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

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Saturday morning at Indianapolis - Final practice before qualifying…

.
…and Ed Carpenter for Ed Carpenter Racing turned in the fastest practice lap since 1996. Only 23 cars came out for the practice, the others apparently not needing further confirmation over Friday’s practice runs.

The TOP NINE in this practice are also now the TOP NINE on the combined sheet, posted below. Virtually everyone who practiced today improved their time for the week, so anyone with a (5) or (4) following their name did NOT practice this morning.

.
Here is the order of speed for the IndyCars practices P-1, P-2, P-4, P-5 and P-6 COMBINED, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes series rookie; the driver’s best session is in ( )

.
1 - Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing - time of 00:38.3943s for a speed of 234.410mph (6)

.
2 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:38.4463s for a speed of 234.093mph (6)

.
3 - Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:38.4680s for a speed of 233.961mph (6)

.
4 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:38.5053s for a speed of 233.734mph (6)

.
5 - Callum Ilott [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 00:38.5756s for a speed of 233.308mph (6)

.
6 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport - time of 00:38.5778s for a speed of 233.295mph (6)

.
7 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta Autosport (6)
8 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing (6)
9 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing (6)
10 - Takuma Sato, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing (5)

11 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport (6)
12 - Santino Ferrucci, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (6)
13 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing (6)
14 - JR Hildebrand, AJ Foyt Enterprises (6)
15 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport (6)
16 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP (5)
17 - Christian Lundegaard [R], Rahal Letterman Lanigan (6)
18 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP (5)
19 - David Malukas [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports (5)
20 - Takuma Sato, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing (5)

21 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing (6)
22 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan (6)
23 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske (5)
24 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner (6)
25 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske (5)
26 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing (6)
27 - Will Power, Team Penske (5)
28 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan (6)
29 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises (6)
30 - Sage Karam, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (5)

31 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises (6)
32 - Stefan Wilson, DragonSpeed / Cusick Motorsports (6)
33 - Juan Pablo Montoya, Arrow McLaren SP (4)

.
.
.
Notable:

• After topping 3 sessions Takuma Sato declined to risk his car for today’s practice, which is why he is now 10th on the combined list. Also not practicing was his teammate David Malukas nor any of the Team Penske drivers.

• Callum Ilott is now the TOP Series rookie on the charts while Jimmie Johnson is now the top track rookie on the charts.

• Track rookie Christian Lundgaard remains the TOP Rahal Letterman Lanigan driver, outperforming both Jack Harvey and Graham Rahal.

• Juan Pablo Montoya only put in 7 laps on Friday and none this morning. We are wondering what is going on with the former two-time race WINNER.

Juan Pablo Montoya

.
Ed Carpenter

.
.
.
Qualifying will get underway at 11:00am EASTERN time and can be seen on Peacock premium.

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Saturday at Indianapolis - qualifying begins…

.
The first part of qualifying had plenty of drama, provided by mechanical failings, errant driving and bad weather, but thankfully, everyone got through the day without damage or physical harm. After nearly everyone got at least one shot at the track a rain delay caused the suspension of qualifying. It eventually cleared up enough for a few more attempts but in the end the rain returned and stopped qualifying before everyone was satisfied.

The grid was set for spots 13 through 33 and the TOP TWELVE qualifiers today will shoot it out for spots 1 through 12 on Sunday, including the pole position.

.
Here is the way spots 1-12 qualified today, with speeds for all: speed is the average of 4 laps

.
1 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing - speed of 233.655mph

.
2 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP - speed of 233.037mph

.
3 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP - speed of 232.775mph

.
4 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing - speed of 232.774mph

.
5 - Tony Kanaan, Chip Ganassi Racing - speed of 232.625mph

.
6 - Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi Racing - speed of 232.390mph

.
7 - Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing - speed of 232.397mph

.
8 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing - speed of 232.275mph

.
9 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport - speed of 232.201mph

.
10 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - speed of 232.151mph

.
11 - Will Power, Team Penske - speed of 231.842mph

.
12 - Takuma Sato, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing - speed of 231.708mph

.
.
.
Here are the grid spots 13 through 33, set for the race: [R] denotes series rookie

.
Row 5

P13 - David Malukas [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports
P14 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
P15 - Santino Ferrucci, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing

Row 6

P16 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing
P17 - JR Hildebrand, AJ Foyt Enterprises
P18 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing

Row 7

P19 - Callum Ilott [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing
P20 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport
P21 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

Row 8

P22 - Sage Karam, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
P23 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta Autosport
P24 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner

Row 9

P25 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport
P26 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske
P27 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing

Row 10

P28 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises
P29 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises
P30 - Juan Pablo Montoya, Arrow McLaren SP

Row 11

P31 - Christian Lundegaard [R], Rahal Letterman Lanigan
P32 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
P33 - Stefan Wilson, DragonSpeed / Cusick Motorsports

.
.
.
Notable:

• Before qualifying began the # 6 of Juan Pablo Montoya for Arrow McLaren SP failed tech, due to a broken part, and was moved from a 9th spot in attempting order to 33rd.

