Rossi Wins Gallagher Grand Prix To End Three-Year Dry Spell

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July 31, 2022

INDIANAPOLIS (Saturday, July 30, 2022) – The drought finally is over for Alexander Rossi.

Rossi won the Gallagher Grand Prix on Saturday on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course to snap a 49-race winless streak, earning his first victory since capturing the NTT INDYCAR SERIES race June 23, 2019 at Road America, 1,133 days ago. This was Rossi’s eighth career victory.

“It’s a relief, man,” Rossi said. “It’s been so many things for so long. Thankfully something came our way.”

Andretti Autosport driver Rossi crossed the finish line in his No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS/AutoNation Honda 3.5441 seconds ahead of rookie Christian Lundgaard, who earned a career-best second place in the No. 30 Shield Cleansers Honda.

Will Power finished third in the 85-lap race in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet and took the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship lead with just four races remaining. Power holds a nine-point lead over Marcus Ericsson, who rallied from starting last in the 25-car field to finish 11th in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

Team Penske ended up with all three of its drivers in the top five. Scott McLaughlin finished fourth in the No. 3 Gallagher Insurance Team Penske Chevrolet, with two-time series champion Josef Newgarden fifth in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet.

Rossi, who started second, took the lead for good on Lap 42 when leader and teammate Colton Herta lost drive after navigating Turn 8 on the 11-turn, 2.439-mile road course in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda. Herta was able to coast to the entry of the pit lane, but his race was over. He was credited with 24th place.

The mechanical problem was a cruel twist of fate for Herta, who started ninth and drove to the lead by Lap 8, passing NTT P1 Award winner Felix Rosenqvist in Turn 7. Herta and Rossi emerged as the class of the field as the early laps unfolded, with rival teams unsuccessfully trying multiple strategies to neuter their advantage.

“I do feel for Colton; I do,” Rossi said. “I think he was definitely strong. We had pretty much the same race car. It would have been interesting. I don’t want to take away anything from what he did from ninth. To get to that position was incredible. But it was the 27’s turn. That’s awesome.”

Once Herta was out of the race, Rossi built a steady gap of around four seconds to Lundgaard. The Danish rookie made things interesting late in the race, closing to within 2.7 seconds with 10 laps remaining.

But Rossi pulled away over the closing laps for a decisive win, ending Lundgaard’s chance of becoming the first rookie to win an NTT INDYCAR SERIES race since Rossi shocked the racing world with his victory in the 2016 Indianapolis 500.

“At the end of the third stint, I was catching Alex,” Lundgaard said. “I was really hoping because every pit stop we always caught up. We lost a bit in the beginning of the stint. The Andretti car had just so much better power down than we did today. That’s what killed our rear tires, and we struggled on the long run.

“The result speaks for itself. Coming in this weekend, we knew we had a strong car.”

Rossi, who led 44 laps, will split $10,000 with his team and his chosen charities, AutoNation’s Drive Pink Campaign and Leilani Mae Horse Rescue, for the victory as part of the PeopleReady Force for Good Challenge.

Power once again produced a composed drive, overcoming early near-calamity, to take the points lead. Power made contact with the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet of Pato O’Ward in a three-wide traffic jam in Turns 1 and 2 on the first lap and also had an early dustup with the No. 06 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda of Helio Castroneves, finding himself in 16th in the early laps.

But Power calmly drove through the field to earn his seventh podium finish of the season.

“A great recovery, man,” Power said. “You can never expect a normal day in INDYCAR. Everyone is very aggressive, and it’s so hard to win in this series. It’s the toughest series in the world. Great job by the Verizon 5G guys. It’s amazing we can go back there and recover all the way to third.”

Less than a race worth of points separates Power from fifth-place O’Ward, who is 46 back. Newgarden is third, 32 out of the lead. Six-time series champion Scott Dixon, who finished eighth in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, is 38 points back in fourth.

The hectic recent schedule for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES continues with the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on Sunday, Aug. 7 on the streets of Nashville, Tennessee. Live race coverage starts at 3 p.m. ET on NBC and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

Allmendinger dominates Indianapolis Road Course for third Xfinity win of 2022

By

Andrew Kim

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July 30, 2022

Photo by Adam Lovelace for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Nearly a year after achieving an upset victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in NASCAR’s premier series, AJ Allmendinger added another major achievement to his racing resume by winning the Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis in the NASCAR Xfinity Series on Saturday, July 30.

