IndyCars - Indianapolis: One of the weekends where a right turn is both legal and required

[MarkyS]

+++

.
There are three IndyCar races held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and only one of them is locked into left turns only - The Indy 500. But, before they do the 500 they go out on the Road Course at IMS and make lots of pretty right turns along with the lefts, as they do…

The GMR Grand Prix

.
The GMR Grand Prix at Indy is supposed to be a tune-up to get locals to the track and get excited about the Indy 500, later in the month, but it has become one of the better road course races on the schedule, due in part to the excellent passing opportunities the Indianapolis Road Course layout affords, but also due to drivers simply going all out to WIN one at Indy.

The 2.44-mile, 14-turn road course incorporates portions of Turns 1 and 2 and almost the entire front straight of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval while the remainder of the circuit is within the infield, allowing for great spectator viewing from earthen mounds around the course. It’s always great fun to see the IndyCars going clockwise around the Speedway. After getting up a huge head of steam on the straight, they then must funnel into a tight right-hander at Turn 1 - the heartbreaker turn that bites so many - followed by and equally tight Turn 2. But get those right and the rewards are another long straight in the infield - the Hulman Straight - and Turns 7 and 8 - another passing opportunity.

.
IndyCar fans who come to the GMR Grand Prix will be treated to an open-wheel-a-thon, as all the support racing will be provided by three of the four series that make up the ladder system. (Only USF Juniors is taking the weekend off). For all three this will be the third race weekend of their seasons.There will be no less than 7 races over the next three days. They include:

• USF2000, with 3 races on Friday and Saturday
• USF Pro 2000, with 2 races on Friday and Saturday
• Indy NXT, with 1 race on Saturday

…and, of course, the IndyCar race, which is also on Saturday.

.
Let’s look at those support races…(continued)…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Support racing…(continued)…
.

The 4-rung ladder system that develops IndyCar drivers is now called The USF Pro Championships + Indy NXT. The USF Pro Championships are made up of three series in increasing complexity, performance and cost, each when conquered becomes a step towards entering the IndyCar series. They are USF Juniors, USF2000 and USF Pro 2000. Once out of those the only step on the ladder left is Indy NXT. Three of the four rungs on the ladder will be racing at Indianapolis this weekend, with the Juniors taking a rest.
.

.
USF2000 - What used to be the first step up on the ladder is a bit more complex than USF Juniors and is populated with drivers who have more open-wheel racing experience - even at this lower level. USF2000 uses the all-carbon Tatuus USF-22 car, powered by a 2.0 liter engine made by Elite Engines, with about 175 hp. The cars have racing slicks and adjustable wings. The transmissions are a six-speed sequential gearbox, with steering-wheel paddle shifters. The brakes are 4-piston monobloc caliper sets, front and rear.

The fields are usually very large, very eclectic and very competitive but the talent range is also large - some very good while others are learning. After 4 rounds, the current points leader is veteran Simon Sikes, driving for Pabst Racing in what everyone is hoping will be a full season of racing - something he’s never had. Simon has three podiums, including a WIN at Sebring and his 4th race was a P4, but Simon’s competition is also very close.

.
Simon Sikes for Pabst Racing

.
.
.
USF Pro 2000 - This is the middle rung of the ladder. “UP2K” uses the IP-22 car from Tatuus, based on the USF-22, but with much bigger tires, much more wing, and a much more powerful engine. The Elite Engines 2.0 liter puts out 275 hp. The brakes are bias driver-adjustable, just like in the USF-22. Transmissions are six-speed paddle-shifter sequential jobs. With the bigger tires and more wing, the cars have substantially more downforce and braking than USF2000.

The fields are typically graduates from USF2000 or from European F3, all used to handling more power and grip and all with great racecraft. The level of competition across the board is much more even, though the fields are smaller than USF2000. After 4 rounds, the current points leader in UP2K is American rookie Myles Rowe for Pabst Racing. In the 4 starts Myles took three WINS in a row and came home P3 in the other race, putting him WELL out front in the points, but the next 6 drivers are very close to each other. Can Myles be beat?

.
Myles Rowe for Pabst Racing

.
.
.
Indy NXT - This series used to be called, “Indy Lights” up until this year. The car is the Dallara IL-15 and is substantially bigger and better than the IP-22. It is much closer to an IndyCar in performance and feel - a great training ground to step up to the big cars. The Dallara uses a 450 hp turbo-charged engine from AER. The adjustable brakes are by PFC and are the biggest in the ladder system. NEW this year are the Firestone tires, replacing Coopers, so the drivers can get used the rubber the big cars use. The cars have much wider wheels than the IP-22, providing much more grip. The IL-15 has one more thing - Push-to-Pass, just like on the big cars. That is, an additional burst of 50 horsepower is available to the driver under most conditions, with the push of a button on the steering wheel.

The drivers are typically graduates of USF2000 and USF Pro 2000, but can often come from F3 or F2 in Europe. These drivers are ready to make the move to the big cars by season’s end and many of the drivers in IndyCars are recent graduates of Indy Lights. Indy NXT have held 2 races, so far, and the current points leader is Danish sophomore Christian Rasmussen for HMD Motorsports, with 2 TOP FIVEs, including the WIN at Barber Motorsports Park. His nearest competitor is teammate Nolan Siegel - a rookie.

.
Christian Rasmussen for HMD Motorsports

.
.
.
Thursday will be a day of testing and practice for USF2000 and USF Pro 2000…Let’s GET THIS THING GOING!!

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Thursday at Indianapolis - USF2000 holds testing and practice…

.
The only difference between a test session and a practice session is who pays for what. A track will sell a series a package for the weekend - a practice session, a qualifying session and a race - for a given price. If the series wants to run more practices - “tests” - they have to pay extra for that track time. The USF Pro Championships are happy to buy the testing time to give their young drivers maximum track time that a schedule will allow at every venue.

Today USF2000 held two tests and their one race weekend practice. We have COMBINED the results of all three to give you the order of speed for the series drivers on the day.

.
Here was the order of speed for the USF2000 test and practice sessions COMBINED, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie; driver’s best session is in ( )

.
1 - Nikita Johnson [R], VRD Racing - time of 1:26.1871s for a speed of 101.876mph (T-2)

.
2 - Lochie Hughes [R], Jay Howard Driver Development - time of 1:26.2549s for a speed of 101.796mph (T-2)

.
3 - Chase Gardner [R], Exclusive Autosport - time of 1:26.4203s for a speed of 101.601mph (T-2)

.
4 - Evagoras Papasavvas, Jay Howard Driver Development - time of 1:26.4279s for a speed of 101.592mph (T-2)

.
5 - Simon Sikes, Pabst Racing - time of 1:26.4937s for a speed of 101.515mph (T-1)

.
6 - Mac Clark [R], DEForce Racing (T-1)
7 - Ethan Ho, DC Autosport (T-1)
8 - Sam Corry [R], VRD Racing (T-2)
9 - Max Garcia [R], Pabst Racing (T-2)
10 - Zack Ping [R], VRD Racing (T-2)

11 - Jorge Garciarce, DEForce Racing (P-1)
12 - Max Taylor [R], VRD Racing (T-2)
13 - Elliot Cox [R], Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development (T-1)
14 - Jacob Douglas, Exclusive Autosport (P-1)
15 - Gordan Scully, VRD Racing (T-2)
16 - Danny Dyszelski, VRD Racing (T-1)
17 - Maxwell Jamieson [R], DEForce Racing (P-1)
18 - Al Morey [R], Jay Howard Driver Development (T-2)
19 - Lucas Mann [R], Exclusive Autosport (T-2)
20 - Avery Towns [R], Exclusive Autosport (T-2)

.
.
.
Notable:

• Simon’ Sikes’ only real championship competition at the moment is USF4 2022 Champ Lockie Hughes, who is only three points behind Simon. But, there are several young talents who can explode any moment and Nikita Johnson is one of them. 15-year-old Johnson is destined for greatness.