• Stefan W/ilson for Dragonspeed / Cusick Motorsports needed an engine change due to a gearing failure in the morning practice which caused a big over-rev of his Chevrolet engine. He was moved to 32nd spot. Because of the engine swap and the rain delay later in the session Stefan was never able to make a qually run and will start in P33.

• Rinus VeeKay was the 2nd qualifier in line and benefitted from the cooler morning temps. He set the 3rd fastest speed average ever recorded at the Speedway.

• Takuma Sato was the 10th guy out and after a very good run he remained on the track too long instead of using the warm-up lane and that slowed Marco Andretti during his warm-up lap. As a result Sato lost his run and had to requalify later. His speed in the 2nd attempt was enough for him to just make the Fast 12 tomorrow, despite scraping the Turn 2 wall during the run.

• Not only was Marco slowed by Sato, but during his run he lost power temporarily on the 2nd lap. He requalified later and ended the day P23.

• Colton Herta appeared to have an engine issue right before he commenced his run and pulled out for a change of powerplants. His 2nd attempt with the new engine put him in 24th,

• Scott McLaughlin pulled his first attempt at P15 for a chance at getting into the Fast 12, but it didn’t pay off, as he ended up in P26 - the last attempt of the day before the rain returned.

.
Rinus VeeKay - TOPS in speed for Day 1

.
.
.
On Sunday a practice for the first 12 qualifiers will be held from 12:00 Noon to 2:00pm EASTERN time, with LIVE coverage on Peacock premium. At 3:00pm EASTERN time NBC will broadcast the TOP 12 qually session, which whittles the field down to 6. Then, the Firestone Fast 6 will run for the pole on NBC, starting at 4:00pm EASTERN time.

.
.
.
M

.

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Sunday morning at Indianapolis - Practice 7 for the Indy 500…

.
…came off this morning for the TOP TWELVE cars from yesterday’s qualifying effort. These twelve will be whittled down first to the TOP SIX, later today, and then even later today those six will go for pole.

.
Here is the order of speed for the IndyCar FAST TWELVE P-7 practice, with speeds for all: Speed shown is a 1-lap speed.

.
1 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - speed of 234.042mph

.
2 - Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing - speed of 233.624mph

.
3 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing - speed of 233.597mph

,
4 - Takuma Sato, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing - speed of 233.441mph

.
5 - Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi Racing - speed of 233.440mph

.
6 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing - speed of 233.355mph

.
7 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP - speed of 233.106mph

.
8 - Tony Kanaan, Chip Ganassi Racing - speed of 233.032mph

.
9 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing - 233.016mph

.
10 - Will Power, Team Penske - speed of 232.466mph

.
11 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport - speed of 232.459mph

.
12 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP - speed of 232.321mph

.
.
.
Notable:

• Clearly, the best team in the paddock is Chip Ganassi Racing with all five drivers in the FAST TWELVE. Among them are two previous Indy 500 race WINNERS in Dixon and Kanaan and a 4-time WINNER of the Brickyard 400 at the Speedway in Jimmie Johnson. The odds that one of the Ganassi quintet gets pole are very good but the raw speeds shown by Ed Carpenter and Rinus VeeKay this week are bucking the odds.

• The two track rookies in the field are Romain Grosjean who has never raced at the Speedway and Jimmie Johnson who has never raced IndyCars at the Speedway. While both are good enough and brave enough to make the FAST TWELVE, both also had either close calls or actual contact with walls, this week. Experience ALWAYS counts, here.

.
Scott Dixon - 4 previous poles at the Indy 500

.
.
.
The latest schedle - At 4:00pm EASTERN time NBC will broadcast the TOP 12 qually session, which whittles the field down to 6. Then, the Firestone Fast 6 will run for the pole on NBC, starting at 5:00pm EASTERN time.

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Sunday at Indianapolis - Qualifying for the Indy 500 is complete!..

.
…and on the pole for the fifth time in his stellar career is Scott Dixon for Chip Ganassi Racing, setting the 2nd fastest 4-lap average in Indy 500 history and the fastest ever average for pole.

Before the FAST SIX could go for the pole the FAST TWELVE had to be whittled down to a final six, just as in IndyCar road and street course races. The 12 went out one at a time and set their best four-lap average. When that dust settled Rows 3 and 4 were defined by those who failed to advance. They were:

P7 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP
P8 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP
P9 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport
P10 - Takuma Sato, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing
P11 - Will Power, Team Penske
P12 - Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi Racing

That left six to define Rows 1 and 2. After a number of slow laps behind the pace car to cool their heat-soaked engines and drivetrains, the SIX remaining went out and tried again to set the best four-lap average.

.
Here is the way the IndyCars will grid for the 106th Indianapolis 500, with speeds for the top two rows: [R] denotes series rookies; speeds are the average of four laps

.
Row 1

P1 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - speed of 234.046mph

.
P2 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing - speed of 233.499mph

.
P3 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing - speed of 233.385mph

.
Row 2

P4 - Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing - speed of 233.080mph

.
P5 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing - speed of 232.764mph

.

