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

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Saturday at Laguna Seca - The Porsche Carrera Cup North America holds Race 1…

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…of the weekend, and Road to Indy ace Parker Thompson for JDX Racing finally breaks the WIN streak of Kay van Berlo, with a WIN from his P3 start. Starting on pole and finishing P2 was Road to Indy driver Trenton Estep in the # 6 Porsche for MDK Motorsports while P3 went to P2-starter Riley Dickinson in the # 53 Porsche for Kelly-Moss Road & Race.

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Parker for the WIN

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On the opening lap Thompson jumped on Dickinson for P2 and then Estep quickly lost the lead to Thompson, while van Berlo in the # 3 for Kelly-Moss dropped from P4 to ninth after nearly getting caught up in an accident that saw Pro-Am class pole-sitter Efrin Castro for Kelly-Moss in the gravel. Van Berlo would eventually recover to finish P5.

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Parker Thompson

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Race 2 is scheduled for Sunday and on the pole will be Riley Dickinson with Parker starting P2 and Trenton starting P3. Kay Van Berlo will start from P4 again.

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Saturday at Laguna Seca - The Michelin Pilot Challenge race …

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…was WON in the GS class and overall by starter Alan Brynjolfsson and closer Trent Hindman in the # 7 VOLT Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4, from their P10 start. Coming in P2 were closer Stevan McAleer and starter Alexandre Premat in the # 28 Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS for RS1 from their P2 start. P3 went to The # 14 Riley Motorsports Toyota GR Supra GT4 of starter Alfredo Najri and closer Thiago Camilo from their P8 start.

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The WINNING VOLT Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4

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Hindman took over the lead after gambling on fuel prior to a series of late-race yellows that put the car back into its fuel window. With the WIN, Hindman and Brynjolfsson take over as the sole points leaders in GS class.

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Alan Brynjolfsson (left) and Trent Hindman

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TCR class was WON by starter Roy Block and closer Tim Lewis in the # 5 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR for KMW Motorsports w/ TMR Engineering from their P3 start. P2 went to the # 15 Belgard & Techniseal Racing Audi TCR of closer Denis Dupont and starter Eric Rockwell from their P12 start. P3 went to the # 19 Hyundai Veloster N TCR from VAN DER STEUR RACING with starter Rory van der Steur and closer Tyler Gonzalez from their P4 start.

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The WINNING Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce for KMW Motorsport w/ TMR Engineering

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Lewis took over the class lead with four minutes left on the clock when leader Jon Morley in the # 61 Road Shagger Racing Audi RS 3 LMS TCR was forced to serve a drive-through penalty after contact with the # 2 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR of IndyCar driver Ryan Norman in Turn 1.

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The next outings for the Michelin Pilot Challenge will be at the Mid-Ohio 120 in support of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s Lexus Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio, May 13-15
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**Sunday morning at Laguna Seca - Porsche Carrera Cup North America holds Race 2…

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…and Road to Indy ace driver Parker Thompson for JDX Racing SWEEPS the weekend with his 2nd victory, this one from a P2 start. P2 at the end was pole-sitter Riley Dickinson for Kelly-Moss Road & Race while P3 went to teammate Kay van Berlo from his P4 start.

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Just as in Race 1, it was Parker’s opening lap heroics in the # 9 Porsche 992 that WON the race for him as he passed Riley on lap 1 in Turn 2 and then never looked back. Thompson held the position for the remainder of the race, despite heavy pressure at times from Dickinson in the # 53 Kelly-Moss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car.

Kay van Berlo in the # 3 Porsche for Kelly-Moss was able to pass Road to Indy driver Trenton Estep for MDK Motorsports with some wheel-banging that resulted in Estep’s # 6 Porsche going from his P3 start to 4th at the end, though Race Control saw no foul.

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Parker’s own race report:

Parker Thompson

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Your happy podium - That’s Riley Dickinson in P2 on the left, Parker Thompson in P1 in the middle and Kay van Berlo in P3 on the right:

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With these results here are the TOP FIVE in points leaving Laguna Seca:

1 - Kay van Berlo 143
2 - Parker Thompson, 121
3 - Riley Dickinson, 87
4 - Trenton Estep, 85
5 - TJ Fischer, 60

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The next outings for PCCNA will be at Watkins Glen International, June 23-26, in support of the WeatherTech Sahlen’s 6 Hours of the Glen. Next up, the WeatherTech race…

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Sunday at Laguna Seca - The WeatherTech gang complete their race…

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…and we have the podiums of all four classes here, starting with the overall and DPi class WINNERS:

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DPi class - Taking their first WIN of the season were Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor in the # 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 for Wayne Taylor Racing. Though they fairly dominated the practices and qualifying, they still found it hard and close beating the # 60 Acura of Oliver Jarvis and Tom Blomqvist for Meyer Shank Racing, crossing the line only 1 second ahead. Coming in 3rd were IndyCar driver Pipo Derani and co-driver Tristan Nunez in the # 31 Whelen Cadillac DPi V.R for Action Express.

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LMP2 class - Victory went to the # 8 Tower Motorsport duo of Louis Deletraz and John Farano when both of the PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA 07 Gibsons faded in the second half of the race, after leading. Coming in P2 was the # 18 Era Motorsport car of Ryan Dalziel and Dwight Merriman while P3 went to the # 81 DragonSpeed ORECA of IndyCar driver Juan Pablo Montoya and Henrik Hedman.

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GTD Pro class - Mathieu Jaminet and Matt Campbell took the #. 9 Porsche 911 GT3 R for PFAFF Motorsports to an easy 31.896-second WIN over the # 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RCF GT3 of IndyCar driver Jack Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat. P3 went to the # 25 BMW M Team RLL BMW M4 GT3 of Road to Indy ace Connor De Phillippi and John Edwards.

