Category: NTT Indy

INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, Aug. 13, 2021) – Pato O’Ward is looking to add fuel to his NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship challenge after winning the NTT P1 Award for the Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix on Friday on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

O’Ward earned his series-leading third pole of the season in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet with a best lap of 1 minute, 10.7147 seconds. He is third in the series standings, 48 points behind leader Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing, with two victories this season. But his best finish in his last three starts is eighth, on July 4 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

“I wanted to make sure this was the turning point,” O’Ward said. “We’ve had a very tough last three races, and we’re ready to get back to Victory Lane. This is the first step toward that, and tomorrow we have a job to finish.

“It’s still five races to go. A lot can happen. But this is definitely on the right track.”

O’Ward’s pole capped a tight, tense Firestone Fast 12 final segment that ended with the top five drivers all in the 1:10.7 range. Will Power will join O’Ward on the front row for the 85-lap race Saturday (12:30 p.m. ET, live on NBCSN and the INDYCAR Radio Network) after his top lap of 1:10.7214 in the No. 12 Verizon 5G Chevrolet.

Rookies Romain Grosjean and Christian Lundgaard will start from the second row. Grosjean was third at 1:10.7418 in the No. 51 Nurtec ODT Honda, while FIA Formula 2 Championship driver Lundgaard qualified fourth for his first career INDYCAR start at 1:10.7433 in the No. 45 Mi-Jack Honda.

Colton Herta was the final driver in the 1:10.7 range, qualifying fifth at 1:10.7631 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda.

Palou will try to defend his championship lead from the sixth starting position after a best qualifying lap of 1:10.8290 in the No. 10 NTT DATA Honda. He led the opening practice Friday afternoon on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course that incorporates part of the famous IMS oval.

Six-time and reigning series championship Scott Dixon faces a tough climb toward the top of the field Saturday, as he will start a season-low 26th in the No. 9 PNC Bank Grow Up Great Honda after spinning on his final lap of the first segment of qualifying. Dixon spun exiting Turn 10 and lost his quickest lap of the session for causing a local yellow that affected another competitor.

“It’s definitely going to make for an interesting race tomorrow,” Dixon said. “Definitely a tough day. We’ll see how it plays out.”

Dixon is second in the series standings, 42 points behind Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Palou.

Among the other championship contenders, Marcus Ericsson will start 11th after a best lap of 1:11.0342 in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Honda. Ericsson is fifth in the standings, 79 points behind Palou.

Two-time series champion Josef Newgarden will start 20th. He qualified 14th at 1:11.3623 in the No. 2 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet after failing to reach the Firestone Fast 12 final segment, but he will move back in the starting lineup after incurring a six-position grid penalty for an unapproved engine change after the race last Sunday in Nashville, Tennessee. Newgarden is fourth in the standings, 75 points behind Palou.

Track activity resumes at 8:45 a.m. Saturday with a 30-minute warmup, streamed live on Peacock Premium.

Harvey Qualifies Seventh, Castroneves 23rd

Indianapolis, Ind. (13 August 2021) – Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) came back to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the third time this year, but this time for the Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix.

In qualifying for Saturday’s 80-lap event, Jack Harvey placed the No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda on the fourth row in seventh while Helio Castroneves qualified the No. 06 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda 23rd on Friday.

It was a welcome return for both Meyer Shank Racing drivers who have triumphed at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the recent past. Castroneves most recently collected his fourth Indianapolis 500 victory in May with MSR and Harvey captured his first-ever INDYCAR podium at the IMS road course in 2019.

That momentum carried into the Big Machine Spiked Coolers weekend as both Harvey and Castroneves got off to a fast start during practice on Friday. Finding pace on both primary and alternate tires ahead of Friday evening qualifying, Harvey and Castroneves were in a strong position for the 80-lap event finishing practice fourth and 16th respectively.

Both qualifying in Group 1, Harvey and Castroneves began their charge to the top with a new-style, two-group qualifying format. Harvey was strong out of the gate and placed the No. 60 Honda P2 in Group 1 and moved onto the second qualifying session to fight for pole.

Making only his third race start of the season with MSR, Castroneves was unable to lock down a sufficient time to move him into the next group as the Brazilian closed out qualifying P23 with a fast time of 1:11.731-seconds.

The final session of qualifying saw Harvey start out strong and challenge for pole, but ultimately he finished the session seventh after posting a time of 1:10.887-second lap. Out of five starts at the IMS road course, Harvey has never qualified outside of the top ten and has a trio of top three starts.

The Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix is set for Saturday at 12:30pm ET on NBCSN. SiriusXM will also provide live race coverage on Ch. 205.