P6 - Tony Kanaan, Chip Ganassi Racing - speed of 232.372mph

.
Row 3

P7 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP
P8 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP
P9 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport

Row 4

P10 - Takuma Sato, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing
P11 - Will Power, Team Penske
P12 - Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi Racing

Row 5

P13 - David Malukas [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports
P14 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
P15 - Santino Ferrucci, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing

Row 6

P16 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing
P17 - JR Hildebrand, AJ Foyt Enterprises
P18 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing

Row 7

P19 - Callum Ilott [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing
P20 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport
P21 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

Row 8

P22 - Sage Karam, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
P23 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta Autosport
P24 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner

Row 9

P25 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport
P26 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske
P27 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing

Row 10

P28 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises
P29 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises
P30 - Juan Pablo Montoya, Arrow McLaren SP

Row 11

P31 - Christian Lundegaard [R], Rahal Letterman Lanigan
P32 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
P33 - Stefan Wilson, DragonSpeed / Cusick Motorsports

.
.
.
Notable:

• Dixon’s Fast Six run broke the all-time pole record speed of 233.718 set in 1996 by Scott Brayton. Arie Luyendyk set the all-time four-lap qualifying average speed record of 236.986 in 1996, but his run came on the second day of qualifications and wasn’t eligible for the pole. Making it possible for Scott in this era of smaller six-cylinder engines is the latest tire technology.

• Dixon had the benefit of being the last guy out as the track was cooling more with each minute of qualifying, but it was also because Dixon has 20 years of experience at Indy that cannot be underestimated in value. He is now 1 pole short of Rick Mears’ 6 poles at Indy.

• The most heart-stopping moment of the day was Jimmie Johnson’s first lap during the Fast Twelve, when he almost lost it in Turn 2 and put on a masterful display in a slide recovery. He blamed the lack of experience for the step-out but his racing experience also kept him off the wall.

Jimmie Johnson

.
Pole - Scott Dixon

.
.
.
On Monday all cars will come out for the P-8 practice which is the first one where all cars will be in race trim, as qualifying is over. Tha practice can be seen on Peacock premium, from 1:00pm EASTERN time to 3:00pm.

.
.
.
M

.

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Monday at Indianapolis - Practice 8 was completed today…

.
This was the last practice for the series before Carb Day, this Friday, and the last chance to check everyone’s race set-ups, which are likely very different from their qualifying set-ups. Those are DONE.

As with all post-qualifying practices, it is hard to judge such a practice, because we don’t know for sure what everyone was trying to accomplish. Were they still seeking race speed? Were they checking fuel mileage? Were they checking tire wear? Were they checking drafting proximities? We do not know. The P-8 practice is always fast and looks very much like the race, with almost the entire field out there, at times, driving in and amongst each other.

What we do know is the fastest guys in the P-8 practice will be fast guys in the race. We just also know they will not be the ONLY fast guys in the race.

.
Here was the order of speed for the P-8 practice, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes series rookie

.
1 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:39.2257s for a speed of 229.441mph

.
2 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:39.3013s for a speed of 229.000mph

.
3 - Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:39.3930s for a speed of 228.467mph

.
4 - Takuma Sato, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing - time of 00:39.4078s for a speed of 228.381mph

.
5 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:39.4707s for a speed of 228.017mph

.
6 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske - time of 00:39.6543s for a speed of 226.962mph

.

7 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing
8 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta Autosport
9 - Sage Karam, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
10 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing

11 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport
12 - Christian Lundegaard [R], Rahal Letterman Lanigan
13 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing
14 - David Malukas [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports
15 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske
16 - Santino Ferrucci, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
17 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport
18 - Callum Ilott [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing
19 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport
20 - Will Power, Team Penske

21 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP
22 - Tony Kanaan, Chip Ganassi Racing
23 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
24 - Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing
25 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing
26 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
27 - JR Hildebrand, AJ Foyt Enterprises
28 - Stefan Wilson, DragonSpeed / Cusick Motorsports
29 - Juan Pablo Montoya, Arrow McLaren SP
30 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises

31 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP
32 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises
33 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner

.
.
.
Notable:

• Clearly, the Chip Ganassi boys are ready to find a WINNER for this race. Qualifying, they put four drivers in the first two rows and here they prove that at least four of their drivers are TOP FIVE on race pace, as well. The real question is can anyone else WIN this thing?

• Well, yes is the answer. Ed Carpenter Racing has Conor Daly - the guy who led the most laps in 2021 - in the TOP TEN here and we can assume their other two cars are just as fast, as they have been just as fast all week.

• We also see that Dale Coyne’s boys are ready to run fast. Takuma is right there in the TOP FIVE and Dave Malukas has been very fast all week, too.

