IndyCars - Indianapolis: It's May and it's time for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing

[MarkyS]

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…and there will be over a hundred thousand people in the stands to watch the 105th running of…

The Indianapolis 500

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For 103 runnings the Indy 500 happened on the Memorial Day weekend, usually with hundreds of thousands of fans in attendence. In 2020 the COVID -19 virus had them move the race to August and no one was allowed to witness it in person. But it’s back where it belongs on the calendar and while there is still social distancing there is more than enough room at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to allow over a hundred thousand fans to attend.

The track is among the most well-known racing facitlities in the world. At 2.5 miles in length, it is an oval with 4 corners connected by two short chutes and two straight-aways of 5/8 miles each. That allows cars to enter corners at Turn 1 and Turn 3 at about 240 miles an hour during qualifying. The race is run in a counter-clockwise direction with the pit entrance near Turn 4. Cars exit Pit Lane near Turn 1 but do not rejoin the main track until past Turn 2.

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Fans in the Indianapolis area will actually be able to witness lots of open-wheel racing on the weekend, with the Indy 500 running on Sunday, while Road to Indy series USF2000 will run on the .687-mile oval at nearby Lucas Oil Raceway for the Freedom 75 and Road to Indy series Indy Pro 2000 will use the same track for the Freedom 90. Both will run on Friday evening - Carb Day at the Speedway - weather permitting.

In addition, there will be USAC Midgets and SIlver Crown cars racing on the same day at LOR, but as there are no IndyCar drivers in them, we will concentrate on the two Freedom races.

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Let’s look at those two support series…

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(continued…)

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M

[MarkyS]

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Support racing…

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The Road to Indy is the ladder system that trains drivers to be ready to drive IndyCars. It is made up of three series - USF2000, Indy Pro 2000 and Indy Lights: This weekend, two of them will race at Lucas Oil Raceway, a few miles from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The facility has a drag strip, a road course and a small .687-mile oval - perfect size for the small Road to Indy cars.

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USF2000 cars at Lucas Oil Raceway

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USF2000 is the bottom rung on the ladder - the starting point for most drivers. Most rookies here are coming from karting or from wingless formula cars like formula 1600s. This car will be the first one they drive to have wings and slick tires on it, as they begin to learn what aero downforce and mechanical grip mean to a race car. The carbon-composite / aluminum honeycomb Tatuus USF-17 has a 2.0 liter 4-cylinder engine with 175 hp built by Elite Engines and a Sadev SL75 six-speed sequential transmission with steering-wheel paddle shifters. Unlike other F4-spec race cars, it is built for the rigors of oval racing, with extra protection for the driver. The drivers in USF2000 come from all over the world to compete and the level of talent can range from extremely high to hopelessly outclassed but willing to learn. The fields are always large.

After 7 previous rounds of racing the points leader is 3rd-year veteran Yuven Sundaramoorthy for Pabst Racing, a young American from Wisconsin with 154 points from 5 podiums, including his first 3 series WINS. On his heels is sophomore Kiko Porto for DEForce Racing with 3 podiums, including a WIN. Tied for 3rd are Christian Brooks for Exclusive Autosport, with 3 podiums with 2 WINS and Josh Pierson for Pabst Racing, with 4 podiums. Both have 138 points.

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Yuven Sundaramoorthy in his Tatuus USF-17 for Pabst Racing

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Indy Pro 2000 is the middle rung of the ladder. The car is the Tatuus PM-18 which is essentially a stouter version of the USF-17. The chassis is the same, so teams who compete in USF2000 can easily convert their car to run in Indy Pro 2000 without a huge upcharge for a new car. The MZR-PM18A engine is also 2.0 liters but it puts out more power - 275 hp and almost 200 pounds of torque. The wings and the tires are all bigger, so the downforce, braking and grip is better. The drivers in “IP2K” are usually experienced junior formula drivers from all over the world. As a result, the level of competition is very high, with many drivers capable of podiums and WINS. It is rare for a driver to run away with the title. The fields are smaller than USF2000 but the commitment is higher.