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GTD class - Wright Motorsports came out on top in class thanks to a late-race pass on Bill Auberlen by IndyCar driver Jan Heylen in the # 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R that he shares with Ryan Hardwick. Heylen then took the Porsche to a 5.517-second WIN over the # 39 CarBahn with Peregrine Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo of Jeff Westphal and Indy Lights driver Rob Megennis. Jeff had passed the # 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 of Auberlen and Robby Foley on the final lap, with Bill ending up in the P3 spot on the podium. This was Heylen’s birthday so he gifted himself!

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Points haven’t yet been awarded, but we are very pleased to see that every podium had Indycar guys on it. Congrats to all of them!!

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The next outing for the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will be the Lexus Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio, May 13-15, with support from the Michelin Pilot Challenge series and the IMSA Prototype Challenge series.

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The 33rd entry for the 2022 Indy 500 has been found!..

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The IndyCar series has been looking for a team and a driver to fill the 33rd seat for the grid of the 2022 Indy 500 for some time now, wanting to keep with tradition and have at least 33 starters attempt to do the race. Today it was announced that former IndyCar team DragonSpeed and 1-time Indy 500 entrant (2021) Cusick Motorsports will partner to put Stefan Wilson into the # 25 Chevrolet, with chassis provided by AJ Foyt Enterprises. Wilson was the driver for Cusick at the 500 in 2021 in a Honda with a chassis and squad provided by Andretti Autosport.

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Wilson - but, scratch the Honda logo

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Stefan will once again be sponsored by sporting goods line Lohla Sport and Sierra Pacific Windows and add Gnarly Jerky to the sponsor list, for 2022. Don Cusick and Stefan have been actively looking for a partner for some time, but it was finally the intention of Elton Julian for Dragonspeed to re-commit to IndyCars that made the deal happen, after a chance meeting and conference between parties last weekend at the Thermal Club circuit, in southern California , while DragonSpeed was there to test their LMP2 ORECA for the IMSA WeatherTech weekend at Laguna Seca, just completed.

Don Cusick

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Julian and DragonSpeed had four IndyCar races and two 500 appearances in 2019 and 2020 with Brit Ben Hanley as their pilot and with the intention of even more races in 2020 beyond the 500, but then the pandemic changed everything. They eventually had to quit their IndyCar effort to save their SportsCar effort, which was the bedrock for the team. But Julian has never quit on his desire to race IndyCars.

Elton Julian

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The Foyt Chassis will be Tatiana Calderon’s # 11 road and street course chassis, but as Tati will not be in the Indy 500 it will be available after the Indianapolis Grand Prix, next weekend. The car will need full conversion to a Speedway configuration in time to let Wilson begin testing with everyone else entered in the race. Former IndyCar technical director Will Phillips will look after Wilson from the timing stand while former Road to Indy ace Anders “the Viking” Krohn will run the team operations. Stefan is in good hands.

Brains and ass-kickers Phillips (left) and Krohn

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Said a very happy Stefan Wilson, “The journey to the 2022 Indianapolis 500 has been a rollercoaster ride for Cusick Motorsports, our partners and myself. A few short weeks ago it didn’t look like this was going to happen for us, but I’m so relieved all of the pieces came together to get another shot at this race. The Cusick Motorsports and DragonSpeed partnership couldn’t be a better fit and I know it’ll be a great combination for Indy this year, as well as for future opportunities. I’m also looking forward to joining Team Chevy and wearing a bow tie this month."

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Good luck!!

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Hey!..It’s time for another episode of Josef Newgarden’s series, “Admit 1”…

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This one was after the recent IndCar open test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Take a look:

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ADMIT1: Indianapolis 500 Testing

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While we’re doing “Admit 1” let’s also do the feature following the last race…

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…at Barber Motorsports Park…in order to catch up before the weekend of racing ahead…

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Take a look:

ADMIT1: 2022 Barber Motorsports Park

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Okay! On to the GMR Grand Prix at Indianapolis…

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Antonio Serravalle is making a move…

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The young Canadian Indy Lights driver started the first two races of the season in the Abel Motorsports stable, but will now be moving over to become another HMD Motorsports pilot for probably the rest of the season.

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Antonio Serravalle

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Antonio was with the team in the # 11 Dallara at Mid-Ohio for a series test last weekend, and placed 5th out of 10 cars testing.

Said Antonio, “I would like to say a big thank you to Bill Abel, John Brunner and everyone at Abel Motorsports for all of the support and opportunities they provided. I am thankful for them giving us a race-by-race program and not letting me miss any of the first two event weekends. I am happy there was an opportunity open where I can join HMD Motorsports, which is a highly successful and experienced team. I feel good after the test last week at Mid-Ohio, and I look forward to this weekend and the rest of the 2022 season.”

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The “opportunity open” Antonio spoke of was the team’s loss of Mexican Manuel Sulaiman, who apparently has run out of budget and will not be with HMD at Indianapolis, if at all, going forward. A shame.

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Manuel Sulaiman

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Following their thrilling rain race at Barber, the Lights will hold Season Rounds 3 and 4 at Indianapolis this weekend, on the Road Course and in support of the IndyCar race.

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IMSA comes to Mid-Ohio SportsCar Course this weekend…

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…in order to do the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race, the Lexus Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio. In support will be the Michelin Pilot Challenge series as well as the IMSA Prototype Challenge series, and IndyCar drivers will be in all three series. While we will be concentrating mostly on the IndyCar race weekend at Indianapolis (see the separate thread), we will try to keep abreast of the goings-on at Mid-Ohio.