• Dalton Kellett has the distinction of being the first and so far only guy to solidly tag a wall, this week, as he clouted Turn 1 this afternoon. The car was damaged but Dalton was fine and the AJ Foyt team has until Friday to fix the car.

Dalton Kellett

.
Alex Palou - ready to WIN?

.
.
.
Today, they also took the 2022 class picture:

.
.
.

Between now and Friday the track will be silent as the drivers fan out across the United States to meet with local news and sports folks and tout the race. Look for one or two if them coming to your town.

.
.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
USF Juniors guy WINS in F4 United States over the weekend…

.
Noah Ping, who drives for Velocity Racing Development in USF Juniors pulled off a P1 in F4 United States action at Road America in Race 3 on Sunday afternoon in the # 65 VRD Ligier JS F4. To make the race even more special, Noah was able to share the podium with his VRD F4 teammates Matt Christensen and Nicholas Rivers in a clean sweep for the team. Noah led from pole for the entire race.

.
Noah Ping

.
.
.
Said Noah, “It’s a really great feeling to be here in F4 on [top go the podium]. There’s nothing quite like it. Shout out to the VRD guys; obviously our cars were pretty quick here to go one, two, three. Congrats to my teammates; it’s a big accomplishment for us.”

.
Way to go, Noah!!
.
.
.
The next outings for Noah will be at the USF Juniors triple-race weekend at VIRginia International Raceway, Jun 3-5.

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Thursday at Indianapolis - The Road to Indy invades Indianapolis Raceway Park…

.
…for the traditional Carb Night Classic, where USF2000 and Indy Pro 2000 hold the Freedom 75 and the Freedom 90 on the little 0.686-mile bullring.

.

.
.
The Freedom 75 is the one and only oval race of the season for USF2000 and the Freedom 90 is one of two oval races the Indy Pro 2000 gang will run, this year, making this weekend critical to the development of all these drivers in their pursuit of an IndyCar ride.

.
The venue is formally known as Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in Brownsburg, Indiana - just a few miles from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The facility boasts a full racing experience, with a road course, a drag strip and the little paved oval.

.

.

Not only will the Road to Indy provide the races but on Thursday morning they held an oval racing clinic meant to fully immerse the kids in the hows and whys of oval racing. This year the clinic was held by three of the Road to Indy’s greatest aces - Kyle Kirkwood, Christian Rasmussen and Parker Thompson. All three are former WINNERS here and their advice and council was invaluable.

.
Parker Thompson imparting wisdom

.
.
.
The Road to Indy intended to give each series two test sessions and a qually session today, followed by a practice tomorrow and the races. It has been raining all morning at Indy so the test sessions were delayed. They have begun them, now and hopefully they will get them in. In any event, if qualifying is delayed until too late in the evening the series will grid based on points, instead.

Tomorrow, they have scheduled the races for the evening, mixed in with USAC Midget and Silver Crown races.

.
.
.
continued…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Thursday at Indianapolis - The Road to Indy invades Indianapolis Raceway Park…(part 2)…

.
The first series to complete both tests were the USF2000 gang and we have those results here:

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

.
1 - Bijoy Garg, DEForce Racing - time of 22.2736s for a speed of 110.876mph (2)

.
2 - Michael D’Orlando, Cape Motorsports - time of 22.4147s for a speed of 110.178mph (2)

.
3 - Christian Weir, Turn 3 Motorsports - time of 22.4456s for a speed of 110.026mph (2)

.
4 - Jagger Jones [R], Cape Motorsports - time of 22.4752s for a speed of 109.881mph (1)

.
5 - Nicky Hays [R], Cape Motorsports - time of 22.4906s for a speed of 109.806mph (1)

.
6 - Myles Rowe, Pabst Racing (1)
7 - Billy Frazer, Exclusive Autosport (2)
8 - Thomas Nepveu, DEForce Racing (2)
9 - Spike Kohlbecker, Turn 3 Motorsports (2)
10 - Jace Denmark, Pabst Racing (2)

11 - Dylan Christie, DEForce Racing (2)
12 - Jackson Lee, Cape Motorsports (2)
13 - Simon Sikes, Legacy Autosport (1)
14 - Trey Burke, Joe Dooling Autosports (1)
15 - Danny Dyszelski [R], Jay Howard Driver Development (1)
16 - Jorge Garciarce [R], Jay Howard Driver Development (1)
17 - Jacob Douglas [R], Exclusive Autosport (1)

.
.
.
Notable:

• Bijoy Garg dominates both sessions. He was the only guy to bust 110 miles an hour in both sessions. The young Californian from Stanford has really turned it on this season. His last two finishes here were 17th and 20th, so we are hugely impressed with his progress.

• The TOP TEN guys here are also usually the TOP TEN everywhere else, with the exception of Nicky Hays, who is doing much better than usual, here. Typically, Nicky is mid-pack.