After 7 previous rounds of racing the points leader is sophomore Braden Eves for Exclusive Autosport. Braden has 5 podiums, including 3 WINS. He hasn’t finished any worse than P6 but his lead is only 3 points on rookie Christian Rasmussen, the 2020 USF2000 Champion who still drives for Jay Howard Driver Development. Christian has 5 podiums including 3 WINS and 168 points in the bag. In 3rd is sophomore Artem Petrov for Exclusive Autosport with 3 podiums with 1 WIN and 144 points.

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Braden Eves for Exclusive Autosport in his PM-18

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This will be the only oval race of the season for USF2000 and one of two series ovals for Indy Pro 2000. Both series spent Thursday at Lucas Oil Raceway holding two test sessions each, followed by qualifying, and we have those results ahead…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Thursday at Lucas Oil Raceway - the USF2000 cars test…

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The kids from USF held two test sessions today, prior to qualifying. The difference between a test and a practice is only that the series pays the track to use for a test, while a practice is included in the race weekend. We have COMBINED the two test session for an overall view of the day.

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Here is the order of speed for USF2000 test session T-1 and T-2 COMBINED, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie; driver’s best session is in ( )

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1 - Nolan Siegel, DEForce Racing - time of 00:22.3761s for a speed of 110.368mph (1)

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2 - Prescott Campbell, DEForce Racing - time of 00:22.4659s for a speed of 109.927mph (1)

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3 - Josh Green, Turn 3 Motorsports - time of 00:22.5523s for a speed of 109.505mph (1)

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4 - Josh Pierson, Pabst Racing - time of 00:22.5570s for a speed of 109.483mph (1)

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5 - Jace Denmark [R], Pabst Racing - time of 00:22.5571s for a speed of 109.482mph (1)

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6 - Christian Brooks, Exclusive Autosport (1)
7 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy, Pabst Racing (1)
8 - Spike Kohlbecker [R], Ignite Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports (1)
9 - Dylan Christie [R], Turn 3 Motorsports (2)
10 - Michael D’Orlando, Cape Motorsports (2)

11 - Myles Rowe [R], Force Indy (2)
12 - Elysiah Navarro [R], DEForce Racing (1)
13 - Billy Frazer [R], Exclusive Autosport (2)
14 - Matt Round-Garrido, Exclusive Autosport (2)
15 - Kiko Porto, DEForce Racing (1)
16 - Trey Burke [R], Joe Dooling Autosports (1)
17 - Kent Vaccaro [R], Miller Vinatieri Motorsports (1)
18 - Michael Myers, Michael Myers Racing (2)
19 - Thomas Nepveu [R], Cape Motorsports (2)
20 - Evan Stamer [R], Ignite Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports (1)

21 - Jackson Lee [R], Jay Howard Driver Development (2)
22 - Peter Vodanovich [R], Jay Howard Driver Development (1)
23 - Nathan Byrd [R], Legacy Autosport (1)
24 - Bijoy Garg, Jay Howard Driver Development (1)

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Notable:

• 16-year-old Nolan Siegel already has a podium, a pole and 2 Fastest laps this season, but what possibly makes him good at Lucas is his oval racing experience. Nolan made his IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship debut in 2021 with Peregrine Racing at Daytona International Speedway driving the # 93 Audi R8 GT4 in the Rolex 24 at Daytona which includes a lot of time on the super-speedway oval.

• Josh Green also TOPPED the T-2 session so the Team USA Scholarship WINNER is obviously good on ovals. This is also the best we have seen this season for Josh’s teammate Dylan Christie.

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Nolan Siegel

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Next up, Indy Pro 2000 hold testing…

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[MarkyS]

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Thursday at Lucas Oil Raceway - Indy Pro 2000 hold tests…

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The middle rung series also held two test session today at Lucas oil Raceway and we have again COMBINED the two test session for an overall view of the day.