Meyer Shank Racing Driver Quotes:

Jack Harvey, No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda: “I would have hoped for a little bit more there in the Firestone Fast 12. I don’t super love this qualifying format – I think I prefer the three-stage knockout. Ultimately, we just missed it by a tiny bit and when it’s so close like that session was, a little bit can compound. I’m a little disappointed with where we finished but probably good to be disappointed when you’re P7. We’ll try and have a good race tomorrow, our black-tire pace was strong which will be good for the race. The team and I are looking forward to going for a win tomorrow.”

Helio Castroneves, No. 06 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda: “We know that we have been progressing and this morning we thought we had a much better pace than that. In fact, my lap was much better than this. When you’re going through this process [running select races], you’re going to have some inconsistencies, some ups and downs, so at least we went for it. We didn’t want to try and put another set of tires on or things like that but, obviously, not the result that even I was expecting.”

Indianapolis, Ind. (13 August 2021) – Upon his return to Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) following his fourth Indianapolis 500 victory for the INDYCAR Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix, Helio Castroneves was named an inductee into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA).

Castroneves is one of eight other inductees into the class of 2022 announced on Friday with appearances from MSHFA President George Levy and IMS president Doug Boles.

“Many of the members of the Motorsports Hall of Fame are people that I grew up idolizing and to now be invited to join this group, I just can’t believe it,” Castroneves said. “I’m so honored to have the opportunity to be inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame and I feel so lucky to be included with these legends.”

The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America is the only hall that honors the entire sport and as such is the most exclusive. Each of the MSHFA’s inductees is elected by a straight vote of 200 experts — half of them historians and other experts, half of them inductees themselves. Regular voters have included Hall of Famers Mario Andretti, Richard Petty, Tom D’Eath, Shirley Muldowney, Chip Ganassi, Don Garlits, Parnelli Jones, Scott Parker, Chip Hanauer, Don Prudhomme and other titans of the sport.

“This was Helio’s first year on the ballot, which means he’s one of very few first-year inductees,” said MSHFA President, Levy. “The voting was completed well before the Indianapolis 500, so the voters clearly felt he belonged even before his record-tying fourth win. When someone like Helio is inducted — the first time they appear on a ballot — it’s because people like Parnelli Jones, Chip Ganassi, Mario Andretti, Don Garlits, Richard Petty and more decide he belongs on motorsports’ firmament.”

The official black tie induction ceremony will take place in Daytona Beach on March, 2022. The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America and Museum is located on the grounds of Daytona International Speedway, just outside of NASCAR Turn 4 leading into the 2.5-mile circuit’s Tri-Oval.

INDIANAPOLIS (Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021) – The largest NTT INDYCAR SERIES field in a decade – for a race other than the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge – will assemble this weekend, appropriately at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix, the 12th race of the INDYCAR season and the first paired with NASCAR’s top two divisions exclusively on the Speedway’s road course, will feature 28 car-and-driver combinations, the most outside of the Indy 500 since 2011. Heading the list of competitors is Helio Castroneves, who became the fourth driver in history to win the “500” for a fourth time during the most recent race at IMS.

The large field reflects the growing interest in the series, which last week staged its inaugural race on the streets of Nashville, Tennessee. NBCSN had the largest television audience for an INDYCAR race on cable in 23 years, with more than 1.2 M viewers.

The race here on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile circuit features six former INDYCAR champions, seven Indianapolis 500 winners, 17 drivers who have won INDYCAR races, and a season-high six rookie drivers.

One of those rookies is RC Enerson, who will hope to give Top Gun Racing its first series start with the No. 75 Chevrolet. Formula 2 race winner Christian Lundgaard will make his series debut in the No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan. Cody Ware is back for his third INDYCAR race in the No. 52 Nurtec ODT Honda of Dale Coyne Racing with RWR.

And, of course, there’s Jimmie Johnson, the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion in his first season with Chip Ganassi Racing. With stock car racing in town for the IMS tripleheader, more eyes than ever will be fixed on the No. 48 Carvana Honda.

Unlike the inaugural Big Machine Music City Grand Prix, won by Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Ericsson, most of the INDYCAR drivers are familiar with this circuit as it will be the 11th race held on it since 2014. Saturday’s 85-lap race will be the fifth held on the IMS road course in the past 14 months. Rinus VeeKay of Ed Carpenter Racing earned his first career NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory in the most recent race, the GMR Grand Prix on May 15.