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The IndyCar folks at Mid-Ohio will be former IndyCar and Road to Indy drivers, as the current crop will all be in Indianapolis. Let’s see who will be at Lexington, Ohio, this weekend, starting with the 4 classes of the WeatherTech gang that will be there:

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DPI class - 4-time IndyCar Champion Sebastien Bourdais is one of the two series regulars in the # 01 Cadillac DPi V.R for Cadillac Racing, pairing with veteran Renger van der Zande.

Sebastien Bourdais

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Indy Lights Champion Tristan Vautier is one of the two guys in the # 5 Cadillac DPi V.R for JDC-Miller Motorsports, with his co-driver being Richard Westbrook.

Tristan Vautier

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Indy Pro 2000 alum Pipo Derani is a series regular in the # 31 Whelen Cadillac for Action Express, along with co-driver Tristan Nunez.

Pipo Derani

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LMP2 class - USF2000 phenom and 16-year-old Josh Pierson will drive the # 52 ORECA 07 Gibson for PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports with veteran Patrick Kelly

Josh Pierson

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2-time Indy 500 WINNER Juan Pablo Montoya shares the # 81 ORECA 07 Gibson with Henrik Hedman as they drive for DragonSpeed.

Juan Pablo Montoya

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LMP3 class - Road to Indy alum Trenton Estep is a co-driver in the # 7 Duqueine D08 for Forty7 Motorsports, with Mark Kvamme.

Trenton Estep

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Canadian Indy Lights alum Garett Grist will share the # 30 Ligier JS P320 for Jr III Racing with Ari Balogh.

Garett Grist

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Indy Lights alum and SRO SportsCar Champion Jarett Andretti will drive the # 36 Ligier for Andretti Autosport with Aussie Josh Burdon.

Jarett Andretti

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Swedish Road to Indy ace Rasmus Lindh shares the # 38 Ligier for Performance Tech Motorsports with Dan Goldburg.

Rasmus Lindh

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Multiple junior formula Champion and Road to Indy ace Dakota Dickerson is a co-driver with Josh Sarchet in the # 58 Ligier for MLT Motorsports.

Dakota Dickerson

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GTD class - former Indy Pro 2000 Champion Aaron Telitz is a pilot of the # 14 Lexus RCF GT3 for Vasser Sullivan with co-driver Franke Montecalvo.

Aaron Telitz

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Former Champ Car driver and a champion of 3 different series in 2021, Jan Heylen drives the # 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R for Wright Motorsports with co-driver Ryan Hardwick.

Jan Heylen

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Normally a GTD Pro class driver, this weekend former Indy Pro 2000 Champion Jack Hawksworth will drive the GTD class # 17 Lexus RCF GT3 for Vasser Sullivan with co-driver Richard Heistand.

Jack Hawksworth

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Indy Lights race WINNER Rob Megennis drives the # 39 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 for CarBahn with Peregrine Racing with co-driver Jeff Westphal.

Rob Megennis

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• The Michelin Pilot Challenge series has no IndyCar guys in the Grand Sport class but does have a few in the Touring Car class:

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TCR class - Indy Lights race WINNER and former TCR class champion Ryan Norman shares the # 2 Hyundai Elantra N TCR for Bryan Herta Autosport with AJ Muss.

Ryan Norman

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Former IndyCar driver and paraplegic Robert Wickens drives the # 33 Hyundai Elantra N TCR for Bryan Herta Autosport using hand controls. His usual co-driver is Mark Wilkins, but Wilkins has a family emergency and subbing for him will be IndyCar driver and former TCR class Champion Gabby Chaves.

Robert Wickens (left) and Gabby Chaves

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Former Indy Pro 2000 alum and paraplegic Michael Johnson drives the # 54 Hyundai Elantra N TCR for Michael Johnson Racing w/ Bryan Herta Autosport, using hand controls. His co-driver is Stephen Simpson.

Michael Johnson

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• The IMSA Prototype Challenge series will have a few IndyCar folks in there, this weekend, all accomplished:

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Road to Indy shootout entrant and Formula Car Challenge National Championship Courtney Crone is a co-driver in the # 3 Ligier JS P320 for Jr III Racing with Terry Olson.

Courtney Crone

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Road to Indy ace Parker Thompson shares the # 14 Ligier JS P320 for Sean Creech Motorsport with Lance Willsey. Parker is coming off two WINS in Porsche Carrera Cup North America at Laguna Seca.

Parker Thompson

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IndyCar veteran Memo Gidley is a co-driver in the # 23 Duqueine D08 for JDC MotorSports with Alexander Koreiba.

Memo Gidley

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Friday will be a day of practice for all three series…

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Friday at Mid-Ohio - IMSA begins their race weekend…

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…with practice and qualifying for the Michelin Pilot Challenge series. There were two practice sessions for the series followed by qualifying and we have COMBINED the result to give you the TOPS in practice and the TOP THREE qualifiers in each class. :

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Grand Sport class - the series HOT SHOE in GS classpractice today was Kenton Koch in the # 56 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT GT4 and that speed later translated into the class pole by Kenton with a time of 1:27.126s for a speed of 93.299mph. Kenton bested Alexandre Premat in the # 28 Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS for RS1 by a tiny 0.056 seconds. Starting 3rd will be Kenny Murillo in the # 72 Mercedes-AMG GT GT4 for Murillo Racing.

Kenton shares the # 56 Mercedes with Eric Foss while Alex shares the # 28 Porsche with Stevan McAleer. Kenny’s co-driver in the # 72 Mercedes is Christian Szymczak.