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Here is the order of speed for Indy Pro 2000 test session T-1 and T-2 COMBINED, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie; driver’s best session is in ( )

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1 - Christian Rasmussen [R], Jay Howard Driver Development - time of 00:21.0342s for a speed of 117.409mph (2)

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2 - Hunter McElrea, Pabst Racing - time of 00:21.2673s for a speed of 116.122mph (2)

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3 - Manuel Sulaiman, Juncos Racing - time of 00:21.2845s for a speed of 116.028mph (2)

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4 - Jacob Abel, Abel Motorsports - time of 00:21.2907s for a speed of 115.994mph (2)

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5 - Reece Gold [R], Juncos Racing - time of 00:21.3008s for a speed of 115.939mph (1)

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6 - James Roe [R], Turn 3 Motorsport (2)
7 - Artem Petrov, Exclusive Autosport (2)
8 - Braden Eves, Exclusive Autosport (1)
9 - Kyffin Simpson [R], Juncos Racing (2)
10 - Jack William Miller [R], Miller Vinatieri Motorsports (1)
11 - Wyatt Brichacek [R], Jay Howard Driver Development (2)

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Notable:

• Hunter McElrea and Manuel Sulaiman came in P2 and P3 in this race, last season, but in USF2000 Christian Rasmussen came in P1, so all three are great here.

• Reece Gold was also in USF2000 last season and he was P2 in the race here.

• The big change here is Jacob Abel. He finished the race in P12 in 2020, so he’s learned how to go faster than that.

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Christian Rasmussen

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Next up, USF2000 qualifies for the Freedom 75…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Thursday at Lucas Oil Raceway - USF2000 qualifies for the Freedom 75…

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The kids from USF2000 were the first to qualify for their Friday night race and a veteran with great oval chops took pole.

Qualifying is simple: Each car goes out alone for a warm-up lap followed by two hot laps. Those two lap speeds are averaged and the driver with the highest speed is on the pole, with everyone else lining up in the order of speed.

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Here is the way USF2000 will grid for the Freedom 75, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie; times are for two laps while speeds are two-lap average

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Row 1

Pole - Michael d’Orlando, Cape Motorsports - time of 00:45.1678s for a speed of 109.352mph

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P2 - Prescott Campbell, DEForce Racing - time of 00:45.2305s for a speed of 109.201mph

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Row 2

P3 - Josh Pierson, Pabst Racing - time of 00:45.2864s for a speed of 109.066mph

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P4 - Jace Denmark [R], Pabst Racing - time of 00:45.4193s for a speed of 108.747mph

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Row 3

P5 - Christian Brooks, Exclusive Autosport - time of 00:45.4315s for a speed of 108.718mph

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P6 - Kiko Porto, DEForce Racing - time of 00:45.4333s for a speed of 108.713mph

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Row 4

P7 - Matt Round-Garrido, Exclusive Autosport
P8 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy, Pabst Racing

Row 5

P9 - Nolan Siegel, DEForce Racing
P10 - Josh Green, Turn 3 Motorsports

Row 6

P11 - Spike Kohlbecker [R], Ignite Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports
P12 - Myles Rowe [R], Force Indy

Row 7

P13 - Dylan Christie [R], Turn 3 Motorsports
P14 - Billy Frazer [R], Exclusive Autosport

Row 8

P15 - Jackson Lee [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
P16 - Thomas Nepveu [R], Cape Motorsports

Row 9

P17 - Kent Vaccaro [R], Miller Vinatieri Motorsports
P18 - Evan Stamer [R], Ignite Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports

Row 10

P19 - Elysiah Navarro [R], DEForce Racing
P20 - Bijoy Garg, Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 11

P21 - Nathan Byrd [R], Legacy Autosport
P22 - Michael Myers, Michael Myers Racing

Row 12

P23 - Peter Vodanovich [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
P24 - Trey Burke [R], Joe Dooling Autosports

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Notable:

• Michael d’Orlando came in 4th in last year’s race. The experience means a lot in USF2000, where ovals are very rare.

• Jace Denmark, on the other hand, has no business being this good in a formula car - new to him - on an oval. His experience competing in Legend Cars must be invaluable.