• Simon Sikes TOPPED the morning T-1 test session but Nikita Johnson TOPPED the T-2 session, (the fastest session of the day), and the P-1 practice. Lochie Hughes was P2 in all three sessions.

• Also keep an eye on Sam Corry, Mac Clark, Evagoras Papasaavas, Ethan Ho, Chase Gardner and Elliot Cox. These guys are already deadly.

• Max Taylor started the season in USF Juniors and in the first 5 races of 2023 has had a best finish of a P4 at Sebring. This weekend he is stepping up to USF2000, perhaps just as a tryout or maybe as a permanent move. This cross-pollination between the two series is a regular occurrence for others and a sign that the Juniors are doing what was intended - prepping and allowing these youngsters to be bold and daring.

• Lucas Mann had three starts for Turn 3 Motorsports in 2022 at Portland. This weekend he returns to racing in the series but for Exclusive Autosport.

.
Max Taylor (left) and Lucas Mann

.
Nikita Johnson turns 15 years old on May 25th

.
.
.
USF2000 will qualify first thing in the morning on Friday.

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Thursday at Indianapolis - USF Pro 2000 holds testing and practice…

.
Just like the kids in USF2000, the UP2K gang held two test sessions followed by their weekend practice session. We have COMBINED the sessions to give you the order of speed for the entire day.

.
Here was the order of speed for USF Pro 2000 tests and practice COMBINED, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie; the driver’s best session is in ( )

.
1 - Kiko Porto, DEForce Racing - time of 1:22.2694s for a speed of 106.727mph (P-1)

.
2 - Michael d’Orlando [R], Turn 3 Motorsport - time of 1:22.4116s for a speed of 106.543mph (P-2)

.
3 - Myles Rowe [R], Pabst Racing - time of 1:22.4230s for a speed of 106.529mph (P-2)

.
4 - Joel Granfors [R], Exclusive Autosport - time of 1:22.4369s for a speed of 106.511mph (P-2)

.
5 - Jonathan Browne, Turn 3 Motorsport - time of 1:22.5040s for a speed of 106.424mph (P-2)

.
6 - Salvador de Alba, Exclusive Autosport (P-2)
7 - Jace Denmark [R], Pabst Racing (P-2)
8 - Ricardo Escotto [R], Jay Howard Driver Development (P-2)
9 - Jordan Missig, Pabst Racing (P-2)
10 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy, Exclusive Autosport (P-1)

11 - Lirim Zendeli [R], TJ Speed (P-2)
12 - Bijoy Garg, DEForce Racing (P-2)
13 - Jackson Lee [R], Turn 3 Motorsport (P-2)
14 - Francesco Pizzi [R], TJ Speed (P-2)
15 - Reece Ushijima [R], Jay Howard Driver Development (P-1)
16 - Jack William Miller, Miller Vinatieri Motorsports (T-1)
17 - Christian Weir [R], TJ Speed (P-1)
18 - Lindsay Brewer, Exclusive Autosport (P-2)
19 - Nicholas Monteiero [R], NeoTech Motorsports (P-1)
20 - Charles Finelli, FatBoy Racing! (P-1)

.
.
.
Notable:

• Myles Rowe has 3 WINS and a P3 for the first four races of the season - an unbelievably good start. As a result, he is 42 points ahead of the next two guys, but Kiko Porto is one of those two guys. The other is Francesco Pizzi. Kiko is familiar with Indianapolis but Francesco is still learning the track. He will improve over the weekend.

• 52 points back are Jace Denmark and Lirim Zendeli while Joel Granfors is 53 points back, so there are FIVE title contenders within 11 points of each other, but then there’s Myles…

• Myles TOPPED the (slowest) morning T-1 session but Kiko TOPPED the fast T-2 session and the P-1 session. The Brazilian is hot, this weekend. Most of the drivers were fastest in the T-2 session, midday, just as with USF2000.

• Keep an eye on Jonathan Browne, as well. The Irishman was P4, P5 and P6 this morning. Also, keep watching 2022 USF2000 Champ Michael d’Orlando. He was P3, P2 and P2!

• The TOP SEVENTEEN cars were within 1 second of each other. This is a rum group of great, young drivers. Most of the field are capable of podiums.

• The new guy this weekend is 59-year-old Charles Finelli for Fatboy Racing! Charles is a gentleman driver who loves to spend his own money going racing every now and then and he and a buddy started Fatboy Racing! just for that purpose. Will he win the races? Not a chance, but Charles was just 2.6 seconds off Kiko’s time. He drove in 6 races in 2022 with a best finish of P12, twice.

Charles Finelli

.
Kiko Porto

.
.
.
USF Pro 2000 will hold qualifying in the morning on Friday, just after USF2000.

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Friday morning at Indianapolis - USF2000 holds qualifying…

.
Because of the short weekend - everything done by Saturday night - this qualifying session will be applied to and influence all three races for the kids in USF2000. Qualifying for the series was in the wet, this morning, adding to the drama.

.
Here is the way USF2000 will grid for Season Round 5, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

.
Row 1

Pole - Nikita Johnson [R], VRD Racing - time of 1:35.6295s for a speed of 91.817mph

.
P2 - Jacob Douglas, Exclusive Autosport - time of 1:35.8784s for a speed of 91.578mph

.
Row 2

P3 - Elliot Cox [R], Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development - time of 1:36.0062s for a speed of 91.457mph

.
P4 - Simon Sikes, Pabst Racing - time of 1:36.0331s for a speed of 91.431mph

.
Row 3

P5 - Max Garcia [R], Pabst Racing - time of 1**:36.0427s** for a speed of 91.422mph

.
P6 - Mac Clark [R], DEForce Racing - time of 1:36.2400s for a speed of 91.234mph

.
Row 4

P7 - Jorge Garciarce, DEForce Racing
P8 - Avery Towns [R], Exclusive Autosport

Row 5

P9 - Evagoras Papasavvas, Jay Howard Driver Development
P10 - Ethan Ho, DC Autosport

Row 6

P11 - Lochie Hughes [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
P12 - Sam Corry [R], VRD Racing

Row 7

P13 - Lucas Mann [R], Exclusive Autosport
P14 - Danny Dyszelski, VRD Racing

Row 8

P15 - Zack Ping [R], VRD Racing
P16 - Max Taylor [R], VRD Racing

Row 9

P17 - Gordan Scully, VRD Racing
P18 - Al Morey [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 10

P19 - Chase Gardner [R], Exclusive Autosport
P20 - Maxwell Jamieson [R], DEForce Racing

.
.
.
Notable:

• Nikita Johnson is so far the owner of the Road Course, this weekend, with a great effort by Jacob Douglas to unseat him. 14-year-old karter Max Garcia has been fast from the start of the season, as has been 15-year-old Elliot Cox - impressive!

• While points leader Simon Sikes was there, his nearest competition, Lochie Hughes, fell on his face a bit, as did Sam Corry. Both should have done much better.

• We are trying to see what happened to Chase Gardner, who should be a TOP SIX driver at this track. At the same time, his teammate Avery Towns is doing MUCH better than expected, to start P8 next to Mexican Jorge Garciarce.