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The # 56 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT GT4 - TOPS in practice and on the pole

Kenton Koch

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Touring Car class - TOPS in practice for TCR today was IndyCar driver Gabby Chaves in the # 33 Hyundai Elantra N TCR for Bryan Herta Autosport but when it came time to qualify it was Tiago Monteiro in the # 37 Honda Civic FK7 TCR for LA Honda World Racing that took pole with a time of 1:28.829s for a speed of 91.510mph. Tiago beat Gabby in the Elantra by 0.342 seconds. Starting 3rd will be Rory van der Steur in the # 19 Hyundai Elantra N TCR for Van der Steur Racing.

Tiago shares the Honda with Mat Pombo while Gabby is subbing for absent Mark Wilkins, who normally shares the # 33 Hyundai with IndyCar driver Robby Wickens. Rory’d co-driver in the # 19 is Tyler Gonzalez.

The # 37 Honda Civic FK7 TCR for LA Honda World Racing - on the pole

Tiago Monteiro

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The race is scheduled for late Saturday afternoon.
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Saturday at Mid-Ohio - IMSA holds more practice and qualifying…

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On Friday the IMSA Prototype Challenge gang had their first practice. Today, they had their second practice and then qualified for Season Round 2. We have the TOPS in practice and the TOP THREE qualifiers for Sunday’s race:

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It was Patrick Kujala in the # 77 Ligier JS P320 for O’Gara Motorsport / Change Racing / USRT who topped both practice sessions with his P-2 time, but when it came time to qualify it was IndyCar driver Memo Gidley in the # 23 Duqueine D08 for JDC MotorSports who took pole with a time of 1:17.260s for a speed of 105.213mph. Memo bested Dan Goldburg in the # 6 Ligier for Performance Tech motorsports by a decent 0.692 seconds. Starting 3rd will be Keith Grant in the # 40 Duqueine D08 for JDC MotorSports.

Memo shares the # 23 Duqueine with Alexander Koreiba while Dan shares the Ligier with Oscar Bitar. Keith’s co-driver in the # 40 Duqueine is his brother David Grant.

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The # 23 Duqueine D08 for JDC MotorSports - on the pole

Memo Gidley

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Similarly, the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series also had one practice Friday and one today, followed by qualifying for Sunday’s race. We have the TOPS in each class in practice and the TOP THREE qualifiers here, starting with the DPi class:

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DPi class - TOPS in practice was IndyCar driver Sebastien Bourdais in the # 01 Cadillac DPi V.R for Chip Ganassi’s Cadillac Racing with his P-2 time, and when it came to qualifying that speed translated into a pole for Sebastien with a time of 1:10.439s for a speed of 1:10.439mph. Seb beat out Filipe Albuquerque in the # 10 Konika Minolts Acura ARX-05 for Wayne Taylor Racing by 0.222 seconds. Starting 3rd will be Oliver Jarvis in the other Acura, the # 60 for Meyer Shank Racing.

Sebastien shares the # 01 with Renger van der Zande while Filipe shares the # 10 Acura with Ricky Taylor. Oliver’s co-driver in the # 60 Acura is Tom Blomqvist.

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The # 01 Cadillac DPi V.R for Chip Ganassi’s Cadillac Racing - on the pole

Sebastien Bourdais

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LMP2 class - TOPPING the practice was Anders Fjordbach in the # 20 ORECA 07 Gibson for High Class Racing in the P-2 session but after qualifying it was Patrick Kelly in the # 52 ORECA for PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports on the pole with his time of 1:14.340s for a speed of 109.345mph. Patrick was able to beat teammate Steven Thomas in the # 11 ORECA by a healthy 0.936 seconds. Starting 3rd will be Henrik Hedman in the # 81 ORECA for DragonSpeed.

Patrick shares the # 52 with Road to Indy ace Josh Pierson while Steven shares the # 11 with Jonathan Bomarito. Henrick’s co-driver in IndyCar driver Juan Pablo Montoya while Anders’ co-driver is Dennis Andersen.

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The # 52 ORECA for PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports - on the pole

Patrick Kelly

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LMP3 class - The HOT SHOE in practice was Colin Braun with his P-2 time in the # 54 CORE Autosport Ligier JS P320 but in qualifying it was Indy Lights driver Jarett Andretti in the # 36 Ligier for Andretti Autosport on top with a time of 1:17.104s for a speed of 105.426mph. Jarett bested Josh Sarchet in the # 58 Ligier for MLT Motorsports by 0.337 seconds. Starting 3rd will be Dan Goldburg in the # 38 Ligier for Performance Tech Motorsports.

Jarett is sharing the # 36 with IndyCar driver Gabby Chaves while Josh shares the # 58 with Road to Indy ace Dakota Dickerson. Dan’s co-driver in the # 38 is another Road to Indy ace, Rasmus Lindh.

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The # 36 Ligier for Andretti Autosport - on the pole

Jarett Andretti

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GTD class - TOPPING the charts in practice was Madison Snow with his P-2 time in the # 1 BMW M4 GT3 for Paul Miller Racing and that speed was also good enough for Madison to take pole in the car with a time of 1:20.525s for a speed of 100.947mph. Madison bested Stevan McAleer in the # 32 Mercedes-AMG GT3 for Team Korthoff Motorsports by 0.200 seconds. Starting in P3 will be Roman DeAngelis in the # 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3.

Madison’s co-driver in the BMW is Bryan Sellers while Steven shares the Mercedes with Mike Skeen and Roman shares the Aston with Maxime Martin.

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The # 1 BMW M4 GT3 for Paul Miller Racing - on the pole

Madison Snow

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The IMSA Prototype Challenge race is scheduled for broadcast at 9:25am EASTERN time on Peacock premium, while the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race is scheduled for broadcast on USA network and on Peacock premium at 2:00pm EASTERN time, both on Sunday.