INDYCAR practice begins at 3 p.m. (ET) Friday, with live coverage of the hour-long session on Peacock Premium, NBC Sports’ streaming service. Qualifying is set for 7 p.m. Friday, live on NBCSN.

The Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix will air on NBCSN at 12:30 p.m. (ET) Saturday.

Here is a look at things to come this weekend:

A Circuit of Champions

Nine of the previous 10 races held on this circuit have been won by drivers who had either won an INDYCAR championship or soon would. Those include four wins by Will Power (No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet), three by Simon Pagenaud (No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet) and one each by Scott Dixon (No. 9 PNC Bank Grow Up Great Honda of Chip Ganassi Racing) and Josef Newgarden (No. 2 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet). VeeKay, who will drive the No. 21 Sonax/Autogeek Chevrolet, is the lone non-champion to have won one of the non-oval events.

Power has easily been the circuit’s most dominant driver, capturing five poles and leading 285 laps. In all, 28 drivers have led laps in these INDYCAR races, with Pagenaud and Dixon tied for the second-most laps led with 68 each. Newgarden has led 59 laps, VeeKay 48, Castroneves 46, rookie Romain Grosjean (No. 51 Nurtec ODT Honda of Dale Coyne Racing with RWR) 44 and Graham Rahal (No. 15 One Cure Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) 41.

The Most Recent Race

To preview a sporting event, it’s helpful to review the most recent outing at the same venue, which leads to examining the GMR Grand Prix in May.

Grosjean won the NTT P1 Award and led the first 24 laps. The INDYCAR rookie might have won for the first time in the series – he led a race-high 44 laps – if not for the second-half surge of VeeKay.

VeeKay grabbed his first lead on Lap 48 and led 33 of the final 38 laps to score a 4.951-second victory. Grosjean was second, followed by Alex Palou (No. 10 NTT DATA Honda of Chip Ganassi Racing).

Newgarden finished fourth, with Rahal fifth. Like the Team Penske drivers and Dixon, Rahal has been historically good on this road course, posting top-10 finishes in each of the past nine races, with a pair of second-place finishes and six races led. His average finish is 7.2, and that includes an incident in the 2014 race that forced him to finish 21st.

The Championship Pursuit

The 1-2 finish in Nashville by teammates Ericsson (No. 8 Huski Chocolate Honda) and Dixon increased the chances of one of Chip Ganassi’s drivers securing the organization’s 14th INDYCAR championship. With five races to go, Palou leads the standings with Dixon second and Ericsson fifth.

Palou finished seventh last weekend, but he only lost ground to his teammates. Palou still has the equivalent of nearly a full-race lead on Dixon – the advantage is 42 points – with Pato O’Ward’s 13th-place finish dropping him to third, 48 points out of the lead. Newgarden is fourth, but his 10th-place finish pushed him to 75 points in arrears of Palou. Ericsson is likely the only other driver who can overtake Palou; their separation is 79 points.

Dixon is the only driver among the top three to have won at any of the remaining five venues. In addition to the IMS road course, six-time series champion Dixon won last year at World Wide Technology Raceway, and he won the 2015 street race in Long Beach, California. Newgarden has won twice at Gateway (2017, 2020) and once on the IMS road course (2020).

None of the leading title contenders has won at Portland International Raceway or WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Palou hasn’t even raced at any of the final three venues (Portland, Laguna Seca or Long Beach).

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
BIG MACHINE SPIKED COOLERS GRAND PRIX
THE ROAD COURSE AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
AUGUST 12, 2021

RACE 12 OF 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES SEASON

Chevrolet returns to site of winning performances
Team Chevy has recorded wins in past three races on IMS road course

DETROIT (Aug. 12, 2021) – After finding direction on their first foray on the streets of Nashville, Tennessee, last weekend, Chevrolet teams return to the familiar Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course as the drive to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship continues.

Team Chevy will compete in the 85-lap/207-mile Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix on Saturday, Aug. 14. Chevrolet has won eight of the 10 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races, including the past three, on the technical 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course that incorporates Turns 1 and 2 and the front stretch of the famed oval.

“Team Chevy has had success on the challenging Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, most recently in May with Rinus VeeKay of Ed Carpenter Racing earning his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory,” Chevrolet INDYCAR program manager Rob Buckner said. “Teams and their Chevrolet trackside engineers will work together to incorporate the familiarity of the racetrack with performance gains to hopefully produce another victory and solid results by all drivers.”

VeeKay, driving the No. 21 Sonax/Autogeek Chevrolet, led 33 laps and won by nearly five seconds on May 15. He has also recorded third- and fifth-place finishes and earned his maiden pole in 2020 on the IMS circuit. The team has produced a T-shirt, featuring VeeKay celebrating his first Series victory in his 19th race, for this weekend.

