske Entertainment and Team Penske, we are able to do what we do best – provide solutions that every business needs – insurance, risk management and consulting – while also having an exciting opportunity to forge new relationships with an outstanding brand,” said Christopher Mead, Gallagher chief marketing officer. “We are thrilled to be aligning with a partner who reflects The Gallagher Way values of ethics and community service and who can provide unique experiences for our clients, prospects, employees and partners.”

The partnership also includes primary partnership by Gallagher on the Team Penske No. 3 Gallagher Chevrolet driven by NTT INDYCAR SERIES Rookie of the Year and 2022 race winner Scott McLaughlin for two events – the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear on June 5 and the Gallagher Grand Prix.

Gallagher is one of the world’s largest insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting firms. As a community insurance broker and trusted local consultant, Gallagher helps people and businesses move forward with confidence. With more than 39,000 people working around the globe, the company is connected to the places where it does business and to every community it calls home. Managing risk with customized solutions and a full spectrum of services, helping customers foster a thriving workforce and always holding itself to the highest standards of ethics to help customers face every challenge—that’s The Gallagher Way.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
GRAND PRIX OF ALABAMA
BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
APRIL 27, 2022

Better at Barber: Chevrolet Riding Strong History to Alabama GP
Team Chevy on rare run to open 2022 racing season

DETROIT (April 27, 2022) – Chevrolet is hoping to add to a stellar start to the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES this weekend when its teams head to scenic Barber Motorsports Park for the Grand Prix of Alabama. Team Chevy is on a three-race win streak to open the season and heads to a venue where it has enjoyed incredible success during the past decade.

It has been 10 years since Chevrolet opened an INDYCAR season with four consecutive victories to signal its return to North American open-wheel racing. The 2017 season was the last time the Bowtie Brand won four races in row when it won five times late the season.

The odds appear to be in Team Chevy’s favor this weekend. A Chevrolet driver has won six times with the 2.2-liter, twin-turbo V6 engine at the 2.3-mile, 17-turn circuit just outside Birmingham including four straight from 2015-18.

“It’s a gratifying feeling to be able to celebrate with our Chevrolet engineers, drivers and teams at the end of every race win,” said Rob Buckner, Chevrolet Program Manager for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. “To do so three times to start this season is extra special. I wouldn’t say we are completely surprised because we expect to win every race. But we also recognize the high level of competition in INDYCAR at the moment. Our engineers will continue to work hard to find improvements with our teams to keep Chevrolet at the front each weekend.

“As to Barber itself, the track presents a number of challenges. It’s the first natural-terrain road course of the year. That means lots of elevation change and punishing runoff areas that always get the attention of drivers. Consistent power application and fuel management across the hills and around all 17 corners will be key. There’s nothing more we’d like than to go into the month of May and Indianapolis with another victory.”

Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden is the hottest driver in INDYCAR with the points lead and consecutive victories at Texas and Long Beach. Now he heads to a Barber Motorsports Park where he has won three times – the most of any driver in the series. A win there by the No. 2 Team Penske Hitachi Chevrolet would net Newgarden the PeopleReady Force for Good Challenge, which rewards the first driver to win on an oval, street circuit and road course in the same season.

That driver will share $500,000 with his or her team and donate $500,000 to that driver and team’s chosen charity.

Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin won the season’s opening street race at St. Petersburg and sits second in points. With two pole positions in three races, Chevrolet also leads the Engine Manufacturer Championship.

In addition to Team Penske, Ed Carpenter Racing has found its share of success at Barber. It won with Newgarden in 2015 and has two additional top-10 finishes at Barber.

Chevrolet and the NTT INDYCAR Series continue the 2022 season at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 1 from Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala. The race will air live on NBC, the Peacock streaming service and SiriusXM IndyCar Nation (Channel 160). Live timing and scoring will be available at racecontrol.indycar.com.

TEAM CHEVY QUOTES
JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 PPG CHEVROLET, TEAM PENSKE: “I love Barber and how close it is to Nashville. Before the Music City Grand Prix, it was kind of my home race to some degree. I love the high-speed nature of Barber. It’s a lot of high-speed commitment from a lot of the corners which makes it a lot of fun to drive. It suits my style, for sure. It’s all about flow and carrying big speed and putting the car on the edge. That’s what I like most about it.”
“It’ll be fascinating to see how we go on a permanent road course. I think we’ve proven we can have a good street-course car and a good oval car, but we need to have a good road-course car to complete the set. So I’m really looking forward to it.”

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 SONSIO CHEVROLET, TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET: “Excited to head back to Barber. I think for me it was my first race last year in INDYCAR and it was just trying to take it all in at that point. Now after having a year and a few more races under my belt
I am excited to head back to a track I actually originally enjoyed. I love the track. I think it is a roller coaster. It reminds me a lot of the bravery and commitment you need on some of the big tracks in Australia. I think with the experience I’ve gained in the last 18 months, I feel really strong and excited to head back to a track. It really kicks off our road course campaign. It’s the first road course we’ve had this year. I’m excited to see how the car feels like. What the changes we have made in the off-season feels like. It’s been good on the street circuits and ovals. This will be our first road course test and I think we can be right at the front and put Team Chevy in Victory Lane.”

DALTON KELLETT, NO. 4 K-LINE INSULATORS CHEVROLET, AJ FOYT RACING: “Can’t wait to get on track at Barber. Barber’s always been one of the cool tracks on the
circuit–it’s a well-maintained, well-put-together circuit. It’s a fun track to drive and challenging physically. It can be hard to pass so we’ll have to be working on that. Obviously qualifying is going to be super important so we’ll be keeping that theme of focusing really aggressively on qualifying through the practice and getting ready for those qualifying runs to get a good start for the race. Looks like ticket sales are going great so looking forward to a busy weekend with all the INDYCAR fans there. The No. 4 K-Line Insulator crew will be ready.”

PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, ARROW McLAREN RACING SP:
“I love Barber. It’s one of my favorite racetracks because it’s a very high commitment track. I’ve always said it’s one of the most beautiful and well taken care of facilities I’ve ever been too. It’s always a great turnout; I also heard it’s going to be a sold-out event on Sunday so I’m sure it’s going to be a great event for everyone to watch and for us to entertain. Looking forward to continuing on the momentum we have built and getting some great points for our championship.”

FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 7 VUSE ARROW McLAREN SP CHEVROLET, ARROW McLAREN RACING SP: “It’s good to be going back to a proper road course, Barber, it’s the first one this year. It’s a great track; it’s a cool, physical, and mental challenge. It’s always a great joy to drive that track. I think as a team both Pato and I, and everyone working on the cars, are ready to have a solid result. We are looking forward to getting some good points to get the season going.”

TATIANA CALDERON, NO. 11 ROKIT CHEVROLET, AJ FOYT RACING: “I’m really looking forward to Barber. Although I have been there in Star Mazda, I have to say I had to watch a lot of onboards to remember the whole track, so it will be a new track to learn for me. The only thing I remember from Barber was that I had my first podium in Star Mazda there. It’s our first permanent track of the year so I’m excited to be able to explore the limit of the car a bit more freely than in the first two rounds– it’s always tough to do that on a street circuit.

“I have spent the last couple of weeks training hard in Florida (good for heat training), as according to some of the drivers and engineers, Barber is one of the toughest tracks physically. I have done a bit more strength work ahead of this weekend and the different format of having only the race on Sunday (and no warmup) may help for that. I expect a big challenge regardless and for sure trying to catch up as quick as possible as most of the drivers or rookies have tested in Barber recently. My goal is still the same to start off where we left in Long Beach and keep improving every session.”

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON 5G CHEVROLET, TEAM PENSKE: “Barber will be interesting. People have tested there, so it could a tough race for us. I finished second there last year so hopefully we can build on the setup a little bit and be pretty good when we get there.”

KYLE KIRKWOOD, NO. 14 ROKIT CHEVROLET, AJ FOYT RACING: “Looking forward to Barber, it’s an awesome race,” Kirkwood said. “I heard it’s sold out and we’re looking forward to getting back on a permanent road course. It’s a track I’m familiar with and a track that the team’s familiar with, and they’ve had pretty good races there in the past so hopefully that momentum continues and we’ll have a good weekend.”

CONOR DALY, NO. 20 BITNILE CHEVROLET, ED CARPENTER RACING: “Barber is a place where we have been able to test. It’s very fresh in our minds and is a very well-manicured circuit. It’s very different from our street races, obviously. But it also is one of the most physically demanding circuits on the schedule because it has very high G-loads and high levels of grip. It’s an enjoyable circuit to drive. It’s a tougher race circuit until the tires start to wear out and that creates some overtaking. The straights aren’t super-long but it’s a fun track. It’s a little narrow but it doesn’t seem as narrow as a place like Road America, for example.”

RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 SONAX CHEVROLET, ED CARPENTER RACING: “Before Long Beach, we had a great test at Barber Motorsports Park and it made me even more excited to get back there! We have a fast car that can challenge for a Top 5. Ed Carpenter Racing has a strong history at Barber, which is also very good. I really like the track and it’s pretty beautiful in the spring. I might also get a haircut at Barber because it makes sense.”

CALLUM ILOTT, NO. 77 JUNCOS HOLLINGER CHEVROLET, JUNCOS HOLLINGER RACING: “After testing the oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last week, we are looking forward to our first road course race of the season at Barber. Luckily I got the chance to test at Barber and iron out any little issues we may have had so hopefully we can hit the ground running at Barber. It’s a fun track. It will be difficult to overtake in the race, but hopefully we can get a better qualifying run and move up a few places. Otherwise the weather looks a bit questionable so that could make it a bit interesting, but we will have to see. It would be nice to see what this car is like in the wet.”

BY THE NUMBERS: CHEVROLET IN INDYCAR
· 1: Chevrolet’s position in the INDYCAR Engine Manufacturer standings after three races
· 3: Career Barber wins for Josef Newgarden. All have been in Chevrolet-powered entries
· 3: Consecutive victories by Chevrolet to open the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES. Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin won the pole and race at St. Petersburg. Penske teammate Josef Newgarden won at Texas and Long Beach.
· 6: Wins for Chevrolet INDYCAR teams at Barber Motorsports Park
· 6: Different Chevrolet drivers to win races dating back to the start of 2020. Scott McLaughlin was the most recent at St. Petersburg
· 6: Number of Manufacturer Championships in the NTT INDYCAR Series since 2012
· 6: Number of Team Chevy Driver/Entrant championships since 2012
· 9: Wins from pole by Will Power with Chevrolet power since 2012, most by any driver
· 13: Consecutive seasons with at least one win by Will Power, including past 10 with Chevrolet
· 25: Wins by Will Power since 2012. All have come with Chevrolet, giving him the most of any driver with same manufacturer
· 39: Pole starts by Will Power since 2012 in a Chevrolet-powered car, most of any driver
· 98: Chevrolet victories in NTT INDYCAR SERIES since 2012
· 109: Earned poles by Chevrolet since 2012
· 168: NTT INDYCAR SERIES races as V6 engine supplier since 2012 return to INDYCAR

ABOUT CHEVROLET
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 80 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.