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Michael d’Orlando

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USF2000 will hold a practice on Friday afternoon at 4:20pm and then race on Friday evening, starting at 7:50pm - the later the better, as rain is forecast for the day, but may disappear by racetime.

Next up, Indy Pro 2000 qualifies…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Thursday at Lucas Oil Raceway - Indy Pro 2000 hold qualifying for the Freedom 90…

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…and the procedure is the same as USF2000 - Each car goes out alone for a warm-up lap followed by two hot laps. Those two lap speeds are averaged and the driver with the highest speed is on the pole, with everyone else lining up in the order of speed.

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Here is the way Indy Pro 2000 will grid for the Freedom 90, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie; times are for two laps while speeds are two-lap average

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Row 1

Pole - Reece Gold [R], Juncos Racing - time of 00:41.7287s for a speed of 118.365mph

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P2 - Braden Eves, Exclusive Autosport - time of 00:41.9563s for a speed of 117.722mph

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Row 2

P3 - Christian Rasmussen [R], Jay Howard Driver Development - time of 00:42.0384s for a speed of 117.493mph

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P4 - Manuel Sulaiman, Juncos Racing - time of 00:42.1972s for a speed of 117.050mph

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Row 3

P5 - James Roe [R], Turn 3 Motorsport - time of 00:42.3397s for a speed of 116.656mph

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P6 - Artem Petrov, Exclusive Autosport - time of 00:42.6282s for a speed of 115.867mph

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Row 4

P7 - Hunter McElrea, Pabst Racing
P8 - Jacob Abel, Abel Motorsports

Row 5

P9 - Jack William Miller [R], Miller Vinatieri Motorsports
P10 - Kyffin Simpson [R], Juncos Racing

Row 6

P11 - Wyatt Brichacek [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

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Notable:

• We aren’t surprised that rookie Reece Gold is on pole. He was very good here in 2020 in his USF2000 car, coming in P2 to Christian Rasmussen, and they are both here to battle again in IP2K.

• Braden Eves posted P7 here last year and didn’t test that well today, so he is pulling something out here, but that’s why he’s a champion and a championship leader.

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Ricardo Juncos (left) and Reece Gold

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Indy Pro 2000 will hold a practice on Friday afternoon at 4:40pm and then hopefully will race on Friday evening, starting at 8:55pm - again, the later the better, as it will likely rain all day but the track may be dry in the late evening.

This was the last on-track activity of the day.

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M

[Jamerican]

Actually the greatest spectacle in racing was last week in Monaco.
F1 > indycar

[MarkyS]

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Friday at Indianapolis - Carb Day - and the final practice before the race…

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…on Sunday. “Carb Day” used to be for installation checks and final tune-ups - literally adjusting carburetors as well as adjusting engine timing. Today, this is an installation check, as all the cars recieved new engines since last Sunday, but more importantly, it is a final chance to check the race trim of the cars, with a look forward to the expected weather on raceday.

Much like practice on last Sunday, Carb Day looks like racing, as most of the cars are on track mixing it up with each other in order to see what cars will do in traffic. In addition, some cars will be doing mileage checks rather than top speed runs and gearing checks. But generally, the fast guys here will be the fast guys in the race - just not the ONLY fast guys in the race. The sports bettors love Carb Day because it gives them one more chance to adjust their odds on drivers before the race.

Today, the practice had to wait for the weather to pass as the rains came in the morning and the clouds never really opened up. Two and a half hours beyond the scheduled start time, the track was finally dried sufficiently to run practice and made 1 hour and 50 minutes of it before the rain returned to stop it.