.
Bijoy Garg - clearly paying attention

.
.
.
Next, we look at the Indy Pro 2000 gang…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Thursday at Indianapolis - Indy Pro 2000 do their test sessions for the Freedom 90…

.
Following the kids from USF2000 the IP2K gang also completed their two test sessions before they qualify, later today. We have the sessions COMBINED, here;

.
Here was the order of speed for the Indy Pro 2000 test sessions 1 and 2 COMBINED, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie; the driver’s best session is in ( )

.

1 - Louis Foster [R], Exclusive Autosport - time of 20.8214s for a speed of 118.609mph (1)

.
2 - Reece Gold, Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 20.8624s for a speed of 118.376mph (2)

.
3 - Nolan Siegel [R], DEForce Racing - time of 20.9380s for a speed of 117.948mph (1)

.
4 - Enaam Ahmed, Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 20.9526s for a speed of 117.866mph (2)

.
5 - Josh Green [R], Turn 3 Motorsports - time of 21.0808s for a speed of 117.149mph (1)

.
6 - Jordan Missig [R], Pabst Racing (1)
7 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy [R], Pabst Racing (2)
8 - Jack William Miller, Miller Vinatieri Motorsports (1)
9 - Kiko Porto [R], DEForce Racing (1)
10 - Colin Kaminsky, Pabst Racing (1)

11 - Jonathan Browne [R], Turn 3 Motorsports (1)
12 - Salvador de Alba [R], Jay Howard Driver Development (1)
13 - Braden Eves, Jay Howard Driver Development (1)
14 - Wyatt Brichacek, Jay Howard Driver Development (1)
15 - Charles Finelli, FatBoy Racing! (2)

.
.
.
Notable:

• Louis Foster is coming off a WIN at the IMS Road Course and has the “big mo”, but this is still outstanding for an oval rookie.

• The only surprise in the TOP TEN is Jordan Missig. Jordan is a proven WINNER in SportsCars, driving in the Radical Cup series, but he is a formula car rookie, so he is doing very well, here.

• We are also surprised by the poor showing of Braden Eves, who should be TOP FIVE at least, but hasn’t been up to speed, lately. This is more of the same and we wonder what’s going on with Braden?

Jordan Missig (left) and Braden Eves

.
Louie Foster

.
.
.
Next up, USF2000 qualifies for the Freedom 75…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Thursday at Indianapolis Raceway Park - USF2000 qualifies for the Freedom 75…

.
…and last year’s race WINNER Michael d’Orlando takes pole in the last few minutes. Qualifying is very simple, here. Cars go out one at a time and lay down 1 and a half laps in warm-up and then post two hot laps. Those two laps are averaged and the driver with the fastest average is on the pole.

.
Here is the way USF2000 will grid for Season Round 8, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie; time is for two laps while speed is the average of those two laps.

.
Row 1

Pole - Michael D’Orlando, Cape Motorsports - time of 00:44.8229s for a speed of 110.194mph

.
P2 - Bijoy Garg, DEForce Racing - time of 00:44.9577s for a speed of 109.863mph

.
Row 2

P3 - Myles Rowe, Pabst Racing - time of 00:44.9878s for a speed of 109.790mph

.
P4 - Jace Denmark, Pabst Racing - time of 00:44.9901s for a speed of 109.784mph

.
Row 3

P5 - Thomas Nepveu, DEForce Racing - time of 00:45.0308s for a speed of 109.685mph

.
P6 - Jagger Jones [R], Cape Motorsports - time of 00:45.1598s for a speed of 109.372mph

.
Row 4

P7 - Simon Sikes, Legacy Autosport
P8 - Spike Kohlbecker, Turn 3 Motorsports

Row 5

P9 - Billy Frazer, Exclusive Autosport
P10 - Nicky Hays [R], Cape Motorsports

Row 6

P11 - Christian Weir, Turn 3 Motorsports
P12 - Dylan Christie, DEForce Racing

Row 7

P13 - Jackson Lee, Cape Motorsports
P14 - Jorge Garciarce [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 8

P15 - Trey Burke, Joe Dooling Autosports
P16 - Danny Dyszelski [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 9

P17 - Jacob Douglas [R], Exclusive Autosport

.
.
.
Notable:

• Bijoy Garg held pole until very near the end of qualifying and then Michael took it. Michael started on pole and then WON the race in 2021.

• Billy Frazer is 2nd in the points behind Jagger Jones at the moment. He was expected to qualify well but his car started to stumble and lose power with some sort of mechanical on his warm-up lap. He recovered somewhat but should have been much higher up the grid.

Billy Frazer - Wha’ happened?

.
.
.
USF2000 is scheduled for a final practice Friday afternoon about 4:00 EASTERN time and then the Freedom 75 is scheduled for 7:00pm - if the rains stay away.

.
.
.
Next, Indy Pro 2000 qualifies for the Freedom 90…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Thursday at Indianapolis Raceway Park - Indy Pro 2000 qualifies for the Freedom 90…

.
…and capturing his 2nd IRP pole in a row was Reece Gold for Juncos Hollinger Racing. The procedure for qualifying was the same as in USF2000 (post above).