The 40-year-old Allmendinger from Los Gatos, California, led three times for a race-high 42 of 62 scheduled laps, including the final 18, as he rallied from a slow pit stop early in the event to cruise to his third Xfinity victory of the 2022 season and stabilize himself atop the drivers’ standings.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, AJ Allmendinger notched his second consecutive Xfinity Series pole position at Indianapolis after clocking in a pole-winning lap at 97.834 mph in 89.748 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Ty Gibbs, who clocked in his best lap at 97.732 mph in 89.842 seconds.

Prior to the event, names like Bayley Currey, Brandon Jones, Anthony Alfredo, Parker Kligerman, Brandon Brown, Kaz Grala and Austin Dillon dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective cars. Chase Briscoe and Miguel Paludo, who spun during Friday’s Xfinity practice session, also dropped to the rear of the field due to a tire change made to their respective cars.

During the pace laps, Briscoe and Jeb Burton pitted as their respective crew members popped the hoods of both cars open. In the midst of this, Burton took his No. 27 Our Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro to the garage due to a rear track bar issue as his event came to an end without taking the green flag.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Allmendinger and Gibbs dueled for the lead entering the first turn as Allmendinger managed to clear Gibbs and the field through Turns 1 to 3 to emerge out in front with a clear racetrack. Behind, Gibbs retained second while Riley Herbst and Noah Gragson battled for third in front of Alex Bowman, Sam Mayer and Justin Allgaier.

Through the 14-turn circuit and when the field returned to the frontstretch, Allmendinger led the first lap ahead of Gibbs, Herbst, Gragson and Bowman while Allgaier, Mayer, Josh Berry, Sage Karam and Landon Cassill occupied the top 10.

Following the second lap, Allmendinger stabilized his advantage to a second over Gibbs as Herbst stabilized himself in third. Behind, Gragson was under attack by Bowman for fourth place as Allgaier started to join the battle. By then, Alex Labbe emerged in the top 10 in ninth place while Bubba Wallace, piloting Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 DoorDash Toyota Supra, was in 11th.

Through the first five scheduled laps, Allmendinger was leading by nearly two seconds over Gibbs followed by Herbst, Bowman and Gragson while Allgaier, Mayer, Berry, Karam and Wallace were in the top 10. Rookie Sheldon Creed was in 11th followed by Landon Cassill, rookie Austin Hill, Ross Chastain and Daniel Hemric while Anthony Alfredo, Andy Lally. Ty Dillon, Preston Padres and Myatt Snider were in the top 20. Meanwhile, Labbe, who overshot Turn 12 while running in the top 10 a lap earlier, pitted after flat-spotting his tires along with Ryan Sieg while names like Chase Briscoe, Austin Dillon, Kaz Grala, Santino Ferrucci, Jeremy Clements, Brandon Jones and Miguel Paludo were in 21st, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th and 31st, respectively.

At the Lap 10 mark, Allmendinger extended his advantage in his No. 16 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet Camaro to more than two seconds over Gibbs’ No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Supra while Bowman was up in third place as he trailed the leaders in his No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro by more than four seconds. Herbst and Allgaier were scored in the top five followed by Mayer while Gragson was back in seventh. Berry, Wallace and Karam filled in the final spots in the top 10 before Wallace made an unscheduled pit stop to address an overheating issue in his car.

Four laps later, the first caution flew when Parker Kligerman snapped loose entering Turn 7 and collided into Ryan Ellis as both wrecked and came to rest off the course. At the time of caution, Allmendinger stabilized his advantage to more than two seconds over Gibbs.

During the caution period, most of the field led by Allmendinger pitted while Gragson, Myatt Snider and Briscoe, who pitted prior to the caution being displayed, remained on the track. During the pit stops, Allmendinger fell all the way back to 14th due to issues while having his right-rear tire changed. In addition, Briscoe, who remained on the track after pitting earlier, was penalized for a commitment box violation.

With two laps remaining in the second stage, the race proceeded under green. At the start and with the field fanning out, Gragson pulled ahead of Snider through the first turn as he assumed full control with the lead while Bowman outlasted a side-by-side duel with Gibbs to move into third. In addition, Allgaier moved up to fourth through the straightaway between Turns 6 and 7 while Mayer made a bold move on both Monster Energy competitors of Herbst and Gibbs in Turn 7 in a bid for fifth before he backed out and Herbst prevailed.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 20, Gragson captured his eighth stage victory of the 2022 Xfinity season. Snider retained second followed by Bowman, Allgaier, Herbst, Gibbs, Berry, Creed, Allmendinger and Mayer.