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Saturday at Mid-Ohio - The Michelin Pilot Challenge race…

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The Mid-Ohio 120 was WON today overall and in the GS class by starter Kenton Koch and closer Eric Foss from pole in the # 56 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4. A very close P2 was closer Trent Hindman in the # 7 VOLT Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4 he shares with starter Alan Brynjolfsson from their P7 start while coming in P3 were starter Michael McCann and closer Andrew Davis in the # 8 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport for McCann Racing from their P8 start.

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Hindman tracking Foss at the end

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Foss was forced to conserve fuel during his stint after co-driver Kenton Koch pitted one lap early due to a loose wheel. After that, Foss was on life-support, trying to reach the finish line, but he made it on fumes. Multiple cars ran out of fuel on the final lap of the race.

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In TCR class it was closer Harry Gottsacker and starter Parker Chase in the # 98 Elantra N TCR who gave Hyundai its first TCR class WIN of the season from their P5 start in a 1-2 sweep for Bryan Herta Autosport, ahead of defending class champions Michael Lewis and Taylor Hagler in the # 1 entry for BHA, starting at P6. A late charge by closer Jon Morley in the # 61 Road Shagger Audi RS 3 LMS TCR secured the P3 spot for him and starter Gavin Ernstone from their P13 start.

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Harry Gottsacker (left) and Parker Chase for the TCR WIN

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The next outing for the Michelin Pilot Challenge gang will be the Tioga Downs Casino Resort 120 at Watkins Glen, in support of the WeatherTech series Sahlen’s 6 Hours at the Glen, June 23-26.

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Sunday morning at Mid-Ohio - The IMSA Prototype Challenge race…

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…was a blow-out victory for IndyCar driver Memo Gidley and his co-driver and the closer Alexander Koreiba, off of Memo’s start from pole position. The margin of victory was 41.754 seconds over Tonis Kasemets, who drove alone in the 90-minute race and still charged from the back of the field TWICE to take P2 in the # 60 Wulver Racing Ligier JS P320 Nissan. Coming in 3rd were starter Ari Balogh and closer Thomas Merrill in the Jr III Racing Ligier.

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Alexander (left) and Memo dominate at Mid-Ohio

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The race was caution-free for all 67 laps of the timed event. Memo went out from his pole and immediately got away cleanly. By the time he came in to hand over to Alexander he was about 10 seconds ahead, but Alexander, a Branson, Missouri native, just exploded and drove away from nearest competitor, Patrick Kujala in the # 77 O’Gara Motorsport / Change Racing / USRT Ligier.

Tonis, on the other hand, started the race from last place, having not turned a lap in practice or qualifying, and drove to the front pack. By Lap 6, Kasemets was in P5 but was forced to pit soon after to replace his left-rear tire and dropped back to 13th.

Tonis fought back once more and actually led for more than 20 minutes on an alternate strategy before making his mandatory refueling stop with 20 minutes remaining. He was then 3rd behind Kujala, but Patrick ran out of fuel on the last lap, allowing Tonis in for P2.

Kasemets is one of the greatest driver coaches in motorsports, so he was virtually putting on an excellent display of his trade abilities. Tonis is Estonian and he dedicated the race to the people of Ukraine.

Tonis Kasemets

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Kasemets retains the overall points lead by 20 over Gidley and Koreiba after two rounds. Season Round 3 of the IMSA Prototype Challenge series takes place Sunday, July 3 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park - aka, Mosport.

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Sunday at Mid-Ohio - The WeatherTech Lexus Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio…

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…was WON overall and in DPi class by starter Filipe Albuquerque and closer Ricky Taylor in the # 10 Acura ARX-05 for Wayne Taylor Racing - the 5th WIN for Acura in a row. Coming in P2 was the # 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura of closer Tom Blomqvist and starter Oliver Jarvis while P3 went to the IndyCar driver and closer Pipo Derani and starter Tristan Nunez in the # 31 Cadillac DPi for Action Express.

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Albuquerque (left) and Taylor for Acura

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It was IndyCar driver Sebastien Bourdais who took pole and then after losing the lead for 9 laps reclaimed it and dominated his stint in the # 01 Cadillac for Chip Ganassi but co-driver Renger van der Zande got into an intense battle through a few corners with Taylor and the two touched more than once, eventually spinning out the Cadillac, dropping it to the rear of the field. After that, the two Acuras battled but an Acura WIN, likely for Wayne Taylor, never seemed in doubt.

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In LMP2 class the WINNERS were starter Henrik Hedman and closer and IndyCar driver Juan Pablo Montoya in the # 81 DragonSpeed ORECA 07 Gibson, and that was after Montoya was penalized for spinning out the then class-leading # 11 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA of Jonathan Bomarito to take the lead. After serving his penalty Montoya came back and recovered first place from Bomarito and starter Steven Thomas, who came home in P2. P3 went to starter Dennis Andersen and closer Anders Fjordbach in the # 20 High Class Racing ORECA. Montoya had but 6 laps of practice this morning before racing, due to his presence at Indianapolis for the IndyCar race Friday and Saturday.

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LMP3 class was WON by CORE Autosport’s closer Colin Braun and starter Jon Bennett in their # 54 Ligier JS P320 Nissan. Braun finished 1 lap ahead of the # 30 Jr III Racing Ligier of closer and Indy Lights driver Garett Grist and starter Ari Balogh with IndyCar guys Jarett Andretti and closer Gabby Chaves awarded the class podium in third. The class was hotly contested with multiple lead changes, most of the race.