.
Here is the way Indy Pro 2000 will grid for season Round 8, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie; time is for two laps while speed is the average of those two laps.

.
Row 1

Pole - Reece Gold, Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 00:41.3426s for a speed of 119.470mph

.
P2 - Enaam Ahmed, Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 00:41.3776s for a speed of 119.369mph

.
Row 2

P3 - Louis Foster [R], Exclusive Autosport - time of 00:41.7310s for a speed of 118.358mph

.
P4 - Nolan Siegel [R], DEForce Racing - time of 00:41.8315s for a speed of 118.074mph

.
Row 3

P5 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy [R], Pabst Racing - time of 00:42.0518s for a speed of 117.455mph

.
P6 - Josh Green [R], Turn 3 Motorsports - time of 00:42.0884s for a speed of 117.353mph

.
Row 4

P7 - Colin Kaminsky, Pabst Racing
P8 - Jordan Missig [R], Pabst Racing

Row 5

P9 - Kiko Porto [R], DEForce Racing
P10 - Jack William Miller, Miller Vinatieri Motorsports

Row 6

P11 - Wyatt Brichacek, Jay Howard Driver Development
P12 - Salvador de Alba [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 7

P13 - Jonathan Browne [R], Turn 3 Motorsports
P14 - Braden Eves, Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 8

P15 - Charles Finelli, FatBoy Racing!

.
.
.
Notable:

• Yuven Sundaramoorthy held pole for quite some time but then Louie Foster threw down two great laps and passed him. Eventually, Enaam Ahmed eclipsed Louis and then quickly Reece took pole from Enaam. Reece took pole last year, too, but ended up P2 behind race WINNER Christian Rasmussen.

• Juncos Hollinger Racing gave Reece and Enaam the best two cars, again. There is a reason they are known as the kingmakers of Indy Pro 2000.

• We’re again concerned about Braden Eves. Something is really wrong, here.

.
.
.
Indy Pro 2000 will hold a practice session in the afternoon, following the USF2000 practice. The Freedom 90 is set to race at 8:00pm EASTERN time on Carb Day - Friday.

.
.
.
M
.

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Pato O’Ward signs a new contract…

.
Pato has made it clear that part of his lackluster performance for the first few races of 2022 have been his distraction over where he will be for the next few years. Well, that confusion is over, as this graphic so easily states:

.

.
.
.
We guess it did the trick 'cause he was in no malaise at Barber, where he kicked butt. Congrats, Pato!!

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Super-Sub Santino Ferrucci in for Callum Ilott at Detroit…

.
During the Indy 500 rookie Callum Illot was the second car to succumb to the Turn 2 monster in the # 77 Chevrolet for Juncos Hollinger Racing. Unfortunately for Callum, he broke his wrist in the doing and will not be fit to drive in this weekend’s Detroit Grand Prix on Belle Isle, which is a notoriously bumpy track. Called to duty to sub for him is Santino Ferrucci, who was also in the Indy 500 for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, and produced his 4th TOP TEN finish in four one-off drives at the Speedway.

.
Santino Ferrucci

.
.
.
Ferrucci was also called to sub for concussed Jack Harvey at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this year and drove the # 45 Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan to P9 from a dead last start. Ferrucci has earned a great reputation for giving every opportunity to drive his all, and we expect he will get the most out of the # 77 Chevy he can - especially given that he will have the benefit of the whole weekend to prepare for the race.
.
.
.
This will be the first time that Santino has driven for Ricardo Juncos, but they are well known to each other from their karting days when Santino was a young up-and-coming driver and Ricardo was a team owner, trying to establish himself in the United States.
.
.
.

M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
The Silly Season is in full swing as Kyle Kirkwood and Alexander Rossi makes changes for 2023…

.
It was the worst-kept secret in the paddock that Alexander Rossi was on his last season for Andretti Autosport and that he would be moving to Arrow McLaren SP to drive a third car for them in 2023. It was also pretty much known that Kyle Kirkwood, who was nurtured by Andretti in the Road to Indy would call be called to duty by Michael Andretti to fill the void left by Rossi’s departure.

.
Alexander Rossi…

.
.
…and Kyle Kirkwood

.
.
.

Today, the Kirkwood part was CONFIRMED as Kyle has announced he will gratefully finish the season with AJ Foyt Enterprises and then move over to Andretti Autosport to drive the # 27 Honda for Autonation in 2023. It is expected that Alexander will CONFIRM the Arrow McLaren part of the deal over the Detroit race weekend.

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.

This weekend, IMSA comes to Detroit to do the Detroit Grand Prix…

.
…as a part of the IndyCar race weekend, the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship gang will race on Belle Isle as that venue goes for the last race before moving to the streets of downtown Detroit in 2023.

.

.
The field will only be comprised of the DPI class and the GTD class for the weekend but that means we WILL have IndyCar drivers in the race - including a CURRENT one. Let’s see who they are:

.
.
DPi class - Sebastien Bourdais will be a co-driver in the # 01 Cadillac DPI V.R for Chip Ganassi’s Cadillac Racing, alongside Renger van der Zande.

