What: Pennzoil 150
When: Saturday, Aug. 12, 5:30 p.m. Eastern
Where: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course (13 turns, 2.534 miles)
Driver: Preston Pardus, New Smyrna Beach, Fla.
Car: No. 50 Chinchor Electric Chevrolet
Crew chief: Dan Pardus
Distance: Stages of 20, 20 and 22 laps (62 laps = 151.22 miles)
Broadcast info: TV – USA; Radio – IMS Radio Network/Sirius XM Ch. 90
INDIANAPOLIS – Optimistic is the way to describe Preston Pardus’ outlook heading into the famed ‘Brickyard’ on Saturday for the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Pennzoil 150.
That’s because a 12th-place run on the streets of downtown Chicago was the best finish in nearly a dozen Xfinity starts for the three-time SCCA Spec Miata national champion. Couple that with the fact that the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was the scene of his first Xfinity top 10 and the presence of a new engine under the hood, and it’s easy to understand why Pardus is eager about his impending outing.
“We definitely needed a good run,” he said of the July 1 Chicago event. “It’s been awhile since we had a good run like that. It was nice for our confidence that we can still run semi-decent. That’s always a good thing. We can build off that, notebook-wise.”
Pardus qualified 13th for a rain-shortened The Loop 121 in Chicago. The 12th-place finish was his best since an 11th at Road America almost exactly one year earlier.
“We had quite a bit of pace in practice and qualifying. We were fast when we unloaded, and that’s really important when you’re going to a new track like Chicago. Even in the race we were really good, and just focused on keeping the car good and straight in the wet and dry conditions we were dealing with.”
In the Brickyard, Pardus returns to a storied facility where he has experienced success and disappointment.
Indy was the venue for two of Pardus’ three SCCA crowns, in 2017 and in 2021 in Spec Miata action.
In 2020, in only his third Xfinity start, Pardus navigated his way to a 10th-place showing at Indy. The following year, he qualified 10th – at the time, a career best – but crashed on the second lap after hitting a curb and doing damage to the undercarriage of the car. Last year, he finished on the lead lap despite brake issues.
Saturday’s 62-lap race on the 13-turn, 2.534-mile course will mark Pardus’ fourth Xfinity start of the season. He competed in his family-owned car at Circuit of The Americas in March, and in early June in a car fielded by series veteran Bobby Dotter at Portland.
“We really don’t have to change the car much from Chicago for Indy,” Pardus said of the No. 50 Chinchor Electric Chevrolet. “The only thing we really changed for Chicago was some suspension stuff to be able to get over the bumpy streets they have there. We’ve just dialed it back a bit to a more traditional road-course set-up.”
Pardus’ 2023 Indianapolis assignment begins Saturday morning with a 30-minute practice session. Qualifying ensues immediately afterward at 10:05 a.m. Eastern, and the race is slated for a 5:30 p.m. start.