Chase Gardner (left) and Avery Towns

.
.
.
The race is scheduled for late this morning. Next up, USF Pro 2000 holds their qually session…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Friday morning at Indianapolis - USF Pro 2000 holds their qually session…

.
As with USF2000, this one session will have to influence both races this weekend, due to time constraints. It too was run in the rain but the track was drying at the end of it.

.
Here is the way USF Pro 2000 will grid for Season Round 5, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

.
Row 1

Pole - Kiko Porto, DEForce Racing - time of 1:27.7746s for a speed of 100.033mph

.
P2 - Jack William Miller, Miller Vinatieri Motorsports - time of 1:28.0228s for a speed of 99.751mph

.
Row 2

P3 - Francesco Pizzi [R], TJ Speed - time of 1:28.0359s for a speed of 99.737mph

.
P4 - Michael d’Orlando [R], Turn 3 Motorsport - time of 1:28.1135s for a speed of 99.649mph

.
Row 3

P5 - Lirim Zendeli [R], TJ Speed - time of 1:28.3686s for a speed of 99.361mph

.
P6 - Jonathan Browne, Turn 3 Motorsport - time of 1:28.4733s for a speed of 99.244mph

.
Row 4

P7 - Bijoy Garg, DEForce Racing
P8 - Reece Ushijima [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 5

P9 - Jackson Lee [R], Turn 3 Motorsport
P10 - Myles Rowe [R], Pabst Racing

Row 6

P11 - Joel Granfors [R], Exclusive Autosport
P12 - Ricardo Escotto [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 7

P13 - Jace Denmark [R], Pabst Racing
P14 - Christian Weir [R], TJ Speed

Row 8

P15 - Salvador de Alba, Exclusive Autosport
P16 - Nicholas Monteiero [R], NeoTech Motorsports

Row 9

P17 - Jordan Missig, Pabst Racing
P18 - Lindsay Brewer, Exclusive Autosport

Row 10

P19 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy, Exclusive Autosport
P20 - Charles Finelli, FatBoy Racing!

.
.
.
Notable:

• Kiko continues to run the weekend, but what a surprise from Jack William Miller, who is typically a middling performer. It will be interesting to see what he can do in the race.

• We mentioned that Francesco Pizzi would improve on his practice time and sure enough, here he is.

• Falling on his face a bit is Myles Rowe. We have seen Myles do magical things in the rain. His first WIN in the Road to Indy was in the rain. So, what happened here? Also not performing to expectation is Jace Denmark.

• Bijoy Garg is coming off a WIN and two P2s in his debut weekend in the Blue Marble Radical Cup at Barber Motorsports Park, driving in the 1340 class. This P7 is a good qually for him.

Bijoy Garg

.
.
.
This race will come off in the early afternoon, today. next up, the IndyCars hold their first practice session…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Friday at Indianapolis - the IndyCars hold first practice…

.
While Pato O’Ward was TOPS for Arrow McLaren, it wasn’t by much and the real story is the great performance by Rahal Letterman Lanigan, getting two drivers in the TOP FIVE.

.
Here was the order of speed for the IndyCars P-1 practice session, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

.
1 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren - time of 01:09.4981s for a speed of 126.340mph

.
2 - Christian Lundgaard, Rahal Letterman Lanigan - time of 01:09.4988s for a speed of 126.339mph

.
3 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:09.5213s for a speed of 126.298mph

.
4 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske - time of 01:09.5465s for a speed of 126.252mph

.
5 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan - time of 01:09.5976s for a speed of 126.160mph

.
6 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren
7 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing
8 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing
9 - Will Power, Team Penske
10 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing

11 - Marcus Armstrong [R], Chip Ganassi Racing
12 - Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Autosport
13 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
14 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing
15 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
16 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport
17 - Alexander Rossi, Arrow McLaren
18 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing
19 - David Malukas, Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports
20 - Sting Ray Robb [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing

21 - Callum Ilott, Juncos Hollinger Racing
22 - Devlin DeFrancesco, Andretti Steinbrenner
23 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing
24 - Santino Ferrucci, AJ Foyt Enterprises
25 - Benjamin Pedersen [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises
26 - Agustin Canapino [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing
27 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport

.
.
.
Notable :

• Pato took the TOPS but Christian was only 0.0007 seconds off his time. Christian Lundgaard for RLL has a P12, P9 and P2 in previous outings at IMS on the Road Course. Jack Harvey for RLL has a P3 and two P6s, among the six races he’s done there, so both those guys have traditionally been fast at IMS. The team has all three cars in the TOP THIRTEEN.

• Arrow McLaren had two cars in the TOP SIX but best team, nevertheless, has to be Chip Ganassi with all four cars in the TOP ELEVEN. Team Penske may have done as well, except Josef Newgarden’s # 2 Chevy had clutch problems. Andretti Autosport is struggling, with Kyle Kirkwood the best car in P12, but Colton Herta was plagued with an oil leak, so who knows?

.
Here are highlights from the session:

PRACTICE 1 MOMENTS // GMR GRAND PRIX

.
.
.
Pato O’Ward - TOPS, but just BARELY!

.
.
.
The IndyCars will hold a 2nd practice in the early afternoon, in anticipation of qualifying later today. Next up, Indy NXT holds their own practice…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Friday at Indianapolis - Indy NXT holds practice…

.
This is the only practice the series will get before qualifying, later today.

.
Here was the order of speed for Indy NXT P-1 practice, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

.
1 - Kyffin Simpson, HMD Motorsports - time of 01:15.2830s for a speed of 116.632mph

.
2 - Hunter McElrea, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:15.3967s for a speed of 116.456mph

.
3 - Nolan Siegel [R], HMD Motorsports - time of 01:15.4075s for a speed of 116.439mph

.
4 - Matteo Nannini [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 01:15.5651s for a speed of 116.196mph

.
5 - Louis Foster [R], Andretti Autosport - time of 01:15.5980s for a speed of 116.146mph

.
6 - Christian Rasmussen, HMD Motorsports
7 - Josh Green [R], HMD Motorsports
8 - Danial Frost, HMD Motorsports
9 - Jamie Chadwick [R], Andretti Autosport
10 - Reece Gold [R], HMD Motorsports

11 - Rasmus Lindh, Juncos Hollinger Racing
12 - Josh Pierson [R], HMD Motorsports
13 - Christian Bogle, HMD Motorsports
14 - James Roe, Andretti Autosport
15 - Jacob Abel, Abel Motorsports
16 - Enaam Ahmed, [R], Cape Motorsports
17 - Colin Kaminsky [R], Abel Motorsports
18 - Jagger Jones [R], Cape Motorsports

.
.
.
Notable:

• Reece Gold started the season as a Juncos Hollinger driver but has decided to move over to HMD Motorsports for the rest of the season. That opened up a spot on the Juncos squad and they have decided to fill it with Rasmus Lindh, who was an HMD Driver at the beginning of the season but had to get out of the car due to budget and missed the last race at Barber. Ricardo Juncos has maintained the plan is to keep Rasmus - a former Juncos driver - in the car to the end of the season. We HOPE so.

• This may be the best effort by Jamie Chadwick so far in her short Indy NXT career.

Jamie Chadwick

.
Kyffin Simpson

.
.
.
Indy NXT will qualify for their Saturday race a little later today. Next up, USF2000 holds Race 1 of the weekend. The grid for this is in post # 5…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Friday at Indianapolis - USF2000 holds Race 1 of the weekend…

.
…and taking his first series WIN in a wild one is rookie Sam Corry for VRD Racing from his P12 start. P2 went to rookie Lochie Hughes for Jay Howard Driver Development from a P11 start while P3 went to rookie Nikita Johnson for VRD from pole.