“Getting my first podium here last year and now winning, it was a dream. We are going back to Indy and hopefully I can have some luck again,” said VeeKay, who turns 21 on Sept. 11.

Team Penske’s Will Power and Josef Newgarden won the October 2020 races on the IMS road course in their Chevrolet-powered race cars. Power, driver of the No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet, is a four-time winner on the road course – all from the pole. Teammate Simon Pagenaud is a three-time winner.

With five races left, Pato O’Ward is six points out of second place in the Driver Standings and Newgarden is fourth. O’Ward, a two-time winner this season, has a best finish of fifth on the IMS road course.

RC Enerson, 24, will make his fourth NTT INDYCAR SERIES start and first since 2019 in the No. 75 Top Gun Racing Chevrolet. Enerson, of New Port Rickey, Florida, an Indy Lights graduate, posted a best finish of ninth at Watkins Glen International in three NTT INDYCAR SERIES races in 2016.

The racing weekend includes Chevrolet teams competing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Aug. 14 and the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race on the road course on Sunday, Aug. 15. Chevrolet drivers won 17 of the 27 races on the 2.5-mile oval dating to 1994, including five by Jeff Gordon.

“The race weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be extra special with the rare opportunity to catch up with our Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series personnel and watch the races,” Buckner added. “We wish our Chevrolet teams good luck as they close in on regular-season championships and their respective Playoff events.”

Spectators will have the opportunity to view some of Chevrolet’s newest production vehicles, including a Corvette convertible 3LT, Bolt EUV, Silverado 1500 Trailboss, and participate in a Q&A with NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers at the Chevrolet display near Pagoda Plaza. The display will be open from 2-8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 13; 7 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 14; and 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 15. Participating drivers include:
Friday, Aug. 13
5:05-5:20 p.m. – Conor Daly
5:30-5:45 p.m. – Pato O’Ward, Felix Rosenqvist
Saturday, Aug. 14
9:45-10 a.m. – Rinus VeeKay and NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron
NBCSN will telecast the 85-lap Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix at 12:30 p.m. ET Sunday, Aug. 14, and qualifying live at 7 p.m. ET Friday, Aug. 13. The race, qualifications and practice will also be broadcast live on INDYCAR Radio Network affiliates, Sirius 211, XM 205, Indycar.com, and on the INDYCAR Mobile app powered by NTT DATA. Practice and qualifications will stream on Peacock Premium.
A Chevrolet Corvette C8 Stingray will lead the field to the green flag.

Team Chevy will be represented by:
A.J. Foyt Enterprises
Dalton Kellett, No. 4 K-Line Insulators AJ Foyt Racing
Sebastien Bourdais, No. 14 ROKiT AJ Foyt Racing
Arrow McLaren SP
Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP
Felix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Vuse Arrow McLaren SP
Carlin
Max Chilton, No. 59 Gallagher Carlin
Ed Carpenter Racing
Conor Daly, No. 20 U.S. Air Force
Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Sonax/Autogeek
Team Penske
Josef Newgarden, No. 2 XPEL Team Penske
Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 CarShop Team Penske
Will Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske
Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 Menards Team Penske
Top Gun Racing
RC Enerson, No. 75 Top Gun Racing

Chevrolet IndyCar V6 Year-By-Year Results since 2012
2021 ­– 4 wins, 5 poles in 11 races
Wins – Pato O’Ward (Texas2, Detroit2); Rinus VeeKay (Indy RC1); Josef Newgarden (Mid-Ohio). Pole – Pato O’Ward (Barber Motorsports Park, Detroit1); Josef Newgarden (Detroit2, Road America, Mid-Ohio).
2020 – 7 wins, 11 poles in 14 races
Wins – Simon Pagenaud (Iowa1); Josef Newgarden (Iowa2, St. Louis2, Indy RC2, St. Petersburg); Will Power (Mid-Ohio1, Indy RC3, St. Petersburg). Poles – Josef Newgarden (Texas, Road America1, Iowa2), Will Power (Indianapolis road course, St. Louis1, Mid-Ohio1, Indy RC3; St. Petersburg), Pato O’Ward (Road America2), Conor Daly (Iowa1), Rinus VeeKay (Indy road course October)
2019 – 9 wins, 9 poles in 17 races
Driver/owner championship (Josef Newgarden/Roger Penske); Indianapolis 500 win (Simon Pagenaud)
2018 – 6 wins, 9 poles in 17 races
Indianapolis 500 win (Will Power)
2017 – 10 wins, 11 poles in 17 races
Engine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Josef Newgarden/Roger Penske)
2016 – 14 wins, 13 poles in 16 races
Engine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Simon Pagenaud/Roger Penske)
2015 – 10 wins, 16 poles in 16 races
Engine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Scott Dixon/Chip Ganassi);
Indianapolis 500 win (Juan Pablo Montoya). First manufacturer to capture all titles since Chevrolet returned to INDYCAR in 2012
2014 – 12 wins, 14 poles in 18 races
Engine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Will Power/Roger Penske)
2013 – 10 wins, 11 poles in 19 races
Engine Manufacturer Championship; Indianapolis 500 win (Tony Kanaan)
2012 – 11 wins, 10 poles in 15 races
Engine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Ryan Hunter-Reay/Michael Andretti)
Total – 93 wins, 104 earned poles in 160 races