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Here was the order of speed for the Carb Day practice session, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:39.4178s for a speed of 228.323mph

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2 - Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske - time of 00:39.6201s for a speed of 227.157mph

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3 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske - time of 00:39.6728s for a speed of 226.856mph

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4 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing - time of 00:39.7528s for a speed of 226.399mph

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5 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta - time of 00:39.7534s for a speed of 226.396mph

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6 - Will Power, Team Penske
7 - Scott McLaughlin [R], Team Penske
8 - Tony Kanaan, Chip Ganassi Racing
9 - Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
10 - Sage Karam, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing

11 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP
12 - Max Chilton, Carlin
13 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport
14 - Sebastien Bourdais, AJ Foyt Enterprises
15 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing
16 - Juan Pablo Montoya, Arrow McLaren SP
17 - JR Hildebrand, AJ Foyt Enterprises
18 - Ed Jones, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser Sullivan
19 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
20 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport

21 - James Hinchcliffe, Andretti Steinbrenner
22 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing
23 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing
24 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP
25 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises
26 - Stefan Wilson, Andretti Autosport
27 - Santino Ferrucci, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
28 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport
29 - Jack Harvey, Meyer Shank Racing
30 - Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing

31 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing
32 - Simona De Silvestro, Paretta Autosport
33 - Pietro Fittipaldi, Dale Coyne w/ Rick Ware Racing

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Notable:

• Dixon’s speed here is much higher than typical race pace, which is closer to 224mph. If this and others here are indicative of race pace this year we are in for record setting. This could be the fastest Indy 500 ever.

• This shows the difference between qualifying trim and race trim. The Team Penske cars all struggled to one degree or another in qualifying trim, but set up in race trim they are stellar and all make the TOP SEVEN cars.

• Not everyone was going for top speeds. Some of the cars on the bottom have been among the fastest in race trim all last week.

• 32 of 33 cars were blanketed by 1 second - remarkable parity!

• While this is the final practice, the IndyCars have been practicing all last week and reports on those sessions can be seen in the Off-Season thread starting with post # 1326.

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Scott Dixon

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That’s it until Sunday. Any changes made to cars at this point will have to be tested during the race.

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M

[MarkyS]

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Qualifying for the Indy 500 took place last Saturday and Sunday…

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…and we reported on it in the Off-Season thread, starting at post # 1332. Times and speeds can be found there. As is usually the case, it was very exciting to watch the Last Chance Qualifying for the last row, with bumping of two drivers, followed by the Fast Nine Shootout for the pole and the first three rows.

Here is the way the field will grid for the 105th running of the Indy 500: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

P1 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing

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P2 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport

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P3 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing

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Row 2

P4 - Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing

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P5 - Tony Kanaan, Chip Ganassi Racing

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P6 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing

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Row 3

P7 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport

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P8 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing

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P9 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing

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Row 4

P10 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport

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P11 - Ed Jones, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser Sullivan

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P12 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP

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Row 5

P13 - Pietro Fittipaldi, Dale Coyne w/ Rick Ware Racing

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P14 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP

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P15 - Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

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Row 6

P16 - James Hinchcliffe, Andretti Steinbrenner

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P17 - Scott McLaughlin [R], Team Penske

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P18 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

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Row 7

P19 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing

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P20 - Jack Harvey, Meyer Shank Racing

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P21 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske

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Row 8

P22 - JR Hildebrand, AJ Foyt Enterprises

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P23 - Santino Ferrucci, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

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P24 - Juan Pablo Montoya, Arrow McLaren SP

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Row 9

P25 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta

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P26 - Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske

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P27 - Sebastien Bourdais, AJ Foyt Enterprises

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Row 10

P28 - Stefan Wilson, Andretti Autosport

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P29 - Max Chilton, Carlin

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P30 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises

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Row 11

P31 - Sage Karam, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing

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P32 - Will Power, Team Penske

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P33 - Simona De Silvestro, Paretta Autosport

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There will be a 2-hour pre-race show on NBC-SN starting at 9:00am EASTERN time, followed by the race broadcast on NBC starting at 11:00am EASTERN time.

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Due to rain in the Indianapolis area, the practice sessions at Lucas Oil Raceway for both USF2000 and Indy Pro 2000 have been cancelled. The races will proceed, weather permitting, with the Freedom 90 Indy Pro 2000 race next up. The grid for this race is in post # 6…

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UPDATE!