Sebastien Bourdais

.
.
Indy Lights Champion Tristan Vautier is a driver in the # 5 Cadillac for JDC-Miller Motorsports with co-driver Richard Westbrook.

Tristan Vautier

.
.
Indy Pro 2000 alum Pipo Derani shares the # 31 Whelen Cadillac with Oliver Pla. They drive for Action Express.

Pipo Derani

.
.
.
GTD class - Indy Pro 2000 Champion and Road to Indy ace Aaron Telitz drives the # 12 Lexus RCF GT3 for Vasser Sullivan. His co-driver is Frankie Montecalvo.

Aaron Telitz

.
.
IndyCar driver Jan Heylen will drive the # 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R for Wright Motorsports, this weekend, with co-driver Ryan Hardwick. These boys are 2nd in the points at the moment.

Jan Hylen

.
.
Current IndyCar driver Kyle Kirkwood is normally an “add” for the Vasser Sullivan squad, but this weekend Kyle is subbing for regular Jack Hawksworth - a former Indy Pro 2000 Champion - as Jack broke his hand in an off-road motorcycle accident, recently. Kyle will pair with Ben Barnicoat in the # 17 Lexus RCF GT3 for Vasser Sullivan.

Kyle Kirkwood

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

Rob Megennis

.
.
.
These guys and all the rest of the WeatherTech gang will be featured in the upcoming Detroit Grand Prix Thread which will be created shortly.

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
It’s time to check in on Josef Newgarden’s Indy 500 “Admit 1” episode…

.
.
.

ADMIT1: The 2022 Indianapolis 500

.
.
.
The Indy 500 is one prize that still eludes Newgarden.

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
On the Memorial Day weekend we popped over 20,000 views of the thread…

.
.
.
…so, let’s celebrate that with our favorite canundrum…The blonde or the brunette??

.
.
.

.
.
.
Thank you, ladies!

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
USF Juniors are racing this weekend…

.
The smallest cars on the Road to Indy ladder system are having 3 races this weekend - Season Rounds 5, 6 and 7 - at beautiful VIRginia International Raceway, the 3.27-mile, 16-turn road course near Alton, Virginia.

.

.

.
.
The Juniors will be using the full course configuration. VIR is too narrow for IndyCars but has always been great for SportsCars and junior formula cars, like the Ligier JS F4 Honda the USF Juniors series currently uses.

.

.
.
.
As VIR is a new track for the series - all of them are in this debut year - the Road to Indy bought track time on Friday to allow for three test sessions to acclimate the drivers and teams to the track. We have COMBINED all three sessions to show the relative speed of the competitors.

.
This is the order of speed for USF Juniors Test Sessions 1, 2 and 3 COMBINED, with times for the TOP FIVE: all drivers are series rookies in this year; driver’s best session is in ( )

.
1 - Alessandro De Tullio [R], Velocity Racing Development - time of 01:56.294s for a speed of 101.226mph (2)

.
2 - Sam Corry [R], Velocity Racing Development - time of 01:56.575s for a speed of 100.982mph (3)

.
3 - Nikita Johnson [R], Velocity Racing Development - time of 01:56.887s for a speed of 100.713mph (3)

.
4 - Mac Clark [R], DEForce Racing - time of 01:57.034s for a speed of 100.586mph (2)

.
5 - Alan Isambard [R], International Motorsport - time of 01:57.361s for a speed of 100.306mph (2)

.
6 - Andre Castro [R], International Motorsport (3)
7 - Jeremy Fairbairn [R], Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports (2)
8 - Titus Sherlkock [R], Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports (2)
9 - Ethan Ho [R], DC Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports (2)
10 - Ryan Shehan [R], Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports (3)

11 - Elliot Cox [R], Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development (2)
12 - Earl Tucker [R], DC Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports (2)
13 - Jake Bonilla [R], DEForce Racing (3)
14 - Maxwell Jamieson [R], DEForce Racing (3)
15 - Lucas Fecury [R], Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports (2)
16 - Quinn Armstrong [R], DEForce Racing (3)
17 - Ethan Barker [R], Barker Racing (3)

.
.
.
Notable:

• The TOP TEN are the expected TOP TEN, based on the series results, so far, with the exception of Austin, Texas native Ryan Shehan, who is new to the series, this week. Also new are Australian Quinn Armstrong, Ethan Barker from Houston, Texas and Brazilian Lucas Fecury. NOT HERE is Noah Ping for Velocity Racing Development nor Nicolas d’Orlando for DC Autosport /w Cape Motorsports - both good performers from earlier contests.

• The VRD squad has the TOP THREE performers and that too is not unusual, but the runaway series points leader coming to VIR is Mac Clark for DEForce Racing, with WINS at all 4 of the series rounds, thus far.