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Indianapolis, Ind. (10 August 2021) – After a wild weekend in the ‘Music City’, Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) will now turn its focus to the Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday (12:30pm ET, NBCSN). The IMS INDYCAR event will be a part of a big weekend at the Brickyard with the series sharing time with NASCAR’s Xfinity and Cup Series.

The return to IMS will be a special one for MSR and Helio Castroneves who will be making their first outing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway since their big Indianapolis 500 win in May. The now four-time Indianapolis 500 winner will be making his third race start with MSR this season as he hopes to add another victory at IMS to his already impressive resume.

The Brazilian driver will be back behind the wheel of the No. 06 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda for Saturday’s 85-lap event. Castroneves has made eight race starts on the IMS road course with a best finish of second in 2016. Castroneves also rounded out the podium in the 2014 edition of the event.

“I’m very excited to go back to IMS,” said Castroneves. “IMS is such a special place, and it now holds such an importance to me and Meyer Shank Racing after winning the Indy 500. It’s a new weekend and our focus hasn’t changed. I think we had some good pace in Nashville and now we can start getting into a groove of racing again. Hopefully Indy can bring us some more luck on Saturday and we can come home with another win!”

Meyer Shank Racing will also have Jack Harvey in the No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda. For Harvey, Indianapolis Motor Speedway has proved to be a site of success with the MSR driver taking home his first-ever INDYCAR podium in 2019 at the 2.439-mile road course.

“Indy is a track that we’ve always done well at and it’s guaranteed to be a good race,” said Harvey. “We can take confidence into the weekend that we do know what a fast car looks like there and how it needs to be driven. So, we’re optimistic heading into the weekend and I don’t see any reason why we can’t go and fight for a win.”

This weekend will be a two-day show at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with practice and qualifying staged on Friday. The Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix will be broadcast live on NBCSN starting at 12:30pm ET. SiriusXM Ch. 205 will also provide live IndyCar radio coverage throughout the weekend.

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
BIG MACHINE MUSIC CITY GRAND PRIX
STREETS OF NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
TEAM CHEVY RACE RECAP
AUGUST 8, 2021

FELIX ROSENQVIST CAPS STRONG WEEKEND IN NASHVILLE TO LEAD TEAM CHEVY CONTINGENT IN BIG MACHINE MUSIC CITY GRAND PRIX

NASHVILLE (August 8, 2021) – Felix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, liked the new street course in Downtown Nashville when he first laid eyes on it during the track walk prior to the start of the inaugural Big Machine Music City Grand Prix weekend. With extensive street course experience all over Europe early in his career, Rosenqvist adapted quickly to the intricacies of the tight, bumpy course.

He was solid in practice, qualified well and brought home an eighth-place finish.

The 80-lap race saw nine cautions for 33 laps from several multi-car accidents that damaged many of the front-runners and left them mired deep in the field.

Two-time NTT INDYCAR Series champion Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet, finished 10th after receiving damage from contact as drivers were trying to avoid cars stopped on course early in the race. He battled his way through the field to grab the top-10 and sits fourth in the standings with five races remaining.

Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, salvaged a 13th place finish after being involved in one of the numerous incidents. He dropped to third in the standings but remains in the title chase only six points out of second.

Marcus Ericsson was the race winner.

Next on the schedule is the historic NTT INDYCAR SERIES and NASCAR Cup Series weekend on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Big Machine Spiked Coolers GP for INDYCAR will be Saturday, August 14, 2021. On Sunday, the Chevrolet teams and drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series will compete in the Verizon 200.