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The GTD class honors were first given to the # 70 McLaren 720S GT3 of starter Brendan Iribe and closer Jordan Pepper for Inception Racing after their fantastic fuel-saving run to the finish, but post-race inspection found the car to be too light and it was moved to last place. That makes the # 96 BMW M4 GT3 of starter Robby Foley and closer Bill Auberlen for Turner Motorsport the WINNING car. P2 now falls to the pole-sitting # 1 BMW M4 GT3 of Paul Miller Racing with starter Madison Snow and closer Bryan Sellers while P3 goes to the # 12 Lexus RCF GT3 for Vasser Sullivan, with starter Frankie Montecalvo and closer and IndyCar driver Aaron Telitz. The class was very hotly contested throughout the day.

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The true podium, visible in order here - BMW, BMW, Lexus

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Points have yet to be awarded, but CONGRATS to the IndyCar drivers on podiums - Pipo Derani, Garett Grist, Jarett Andretti, Gabby Chaves and Aaron Telitz - and IndyCar WINNERS Juan Pablo Montoya here and Memo Gidley in IMSA Prototype Challenge. Well done!

Also, CONGRATS to Bill Auberlen on yet another career WIN.

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The next outing for the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will be the Chevrolet SportsCar Classic on Belle Isle in conjunction with the IndyCar race weekend, June 4th. Classes will be the DPi class and the GTD class.

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M

[MarkyS]

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Great News!..Myles Rowe is ALIVE!!..

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The young USF2000 talent was technically dead to the world following the three USF2000 races at Indianapolis, last weekend, out of budget for his # 22 Tatuuus USF-22 for Pabst Racing. But it was announced today that exactly 1 hour before he was to graduate from Pace University the New Yorker met with IndyCar owner Roger Penske who assured him that between himself and a few other sponsors Myles was going to drive to the end of the season.

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Myles Rowe

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Myles was picked in 2021 to be the first driver with the Force Indy team connected to Penske’s Race For Equality & Change program, attempting to aid women and drivers of color, but he certainly proved that pick was not just about color. Myles WON his first Road to Indy race at New Jersey in the rain in late '21 and has since WON 2 races so far this season, as well as pick up an additional podium. He sits 4th in the points but only 5 points out in the hotly-contested field.

While the Race For Equality & Change program has shifted to sponsoring Ernie Francis, Jr in the Indy Lights for 2022 Myles has since the start of this season been on his own, driving for Augie Pabst and trying to keep racing with a go-fund-me program, but that ran out last Saturday.

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Congrats Myles! Now, get ready for the Freedom 75 to be run on May 27th - Carb Day - at Indianapolis Raceway Park - The next race on the USF2000 calendar and the only oval race of the year for the series.

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M

[MarkyS]

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In case you thought you saw something special at Indianapolis last Saturday…

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…you are right - You did! The GMR Grand Prix at Indianapolis shattered the record for on-track passes, with no less than 471 passes made and 362 of those passes were for position. The former records were made last August at the Harvest GP on the Road Course. They were 269 total and 192 for position, so both stats were blown out on Saturday.

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The rain gave back-markers an opportunity that they wouldn’t have otherwise had and many of them made the best of it. Look at these TOP SIX movers:

Simon Pagenaud +18 (20th-2nd)
Marcus Ericsson +14 (18th-4th)
Colton Herta +13 (14th-1st)
David Malukas +12 (24th-12th)
Scott Dixon +11 (21st-10th)
Tatiana Calderon +10 (25th-15th)

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In addition, the points leader has changed yet again, due to the race. Will Power becomes the 4th points leader in 5 races. He has done it with consistency as he has yet to WIN a race, posting two P3s and three P4s to take the lead.

Power on top

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Opening day of Indianapolis 500 practice is Tuesday, with oval veterans practice opening the day from 9-11 a.m. Rookie Orientation Program and veteran refreshers are scheduled for 1-3 p.m., and open Indianapolis 500 practice takes place from 3-6 p.m. All times EASTERN time zone. All on-track action can be seen LIVE on Peacock Premium.

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M

[MarkyS]

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Tuesday at Indianapolis - Practice1 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway…

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This morning at IMS everyone but Stefan Wilson for DragonSpeed / Cusick Motorsports came out on track for the first practice session for the 106th running of the Indy 500. Wilson, who only CONFIRMED his entry late last week, is the only driver who has yet to do his rookie or refresher orientation module to enter the 500. He will have 2 hours to get that done, later today.

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Here was the order of speed for the P-1 session, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes series rookie

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1 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:39.6268s for a speed of 227.119mph

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2 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:39.6537s for a speed of 226.965mph

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3 - Sage Karam, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing - time of 00:39.7530s for a speed of 226.398mph

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4 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing - time of 00:39.8839s for a speed of 225.655mph

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5 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta Autosport - time of 00:39.9284s for a speed of 225.403mph

6 - Santino Ferrucci, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing - time of 00:39.9357s for a speed of 225.362mph

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7 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske
8 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing
9 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP
10 - JR Hildebrand, AJ Foyt Enterprises

11 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises
12 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
13 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises
14 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP
15 - Will Power, Team Penske
16 - Tony Kanaan, Chip Ganassi Racing
17 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing
18 - Juan Pablo Montoya, Arrow McLaren SP
19 - Callum Ilott [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing
20 - Christian Lundegaard [R], Rahal Letterman Lanigan

21 - Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi Racing
22 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner
23 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
24 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport
25 - Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing
26 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport
27 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport
28 - David Malukas [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports
29 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing
30 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing

31 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
32 - Takuma Sato, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing

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Notable:

• Scott Dixon is a former race WINNER, Marcus Ericsson has finished a respectable P11 while Sage Karam has a P7. Conor Daly finished P10 last year after leading many laps. Marco Andretti almost WON once and finished P2 while Santino Ferrucci pulled in a best of P4. Point being all these guys are very good here, so no surprise they are on top at the moment.