.
Alessandro de Tullio

.
.
.
The Juniors will hold a practice session today, followed by qualifying and then later today, Race 1 of the weekend…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Saturday at VIR - USF Juniors hold practice and qualifying…

.
The TOP FIVE in practice this morning were, in order:

1 - Alessandro De Tullio [R], Velocity Racing Development
2 - Sam Corry [R], Velocity Racing Development
3 - Alan Isambard [R], International Motorsport
4 - Mac Clark [R], DEForce Racing
5 - Nikita Johnson [R], Velocity Racing Development

Practice was followed with qualifying…

.
Here is the way USF Juniors will grid for Season Round 5, with times for the TOP SIX: all drivers are rookies

.
Row 1

Pole - Jeremy Fairbairn [R], Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports - time of 1:55.970s for a speed of 101.509mph

.
P2 - Mac Clark [R], DEForce Racing - time of 1:56.121s for a speed of 101.377mph

.
Row 2

P3 - Titus Sherlkock [R], Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports - time of 1:56.731s for a speed of 100.847mph

.
P4 - Nikita Johnson [R], Velocity Racing Development - time of 1:56.786s for a speed of 100.800mph

.
Row 3

P5 - Alessandro De Tullio [R], Velocity Racing Development - time of 1:56.913s for a speed of 100.690mph

.
P6 - Andre Castro [R], International Motorsport - time of 1:56.913s for a speed of 100.690mph

.
Row 4

P7 - Ethan Ho [R], DC Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports
P8 - Sam Corry [R], Velocity Racing Development

Row 5

P9 - Earl Tucker [R], DC Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports
P10 - Alan Isambard [R], International Motorsport

Row 6

P11 - Elliot Cox [R], Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development
P12 - Jake Bonilla [R], DEForce Racing

Row 7

P13 - Maxwell Jamieson [R], DEForce Racing
P14 - Quinn Armstrong [R], DEForce Racing

Row 8

P15 - Ryan Shehan [R], Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports
P16 - Ethan Barker [R], Barker Racing

Row 9

P17 - Lucas Fecury [R], Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports

.
.
.
Notable:

• Jeremy Fairbairn’s best previous starts were P6 at both Ozarks International and Barber Motorsports Park. Up to now, Mac Clark has been the only pole-sitter in the young series, with 4 poles.

• Alessandro De Tullio was poised to take pole when he overcooked it and looped, causing a red flag and losing his best lap. He was still good enough to start P5.

.
Jeremy Fairbairn

.
.
.
The race is scheduled to start at 2:25pm EASTERN time today…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Saturday at VIR - WOW!..USF Juniors put on a GREAT show in Race 1…

.
The Juniors first race of the weekend will be hard to beat by ANY series, with more passing among the first four cars than most races have through the entire field and entire race. WINNING his first Juniors race was 15-year-old American Alessandro De Tullio for Velocity Racing Development from his P5 start. P2 went to teammate 14-year-old Nikita Johnson from his P4 start. Completing the sweep for VRD was 14-year-old Sam Corry in P3 from his P8 start.

.

.
.
.
The race started with DEForce Racing’s Mac Clark leaping from P2 to P1 past pole-sitter Jeremy Fairbairn for Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports while Nikita passed Titus Sherlock for Crosslink to take P3. At the same time, Sam Corry was dropping from his P8 start down to P5, past Ethan Ho for DC Autosport, Andre Castro for International Motorsports and Alessandro to take over P5. On P2 Jeremy went off course in Turn 5 trying to regain the lead and dropped way back before rejoining. On lap 3 Sam moved into P3 past Titus while Alessandro, back in P5, set Fastest Lap. On lap 5 Nikita passed Mac for the lead and Sam Corry followed through as Clark fell to P3. At the same time Alessandro was passing Titus for the P4 spot. The TOP FOUR cars were now slowly beginning to separate from the rest of the field, locked in their own battle for the lead.

Lap 6 opened with Mac taking P2 from Sam, but Sam was soon back into P2 as the lap ended. On lap 7 Alessandro was P3 past Mac, but once again, Clark recovered P3 later in the lap. Sam Corry moved into the lead past Nikita. On lap 8 Alessandro was AGAIN past Clark for P3. On lap 9 Alessandro reset Fastest Lap. By lap 11 the four cars were running nose-to-tail and exchanging positions more than once per lap. At the end of lap 11 Alessandro was in P2 with Nikita on his tail.

On lap 12 Alessandro finally moved on Sam for the lead. For about four corners they ran beside each other and finally De Tullio was in the lead for the first time. Mac took P3 from Nikita. One lap later, Mac took P2 from Sam as Alessandro began to put a sliver of daylight between himself and the other three. On lap 14 Nikita passed Sam and kept going past Mac to take over P2 while Sam followed through to grab P3 and the podium was finally set. One lap later De Tullio WON the race 1.95 seconds ahead of Johnson, who was 0.16 seconds ahead of Corry who was but 0.072 seconds ahead of Mac Clark.

Again…WOW! The kids never let up and the battling was fierce to the end. It is amazing that they didn’t take each other out, running that close to each other!

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

.
.
.
On Sunday, the Juniors will do Race 2 at 8:30 am. The starting line-up to follow…

.
.
.
M