TEAM CHEVY DRIVERS FINISHING POSITIONS:
8th: Felix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Vuse Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet
10th: Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet
12th: Conor Daly, No. 20 U.S. Air Force Chevrolet
13th: Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet
14th: Will Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet
18th: Max Chilton, No. 59 Carlin Chevrolet
21st: Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 Menards Chevrolet
22nd: Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet
23rd : Dalton Kellett, No. 4 K-Line Insulators AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet
24th: Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Sonax/Autogeek Chevrolet
27th: Sebastien Bourdais, No. 14 ROKiT AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet

DRIVER QUOTES:
FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 7 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, FINISHED 8TH: “We were solidly in sixth until the final red flag. Everyone around us was on reds and we were on blacks. I couldn’t get them up to temperature and I lost two positions in the final lap to finish eighth. I feel we never were quite able to build up enough momentum to attack. At the same time, it was a crazy race. I’m just happy to finish it to be honest, because a lot of cars ended up in the wall. The race was a special one, but at least we got some points and are a bit closer to where we should be. Definitely leaves us wanting a bit more next weekend on the IMS road course.”

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 10TH: “It was a really tough weekend, you know, it’s been a tough week. It was a great event and I’m really proud of the city of Nashville and IndyCar. I think just putting this together they did a great job. But specifically on the No. 2 Hitachi Chevy, just sort of a nightmare day. Up and down, you know just tried to fight and I think ultimately I can’t be too sad. I don’t think we can be dissatisfied with 10th. As up and down as the day was and as much chaos happened, 10th’s not the worst thing coming out of here, but very disappointed. I’m proud of my team. I think they did a great job and Team Chevy and the support from Hitachi and all our partners is always top-notch and the people on the 2 car are a pretty special bunch. I’ll be happy to go into the next race and keep fighting and come back here next year and hopefully redeem ourselves.”

CONOR DALY, NO. 20 U.S. AIR FORCE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 12TH: “I don’t really know how to describe today. I saw a car with its nose 30 feet in the air, then that car won the race and I’m not really sure how that happened! We were in the right position for a podium, it seemed like we were doing the right things but we got unlucky the way the strategy fell. To be in the Top 12 today was good, but it’s really tough to be that close to a podium. We’ve done so much work to put ourselves in a good position and we just can’t quite get there. We were right there today, we will keep trying and hopefully get a podium soon!”

PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, FINISHED 13TH:
“What a weekend here for the first race in Nashville. Honestly, I feel I did a really good job at the beginning. The team was spot on with the strategy calls that they made. But we picked up two penalties and, while I might not agree with them, it is what it is. At one point we were 20th and were able to recover all the way to 13th, which is a positive. I saved some points there at the end with these No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP guys, but a disappointing day.”

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON 5G TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 14TH: “Pretty crazy day. I feel bad for Scott definitely. I thought he saw me and I was on new tires and he had like 15 laps on his and it was totally on me. Just a bad move. Rough day to say the least. A 14th-place finish is not a very good day for the No. 12 Verizon 5G Chevy, but I learned a lot.”

SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 MENARDS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 21ST: “Well, we didn’t have the day we expected with the Menards Chevy. We had a fantastic racecar, really fast. I wish we could have been at the front all day, but we got collected in two big incidents and ended up not finishing the race, which was a shame. I really enjoyed the racetrack this weekend and I love the town. I’m going to come back and visit. I want to see some good restaurants and music. The design of the track was fun and I look forward to coming back next year.”

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 DEX IMAGING TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET—FINISHED 22ND : “Promising day, but unfortunately it turned into a bit of a negative. Our Dex Imaging Chevy looked good and we were coming through the field fast. I was having a lot of fun passing a few cars and passing people on strategy. But unfortunately I got taken out twice. It’s disappointing, but its part of it. I’m probably more disappointed for Dex Imaging. It is their first time back on the car since St. Pete. We were having a good run there. I learned a lot this weekend. It’s a promising sign for my INDYCAR career and I’ll continue to focus on just trying to be better and trying to put myself in better situations so we don’t get caught up in the mess. I learned a lot. I love Nashville, and I can hardly wait to come back next year.”

RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 SONAX ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 24TH: “First, I just want to thank my guys for all of their hard work repairing the car. They did a great job and I wish I could have got a good result for them. I had a really good first 20 laps, I made it up to P12 from starting P22. I was on for a really good restart, but I got caught up with everyone stopping on track. The car was hit from the back and I got a lot of damage. We tried to get it repaired and back on track, but when I hit the brakes it locked up completely and I went right into the wall. That was the end for me, unfortunately. We are going back to Indy next week, which has been a good track for me and hopefully I can have some luck again!”