.

.
.
.
As Nikita led the field into Turn 1 on the first lap all hell broke loose, as usual, as a number of cars went spinning and banging into each other. P2 starter Jacob Douglas for Exclusive Autosport spun and collected P7 starter Jorge Garciarce for DEForce Racing, P8 starter Evagoras Papasaavas for Jay Howard Driver Development and P13 starter Lucas Mann for Exclusive. Jacob ended up in P16, Jorge in P17, Evagoras in P19 and Lucas in P20. A full-course caution was called. Advancing positions through the turn were Al Morey for JHDD, P18 to P9, Max Taylor for VRD Racing, P16 to P8, Lochie Hughes from P11 to P4 and Simon Sikes for Pabst Racing from P4 to P2.

On the lap 5 restart Lochie passed Elliot Cox for Sarah Fisher Hartman to take P3 in Turn 2. Mac Clark for DEForce followed through to take over P4 and Elliot ended up in P5. Ethan Ho for DC Autosport took P9 from Al Morey and then P8 from Avery Towns for Exclusive. Jacob Douglas quickly moved from P16 into P13 past Gordon Scully for VRD Racing. On lap 6 Max Garcia for Pabst in P5 tried to move inside Elliot Cox in Turn 7 but was unable to brake and flew over the top of Elliot’s car, skimming his car’s halo and taking off his rear wing and then careening into Max Taylor, taking off HIS rear wing, as well. Cox and Taylor were able to motor to the pits but Garcia was in the barriers, bringing out another caution.

On the lap 11 restart Nikita missed Turn 1 and headed for the escape road, dropping from P1 to P7 as Lochie jumped past Simon to take the lead. On lap 12 P3 Mac Clark pulled the over / under on Lochie in Turn 1 to take the lead as Lochie dropped to P4 behind Simon Sikes and Sam Corry. Nikita passed Avery Towns for the P6 spot. On lap 13 Nikita set Fastest Lap. On lap 14 Johnson passed teammate Danny Dyszelski for P5. Chase Gardner for Exclusive had started the day in P19. On lap 14 he was passing Al Morey to take P7. On the final lap, lap 15, P1 Mac Clark and P2 Simon Sikes collided in Turn 1, with both going into the grass as Sam Corry inherited the lead. Sam would then motor to the finish line 1.15 seconds ahead of Lochie who was only 0.03 seconds ahead of Nikita.

A WILD one with a last-lap banzai move that didn’t pay off for either of the two leaders.

.
.
.
Notable:

• Mac Clark managed to get back on the track and pull in P5 but Simon Sikes paid dearly and ended up in P15.

• Sam Corry only had 1 year of USF Juniors in 2022 but he was very successful in the series. We fully expect him to carry on in USF2000.

• The finish will put Lochie Hughes in the points lead for the time being.

.
.
.
Your happy podium - That’s Lochie Hughes in P2 on the left, Sam Corry in P1 in the middle and Nikita Johnson in P3 on the right:

.
.
.
USF2000 will hold Race 2 on Saturday morning, first thing. The grid will be set using either the 2nd fastest qualifying lap or the best Race 1 lap of each driver - whichever is better. next up, the IndyCar hold their 2nd practice session…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Friday afternoon at Indianapolis - The IndyCars hold their 2nd practice session…

.
This one was the last chance to get a qualifying set-up for the afternoon qually session.

.
Here was the order of speed for the IndyCars P-2 practice, with times for the TOP FIVE:
[R] denotes rookie

.
1 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:09.9383s for a speed of 125.545mph

.
2 - Christian Lundgaard, Rahal Letterman Lanigan - time of 01:10.2580s for a speed of 124.974mph

.
3 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren - time of 01:10.2604s for a speed of 124.969mph

.
4 - Marcus Armstrong [R], Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:10.3022s for a speed of 124.895mph

.
5 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan - time of 01:10.3038s for a speed of 124.892mph

.
6 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
7 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske
8 - Will Power, Team Penske
9 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing
10 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing

11 - Alexander Rossi, Arrow McLaren
12 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren
13 - Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Autosport
14 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
15 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport
16 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing
17 - Callum Ilott, Juncos Hollinger Racing
18 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing
19 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport
20 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing

21 - David Malukas, Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports
22 - Devlin DeFrancesco, Andretti Steinbrenner
23 - Sting Ray Robb [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing
24 - Agustin Canapino [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing
25 - Santino Ferrucci, AJ Foyt Enterprises
26 - Benjamin Pedersen [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises
27 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing

.
.
.
Notable:

• Four of the TOP FIVE this morning were TOP FIVE this afternoon.

• Chip Ganassi has all four of their cars in the TOP TEN with a great showing by Marcus Armstrong in P4. This track is most like the sort of super-Malibu Grand Prix circuits that Marcus is familiar with from F2 in Europe. Team Penske also has all three of their cars in the TOP TEN. Rahal Letterman Lanigan can boast two of their three in the TOP FIVE again.

• Still struggling is Andretti Autosport with Kyle Kirkwood their best car in P13, and he was going on a bum clutch, needing to be pushed out onto the track.

• Helio Castroneves lunched his new Honda engine, which was supposed to last through this race and all the practices and qualifying for the Indy 500. Helio doesn’t abuse engines so this one was bad from the factory. It’s RARE but it happens.

.
Here are some practice highlights:

PRACTICE 2 MOMENTS // GMR GRAND PRIX

.
.
.
Alex Palou - TOPS in the P-2 session

.
.
.
The IndyCars will qualify for the GMR Grand Prix this afternoon. next up, Indy NXT qualifies for Saturday’s race…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Friday afternoon at Indianapolis - Indy NXT qualifies…

.
…for Saturday’s race and we have a new series pole-sitter as Italy’s Matteo Nannini takes the TOP SPOT for Juncos Hollinger Racing.

.
Here is the way Indy NXT will grid for Season Round 3, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

.
Row 1

Pole - Matteo Nannini [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 01:15.3194s for a speed of 116.576mph

.
P2 - Hunter McElrea, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:15.4467s for a speed of 116.379mph

.
Row 2

P3 - Louis Foster [R], Andretti Autosport - time of 01:15.5070s for a speed of 116.286mph

.
P4 - Kyffin Simpson, HMD Motorsports - time of 01:15.5334s for a speed of 116.245mph

.
Row 3

P5 - Josh Green [R], HMD Motorsports - time of 01:15.6517s for a speed of 116.063mph

.
P6 - Christian Rasmussen, HMD Motorsports - time of 01:15.6814s for a speed of 116.018mph

.
Row 4

P7 - Josh Pierson [R], HMD Motorsports
P8 - James Roe, Andretti Autosport

Row 5

P9 - Jacob Abel, Abel Motorsports
P10 - Rasmus Lindh, Juncos Hollinger Racing

Row 6

P11 - Enaam Ahmed, [R], Cape Motorsports
P12 - Danial Frost, HMD Motorsports

Row 7

P13 - Colin Kaminsky [R], Abel Motorsports
P14 - Jamie Chadwick [R], Andretti Autosport

Row 8

P15 - Reece Gold [R], HMD Motorsports
P16 - Nolan Siegel [R], HMD Motorsports

Row 9

P17 - Jagger Jones [R], Cape Motorsports
P18 - Christian Bogle, HMD Motorsports

.
.
.
Notable:

• Matteo has had a rough start to his Indy NXT season, with two DNFs in two races. This pole was a much-needed boost for himself and for the team. The track is much like the tracks in Europe and the Middle East that he is used to and that had to help a lot.