• Nice to see both Dreyer & Reinbold guys in the TOP SIX. We believe that both of them should be in full-time rides so this just help confirm that to us.

• It’s also nice to see the AJ Foyt guys all doing well. Rookie Tatiana Calderon is not doing ovals in 2022 so JR Hildebrand is in her car in P10 while track and series rookie Kyle Kirkwood is best rookie in P11 and Dalton Kellett is in P13.

• These times were all with a tow from cars ahead. TOPPING the no-tow speed was 2013 Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan who was fastest in the # 1 Chip Ganassi car, turning a 221.662mph lap. Next up were Santino Ferrucci, Josef Newgarden of Team Penske, track and series rookie David Malukas for Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD and Marcus Ericsson…

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Tony Kanaan - no-tow speed

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Scott Dixon

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Following the practice Stefan Wilson went out and completed his refresher. He will thus join the other 32 cars on track this afternoon for the second practice of the day.

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Stefan Wilson

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M

[MarkyS]

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Tuesday at Indianapolis - The IndyCars do practice session 2 for the Indy 500…

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The third session on the day and the first for the entire field came off without any drama. When the stopwatches stopped watching it was Takuma Sato for Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing on top. We have COMBINED the first session of the day and this 3rd session to give you the best of the day from everyone. (Session 2 was just a refresher for Stefan Wilson for DragonSpeed / Cusick Motorsports and was completed mid-day).

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Here was the order of speed for the P-1 and P-3 sessions COMBINED, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes series rookie; the driver’s best session is in ( )

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1 - Takuma Sato, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing - time of 00:39.3118s for a speed of 228.939mph (2)

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2 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:39.5139s for a speed of 227.768mph (2)

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3 - Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:39.5219s for a speed of 227.722mph (2)

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4 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:39.6311s for a speed of 227.094mph (2)

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5 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing - time of 00:39.6484s for a speed of 226.995mph (2)

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6 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:39.6523s for a speed of 226.973mph

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7 - David Malukas [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports (2)
8 - Sage Karam, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (1)
9 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske (2)
10 - Tony Kanaan, Chip Ganassi Racing (2)

11 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta Autosport (2)
12 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner (2)
13 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing (2)
14 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises (2)
15 - JR Hildebrand, AJ Foyt Enterprises (2)
16 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP (2)
17 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing (1)
18 - Will Power, Team Penske (2)
19 - Santino Ferrucci, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (1)
20 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske (1)

21 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan (2)
22 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing (2)
23 - Callum Ilott [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing (2)
24 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP (1)
25 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan (2)
26 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises (2)
27 - Christian Lundegaard [R], Rahal Letterman Lanigan (2)
28 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport (2)
29 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport (2)
30 - Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing (2)

31 - Juan Pablo Montoya, Arrow McLaren SP (2)
32 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport (2)
33 - Stefan Wilson, DragonSpeed / Cusick Motorsports (2)

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Notable:

• Scott Dixon held the top spot for most of the session but Takuma came in very late to claim it. All but five guys did better in P-2 than in P-1.

• Chip Ganassi is doing extremely well, with all five drivers in the TOP TEN and 4 of 5 in the TOP SIX. Jimmie Johnson is the top performing track rookie, though that is just a fact in IndyCars. Johnson well knows the Speedway due to his NASCAR career.

• The TOP performing series rookie is now David Malukas for Dale Coyne / HMD in P7

• TOPS in the no-tow speed for the day was Rinus VeeKay for Ed Carpenter Racing with a speed of 221.551 miles per hour. 2nd was Ed Carpenter himself and 3rd was Jimmie Johnson.

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Takuma Sato

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They will try to do it all again on Wednesday but there is a chance of rain. Stay tuned…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Thursday at Indianapolis - The IndyCars do their P-4 session for the Indy 500…

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Wednesday was a total loss due to rain at the track but all 33 cars made use of it on Thursday for either race pace runs or qualifying runs, depending on the team. At the end of the day the quickest 2 guys were as on Tuesday, though they were no faster than Tuesday. Here were the TOP SIX cars today on overall speed, with a tow:

1 - Takuma Sato
2 - Scott Dixon
3 - David Malukas
4 - JR Hildebrand
5 - Jimmie Johnson
6 - Pato O’Ward

JR, Pato and David all bettered their Tuesday times

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And here were the TOP NINE on no-tow speeds today:

1. Will Power - 224.325mph
2. Rinus VeeKay - 224.047mph
3. Ed Carpenter - 223.858mph
4. Alexander Rossi - 223.656mph
5. Scott McLaghlin - 223.613mph
6. Sage Karam - 223.556mph
7. Josef Newgarden - 223.461mph
8. Conor Daly - 223.439mph
9. Devlin De Francesco - 223.193mph

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Here is the order of speed for the IndyCars, sessions P-1, P-2 and P4 COMBINED, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes series rookie; driver’s best session is in ( )

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1 - Takuma Sato, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing - time of 00:39.3118s for a speed of 228.939mph (2)

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2 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:39.5139s for a speed of 227.768mph (2)

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3 - Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:39.5219s for a speed of 227.722mph (2)

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4 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:39.6311s for a speed of 227.094mph (2)

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5 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing - time of 00:39.6484s for a speed of 226.995mph (2)

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6 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:39.6523s for a speed of 226.973mph (2)

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7 - David Malukas [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports (4)
8 - JR Hildebrand, AJ Foyt Enterprises (4)
9 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske (2)
10 - Tony Kanaan, Chip Ganassi Racing (2)