After a valiant effort to dry the track and get the race underway, the pace car was circulating and bringing the IP2K cars up to speed when the rains returned. The racing has been called for the evening for both Indy Pro 2000 and USF2000. When a solution - hopefully a revised weekend schedule - is announced, we will let you know.
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M

[MarkyS]

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Saturday at Lucas Oil Raceway…We have a new schedule for the Freedom races…

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Attention!!..

USF Pro 2000

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And, if that doesn’t get your attention, nothing will!

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None of this phases the gang from Exclusive Autosport…

USF2000 Series

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Okay!..So, it’s 11:00am for the Indy Pro 2000 gang and 11:45am for the USF2000 kids.

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Again, the grid for the IP2K race is in post # 6…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Saturday at Indianapolis…the Freedom 90 comes off without a hitch…

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…and the WINNER of the first Indy Pro 2000 oval race of the season is rookie Christian Rasmussen for Jay Howard Driver development from his P3 start. Coming in P2 is pole-sitter and fellow rookie Reece Gold for Juncos Racing while P3 is teammate and sophomore Manuel Sulaiman from his P4 start.

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As the race was red-flagged on Friday after the first five laps were run under yellow, the Race Control decided to run the full 90 laps today, with a two-by-two grid start. Reece Gold led the field away cleanly with Braden Eves for Exclusive Autosport in P2 beside Reece, but by lap 6 “Ras” was by Braden to take over P2. At only .687 miles, laps at Lucas go by very quickly and it was in lap 29 that Ras attempted to pass Reece for P1 on the inside, but he got out of shape and had to back off. On lap 35 Kyffin Simpson for Juncos Racing passed Jack William Miller for Miller Vinatieri for P9, while Gold was already lapping tail-end P11 Wyatt Brichacek for Jay Howard Driver Development. 4 laps later he was by Miller, as well. In two more laps Rasmussen was also by Miller and now only 0.8 seconds off Gold’s tail.

By lap 46 the gap between the leaders was only half a second. On lap 53 Reece passed Kyffin and Christian attempted to stay with him but almost nailed Simpson in the rear, instead, needing to back off. On lap 60 Manuel took P3 away from Braden Eves. On lap 63 Hunter McElrea for Pabst Racing took P6 from Artem Petrov for Juncos. 4 laps later Hunter was also by James Roe for Turn 3 Motorsports to take P5. Gold and Ras were again only a half second apart. On lap 70 Jacob Abel for Abel Motorsports took P6 from James Roe.

On lap 74 Gold and Ras passed Artem as they battled. In two laps the leaders were running side-by-side for the full lap with Gold on the outside. On lap 77 the two cars touched as Ras finally took the lead. On lap 82 Artem took Kyffin for P7. Gold stayed close to Rasmussen but waited, saving his tires. On lap 86 it was clear he was closing again to attempt to retake the lead. On the final lap Gold made his move and was beside the Dane in Turn 4 but his front end washed out and he had to let Rasmussen take the WIN.

A great one!

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The last lap attempt by Reece Gold to retake the lead

Team Cooper Tire

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Notable:

• Rasmussen beat Gold to the line by .6 seconds, with Manuel a full 15 seconds back from the two leaders. This is Christian’s 6th podium and 4th WIN of the season and he takes over the points lead, as a result. Christian also WON at Lucas in the 2020 Freedom 75 as a USF2000 sophomore, so this is his 2nd WIN in 3 career oval races.

• Reece put in the Fastest Lap in his attempt to reclaim P1 and it helps to keep him 3rd in the series points. This was his 5th podium of the year but he is still looking for his first IP2K WIN.

• Braden Eves hung on to P4 to help stem the points loss a bit.

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Your happy podium - That’s Reece Gold on P2 on the left, Christian Rasmussen in P1 in the middle and Manuel Sulaiman in P3 on the right:

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With this result, here are the TOP FIVE in points leaving Indianapolis:

1 - Christian Rasmussen, 213
2 - Braden Eves, 200
3 - Reece Gold, 178
4 - Artem Petrov, 165
5 - Hunter McElrea, 151

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The next outing for Indy Pro 2000 will be at Road America, June 17-20 for Season Rounds 9 and 10, in support of the IndyCar race weekend.