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 14 ROCKIT AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET, INVOVED IN MULTICAR ACCIDENT EARLY IN THE RACE – FINISHED 27th:
“I was looking forward to that race but unfortunately we won’t get anything out of it. Following a decent start, sitting 14th, Marcus was right in my gearbox before the restart, but the field started to check up and he ran right over us damaging our car very significantly, putting an end to our race…”

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Castroneves races to ninth while Harvey brings home an 15th place finish

Nashville, Tenn. (8 August 2021) – As one of the most highly anticipated races on the NTT IndyCar Series calendar, Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) drivers Jack Harvey and Helio Castroneves battled a tight race course and 90-degree temperatures through 80 tough laps in the inaugural Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on Sunday.

The four-time Indianapolis 500 champion made his return to MSR in a big way as he raced the No. 06 Transcard Honda to ninth. After showing considerable pace from the start of the weekend, Harvey brought the No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda home 15th.

What was a nearly three-hour race, it quickly became a race of survival and a test to have the cleanest car at the end of the 80-lap event. Seven caution periods and two red flags made for teams having to strategize on the fly to end up at the front of the field.

Starting from 15th Castroneves knew that keeping the nose of his No. 06 Transcard Honda clean was going to be key. Castroneves’ smart driving kept his Honda in a strong position to move through the field ahead of his first stop on lap 18.

The Brazilian stayed focused with the top ten in sight as he ran in 13th following the fifth caution period at the halfway point. Following the pack ahead into pit lane on lap 45, Castroneves pitted for a new set of tires and fuel with 32 laps remaining.

Reentering the fray with fuel save mode ‘on,’ Castroneves set his sights on a top-ten finish. The Brazilian rounded out the top ten on the restart following the seventh caution period and never looked back as he raced to a ninth place finish.

After starting from sixth, Harvey kept the No. 60 Honda well within the top ten through the first 22 laps. Harvey was the first of the leaders to pit on lap 22 to swap over to Firestone primary tires and take fuel. Following a fourth caution on Lap 31, Harvey raced back up to the top ten to sit eighth with 40 laps to go.

Harvey raced up to fourth just after the halfway mark, but after pitting on lap 52, he and several surrounding cars were caught out by the proceeding yellow flag and were shuffled to the back of the field. Harvey advanced two position during the final laps of the race to finish 15th.

MSR Team Quotes:

Mike Shank: “Jack actually had a good day. We’re all in this incredible race today with so much strategy going on. And there’s six or seven of us that got caught on the wrong side of that one call, and it just buried us. We had a little mechanical problem with Jack right there at the end too. It kind of worked itself out but also cost us a little bit of drive. Jack did a great job, did everything we asked, there are no complaints from my side and you know we’re going to keep after it hard. With Helio, I think he overachieved to be honest. Our expectation was to finish in the top 12 and he put her at P9 today and that was a lot of hard work by him and the team. I’m really happy for him and Transcard they come on for one race and we got a positive result.”

Helio Castroneves, No. 06 Transcard Honda: “Thank you to Transcard, SiriusXM, AutoNation, and Honda! Today was was a really, really good day. I learned so much during the race. I was really patient, people were taking advantage of my patience but it’s okay, until a point I was like, ‘enough is enough.’ Great strategy, we were able to take advantage of that – today was all about strategy to put us in the top ten. Our goal was to be in the top ten, we did it. Great job from everyone at MSR and now onto the next race in Indianapolis.”

Jack Harvey, No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda: “We qualified pretty well, and I don’t know what we have to do to find a result on Sunday. We started sixth and somehow finished 15th. I’ve really enjoyed racing in Nashville, it’s such an awesome city and I’m excited to come back. That was probably the most amount of yellows I’ve ever seen in a race before, but we’ll keep digging away here. I have to thank everyone on the SiriusXM / AutoNation Honda because we’ve still got five races to get it done.”

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021) – Five laps into the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix, Marcus Ericsson’s car launched airborne and limped to the pits with a broken front wing.

Seventy-five laps later, he drove the No. 8 Bryant Honda into victory lane Sunday as the winner of the inaugural NTT INDYCAR SERIES race on the streets of Nashville, Tennessee, in one of the most improbable results in recent memory.

Ericsson beat Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon to the finish by 1.5596 seconds in a two-lap showdown after a red flag to earn his second victory this season. Ericsson’s amazing drive to the front came after he hit the rear of Sebastien Bourdais’ No. 14 ROKiT/AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet on a restart on Lap 5, dislodging the front wing of his car and incurring a stop-and-go penalty for avoidable contact.

The late red flag came when NTT P1 Award winner Colton Herta crashed heavily in Turn 9 with five laps to go while running second and chasing Ericsson for the lead.