• Nannini has 7 other career poles - all in 2019 in F4 UAE where he was Champion, with 7 WINS in 20 starts, driving for Xcel Motorsport.

• We are trying to find out what happened to Nolan Siegel, who is a TOP FIVE driver all the time. This P16 start is really off the wall.

• Ernie Francis, Jr. broke his wrist in the first lap shunt at Barber Motorsports Park. Although he finished that race (!) his doctors do not want him driving this weekend. HMD says he MAY start the race on Saturday, just long enough to roll up points for P18 and then park it, but though he is at the track he was NOT in either practice or qualifying. Ernie is currently 4th in the points.

Ernie Francis (left) and Nolan Siegel

.
.
.
The Indy NXT race is scheduled for a 12:00 Noon start, CENTRAL time, on Saturday. next up, USF Pro 2000 holds Race 1 of their weekend. The grid for this is in post # 6…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Friday at Indianapolis - the USF Pro 2000 race…

.
…was just as wild as the earlier USF2000 race, but with the added element of rain thrown in. In the end we have a first-time WINNER as Mexican Ricardo Escotto takes P1 for Jay Howard Driver Development from his P12 start. Making it sweeter for the JHDD gang, teammate Reece Ushijima took P2 from his P8 start while P3 went to Michael d’Orlando for Turn 3 Motorsports from a P4 start.

.

.
.
.
As pole-sitter Kiko Porto for DEForce Racing led the field up into Turn 1 the pack spread out trying to get through the Turn, mixing it up in the process. Francesco Pizzi for TJ Speed lost ground, from P3 to P6, Jonathan Browne for Turn 3 Motorsports dropped from P6 to P8 and teammate Jackson Lee dropped from P9 to P13, but others gained. Yuven Sundaramoorthy for Exclusive Autosport went from a P19 start to P13 while teammate Joel Granfors moved into P5 from his P11 start. Ricardo Escotto went to P10 from P12. Up front, Michael d’Orlando passed Jack William Miller for Miller Vinatieri to take P2. Lap 2 saw a full course caution fly to remove debris from the track - the front wing from Bijoy Garg’s DEForce Racing Tatuus. Garg pitted for a new wing.

On the lap 5 restart Kiko set Fastest Lap. On lap 6 Pizzi passed Granfors to take P5 while Myles Rowe for Pabst Racing passed Reece Ushijima for P7. Myles then set Fastest Lap as Salvador de Alba for Exclusive took P12 from Yuven Sundaramoorthy. On lap 7 Myles took over P6 from Joel Granfors while Francesco took P4 from Lirim Zendeli for TJ Speed. Jonathan Browne passed Reece Ushijima for the P8 spot while Joel Granfors reclaimed the P6 spot from Myles Rowe. Kiko set a new Fastest Lap out front. On lap 8 Salvador dropped from P11 to P14 in Turn 1. Joel Granfors went off but got back on after dropping from P6 to P10. Francesco set fastest Lap. On lap 9 Pizzi AGAIN set Fastest lap as Joel slowed on track with a damaged wheel from his off-road excursion. He would drop to P20 with the broken wheel.

On lap 10 the track went full-course caution as rain began to fall. Soon, race control determined they were going to red flag the race to allow teams to put wet tires on their cars and resume racing after five minutes to do so. On the Lap 15 restart Myles passed Lirim Zendeli in Turn 1 for P5 with Jonathan Browne following through for P6. Reece dropped from P8 to P11. On lap 16 Michael d’Orlando took the lead in Turn 1 from Kiko, with Jack William Miller following him into P2. Myles dropped from P6 to P9 in Turn 1. On lap 17 race control called it a timed race with 8 minutes left to run. Browne passed Pizzi for P4 with Escotto following through to P5. Lirim dropped to P10. On lap 18 Jack took the lead of the race from Michael in Turn 10 as Reece took the P5 spot from Kiko.

On lap 19 Michael reclaimed the P1 spot on the front straight while Escotto moved into P2 and Jack fell to P3. Reece passed Kiko for P5. On lap 20 Jonathan passed Jack in Turn 1 after a drag race up the front straight, but Jack pulled the over / under and reclaimed P3 from Jonathan. Reece then took P4 from Jonathan. Francesco moved into the lead past d’Orlando as Reece moved into P3 past Jack. On lap 22 Reece passed d’Orlando to take the P2 spot and the podium was finally set. On the final lap, lap 23, Jonathan Browne claimed the P4 spot from Jack William Miller. Francesco crossed the line 4.72 seconds ahead of Reece who was 1.4 seconds ahead of Michael.

A WILD one, with multiple passes in the lead pack, right to the end of the race!

.
.
.
Notable:

• As usual, Turn 1 saw instant changes in position, with drivers sometimes gaining or losing several positions. Those who mastered it to the extent they could were the winners, ultimately.

• This was a very good race for Ushijima, Miller and Escotto - all well exceeding their usual results. Whether or not they can maintain this level is yet to be seen. The old adage is that rain is the great leveler and this race proved it.

• The rain stopped almost at the same time the race restarted on wets, but the track was wet and tire management became crucial.

• Points-leader Myles Rowe ended the day in P18 - inauspicious, but with his lead, not tragic.

.
.
.
Your happy podium - That’s Reece Ushijima in P2 on the left, Ricardo Escotto in P1 in the middle and Michael d’Orlando in P3 on the right:

.
.
.
USF Pro 2000 will hold their 2nd and final race of the weekend on Saturday morning. The grid will be set by either the driver’s 2nd best qually lap of their best Race 1 lap - whichever is better. Next up, the IndyCars qualify…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Friday at Indianapolis - the IndyCars are qualified!..

.
…and taking his first IndyCar series pole is Christian Lundgaard for Rahal Letterman Lanigan. Making the day even sweeter, teammate Jack Harvey came in P4, as well.

.
Here is the way the IndyCars will grid for Season Round 5, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

.
Row 1

Pole - Christian Lundgaard, Rahal Letterman Lanigan - time of 01:09.3321s for a speed of 126.643 mph

.
P2 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren - time of 01:09.3348s for a speed of 126.638mph

.
Row 2

P3 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:09.3780s for a speed of 126.559mph

.
P4 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan - time of 01:09.4220s for a speed of 126.479mph

.
Row 3

P5 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren - time of 01:09.5422s for a speed of 126.260mph

.
P6 - Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:09.6292s for a speed of 126.102mph

.
Row 4

P7 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing
P8 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

Row 5

P9 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing
P10 - Alexander Rossi, Arrow McLaren

Row 6

P11 - Marcus Armstrong [R], Chip Ganassi Racing
P12 - Will Power, Team Penske

Row 7

P13 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
P14 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport

Row 8

P15 - Devlin DeFrancesco, Andretti Steinbrenner
P16 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske

Row 9

P17 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing
P18 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport

Row 10

P19 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing
P20 - David Malukas, Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports

Row 11

P21 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing
P22 - Sting Ray Robb [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing

Row 12

P23 - Benjamin Pedersen [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises
P24 - Callum Ilott, Juncos Hollinger Racing

Row 13

P25 - Agustin Canapino [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing
P26 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing

Row 14

P27 - Santino Ferrucci, AJ Foyt Enterprises

.
.
.
Notable:

• Lundgaard has made a bet with a friend and he has to wear that scrawny moustache until he WINS his first IndyCar race. This certainly gets him a razor cued up to use.

• Felix Rosenqvist has two poles at Indy and he almost took his third. He was only 0.0027 seconds off.

• Andretti Autosport usually dominates this track but they are hopeless, this year, with Kyle Kirkwood the only guy on the team to make the Fast Twelve, much less the Fast Six. The same can be said of Team Penske and Ed Carpenter Racing. Both teams have done well in the past, but are snakebit, this year. Of those five drivers, only Will Power made the Fast Twelve, and just barely.

.
.
Here are qualifying highlights:

2023 QUALIFYING HIGHLIGHTS // GMR GRAND PRIX

.
.
.
The IndyCar race will be the last thing on the day on Saturday but first they will have a morning Warm-Up mid–morning, following the 2nd USF2000 race and the 2nd USF Pro 2000 race. This was the last on-track activity of the day.

.
.
.
M

.

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Friday evening at Indianapolis - The grid is set for USF2000 Race 2 for Saturday…

.
The grid was set using every driver’s best Race 1 lap except for Lucas Mann for Exclusive Autosport who had a better 2nd-fastest qualifying lap than any of his Race 1 laps.

.
Here is the way USF2000 will grid for Season Round 6: [R] denotes rookie

.
Row 1

Pole - Nikita Johnson [R], VRD Racing

.
P2 - Simon Sikes, Pabst Racing

.
Row 2

P3 - Lochie Hughes [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

.
P4 - Sam Corry [R], VRD Racing

.
Row 3

P5 - Mac Clark [R], DEForce Racing

.
P6 - Danny Dyszelski, VRD Racing

.
Row 4

P7 - Chase Gardner [R], Exclusive Autosport
P8 - Maxwell Jamieson [R], DEForce Racing

Row 5

P9 - Ethan Ho, DC Autosport
P10 - Jacob Douglas, Exclusive Autosport

Row 6

P11 - Al Morey [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
P12 - Jorge Garciarce, DEForce Racing

Row 7

P13 - Zack Ping [R], VRD Racing
P14 - Gordan Scully, VRD Racing

Row 8

P15 - Avery Towns [R], Exclusive Autosport
P16 - Max Taylor [R], VRD Racing

Row 9

P17 - Max Garcia [R], Pabst Racing
P18 - Elliot Cox [R], Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development

Row 10

P19 - Evagoras Papasavvas, Jay Howard Driver Development
P20 - Lucas Mann [R], Exclusive Autosport

.
.
.
Notable:

• Nikita set Fastest Lap of Race 1 on lap 13. He will be awarded 1 point for this pole.

• The TOP TEN guys here are scary good with the exception of rookie Maxwell Jamieson in P8, who is middling. He must have put in one great lap in the race however, to be in with this group. Today, Maxwell started last in 20th and ended the day in P12.

Maxwell Jamieson

.
.
.
The race will be the first order of business on track, Saturday morning.

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Friday evening at Indianapolis - The grid is set for USF Pro 2000 Race 2 for Saturday…

.
The grid was set using every driver’s best Race 1 lap, as no one’s 2nd best qually lap could match that pace.

.
Here is the way USF Pro 2000 will grid for Season Round 6: [R] denotes rookie

.
Row 1

Pole - Myles Rowe [R], Pabst Racing

.
P2 - Francesco Pizzi [R], TJ Speed

.
Row 2

P3 - Michael d’Orlando [R], Turn 3 Motorsport

.
P4 - Kiko Porto, DEForce Racing

.
Row 3

P5 - Jonathan Browne, Turn 3 Motorsport

.
P6 - Lirim Zendeli [R], TJ Speed

.
Row 4

P7 - Christian Weir [R], TJ Speed
P8 - Jack William Miller, Miller Vinatieri Motorsports

Row 5

P9 - Jackson Lee [R], Turn 3 Motorsport
P10 - Reece Ushijima [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 6

P11 - Jordan Missig, Pabst Racing
P12 - Salvador de Alba, Exclusive Autosport

Row 7

P13 - Lindsay Brewer, Exclusive Autosport
P14 - Jace Denmark [R], Pabst Racing

Row 8

P15 - Ricardo Escotto [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
P16 - Bijoy Garg, DEForce Racing

Row 9

P17 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy, Exclusive Autosport
P18 - Joel Granfors [R], Exclusive Autosport

Row 10

P19 - Nicholas Monteiero [R], NeoTech Motorsports
P20 - Charles Finelli, FatBoy Racing!
.
.
.
Notable:

• Myles turned in Fastest Lap in Race 1 on lap 10, the lap the rain started on. He will be awarded 1 series point for this pole position.

• This start matches Lindsay Brewer’s two other best starts. To get it she had to outpace talents like Jace Denmark, Ricardo Escotto and Yuven Sundaramoorthy - all race WINNERS - and proven fast guys Bijoy Garg and Joel Granfors. Lindsay has some speed.

Lindsay Brewer

.
.
.
USF Pro 2000 Race 2 will immediately follow USF2000 Race 2 on Saturday morning - well before the roosters crow.

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Saturday morning at Indianapolis - USF2000 hold Race 2 of their weekend…

.
…and Simon Sikes for Pabst Racing redeems himself for Race 1 with a Race 2 victory from a P2 start. P2 went to current points-leader Lochie Huges for Jay Howard Driver Development from a P3 start while P3 went to pole-sitter Nikita Johnson for VRD Racing.

.

.
.
.
As Nikita led the field into Turn 1 on the opening lap Danny Dyszelski for VRD Racing went wide around the outside to take P1 from his P6 start, but Simon then pulled the over / under on Danny in Turn 2 and took the lead. Nikita fell from P1 to P3 while Lochie Hughes fell from P3 to P7. Maxwell Jaimeson for for DEForce fell from P8 to P14 but Elliot Cox for Sarah Fisher Hartman started a great climb out of the cellar, going from P18 to P15. Max Taylor for VRD took damage and left parts on the track while pitting and bringing out a full-course caution to clean up the circuit. On the lap 3 restart Mac Clark for DEForce passed Jacob Douglas for Exclusive Autosport to take P5, with Lochie Hughes following through to take P6. Ethan Ho for DC Autosport passed Chase Gardner for Exclusive Autosport for the P8 spot while Elliot Cox moved in to P13 past Jorge Garciarce for DEForce. On lap 4 Nikita took P2 from Danny Dyszelski as Lochie took P5 from Mac Clark. Simon set fastest Lap in the lead. Chase Gardner retrieved P8 from Ethan Ho. Evagoras Papasaavas for JHDD had been moving forward from P19 and was already into P11.

On lap 5 Lochie took P4 from Sam Corry for VRD Racing and Mac Clark followed him through to take P5 as Sam dropped to P6. Ethan Ho once again took the P8 spot from Chase Gardner. Al Morey for JHDD and Maxwell Jamieson for DEForce made contact in Turn 10, bringing out another caution to collect Maxwell. On the Lap 9 restart Mac Clark and Lochie Hughes passed P3 Danny Dyszelski in Turn 1. Mac then took Lochie Hughes in Turn 2 but Hughes recovered the spot in Turn 3 and then went after Nikita Johnson, taking the P2 spot in Turn 7, with Mac, Sam Corry and Danny in P4, P5 and P6 respectively. On lap 10 Elliot Cox took P8 from Chase Gardner with Evagoras Papasaavas following into P9. Elliot then followed Jacob Douglas who took P6 from Danny Dyszelski, who dropped to P8. Out front, Simon reset Fastest Lap.

On lap 11 Evagoras passed Danny for the P8 spot. Ethan Ho passed Chase Gardner for P10 and Jorge Garciarce followed into P11. Once again, Simon reset Fastest Lap. On lap 12 Sikes reset Fastest lap for the 5th time, trying to secure pole for Race 3 and to get away from Lochie Hughes in P2. Hughes was very busy defending P2 and a three-way battle for the spot emerged on Lap 13, between Hughes, Nikita Johnson and Mac Clark, with the cars often side-by-side on course, but ultimately with no position changes. On lap 14 Evagoras passed Elliot Cox for the P7 spot. On the final lap, lap 15, Simon crossed the line 1.67 seconds ahead of Hughes who was only 0.33 seconds ahead of Nikita Johnson.

A great race with battles throughout the field to the end.

.
.
.
Notable:

• This is Simon’s 2nd WIN of the season and his first ever in Road to Indy competition at IMS, though he has WON SCCA Runoff titles here in the past. His fastest Lap in the race should secure pole for Race 3 but the numbers have to be run. Every WIN helps Sikes, who is still seeking budget to remain in the series.

• Lochie Hughes remains the points leader, due to his P2 showing, but Sikes ate into his lead.

• Great passing by Evagoras Papasaavas who went from P19 to P7 and from Elliot Cox who went from P18 to P8. The pair are just 14 years old.

.
Evagoras Papasaavas (left) and Elliot Cox

.
.
.
Your happy podium - That’s Lochie Hughes in P2 on the left, Simon Sikes in P1 in the middle and Nikita Johnson in P3 on the right:

.
.
.
The final race of the weekend for USF2000 will be this early afternoon. The grid is not yet set. next up, USF Pro 2000 completes their weekend with Race 2. The grid for this is in post # 15…
.
.
.
M

.

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Saturday morning at Indianapolis - USF Pro 2000 closes out their weekend with Race 2…

.
…and taking the WIN in a great drive from a P18 start was Sweden’s rookie Joel Granfors for Exclusive Autosport. P2 went to teammate Salvador de Alba in another big drive from a P12 start while P3 went to Jace Denmark for Pabst Racing in an impressive drive from a P14 start.

.

.
.
.
Myles Rowe for Pabst Racing led the field from pole and while everyone got through Turn 1 okay. By Turn 2, Reece Ushijima for Jay Howard Driver Development was in P7 from a P10 start, Jack William Miller for Miller Vinatieri was in P6 from a P8 start and Jace Denmark was in P8 from a P14 start. Lirim Zendeli for TJ Speed went off in Turn 2 but was able to get back on. As Myles led the field into Turn 7 he went off track and spun in the grass. He was able to get back on the island but all the way at the rear in P20. Francesco Pizzi for TJ Speed inherited the lead, followed by Michael d’Orlando for Turn 3 Motorsports and Kiko Porto for DEForce Racing. Near the end of the lap Ricardo Escotto for JHDD speared Lindsay Brewer for Exclusive Autosport in the tail. He lost his front wing but Brewer was out of the race. A caution came out to retrieve her.

While the field circulated under yellow, Jackson Lee for Turn 3 Motorsports pulled off track in Turn 7 with some sort of mechanical issue, extending the yellow to retrieve him. On the lap 6 restart leader Francesco Pizzi failed to accelerate as the green flag fell early while Pizzi was in Turn 14, coming onto the front straight. But Salvador de Alba responded with an outside pass as other also passed Pizzi. As the cars entered Turn 1 de Alba was leading with Jace Denmark in P2 while Pizzi fell to P5. On lap 7 Christian Weir for TJ Speed passed Jace Denmark to take P4 while Pizzi fell again, to P9. Jack William Miller lost his front wing, bringing out another yellow. On the lap 11 restart Joel took P1 from Sal in Turn 1. Jace Denmark took P3 from Jonathan Browne for Turn 3 and Pizzi recovered P6 from Michael d’Orlando. Reece Ushijima passed a resurgent Myles Rowe for P8 while Kiko Porto took P11 from Yuven Sundaramoorthy for Exclusive, with Lirim Zendeli following through to P12.

On lap 12 Reece hit Michael d’Orlando in the rear, damaging Michael’s car as he dropped out to repairs in the pits. On lap 13 Myles took P6 from Francesco Pizzi while Jordan Missig for Pabst took P8 from Reece. Joel Granfors set Fastest Lap out front. On lap 14 Myles and Christian Weir battled for P5 in Turn s 1 and 2 with Myles going off and back on in P8. Pizzi passed Jordan Missig for P6. On lap 15 Joel reset Fastest Lap as Myles took P7 from Jordan. On lap 16 Myles took P6 from Francesco as Reece took P8 from Jordan. Joel AGAIN set Fastest Lap. On lap 17 a battle for P7 developed between Reece, Jordan and Pizzi, with Pizzi staying in P7. Myles set Fastest Lap. On lap 18 Myles took P5 from Christian Weir in Turns 2 and 3. On lap 21 Myles reset Fastest Lap. On lap 24 Jordan took P8 from Reece while Kiko took P10 from Lirim. On the final lap, lap 25, Lirim reclaimed P10 from Kiko as Joel crossed the finish line 3.15 seconds ahead of Sal who was 3,42 seconds ahead of Jace.

.
.
.
Notable:

• Myles ended the day in P5 for another great recovery drive from P20. He will keep the points lead leaving Indianapolis.

.
.
.
Your happy podium - That’s Salvador de Alba in P2 on the left, Joel Granfors in P1 in the middle and Jace Denmark in P3 on the right:

.
.
.
With these results, here are the TOP FIVE in points leaving indianapolis:

1 - Myles Rowe, 139
2 - Kiko Porto, 100
3 - Francesco Pizzi, 98
4 - Joel Granfors, 95
5 - Jace Denmark, 91

.
.
.
The next outing for USF Pro 2000 will be at Lucas Oil Raceway for the Freedom 90, on Carb Day for the Indy 500 - May 26th. Next up, the IndyCars hold their Warm-Up…

.

.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Saturday morning at Indianapolis - the IndyCars hold their P-3 practice…

.
…also known as the Morning Warm-Up - the final chance to get ready for the race, later today. As with all post-qualifying practice sessions, it is impossible to know what each team and each car is trying to do with the Warm-Up. Are they still searching for speed? Are they trying to CONFIRM a race set-up? Are they checking tire wear? We know that the fast guys in the Warm-Up will be fast guys in the race, but we also know they will not necessarily be the ONLY fast guys in the race.

.
Here was the order of speed for the IndyCars P-3 practice session, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

.
1 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:10.3872s for a speed of 124.744mph

.
2 - Alexander Rossi, Arrow McLaren - time of 01:10.4153s for a speed of 124.694mph

.
3 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:10.6657s for a speed of 124.253mph

.
4 - Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:10.7329s for a speed of 124.135mph

.
5 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:10.8139s for a speed of 123.993mph

.
6 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
7 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske
8 - Marcus Armstrong [R], Chip Ganassi Racing
9 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
10 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing

11 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren
12 - Callum Ilott, Juncos Hollinger Racing
13 - Christian Lundgaard, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
14 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing
15 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
16 - Will Power, Team Penske
17 - Santino Ferrucci, AJ Foyt Enterprises
18 - Benjamin Pedersen [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises
19 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren
20 - Devlin DeFrancesco, Andretti Steinbrenner

21 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing
22 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport
23 - Agustin Canapino [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing
24 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing
25 - David Malukas, Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports
26 - Sting Ray Robb [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing
27 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing

.
.
.
Notable:

• Team Penske fans will be happy to see that the boys haven’t lost their mojo, with Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden showing much better than in qualifying.

• The Chip Ganassi boys are also on it, with the two Macuses both in the TOP TEN, along with Scott Dixon. Rookie Marcus Armstrong is really impressing everyone.

• Conversely, it’s good news for Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood for Andretti, but Romain Grosjean is likely still unhappy, though AGAIN, we don’t know for certain he was even seeking speed in this session.

.
Marcus Ericsson - “the Sneaky Swede”

.
.
.
The race is scheduled for broadcast LIVE on NBC starting at 3:30pm EASTERN time, with concurrent broadcast on Peacock Premium. Next up, USF2000 closes out their weekend with Race 3…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Saturday at Indianapolis - USF2000 holds Race 3 of the weekend…

.
The closing event for the kids from USF2000 saw familiar names on the podium - seen before, this weekend - but in a different order, as Lochie Hughes WON Race 3 for Jay Howard Driver Development from his P4 start. P2 went to Nikita Johnson for VRD Racing from his P2 start while P3 went to Simon Sikes for Pabst racing from pole.

.

.
.
.
The grid, set by the fastest laps from Race 2 this morning, had Sikes on pole, Johnson in P2, Evagoras Papasaavas in P3 for JHDD, Hughes in P4 and Mac Clark for DEForce starting P5. As Sikes led the field into Turn one on lap 1 he was squeezed down and had to back out or get taken out, He dropped from pole to P6. as they all left the corner Evagoras was in P1, Lochie was in P2, Nikita was in P3, Mac was in P4 and Sam Corry for VRD Racing was in P5. Elliot Cox for Sarah Fisher Hartman went from P9 to P7, Max Garcia for Pabst Racing moved from P6 to P8, Max Taylor for VRD made the leap from P14 tp P9 and teammate Gordon Scully went to P10 from his P16 start. As the cars passed Turn 10 Jacob Douglas for Exclusive Autosport and Jorge Garciarce for DEForce collided, bringing out a full-course caution to collect Douglas - done for the day.

On the lap 5 restart Lochie took P1 from Evagoras with Nikita following through to P2. Simon passed Mac to take over P4 while Elliot Cox took P6 from Sam Corry. and Danny Dyszelski for VRD passed Gordon Scully for P10. On lap 6 Simon passed Evagoras for P3 with Elliot Cox jumping in to also take P4. On lap 7 Simon took P2 away from Nikita while Evagoras took P4 from Elliot with Mac Clark following through to P5. Danny Dyszelski dropped four spots in Turn 1 to end up in P14. Simon set Fastest Lap. Sam Corry and Elliot Cox battled in Turns 5 and 6, with hard contact that put Cox into the barriers and Corry into the pits with terminal damage. Another caution flew to retrieve Cox. On the lap 13 restart Nikita jumped past Simon for P2 with Max Garcia following to P3. Mac Clark took P5 from Evagoras with Ethan Ho for DC Autosport taking P6 in a follow. Danny passed Gordon Scully for P9.

On lap 14 Simon caught Max Garcia in Turn 10 and made the pass for the P3 spot. Just after, Chase Gardner for Exclusive Autosport went off in Turn 10 but race control saw him safe enough to allow the final lap, lap 15, unrestrained and Lochie crossed the finish line only 0.35 seconds ahead of Nikita whoo was 1.23 seconds ahead of Simon.

Another fun race with multiple position changes in the front pack.

.
.
.
Notable:

• Lochie Hughes has now WON at least 1 race in every venue the series has race at so far this season.

• Johnson, Sikes and Hughes were also a podium at St. Pete with Nikita WINNING that one. These three guys are the title contenders, at this point, with Evagoras Papasaavas a strong 4th coming up the outside. The only real question is whether or not Sikes can find the budget to keep the trio battling.

.
.
.
Your happy podium - That’s Nikita Johnson in P2 on the left, Lochie Hughes in P1 in the middle and Simon Sikes in P3 on the right:

.
.
.
With these results, here are the TOP FIVE in points leaving Indianapolis:

1 - Lochie Hughes, 185
2 - Simon Sikes, 171
3 - Nikita Johnson, 144
4 - Evagoras Papasaavas, 108
5 - Sam Corry, 94

.
.
.
The next outing for USF2000 will be at Lucas Oil Raceway for the Freedom 75, to be run on Carb Day for the Indy 500 - May 26th. next up, Indy NXT holds their race. The grid for this is in post # 11…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Saturday afternoon at Indianapolis - Indy NXT holds their race…

.
…and the series saw a 3rd different race WINNER in three outings with Matteo Nannini taking the victory from pole for Juncos Hollinger Racing. P2 went to Louis Foster for Andretti Autosport from his P3 start while P3 went to Kyffin Simpson for HMD Motorsports from his P4 start.

.

.
.
.
It took three laps for Race Control to release the field as Nannini was either too slow or too early on his start from pole - his first-ever rolling start from a pole. On lap 3 Louis Foster was able to pass teammate Hunter McElrea for P2 and Christian Rasmussen for HMD was able to get teammate Josh Green for P5. James Roe for Andretti then passed Josh Pierson for HMD to take P7. Danial Frost for HMD took P11 away from Cape Motorsport’s Enaam Ahmed. Late in the lap Kyffin Simpson took P4 from Hunter McElrea and Christian Rasmussen then passed first Hunter and then Kyffin to take the P3 spot. On lap 4 Rasmus Lindh for Juncos passed Jacob Abel for Abel Motorsports for the P9. Lindh then passed Josh Pierson for P8 and Jacob Abel followed through for P9.

On lap 5 Enaam passed Pierson to take P10. Nolan Siegel for HMD took P14 from new teammate Reece Gold. On lap 6 Danial passed Josh Pierson for P11 and Colin Kaminsky for Abel Motorsports followed into P12. On lap 7 Kyffin Simpson retook P3 from Christian Rasmussen and Nolan Siegel took P13 from Josh Pierson. On lap 15 Jagger Jones for Cape Motorsports took the P14 spot from Josh Pierson and Reece Gold followed him into P15. At this point the field was fully stretched out and there was no passing for several laps. Nannini and Foster slowly crept away from the rest of the field, maintaining about a three-car gap between themselves. A battle for P4 between Rasmussen, McElrea and Josh Green developed, with a lot of nose-to-tail and even side-by side moments, but Rasmussen was able to hang onto P4.

On lap 24 Jamie Chadwick for Andretti took P16 from Josh Pierson in Turn 1. On lap 31 Hunter finally took P4 from Christian in the Turn 1 thru Turn 3 complex after battling him through Turns, 12, 13 and 14 and up the front straight on the previous lap. On lap 33 the battle for the lead heated up, with Foster closing nose-to-tail to virtually the end of the race, but Louis was unable to seal the deal and Matteo crossed the finish line 0.39 seconds ahead of Louis, who was over 10 seconds ahead of Kyffin.

.
.
.
Notable:

• This was the first victory for a team other than Andretti or HMD in a very long time and Ricardo Juncos was very happy, apologizing only for giving Rasmus Lindh a bad car for qualifying.

• This is Matteo’s first race WIN since 2021 in FIA Formula 3, driving for HWA Racelab.

.
.
Your happy podium - That’s Louis Foster on the left in P2, Matteo Nannini in the middle in P1 and Kyffin Simpson in P3 on the right:

.
.
.
Here are race highlights:

RACE HIGHLIGHTS // INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix

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

1 - Christian Rasmussen, 116
2 - Nolan Siegel, 98
3 - Danial Frost, 90
4 - Matteo Nannini, 84
5 - Hunter McElrea, 79

.
.
.
The next outings for Indy NXT will be a double-header in support of the IndyCar’s return to the streets of downtown Detroit, June 3rd and June 4th. Next up, the IndyCar race. The grid for this is in post # 13…

.
.
.
M