11 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta Autosport (2)
12 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP (4)
13 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner (2)
14 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing (2)
15 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises (2)
16 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP (4)
17 - Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing (4)
18 - Will Power, Team Penske (2)
19 - Christian Lundegaard [R], Rahal Letterman Lanigan (4)
20 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan (4)

21 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan (2)
22 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing (2)
23 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport (4)
24 - Callum Ilott [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing (2)
25 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske (4)
26 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing (4)
27 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises (4)
28 - Sage Karam, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (2)
29 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport (4)
30 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport (2)

31 - Juan Pablo Montoya, Arrow McLaren SP (4)
32 - Santino Ferrucci, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (4)
33 - Stefan Wilson, DragonSpeed / Cusick Motorsports (2)

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Notable:

• Ganassi is using the sessions to develop race pace, which is why all five of their cars are in the TOP TEN on speed with a tow. Dale Coyne is also working on race pace - again, their guys - Takuma and David Malukas - are TOP THREE today and TOP SEVEN for the week.

• Team Penske worked today on qualifying pace, which is why Will Power was the fastest guy without a tow today, at 224.325 miles per hour. Andretti cars also worked on qually, today.

• While Takuma has TOPPED two sessions in a row, the best overall driver might just be Rinus VeeKay for Ed Carpenter Racing. He was not only the 2nd fastest driver without a tow, today, but Rinus is also still TOP FIVE with a tow - the kid has got speed in both quallly and race pace set-ups.

• The best not-full-time driver has to be JR Hildebrand who is leading the Foyt guys and is consistently in the TOP FIVE on speed.

• No one hit anything or anyone today, but Andretti’s Romain Grosjean flirted with the Turn 2 wall more than once with slips and slides. It didn’t seem to faze him, one bit.

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David Malukas (left), JR Hildebrand and Romain Grosjean (right)

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Takuma Sato - Still the speediest of them all

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Friday - aka “Fast Friday” will see a jump in turbo boost as will be the case on qualifying days, so a jump in speeds is expected and the danger level increases, as well.

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M

[MarkyS]

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Friday at Indianapolis - Fast Friday comes off without a hitch…

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…if a “hitch” is someone clouting the wall sufficient to send them to the infield care center or worse. Jimmie Johnson for Chip Ganassi did manage to find the Turn 2 wall but merely scraped it and came back out later with enough speed to be P17 at the end of the day. Jimmie’s wasn’t the only scary moment. Stefan Wilson for DragonSpeed / Cusick Motorsports, Alexander Rossi for Andretti Autosport and Conor Daly for Ed Carpenter Racing also scared themselves at times, with the gusty winds adding to the dramas.

Due to the increase in turbo boost sufficient to add about 90 horsepower, almost everyone increased their top speeds for the week, today, with a few exceptions. The TOP SIX on the combined chart are also the TOP SIX for the day. ONCE MORE, Takuma Sato for Dale Coyne w/Rick Ware Racing was the fastest guy for a full lap on the track - his 3rd such accomplishment, this week.

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Here was the order of speed for IndyCars in P1, P-2, P4 and P5 practices COMBINED, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] Denotes series rookie; the driver’s best session is in ( )

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1 - Takuma Sato, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing - time of 00:38.6616s for a speed of 232.789mph (5)

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2 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport - time of 00:38.8127s for a speed of 231.883mph (5)

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3 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP - time of 00:38.8269s for a speed of 231.798mph (5)

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4 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:38.8296s for a speed of 231.782mph (5)

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5 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:38.8718s for a speed of 231.530mph (5)

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6 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP - time of 00:38.8781s for a speed of 231.493mph (5)

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7 - David Malukas [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports (5)
8 - Tony Kanaan, Chip Ganassi Racing (5)
9 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske (5)
10 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske (5)

11 - Will Power, Team Penske (5)
12 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing (5)
13 - Sage Karam, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (5)
14 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing (5)
15 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport (5)
16 - Callum Ilott [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing (5)
17 - Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi Racing (5)
18 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta Autosport (5)
19 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing (5)
20 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing (5)

21 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing (5)
22 - Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing (5)
23 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises (5)
24 - JR Hildebrand, AJ Foyt Enterprises (4)
25 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan (5)
26 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner (5)
27 - Santino Ferrucci, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (5)
28 - Stefan Wilson, DragonSpeed / Cusick Motorsports (5)
29 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises (5)
30 - Christian Lundegaard [R], Rahal Letterman Lanigan (5)

31 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan (4)
32 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport (4)
33 - Juan Pablo Montoya, Arrow McLaren SP (4)

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Notable:

• The TOP TWELVE cars all exceeded 231 miles per hour today.

• The fastest trap speed pf the day was turned in by Conor Daly who was also the fastest Ed Carpenter car, today. Conor hit a remarkable 244.4 miles per hour heading into Turn 3, with the aid of a tailwind. This is territory Daly has never entered into before.

• Fastest track and series rookie was David Malukas, who is benefitting from having Sato on his team. This is one of two reasons Coyne was happy to pick up Takuma at the start of the year. The other is the very real possibility the Japanese driver will collect his 3rd WIN on Memorial Day.

David Malukas

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Takuma Sato

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Here are the TOP SIX cars on four-lap average speeds from today. These are qualifying simulations:

1 - Tony Kanaan - 230.517mph
2 - David Malukas - 230.287mph
3 - Sage Karam - 230.114mph
4 - Pato O’Ward - 230.111mph
5 - Takuma Sato - 229.680mph
6 - Jimmie Johnson - 229.094mph

In other words, had they been qualifying today, Tony Kanaan would be on the pole.

Tony Kanaan

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Qualifying gets underway on Saturday morning, at 11:00am EASTERN time, following a 90-minute practice.

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M