Under the stage break, Gragson surrendered the lead to pit along with Snider, Landon Cassill and Briscoe while the rest led by Bowman remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Cassill was penalized for speeding on pit road.

The second stage started on Lap 24 as Bowman and Allgaier occupied the front row. At the start, Bowman emerged out in front, but Allgaier fought back entering the first turn. Behind, Gibbs got turned by Josh Berry and he spun in Turn 1 as the field scrambled and fanned out to avoid him. Back at the front, Allgaier emerged with the lead as the field continued to jostle for positions while making their way through the infield straightaway and the turns. Then entering Turn 8, Herbst spun while running towards the front following contact with Berry, but the race proceeded under green.

When the field returned to the frontstretch for Lap 25, Allgaier was leading Bowman while Allmendinger bolted his way into third place after overtaking Berry while Ross Chastain was in fifth. Behind, Anthony Alfredo, who was running in 11th, spun in Turn 1 as the field managed to avoid hitting Alfredo.

During the following lap, the caution returned due to a piece of debris spotted in Turn 1. Under caution, some like Herbst, Karam, Austin Dillon, Wallace and Ryan Sieg pitted while the rest led by Allgaier remained on the track. Prior to the restart, Gragson, who sustained damage to his front splitter, also pitted his No. 9 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro.

When the race restarted under green on Lap 28, Allmendinger, who restarted on the second row, made a bold three-wide move on Bowman and Allgaier exiting the frontstretch and entering the first turn as he reassumed the lead while the field made their way through the first three turns, Turns 4 and 5 and entering the straightaway between Turns 6 and 7.

By Lap 30, Allmendinger was out in front by eight-tenths of a second over Bowman followed by Allgaier, Berry and Chastain while Creed, Daniel Hemric, Kaz Grala, Mayer and Austin Hill were in the top 10. Miguel Paludo carved his way up to 11th followed by Andy Lally, Myatt Snider, Alex Labbe and Brandon Jones while Jeremy Clements, Ty Dillon, Brett Moffitt, Briscoe and Gibbs were in the top 20. Meanwhile, Herbst was in 23rd and Gragson was mired in 34th while Bubba Wallace, who sustained front-nose damage to his car while also encountering overheating issues, retired in the garage due to engine issues.

At the halfway mark on Lap 31, Allmendinger extended his advantage to more than a second over Bowman while Allgaier, Chastain and Berry remained in the top five.

Near the conclusion of the second stage, names like Hemric, Hill, Briscoe and Andy Lally pitted under green along with Allgaier, Chastain, Mayer, Gibbs, Herbst and Jeremy Clements. During the pit stops, Hemric was penalized for speeding on pit road while Gibbs, Clements and Lally were all penalized for commitment box violations.

Then on Lap 38, the leader Allmendinger pitted followed by Bowman, where Bowman managed to exit pit road in front of Allmendinger, as Berry, who had yet to pit, cycled to the lead.

When the second stage concluded on Lap 40, Berry notched his sixth stage victory of the season. Labbe settled in second followed by Kaz Grala, Sage Karam, Preston Pardus, Ty Dillon, Bayley Currey, Anthony Alfredo, Kyle Weatherman and Patrick Gallagher. By then, Bowman was back in 13th ahead of Allmendinger and Allgaier.

Under the stage break, some led by Berry pitted while the rest led by Bowman remained on the track.

With 18 laps remaining, the final stage started as Bowman and Allmendinger occupied the front row. At the start, Bowman and Allmendinger dueled for the lead as the field fanned out entering the first turn. Then through Turns 1 and 2, Allmendinger reassumed the lead ahead of Bowman while Sheldon Creed started to pressure Bowman for second followed by Allgaier. Behind the leaders, Paludo got turned as he spun in Turn 12, but the race proceeded under green.

During the following lap, Mayer got bumped by Cassill and went off the course in Turn 1 while Allgaier sustained left-front damage after making contact with Creed while entering the first turn. Then in Turn 13, Creed, who was running in the top five, got turned by Chastain as Allmendinger continued to lead by more than a second over Bowman.

With less than 15 laps remaining, Allmendinger extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Bowman while Allgaier was being pressured by Chastain as Briscoe was in the top five. Behind, