IndyCars - The off-season: Series news and comment until the March 2014 kick-off

[MarkyS]

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It’s a BOY!!..Simon Pagenaud and wife Hailey McDermott had a baby this Monday…

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The family released this statement:

Hailey and Simon Pagenaud are pleased to announce the birth of their son Marley Pagenaud. He was born May 3, 2021, at 4:43 a.m. ET weighing 6 pounds, 15 oz.

Simon returned home in time from the events at Texas Motor Speedway to be by Hailey’s side for the arrival of their son. The Pagenaud family is doing well and enjoying their time together.

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They released this great pic:

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Simon and Hailey

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The only question is will their famous dog Norman Pagenaud be jealous?
CONGRATS Pagenauds!!

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[MarkyS]

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Ever wonder what they do about the marbles on otherwise good tires?

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When a car goes off-line and a decent racing tire picks up the marbles, or “clag”, quite often it’s still a perfectly good tire that can quickly be salvaged to practice or race again and with the price of racing tires being as high as they are there was certainly going to be a nifty tool created to make that easy. Here is one such tool being used and the gang at Arrow McLaren SP have thoughtfully provided us with a demo:

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Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team

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The tool has a heat gun to heat up the clag and a scraper to pull it off while it’s hot. What’s left is a perfectly smooth slick. It only takes about 5 minutes to do a tire.

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Thanks, guys.

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M

[MarkyS]

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Young Kyffin Simpson is about to test his mettle…severely…

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Simpson drives a Tatuus PM-18 for Juncos Racing in the Indy Pro 2000 series but he also drives a Ligier Crawford JS F3 for TJ Speed Motorsports in the SCCA’s Formula Regionals Americas series. In fact, he’s leading the FRA points at the moment after WINNING the three opening rounds at Road Atlanta.

This coming weekend Simpson will race in BOTH series at different tracks on different days, as the schedules will allow.

First, Kyffin will race in IP2K for Juncos at Indianapolis on the Road Course, 1 race on Friday and 2 races on Saturday. Then, he will go up to Road America in Wisconsin, where he will race in FR Americas for TJ Speed Motorsports, 1 race on Sunday and 2 races on Monday.

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Kyffin Simpson…

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…in his Tatuus PM-18 for Juncos…

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…and his Ligier Honda for TJ Speed Motorsports

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That’s about 8 hours of driving, including practice and qualifying, and 4 hours and 15 minutes of racing. Thank God for youthful vigor!

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[MarkyS]

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We have a very busy weekend of racing ahead of us…

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The IndyCars are holding the GMR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Road Course this weekend, with full support from the Road to Indy and IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series will hold the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio this weekend, with support from the Michelin Pilot Challenge gang and IMSA Prototype Challenge and we’re going to try to cover them all.

The IndyCar race has its own thread but the IMSA stuff will be covered here in the Off-Season thread, so stay tuned for updates.

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First of all, with the IndyCar season in full swing, there will be no current IndyCar guys in the IMSA racing, but there are several very recent IndyCar guys and a number of Road to Indy alums who will be at Mid-Ohio for the fun. Let’s see who they are, starting with the WeatherTech gang, which will have DPi class, LMP3 class and GTD class all racing:

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DPi class - IndyCar driver and Indy Lights Champion Tristan Vautier will be driving the # 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi V.R for JDC-Miller MotorSports with co-driver Loic Duvall. Loic and Tristan are coming off the WIN at Sebring, where they were aided by IndyCar driver Sebastien Bourdais. Vautier and Duval are 3rd in the points.

Tristan Vautier

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Indy Pro 2000 alum Pipo Derani will drive the # 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi V.R for Action Express with co-driver Felipe Nasr.

Luis Felipe “Pipo” Derani

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LMP3 class - USF2000 alum Austin McCusker will driver the # 7 DuQueine D08 for Forty7 Motorsports. His co-driver is still To Be Announced, so he may yet have another IndyCar guy in there with him. McCusker is a former LMP3 Champion from IMSA Prototype Challenge, so he will be formidable.

Austin McCusker

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2019 Indy Lights Champion and IndyCar driver Oliver Askew will drive the rest of the season in LMP3 class in the # 36 Ligier JS P320 for Andretti Autosport with co-driver Jarrett Andretti. Jarrett’s claim to fame is as the 2020 Pirelli GT4 America SprintX Silver Champion, driving a McLaren 570S GT4 for Andretti Autosport.

Oliver Askew

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A former Vice-Champion of both USF2000 and Indy Pro 2000, Swede Rasmus Lindh will drive the # 38 Ligier JS P320 for Performance Tech Motorsports with co-driver Dan Goldburg. Rasmus and Dan already have 3 podiums and a pole to their credit in LMP3 competition, but are looking for that 1st WIN.

Rasmus Lindh

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GTD class - Road to Indy ace and IndyCar driver Zach Veach will drive the # 12 Lexus RCF GT3 for Vasser Sullivan with co-driver Frankie Montecalvo. These guys have led many laps this year but bad luck has so far kept them off the podiums.

Zach Veach

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Road to Indy Ace and Indy Pro 2000 Champion Aaron Telitz will-co-drive the # 14 Lexus RCF GT3 for Vasser Sullivan with fellow Road to Indy ace and IndyCar driver Jack Hawksworth. Like their sister car, these guys are only needing a bit of racing luck to score big.

Aaron Telitz (left) and Jack Hawksworth

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IndyCar driver and 2018 GTD-class Vice-Champion Katherine Legge will drive the # 88 Porsche 911 GT3 R for Team Hardpoint EBM with co-driver and team owner Rob Ferriol. Kat spent 2020 out of action with two broken legs but has returned to race again.

Katherine Legge

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• Michelin Pilot Challenge has a number of IndyCar guys in both classes. They are:

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Grand Sport class - Road to Indy ace, Indy Lights Champion and IndyCar driver Spencer Pigot drives the # 3 McLaren 570S GT4 for Motorsports In Action with co-driver Sheena Monk.

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Spencer Pigot

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IndyCar veteran Jan Heylen will drive the # 16 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport for Wright Motorsports with co-driver Ryan Hardwick. Ryan is returning to action after an extended layoff from a concussion sustained at Daytona during the Rolex 24 weekend. Heylen leads the points in the GTD class of the WeatherTech series, driving as an “add” at both Daytona and Sebring, but he is a full-timer in MPC competiton.

Jan Heylen

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Touring Car class - Indy Pro 2000 alum and paraplegic Michael Johnson will drive using hand controls in the # 54 Hyundai Veloster N TCR for Michael Johnson Racing, in a car prepped by Bryan Herta Autosport. His co-driver is Stephen Simpson.

Michael Johnson

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Road to Indy Shootout entrant Trenton Estep will drive the # 81 Hyundai Veloster N TCR for CB Motorsports. Trenton is a former Porsche GT3 Challenge USA champion. His co-driver in the Hyundai will be Mark Kvamme.

Trenton Estep

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The 2020 TCR class Champion is Ryan Norman, an Indy Lights race WINNER and a former Atlantic Championship Series champ. He will drive the # 98 Hyundai Elantra N TCR for Bryan Herta Autosport with co-driver Parker Chase.

Ryan Norman

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• IMSA Prototype Challenge will have their own batch of IndyCar folks in the top LMP3-1 class:

Former USF2000 and Indy Pro 2000 Vice- Champion Rasmus Lindh will pull double duty this weekend with co-driver Dan Goldburg, as they will drive the # 6 Ligier JS P320 for Performance Tech Motorsports in IPC, as well as their WeatherTech drive for Perf Tech in the # 38.

Rasmus Lindh

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Indy Pro 2000 alum Antoine Comeau will pilot the # 34 Duqueine D08 for Conquest Racing / JMF Motorsports with co-driver Colin Mullan, a former Team USA Scholarship WINNER.

Antoine Comeau

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USF2000 alum, F4 United States champion and F3 Americas champion Dakota Dickerson will drive the # 54 Ligier JS P320 for MLT Motorsports with co-driver Josh Sarchet. Dakota and Josh are the current points leaders in IPC.

Dakota Dickerson

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Road to Indy Shootout entrant Courtney Crone will pilot the # 74 Duqueine D08 for Forty7 Motorsports with co-driver Jason Rabe. Courtney got to the 2018 Shootout by being the Formula Car Challenge national champion in 2017.

Courtney Crone

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Practice for all will begin on Friday and the Michelin Pilot Challenge gang will also qualify for the Mid-Ohio 120.

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[MarkyS]

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Friday at Mid-Ohio - The Michelin Pilot Challenge series holds practice…

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…for Saturday’s Mid-Ohio 120 race in support of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship weekend. There were two practice session today and we have COMBINED the results to give you the TOP THREE in both classes, starting with GS class:

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Grand Sport class - The HOT SHOE for the day was IndyCar driver Jan Heylen in the # 16 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport for Wright Motorsports with a P2 session time of 1:27.168s for a speed of 93.254mph. Jan bested Trent Hindman in the # 7 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 for VOLT Racing with Archangel by 0.489 seconds. 3rd quickest was Scott Andrews in the # 21 Toyota Supra GT4 for Riley Motorsports.

Jan’s co-driver in the Porsche is Ryan Hardwick while Trent’s co-driver in the Aston is Alan Brynjolfsson. Scott shares the Supra with Anton Dias Perera.

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The # 16 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport for Wright Motorsports - TOPs for the day

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Jan Heylen

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In Touring Car class the RABBIT for the day was Mat Pombo in the # 73 Honda Civic
FK7 TCR for LA Honda World Racing with a time of 1:29.453s for a speed of 90.872mph. Mat got on top of Ryan Eversley in the # 94 Honda Civic FK7 TCR for Atlanta Speedwerks by 0.276 seconds. 3rd fastest was Chris Miller in the #17 Audi RS3 LMS SEQ for Unitronic JDC-Miller MotorSports.

Mat shares his Honda with Mike LaMarra while Ryan shares his Honda with Scott Smithson. Chris Miller’s co-driver is South African Mikey Taylor.

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The # 94 Honda Civic FK7 TCR for Atlanta Speedwerks - TOPS of the day in TCR

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Mat Pombo

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The Michelin Pilot Challenge gang will qualify later today. Next up, IMSA Protoype Challenge hold their P-1 session…

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[MarkyS]

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Friday at Mid-Ohio - IMSA Prototype Challenge hold first practice…

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The LMP3s of Prototype Challenge held their P-1 session today and we have the TOP THREE in the P3-1 class here:

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The TOP DAWG for the day was IndyCar driver Dakota Dickerson in the # 54 Ligier JS P320 for MLT Motorsports with a time of 1:17.653s for a speed of 104.680mph. Dakota bested Trent Hindman in the # 7 Ligier JS P320 for VOLT Racing with Archangel by 0.296 seconds. 3rd fastest was David Grant in the # 40 Duqueine D08 for JDC Motorsports.

Dakota’s co-driver is Josh Sarchet while Trent’s co-driver is Alan Brynjolfsson. (Trent and Alan are co-drivers in Michelin Pilot Challenge, as well). David shares the Duqueine with his brother, Keith Grant.

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The # 54 Ligier JS P320 for MLT Motorsports - TOPS of the P-1 session

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Dakota Dickerson

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IMSA Prototype Challenge will hold a 2nd practice on Saturday morning and then qualify in the afternoon for their Sunday race. Next, the WeatherTech gang practice…

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[MarkyS]

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Friday at Mid-Ohio - the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship hold practice…

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The WeatherTech gang held their P-1 session today and we have the TOP THREE form all three classes that will race this weekend, starting with DPi class:

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DPi class - The HOT SHOE for the class was IndyCar driver PIpo Derani in the # 31 Whelen Cadillac DPi V.R for Action Express with a time of 1:11.846s for a speed of 113.141mph. Pipo got the better of Ricky Taylor in the # 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 for Wayne Taylor Racing by 0.375 seconds. 3rd fastest was Dane Cameron in the # 60 Acura ARX-05 for Meyer Shank Racing.

Pipo shares the Caddy with Felipe Nasr while Ricky shares his Acura with Filipe Albuquerque. Dane’s co-driver in the # 60 Acura is Olivier Pla.

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The # 31 Whelen Cadillac DPi V.R for Action Express - TOPS in the P-1 session

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Pipo Derani

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LMP3 class - The RABBIT in class today was Colin Braun in the # 54 Ligier JS P320 for CORE Autosport with a time of 1:17.240s for a speed of 105.240mph. Colin beat out IndyCar driver Oliver Askew in the # 36 Ligier for Andretti Autosport by a tiny 0.100 seconds. 3rd fastest was Felipe Fraga in the # 74 Ligier for Riley Motorsports.

Colin shares the CORE Ligier with Jonathan Bennett while Oliver shares the Andretti Ligier with Jarett Andretti. Felipe’s co-driver in the Riley Ligier is Gar Robinson.

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The # 54 Ligier JS P320 for CORE Autosport - TOPS in the P-1 session

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Colin Braun

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GTD class - The TOP DAWG in class today was IndyCar driver Jack Hawksworth in the # 14 Lexus RCF GT3 for Vasser Sullivan with a time of 1:20.513s for a speed of 100.962mph. Jack bested Bill Auberlen in the # 96 BMW M6 GT3 for Turner Motorsport by 0.291 seconds. 3rd fastest was Patrick Long in the # 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R for Wright Motorsports.

Jack shares the Lexus with fellow IndyCar driver Aaron Telitz while Bill shares the Bimmer with Robby Foley. Patrick’s co-driver in the Porsche is Ryan Hardwick.

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The # 14 Lexus RCF GT3 for Vasser Sullivan - TOPS in the P-1 session

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Jack Hawksworth

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The WeatherTech SportsCar Championship gang will hold another practice Saturday morning and then qualify in the afternoon for Sunday’s race. Next up, the Michelin Pilot Challenge qualify for the Mid-Ohio 120…

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[MarkyS]

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Friday afternoon at Mid-Ohio - the Michelin Pilot Challenge gang qualify…

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…for Saturday’s Mid-Ohio 120. We have the TOP THREE qualifiers in both classes, starting with GS class:

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Grand Sport class - On the pole will be Ryan Hardwick in the # 16 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport for Wright Motorsports with a time of 1:27.021s for a speed of 93.411mph. Ryan beat out Chris Green in the # 13 McLaren 570S GT4 for AWA by 0.441 seconds. P3 on the grid will be Alan Brynjolfsson in the # Aston Martin Vantage GT4 for VOLT Racing with Archangel.

Ryan’s co-driver is IndyCar veteran Jan Heylen while Chris shares the McLaren with Kuno Whitmer and Alan shares the Aston Martin with Trent Hindman.

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The # 16 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport for Wright Motorsports - on pole

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Ryan Hardwick

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Touring Car class - On pole will be Brian Henderson in the # 84 Honda Civic FK7 TCR for Atlanta Speedwerks with a time of 1:28.813s for a speed of 91.526mph. Brian topped Chris Miller in the # 17 Audi RS3 LMS SEQ for Unitronic JDC-Miller MotorSports by 0.441 seconds. Starting P3 will be Mike LaMarra in the # 73 Honda Civic FK7 TCR for LA Honda World Racing.

Brian shares the Speedwerks Honda with Robert Noaker while Chris shares the Audi with Mikey Taylor. MIke’s co-driver in the Honda World FK7 is Mat Pombo.

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The # 84 Honda Civic FK7 TCR for Atlanta Speedwerks - on pole

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Brian Henderson

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The Mid-Ohio 120 is scheduled for Saturday afternoon - last on-track activity of the day.

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[MarkyS]

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Saturday at Mid-Ohio - The WeatherTech gang practice and qualify…

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This morning the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series came out for their final practice before qualifying, and then at mid-day went out to qualify for Sunday’s race. We have the TOPS in practice and the TOP THREE in qualifying for each class, starting with DPi class:

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DPIclass - TOPS in class for the P-2 practice was Dane Cameron in the # 60 Acura ARX-05 for Meyer Shank Racing but when it came time to qualify it was Brit Harry Tincknell in the # 55 Mazda RT24-P DPi for Mazda Motorsports that took pole with a time of 1:10.027s for a speed of 116.080mph. Harry topped Filipe Albuquerque in the # 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 DPi for Wayne Taylor Racing by a scant 0.095 seconds. Starting P3 will be the # 60 Acura ARX-05 for Meyer Shank Racing, thanks to qualifier Cameron.

Harry’s co-driver in the Mazda is fellow Brit Oliver Jarvis while Filipe’s co-driver is Ricky Taylor. Dane shares the Acura with Frenchman Olivier Pla.

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Harry Tincknell with the # 55 Mazda RT24-P DPi for Mazda Motorsports - on pole

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Harry Tincknell

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LMP3 Class - The TOPS in the P-2 practice was Dylan Murry in the # 91 Ligier JS P320 for Riley Motorsports but it was the team sister car, the # 74 Ligier, that took pole, driven by Gar Robinson to a time of 1:17.246s for a speed of 105.232mph. Gar bested Colin Braun in the # 54 Ligier JS P320 for CORE Autosport by 0.386 seconds. Starting 3rd will be the # 36 Ligier for Andretti Autosport, thanks to qualifier Jarett Andretti.

Dylan Murry’s co-driver is Jim Cox while Gar Robinson’s co-driver is Brazilian Felipe Fraga. Colin Braun shares the CORE machine with Jonathan Bennett while Jarett shares the Andretti car with IndCar driver Oliver Askew.

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The # 74 Ligier JS P320 for Riley Motorsports - on pole

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Gar Robinson

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GTD class, position - TOPS in the P-2 practice was IndyCar driver Aaron Telitz in the # 14 Lexus RCF GT3 for Vasser Sullivan and that speed translated later into pole position, with a time of 1:20.529s for a speed of 100.942mph. Aaron got the better of Robby Foley in the # 96 BMW M6 GT3 for Turner Motorsport by an incredibly small 0.006 seconds - hard to even measure. Starting P3 will be Canadian Daniel Morad in the # 28 Mercedes-AMG GT3 for Alegra Motorsports.

Aaron shares the Lexus with fellow IndyCar guy Jack Hawksworth while Robby shares the Bimmer with BMW great Bill Auberlen. Danny’s co-driver in the Mercedes is Michael De Quesada.

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Aaron Telitz and the # 14 Lexus RCF GT3 for Vasser Sullivan - on pole

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Aaron Telitz

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GTD class, points - TOPS in qualifying for points was Patrick Long in the # 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R for Wright Motorsports with a time of 1:20.083s for a speed of 101.504mph. Patrick beat out IndyCar driver Zach Veach in the # 12 Lexus RCF GT3 for Vasser Sullivan by 0.126 seconds. Coming in 3rd was Laurens Vanthoor in the # 9 Porsche 911 GT3 R for PFAFF Motorsports.

Patrick shares his 911 with Ryan Hardwick while Zach shares the Lexus with Frankie Montecalvo. Laurens’ co-driver in the PFAFF Porsche is Zacharie Robichon.

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The # 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R for Wright Motorsports - top points

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Patrick Long

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The WeatherTech gang will do the Acura Sports Car Challenge on Sunday afternoon. The race is scheduled for broadcast on NBC-SN starting at 2:30pm ESTERN time.

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Next, the IMSA Protoype Challenge guys hold final practice and qualifying…

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[MarkyS]

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Saturday at Mid-Ohio - The IMSA Protoype Challenge gang practice and qualify…

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The IPC came out this morning for a fiinal practice and then qualified for Sunday’s morning race. We have the TOPS in practice and the TOP THREE in qualifying in the P3-1 class here:

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P3-1 class - TOPS In the final P-2 practice was Dylan Murry in the # 91 Ligier JS P320 for Riley Motorsports but when it came to qualifying it was Moritz Kranz in the # 21 Duqueine D08 for Muehlner Motorsports America who took pole with a time of 1:17.372s for a speed of 105.061mph. Moritz bested Keith Grant in the # 40 Duqueine D08 for JDC MotorSports by 0.040 seconds - not much. Starting 3rd will be Josh Sarchet in the # 54 Ligier JS P320 for MLT Motorsports.

Dylan shares the Riley Ligier with Jim Cox while Keith Grant shares the JDC Duqueine with brother David Grant. Josh shares the MLT LIgier with IndyCar driver Dakota Dickerson. Moritz is the lone driver in the Muehlner car, this weekend.

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The # 21 Duqueine D08 for Muehlner Motorsports America - on pole

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Moritz Kranz

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The race is scheduled for 9:35am EASTERN time on Sunday and can be seen on NBC Sports Gold TrackPass.

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Next, the Michelin Pilot Challenge race…

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[MarkyS]

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Saturday afternoon at Mid-Ohio - the MIchelin Pilot Challenge race…

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The dramatic GS class and overall WINNERS of the Mid-Ohio 120 were starter Chris Green and closer Kuno Wittmer in the # 13 McLaren 570S GT4 for AWA, with a 0.417-second WIN over a hard-charging # 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport of IndyCar driver and closer Jan Heylen and starter Ryan Hardwick. Coming in P3 was the # 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 of closer Alec Udell and starter Bryce Ward.

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The AWA McLaren 570S GT4 - close WIN at the line, Wittmer over Heylen

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While leading following a round of pit stops, the # 46 Team TGM Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R of closer Matt Plumb and starter Hugh Plumb came under attack by Wittmer with 18 minutes to go. Kuno got around Plumb with 15 minutes remaining. Then Plumb got turned around by the # 7 VOLT Racing by Archangel Aston Martin Vantage GT4 of Trent Hindman, knocking the Camaro out of the top-ten and resulting in damage to Hindman’s Aston. That gave an opening to Heylen who closed on the McLaren dramatically in the final laps, but ran out of time to take the position.

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In TCR class the WINNERS were IndyCar driver and closer Ryan Norman and starter Parker Chase in the new # 98 Hyundai Eltantra N TCR for Brian Herta Autosport - the first WIN for the mark this season and the first win for the Elantra N TCR model in North American competition. P2 was the # 77 Hyundai Veloster N TCR of closer Michael Lewis and starter Taylor Hagler for Brian Herta, while P3 went to closer Ryan Eversley and starter Scott Smithson in the # 94 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic Type-R.

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The BHA # 98 Hyundai Elantra N TCR - first WIN for the new model

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Parker Chase battled with the # 19 van der Steur Racing Hyundai Veloster for the first half of the race, and took the lead just before a full course caution at the race mid-point. After the driver switch, Norman was in P2 again, behind the # 27 Copeland Motorsports Hyundai Veloster driven by Tyler Maxson but waited for the right moment and took control of the race through the Turns 4-7 section with just under a half hour remaining. after that it was smooth sailing to the end, beating Michael Lewis by 1.020 seconds at the finish line.

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The next outing for the Michelin Pilot Challenge will be at Watkins Glen in support of the Sahlen’s Six Hours at the Glen, June 24-27, where the MPC will do a 240-mile race.

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[MarkyS]

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Sunday morning at Mid-Ohio - The WeatherTech gang hold morning warm-up…

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With any morning warm-up, it’s always hard to tell what the teams are trying to accomplish and so it’s hard to say who is really on it for the race, but the fast guys in warm-up are certainly capable of being the fast guys in the race - they just might not be the ONLY fast guys.

The WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series held warm-up this morning and we have the TOP THREE from each class here, starting with DPi class:

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DPi class - TOPS in warm-up was Dane Cameron in the # 60 Acura ARX-05 DPI for Meyer Shank Racing, with a time of 1:13.047s for a speed of 111.281mph. The Acura has been fast since it rolled of the transporter. Dane bested IndyCar driver Tristan Vautier in the # 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi V.R for JDC Miller Motorsports by a healthy 0.756 seconds. 3rd fastest was Renger van der Zande in the # 01 Cadillac DPi V.R for Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing, so the Caddys are finally coming up to speed.

Dane’s co-driver is Olivier Pla while Tristan’s co-driver is Loic Duval. Renger shares his Caddy with Kevin Magnussen.

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The # 60 Acura ARX-05 DPI for Meyer Shank Racing - tops in warm-up

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Dane Cameron

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LMP3 class - TOPS in class was IndyCar driver Oliver Askew in the # 36 Ligier JS P320 for Andretti Autosport with a time of 1:18.606s for a speed of 103.411mph. Oliver got on top of Joao Barbosa in the # 33 Ligier for Sean Creech Motorsport by 0.292 seconds. 3rd fastest was Felipe Fraga in the # 74 Ligier for Riley Motorsports.

Oliver’s co-driver is Jarett Andretti while Joao’s co-driver is Lance Willsey. Felipe shares the Riley Ligier with Gar Robinson.

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The # 36 Ligier JS P320 for Andretti Autosport - tops in warm-up

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Oliver Askew

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GTD class - TOPPING the class was IndyCar driver Zach Veach in the # 12 Lexus RCF GT3 for Vasser Sullivan with a time of 1:21.883s for a speed of 99.273mph. Zach got the better of Bill Auberlen in the # 96 BMW M6 GT3 for Turner Motorsport by 0.264 seconds. 3rd fastest was Bryan Sellers in the # 1 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 for Paul Miller Racing.

Zach shares the Lexus with Frankie Montecalvo while Bill shares the BMW with Robby Foley. Bryan’s co-driver is Madison Snow.

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The # 12 Lexus RCF GT3 for Vasser Sullivan - tops in warm-up

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Zach Veach

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The WeatherTech gang will do the Acura Sports Car Challenge on Sunday afternoon. The race is scheduled for broadcast on NBC-SN starting at 2:30pm ESTERN time. Next up, the IMSA Protype Challenge gang race!..

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[MarkyS]

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Sunday morning at Mid-Ohio - the IMSA Protype Challenge race…

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Flying solo in the # 21 Muehlner Motorsports America Duqueine D08 Nissan, Moritz Kranz WON the race from pole - his 2nd WIN of the season. Coming in P2 was the # 3 Jr III Racing Ligier of closer Mike Skeen with starter Terry Olson, while P3 went to the # 54 MLT Motorsports Ligier of starter Josh Sarchet and IndyCar driver and closer Dakota Dickerson.

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Moritz was chased from the start by David Grant in the # 40 JDC MotorSports Duqueine no more than a second or two back. However, once the round of mandatory pit stops were through Kranz opened up an 11-second advantage. P2 IndyCar driver Rasmus Lindh in the # 6 Performance Tech Motorsports Ligier reduced the gap to less than a second before the only full-course caution was called for the # 74 Forty7 Motorsports Duqueine, which was stranded in Turn 9.

Moritz was able to keep Lindh at bay on the restart and slowly re-gapped him, until Rasmus slowed suddenly with four minutes left in the race - Into the pits and out with a terminal mechanical. Skeen then moved into P2 and cut a four-second deficit to less than a second but ran out of time before he could attempt a pass, with Kranz WINNING by 0.46 seconds. Dickerson recovered from a drive-through penalty for improperly attired crew during a pit stop to finish third.

With this WIN Moritz is now the series points leader over Dickerson and Sarchet by 960 points to 920, with three races left in the season.

Moritz Kranz

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Next up, the WeatherTech gang hold the Acura SportsCar Challenge at Mid-Ohio…

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[MarkyS]

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Sunday at Mid-Ohio - the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race…

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…was WON overall and in DPi class in a nail-biter finish by Ricky Taylor in the # 10 Acura ARX-05 Dpi that he and Filipe Albuquerque drive for Wayne Taylor Racing. Ricky just beat Felipe Nasr, driving the # 31 Whelen Cadillac DPi V.R that he shares with IndyCar driver Pipo Derani for Action Express. Coming in 3rd was Harry Tincknell in the # 55 Mazda RT24-P, co-driven by Oliver Jarvis for Mazda Motorsports.

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Ricky Taylor (left), and Filipe Albuquerque - First ever WIN for WTR at Mid-Ohio

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Ricky Taylor (left) and Filipe Albuquerque

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Taylor passed Nasr for the lead with 45 minutes left to run. From there, both teams turned their attention to fuel as they tried to make it to the end without ducking into the pits for a splash, as the # 60 Meyer Shank Acura needed to do. The top four finishers were sucking every last drop of fuel at the end, with Taylor’s fuel warning light igniting three laps from the finish. Despite that, the racing to the end was hard, and Nasr made a few feints for the lead, but traffic got in his way.

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Check this out:

#IMSA

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LMP3 class was WON by the # 74 Ligier JS P320 for Riley Motorsports, driven by Felipe Fraga and at the end Gar Robinson, with the car fairly dominating the class all race long. Coming in P2 was the # 38 Ligier for Performance Tech Motorsports, driven by Dan Goldburg and IndyCar driver Rasmus Lindh, some 3.249 seconds back at the line. Rounding out the podium was the # 91 Riley Motorsports Ligier JS P320 of Jim Cox and Dylan Murry.

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The # 74 Ligier JS P320 for Riley Motorsports - dominant WIN.

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Felipe Fraga (left) and Gar Robinson

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GTD class looked in the bag for IndyCar drivers Aaron Telitz and Jack Hawksworth in the # 14 Lexus RCF GT3 for Vasser Sullivan, as they dominated the first hour of the race, but with 90 minutes to go Hawksworth slowed with a broken left rear suspension, out of the race. That handed the lead to Robby Foley and Bill Auberlen in the # 96 BMW M6 GT3 for Turner Motorsport and Bill rode it home to the WIN, 2.712 seconds ahead of IndyCar driver Zach Veach in the # 12 Lexus RCF GT3 for Vasser Sullivan that he shares with Frankie Montecalvo. Coming in P3 was the # 1 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo of Madison Snow and Bryan Sellers

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The # 96 BMW M6 GT3 for Turner Motorsport - 63rd career WIN for Bill Auberlen

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Bill Auberlen (left) and Robby Foley

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With these results, here are the TOP THREE in points in each class, leaving Mid-Ohio:

DPi class
1 - Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque, 1070
2 - Harry Tincknell, Oliver Jarvis, 1015
3 - Loic Duval, Tristan Vautier, 925

LMP3 class
1 - Gar Robinson, 715
2 - Colin Braun, Jonathan Bennett, 690
3 - Dylan Murry, Jim Cox, 646

GTD class
1 - Bill Auberlen, Robby Foley, 920
2 - Roman De Angelis, Ross Gunn, 913
3 - Patrick Long, 874

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The next outing for the WeatherTech gang is the Detroit Grand Prix on Belle Isle, on the IndyCar race weekend, where DPi class, GTLM class and GTD class will race, June 11-12.

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M

[MarkyS]

+++

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We have lost the Honda Indy Toronto for 2021…

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Over the busy race weekend the news came out that due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Honda Indy Toronto IndyCar race weekend has been cancelled again, as it was in 2020. The race, originally scheduled for the July 9-11 weekend, hasn’t been replaced yet.

IndyCar Is weighing the possibilty of having a double-header at World Wide Technology Raceway (Gateway) in late August OR possibly a double-header at Mid-Ohio in early July.

For the Road to Indy, which was to fully support the IndyCars at Toronto, the choice was to add a weekend at Mid-Ohio to close out the season in October, with 2 races for each of the three series.

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When we get word on where the big cars will go we will let you know.

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M

[MarkyS]

+++

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Tuesday at Indianapolis - practice begins for the 105th running of the Indy 500…

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Today the IndyCars held 2 practice sessions for the 2021 Indy 500, with rookie orientation and refresher sandwiched in between the sessions.

The opening session resereved for veterans was 2 hours in length, with a few sprinkles of light rain interrupting it, at times. The session was called “P-6” due to the 5 previous sessions recorded weeks ago.

Here was the order of speed for the P-6 practice session for the Indy 500, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan - time of 00:40.2776s for a speed of 223.449mph

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2 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:40.2829s for a speed of 223.420mph

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3 - Scott McLaughlin [R], Team Penske - time of 00:40.3885s for a speed of 222.836mph

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4 - Juan Pablo Montoya, Arrow McLaren SP - time of 00:40.3985s for a speed of 222.781mph

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5 - Ed Jones, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser Sullivan - time of 00:40.4131s for a speed of 222.700mph

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6 - Will Power, Team Penske
7 - Santino Ferrucci, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
8 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP
9 - James Hinchcliffe, Andretti Steinbrenner
10 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing

11 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing
12 - Sage Karam, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
13 - Tony Kanaan, Chip Ganassi Racing
14 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport
15 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport
16 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta
17 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing
18 - Sebastien Bourdais, AJ Foyt Enterprises
19 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing
20 - Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

21 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing
22 - Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing
23 - Max Chilton, Carlin
24 - Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske
25 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP
26 - Simona De Silvestro, Paretta Autosport
27 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport
28 - Pietro Fittipaldi, Dale Coyne w/ Rick Ware Racing
29 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
30 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises

31 - Stefan Wilson, Andretti Autosport
32 - Jack Harvey, Meyer Shank Racing

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Notable:

• Rahal has been fast at the previous practices and was also fast at Texas Motor Speedway in April. This may be Graham’s year at the Speedway.

• Rookie Scott McLaughlin has taken to ovals like a veteran. He seems to know no fear. He is being coached by one of the best ever - Rick Mears, a four-time WINNER of the Indy 500. That has to help.

• It’s great to see Santino Ferrucci back in abn IndyCar and doing so well. Someone get this kid a ride.

• Neither Stefan Wilson nor Jack Harvey turned in any laps, this morning, and Dalton Kellet only ran an installation lap for a new engine.

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Graham Rahal

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After the P-6 session the Rookie Orientation and Refresher session happened. Included were JR Hildebrand for AJ Foyt, Stefan Wilson for Andretti Autosport and RC Enerson for Top Gun Racing.

Hildebrand complete his refresher but Wilson needed his last set of laps, which he went after and completed in the afternoon session. Enerson was also short on laps and was intending to finish today but lost a boot on one of his constant velocity joints on his rear axle and will complete Rookie Orientation tomorrow, instead.

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left to right, JR Hildebrand, Stefan Wilson and RC Enerson

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Practice…(continued)

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M

[MarkyS]

+++

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Tuesday at Indianapolis - practice begins for the 105th running of the Indy 500…(part 2)…

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Following Refresher and Rookie Orientation the P-7 practice session was held and nearly everyone went faster yet. We have COMBINED the P-6 and P-7 sessions to see who was fastest all day.

Here was the order of speed for the P-6 and P-7 practice sessions for the Indy 500 COMBINED, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R]denotes rookie; the driver’s best session is in ( )

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1 - Will Power, Team Penske - time of 00:39.7403s for a speed of 226.470mph (2)

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2 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport - time of 00:39.7578s for a speed of 226.371mph (2)

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3 - Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan - time of 00:39.7998s for a speed of 226.132mph (2)

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4 - Sage Karam, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing - time of 00:39.8332s for a speed of 225.942mph (2)

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5 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing - time of 00:39.8865s for a speed of 225.640mph (2)

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6 - Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske (2)
7 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP (2)
8 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing (2)
9 - Ed Jones, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser Sullivan (2)
10 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing (2)

11 - Tony Kanaan, Chip Ganassi Racing (2)
12 - Juan Pablo Montoya, Arrow McLaren SP (2)
13 - Simona De Silvestro, Paretta Autosport (2)
14 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske (2)
15 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing (2)
16 - James Hinchcliffe, Andretti Steinbrenner (2)
17 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP (2)
18 - Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing (2)
19 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan (1)
20 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta (2)

21 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport (2)
22 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing (2)
23 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport (2)
24 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing (2)
25 - Scott McLaughlin [R], Team Penske (1)
26 - Charlie Kimball, AJ Foyt Enterprises (2)
27 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises (2)
28 - JR Hildebrand, AJ Foyt Enterprise (2)
29 - Santino Ferrucci, Rahal Letterman Lanigan (1)
30 - Jack Harvey, Meyer Shank Racing (2)

31 - Max Chilton, Carlin (2)
32 - Pietro Fittipaldi, Dale Coyne w/ Rick Ware Racing (2)
33 - Sebastien Bourdais, AJ Foyt Enterprises (1)
34 - Stefan Wilson, Andretti Autosport (2)

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Notable:

• The increase in speed between sessions is evident, as Graham Rahal’s TOP TIME from the P-6 session is now only good for P19 in the afternoon, while teammate Takuma Sato is much improved to P3.

• Nice session for both Sage Karam and Conor Daly. Daly is having his best year in IndyCar ever as for as his perfoming and only needs a little racing luck to add to his impressive drives. Whereas, Sage’s guys at Dreyer & Reinbold have no business being this good for a one-and-done team.

• Ed Jones makes the TOP TEN twice in one day. This is why Dale Coyne decided to give him another shot this season.

• Great performance by Simona de Silvestro on another one-and-done team. Simona has a lot of unfinished business at the Indy 500 and in IndyCars. We’d love to see her get in the race and do well - maybe well enough for Paretta Autosport to consider more races in 2022.

• With this session we have all the 2021 entrants practicing now except for RC Enerson and we hope to have him tomorrow.

• The entire field is covered by only 1.4 seconds.

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Will Power

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Tomorrow, they do it again, weasther permitting.

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M

[MarkyS]

+++

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Wednesday at Indianapolis - Practice continues for the Indy 500…

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The P-8 practice session was held today, after RC Enerson for Top Gun Racing was able to complete his rookie orientation, but then failed to run at all in the practice session. The P-8 session was 6 hours long, starting at 12:15 and ending minutes ago at 6:15.

Here was the order of speed for the P-8 practice session for the 2021 Indy 500, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00**:39.6774s** for a speed of 226.829mph

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2 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing - time of 00:39.7575s for a speed of 226.372mph

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3 - Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing - time of 00:39.8049s for a speed of 226.103mph

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4 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:39.8218s for a speed of 226.007mph

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5 - Tony Kanaan, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:39.8629s for a speed of 225.774mph

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6 - Sebastien Bourdais, AJ Foyt Enterprises
7 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP
8 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing
9 - Sage Karam, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
10 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta

11 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing
12 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport
13 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing
14 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
15 - Will Power, Team Penske
16 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport
17 - Scott McLaughlin [R], Team Penske
18 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport
19 - Jack Harvey, Meyer Shank Racing
20 - Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

21 - Ed Jones, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser Sullivan
22 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP
23 - Juan Pablo Montoya, Arrow McLaren SP
24 - Simona De Silvestro, Paretta Autosport
25 - JR Hildebrand, AJ Foyt Enterprises
26 - Max Chilton, Carlin
27 - Stefan Wilson, Andretti Autosport
28 - Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske
29 - Pietro Fittipaldi, Dale Coyne w/ Rick Ware Racing
30 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske

31 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises
32 - James Hinchcliffe, Andretti Steinbrenner
33 - Charlie Kimball, AJ Foyt Enterprises
34 - Santino Ferrucci, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

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Notable:

• No one is surprised by Scott Dixon leading the day. It’s only surprising to remember that Dixon has only WON this race once. Chip Ganassi Racing is overperforming. They three cars in the TOP FIVE today with Dixon, Marcus Ericsson and Tony Kanaan and Alex Palou is P8.

• Also continuing to impress is Conor Daly for Ed Carpenter Racing, with the boss man Ed himself in P3. Rinus Veekay almost made the TOP TEN for the team, too.

• Making big gains is Sebastien Bourdasis for AJ Foyt, carrying the ball for the team with his P6, while Marco Andretti makes the TOP TEN as the best from the Andretti Autosport stable, and yet not very happy with it.

• Graham Rahal recovers a little from his Tuesday second-session doldrums while Will Power slips from P1 to P15 today - the best of the Team Penske lot.

• …and we stll can’t believe how good Sage Karam and Dreyer & Reinbold are, still in the TOP TEN.

• If RC Enerson for Top Gun Racing. doesn’t begin to run practices he’s doomed. His best speed so far has been his Rookie Orientation speed of 216 miles per hour.

• The entire field was covered by only 1.4 seconds, or just 1 second to P33 Charlie Kimball.

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Scott Dixon - TOPS for Wednesday

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M

[MarkyS]

+++

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Thursday at Indianapolis - Practice continues…

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The 4th practice of the week came off today with the first car in the wall hard, as Santino Ferrucci for Rahal Letterman Lanigan rotated in Turn 2 and backed into the wall, shortly after setting what was then 2nd fastest lap. Santino is sore as hell, especially in his left leg, but no broken bones and the doctors say he will be able to return to racing, and as soon as they repair his car. He ended the day in P3 when Tony Kanaan for Chip Ganassi took P1 from Conor Daly for Ed Carpenter.

Here was the order of speed for the 4th practice of the week, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Tony Kanaan, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:39.9395s for a speed of 225.341mph

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2 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing - time of 00:39.9565s for a speed of 225.245mph

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3 - Santino Ferrucci, Rahal Letterman Lanigan - time of 00:40.0139s for a speed of 224.922mph

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4 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske - time of 00:40.0204s for a speed of 224.885mph

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5 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:40.0595s for a speed of 224.666mph

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6 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing
7 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing
8 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing
9 - Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
10 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport

11 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing
12 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport
13 - Scott McLaughlin [R], Team Penske
14 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP
15 - Will Power, Team Penske
16 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP
17 - Jack Harvey, Meyer Shank Racing
18 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta
19 - Ed Jones, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser Sullivan
20 - Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing

21 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport
22 - Juan Pablo Montoya, Arrow McLaren SP
23 - Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske
24 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises
25 - Stefan Wilson, Andretti Autosport
26 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
27 - Pietro Fittipaldi, Dale Coyne w/ Rick Ware Racing
28 - Sage Karam, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
29 - Charlie Kimball, AJ Foyt Enterprises
30 - JR Hildebrand, AJ Foyt Enterprises

31 - Simona De Silvestro, Paretta Autosport
32 - James Hinchcliffe, Andretti Steinbrenner
33 - Max Chilton, Carlin
34 - Sebastien Bourdais, AJ Foyt Enterprises
35 - RC Enerson, Top Gun Racing

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Santino’s trip to the wall…

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NTT INDYCAR SERIES

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Notable:

• A Chip Ganassi car goes to the top again, but this time it’s Tony Kanaan in the car normally driven by Jimmie Johnson while Scott Dixon still managed to make TOP FIVE and the whole squad is TOP ELEVEN, again. CGR has got it going on.

• Conor Daly makes P2 for the 2nd time and TOP FIVE for the 3rd time this week. If he’s eating Wheaties, everyone else should grab a bowl.

• Santino Ferrucci sees both the highs and the lows on the day. At least he knows he has the speed, if he’s willing to explore the limits again. He was easily RLL’s fastest guy today.

• Josef Newgarden finally shows the speed we have expected from him while his teammates are more mid-pack.

• Dalton Kellett has the least amount of experience for AJ Foyt while Sebastien Bourdais has easily the most, yet Kellett ended the day in P24 and Sebastien in P34. Shows to go ya. They must be experimenting and Seb is the guinea pig.

• RC Enerson finally put in some practice laps but he need a lot more speed to survive qualifying.

• The entire field was covered by less than a second, except for Enerson, who was still only 1.4 seconds off Tony.

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Tony Kanaan - CGR’s TOP DAWG for the day

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Friday is known as “Fast Friday”, as IndyCar adds boost to the engines to simulate the boost levels everyone will have during qualifying. Speeds will go up, but so does the danger level.

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M

[MarkyS]

+++

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Friday at Indianapolis - “Fast Friday” produces incredible speeds at Indy…

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For the day IndyCar added about 90 additional horspower to all the cars with a rise in turbocharger boost levels, from a normal 1.3 bar to 1.5 bar - what they will use for qualifying. Of course, the goal is higher top speeds and that is precisely what they got.

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

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1 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:38.5766s for a speed of 233.302mph

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2 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport - time of 00:38.6244s for a speed of 2323.784mph

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3 - Tony Kanaan, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:38.6781s for a speed of 232.690mph

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4 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:38.7045s for a speed of 232.531mph

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5 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:38.7672s for a speed of 232.155mph

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6 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP
7 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport
8 - Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
9 - Ed Jones, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser Sullivan
10 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport

11 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
12 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing
13 - Stefan Wilson, Andretti Autosport
14 - Santino Ferrucci, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
15 - Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing
16 - Jack Harvey, Meyer Shank Racing
17 - James Hinchcliffe, Andretti Steinbrenner
18 - Pietro Fittipaldi, Dale Coyne w/ Rick Ware Racing
19 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing
20 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP

21 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing
22 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
23 - Max Chilton, Carlin
24 - Scott McLaughlin [R], Team Penske
25 - Juan Pablo Montoya, Arrow McLaren SP
26 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta
27 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises
28 - JR Hildebrand, AJ Foyt Enterprises
29 - Will Power, Team Penske
30 - Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske

31 - Sage Karam, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
32 - Simona De Silvestro, Paretta Autosport
33 - Sebastien Bourdais, AJ Foyt Enterprises
34 - Charlie Kimball, AJ Foyt Enterprises
35 - RC Enerson [R], Top Gun Racing

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Notable:

• Up until the last ten minutes of running the 4 Ganassi cars were P1, P2, P3 and P4. Colton Herta went for a four-lap-average run and one of his laps spoiled the perfect day for Chip Ganassi Racing.

• Conversely, Team Penske is mired in the back end, with Josef Newgarden in P22, Scott McLaughlin in P24, Will Power in P29 and Simon Pagenaud in P30. This is strange. Only AJ Foyt Enterprises is doing worse as a team, and Dalton Kellett is beating Power and Pagenaud, at the moment.

• Whatever magic Conor Daly has had for the last few days has somewhat evaporated and he has gone from the best Ed Carpenter Racing car to the worst. Yet, overall the team looks middling today in single-lap speed.

• Rahal Letterman Lanigan range from P8 Takuma Sato to P14 Santino Ferrucci with Graham Rahal in between in P11 - all in all a decent showing as a squad, with Santino recovering nicely from yesterday’s shunt.

• After Colton Herta, the Andretti boys ranged from Alexander Rossi’s P7 to Marco Andretti’s P26, but great showing for Stefan Wilson to be P13 on a single lap.

• The difference betwwn Dixon and Charlie Kimball was only 0.80 seconds and RC Enerson was only 1.2 seconds off the Kiwi’s pace. Unbelievable speed and parity out of the entire field. Cars were hitting 240 miles an hour on the straights.

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Scott Dixon

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Late in the day several cars attempted qualifying simulations by setting a four-lap average. It didn’t always work, because of traffic, but many managed to get in the four laps unimpeded. We have the TOP TEN in four-lap-average running here, with their speed averages.

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1 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing - average speed of 231.949mph

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2 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport - average speed of 231.726mph

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3 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP - average speed of 231.522mph

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4 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport - average speed of 230.999mph

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5 - Stefan Wilson, Andretti Autosport - average speed of 230.844mph

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6 - Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan - average speed of 230.819mph

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7 - Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing - average speed of 230.423mph

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8 - Santino Ferrucci, Rahal Letterman Lanigan - average speed of 230.364mph

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9 - Ed Jones, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser Sullivan - average speed of 230.251mph

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10 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing - average speed of 230.234mph

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Again, it was often hard to get a 4-lap average, but these guys should all do well in qualifying, given similar weather and temperatures.

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There will be a final practice for any who wants it on Saturday morning from 9:30am EASTERN time to 10:30am. Then, qualifying begins at Noon on Saturday, when the grid from P10 through P30 will be set.

On Sunday Row 11 - P31 through P33 - will be decided, with 2 of the 5 remaining cars getting bumped out of the race. Lastly, the TOP NINE will have a shootout for pole, as P1 through P9 are finally set.

Saturday Broadcast schedule - Practice from 9:30-10:30am (Peacock Premium); qualifying from Noon-5:50pm (Peacock Premium 12-2pm, NBC 2-3pm, NBCSN, 3-5pm - all times EASTERN)

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