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Next up, the Freedom 75 with USF2000. The grid for this race is in post # 5…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Saturday at Indianapolis - the Freedom 75 is in the books…

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…and like the Freedom 90 before it, the race went off green flag to checkers, without any yellows, and the WINNER for the first time this season is sophomore Michael d’Orlando for Cape Motorsports from pole. Grabbing P2 was fellow sophomore Prescott Campbell for DEForce Racing from a P2 start while P3 went to rookie Jace Denmark for Pabst Racing from his P4 start.

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The first lap saw a lot of action in the 24-car field. P3 starter Josh Pierson for Pabst racing stumbled and fell to P6 as P5 starter Christian Brooks for Exclusive Autosport took over P3 past Jace Denmark who remained in P4. Matt Round-Garrido for Exclusive Autosport fell to P9 from his P7 start. Yuven Sundaramoorthy for Pabst Racing slotted into P7 from P8. Finally, Spike Kohlbecker for Ignite Autosport moved past Myles Rowe for Force Indy for the P12 spot. On lap 2 Jace passed Brooks to take over P3. On lap 5 Yuven took P6 from Pierson while Nolan Siegel for DEForce Racing took P9 from Matt Round-Garrido, but one lap later the Englishman retook P9.

On lap 9 Josh Green for Turn 3 Motorsports took P8 from Josh Pierson while Spike took P11 from Dylan Christie for Turn 3, but on lap 13 Dylan retook the spot from Spike. By this time, Prescott was hanging only .67 seconds off the rear of leader d’Orlando with Jace almost as close to Campbell. On lap 19 Nolan Siegel reclaimed P9 from Matt Round-Garrido. Lap 20 saw Campbell even closer to Michael, now only .3 seconds ahead, as the three leaders were lapping the rest of the field. The battle between Spike and Dylan heated up again with Spike retaking P11 on lap 24 but Dylan was having none of it and passed both Spike and Matt one lap later, taking P10. Spike followed through, leaving Matt in P12.

Laps 29 and 30 saw Prescott Campbell now less than .30 seconds from taking the lead away from Michael d’Orlando, but unable to seal the deal, with Jace in his mirrors, too. By lap 41 Myles Rowe and Billy Frazer for Exclusive Autosport began a three-lap battle that saw Rowe take P13, then Billy take it back, only to lose it to Myles again on lap 43. Lap 47 saw Kiko Porto for DEForce take P4 from Christian Brooks. Myles kept moving forward, taking P12 from Matt Round-Garrido. Billy Frazer followed him a lap later, as Matt fell to P14. Within a few laps Round-Garrido was falling out of the order with a mechanical problem and retired to the pits.

The battle for the lead got closer and closer with each lap until by lap 63 Michael and Prescott were almost side by side. On lap 65 they were side by side for most of the lap and the two cars interlocked, with Prescott’s right front wheel between Michael’s two left side wheels, rubbing Michael’s radiator pod! Luckily, the cars separated before a disaster befell them. For the last ten laps Campbell fell off a bit, probably slightly wounded by the contact, but d’Orlando crossed the checkers on lap 75 only .52 seconds ahead, with Jace even closer at .42 seconds off Campbell - less than a car length.

It doesn’t get much closer than that. Another great one!

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Notable:

• Points-leader Yuven Sundaramoorthy was able to come home P6 and that was enough to keep the points lead.

• Both sophomores D’Orlando and Campbell gave a great account of themselves but really outstanding was rookie Jace Denmark, as this is only his 8th formula car race ever and his first oval race ever, too.

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Your happy podium - That’s Prescott Campbell in P2 on the left, Michael d’Orlando in P1 in the middle and Jace Denmark in P3 on the right:

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With this result, here are the TOP FIVE in points leaving Indianapolis:

1 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy, 177
2 - Kiko Porto, 170
3 - Christian Brooks, 164
3 - Michael d’Orlando, 164
5 - Josh Pierson, 158

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The next outing for USF2000 will be at Road America, June 17-20 for Season Rounds 9 and 10, in support of the IndyCar race weekend.