“It’s unbelievable,” Ericsson said. “It just shows in INDYCAR anything can happen. You can never give up. And if you have a good team and a good car, you can still get to victory lane.

“I can’t believe it; I just can’t believe it.”

James Hinchcliffe finished third in the No. 29 #ShiftToGreen Honda for his best result of the season for Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport. His previous best in 2021 was 14th in June at Belle Isle-2. Ryan Hunter-Reay finished fourth in the No. 28 DHL Honda as Andretti Autosport put two cars in the top five for the first time this season.

While Hinchcliffe and Hunter-Reay didn’t have quite the dramatic early laps of the race as Ericsson, both were forced to stop on track when the track was blocked by a multicar incident on Lap 20 that forced the first of two red flags in the 80-lap race. Yet they also rallied to drive into the top four.

Graham Rahal, who was quickest in the race warmup today, rounded out the top five in the No. 15 United Rentals Honda. Like Hinchcliffe, Ed Jones produced his best drive of the season, finishing sixth after starting 26th in the 27-car field in the No. 18 SealMaster Honda. Jones’ previous best result in 2021 was ninth in June at Belle Isle-1.

Alex Palou expanded his championship lead by finishing seventh in the No. 10 NTT DATA Honda. He leads Chip Ganassi Racing teammate and six-time and reigning series champion Dixon by 42 points, as Dixon leap-frogged Pato O’Ward into second with his best result in the No. 9 PNC Bank Grow Up Great Honda since winning Texas-1 in early May.

O’Ward finished 13th in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet – his worst result since the Indianapolis road course race in early May – and fell to third in points, 48 behind Palou.

Ericsson, whose previous win came in June at Belle Isle-1, is fifth in the points, 79 behind Palou. He is just four points behind fourth-place Josef Newgarden, who finished 10th today at his hometown race in the No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet.

The race unfolded into a head-to-head duel between Ericsson and Herta over the closing 20 laps after a chaotic opening 60 laps that included seven caution periods.

Ericsson made his final pit stop on Lap 46 and was forced to save fuel and nurse the initially grippier but less durable Firestone alternate “red” tires over the closing laps. Herta made his final stop on Lap 53 for the more durable Firestone primary “black” tires, so he had no fuel concerns to the finish.

But Herta never got a chance to challenge Formula One veteran Ericsson for the lead after he locked up his tires while slowing for Turn 9 after exiting the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge on Lap 75, hitting the tire barrier hard. Herta was quickest in every pre-race session this weekend on the 11-turn, 2.17-mile street course except for the morning warmup.

“Colton was so fast, as we saw all weekend, so to keep him behind with a lot of fuel save was one of the best performances of my career,” Ericsson said. “I’m sorry he ended up in the fence there. He should be on this podium with us.”

Eight caution periods in the first 60 laps jumbled strategies and kept engineers and strategists on the pit wall almost as busy as drivers on the bumpy circuit that includes two trips across the Cumberland River each lap.

Ericsson was in the pits seven times during the race, three more than fellow podium finishers Dixon and Hinchcliffe, due to damage from his early incident with Bourdais and to serve the stop-and-go penalty he was assessed for avoidable contact in that collision. Ericsson drove up the back of Bourdais’ car, launching his front end into the air, on a restart on Lap 5.

“I want to apologize to Seb there at the start,” Ericsson said. “It was an accident. I thought it was green, and I went, and I couldn’t see that he stopped, so I’m really sorry for that.”

But Ericsson’s Chip Ganassi Racing team – led by strategist Mike O’Gara – made all the right calls on pit stops, and he first took the lead on Lap 33 and then again for good on Lap 56 when Romain Grosjean pitted in the No. 51 Nurtec ODT Honda. Ericsson led 37 laps for the day, two fewer than Herta.

Herta also caught a timely break during his first pit stop on Lap 33, during a caution period triggered by tire barrier contact in Turn 1 by the No. 21 Sonax/Autogeek Chevrolet of Rinus VeeKay. It appeared Herta would return to about the middle of the field for the ensuing restart, as a handful of cars had made pit stops during the numerous cautions earlier in the race.

But the Chevrolet Corvette Pace Car had to slow approaching the VeeKay accident area, as there was only one lane open on track since the AMR INDYCAR Safety Team was still clearing VeeKay’s car from the track. That allowed Herta to re-enter the track in fourth place behind leader Ericsson, Hunter-Reay and Hinchcliffe.

The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES race is the Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix on Saturday, Aug. 14 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Practice and qualifying are scheduled for Friday, Aug. 13 on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course.