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That’s all the racing for this weekend EXCEPT for the Indy 500 on Sunday. The grid for that is in post # 9.

There will be a 2-hour pre-race show for the Indy 500 on NBC-SN starting at 9:00am EASTERN time, followed by the race broadcast on NBC starting at 11:00am EASTERN time.

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[GrandWazoo]

I am a Newgarden fan and was pleased to see the Penske cars get some speed on Friday.
And I can see why so many people are impressed with O’Ward, Palou and VeeKee.
Scott Dixon is having a career season. But even after dominating Saturday’s Texas race his crew just couldn’t keep him in front on Sunday. I have for years wanted Ed Carpenter to win a 500. He has given a lot to the sport and he is consistently fast. But this year I am going out on a limb and say that I think that Colton Herta might win this thing. The kid can drive and he Dad can certainly call race strategy.

Praying for a safe race. It will be great to have the fans back. And kudos to Roger for all of the upgrades that he did for the fans. The guy is a class act. Enjoy!!!

[MarkyS]

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Sunday at Indianapolis - The 105th running of the Indy 500 makes racing history…

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Of course, one can say that about every Indy 500 but this year it is especially true, because Helio Castroneves drove the # 06 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing to his 4th WIN at the Speedway, matching the 4 WINS of Al Unser, AJ Foyt and Rick Mears. Helio is a 4-timer, at last! The place absolutely errupted with unrelenting joy.

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NTT INDYCAR SERIES

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The race started cleanly and it was clear from the start that the young guns wanted to lead, as first Colton Herta for Andretti Autosport and then Rinus VeeKay for Ed Carpenter Racing led, while pole-sitter Scott Dixon for Chip Ganassi Racing let them go by. VeeKay would eventually lead 32 laps, while Alex Palou for Ganassi led 35, but the lap leader for the race was Conor Daly for Ed Carpenter, with 40.

The race had 8 incidents with two cautions, and all were initiated in the pits. The first out, causing a caution, was Stefan Wilson for Andretti, who came to the pits and applied the brakes, only to have the pedal go to the floor. When he pumped them up the rears locked up and spun him into the wall. The same affliction eventually happened to 3 others, as Ryan Hunter-Reay for Andretti, Will Power for Team Penske and Simona De Silvestro for Paretta Autosport also spun in the pits from lock-up, with Simona also tagging a wall.

The caution caused both Scott Dixon and Alexander Rossi for Andretti to run out of fuel entering the pits, with neither machine willing to quickly restart. They both went a lap down as a result.

The second caution occured when Graham Rahal for Rahal Letterman Lanigan was sent out of the pits before his left rear wheel nut was secured. The wheel quickly left the car as he was accelerating to speed on the warm-up lane and Rahal spun loudly into the Turn 1 wall, ending his best-ever chance to WIN the race. As bad, the rear wheel went bouncing down the track right in front of Conor Daly who smacked it with authority, damaging the nose of his car and making his chances of a WIN impossible.

Late in the race it was a battle between Castroneves and Palou, with Pato O’Ward for Arrow McLaren SP lurking close at hand in P3. Helio and Alex traded the lead more than once in the race but on the penultimate lap Helio got it for the last time and took it to the end, with Palou a half second back and Simon Pagenaud for Team Penske grabbing P3 on the last lap.

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NTT INDYCAR SERIES

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This was the fastest Indy 500 in history.

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With this result, here are the TOP TEN in points leaving Indianapolis:

1 - Alex Palou, 248
2 - Scott Dixon, 212
3 - Pato O’Ward, 211
4 - Simon Pagenaud, 201
5 - Rinus VeeKay, 191
6 - Josef Newgarden, 184
7 - Colton Herta, 154
8 - Graham Rahal, 148
9 - Scott McLaughlin, 143
10 - Marcus Ericsson, 138

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The next outing for the IndyCars is the double-header weekend of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, June 12-13, with support from the IMSA WeatherTech SpotsCar Championship series and the Indy Lights.

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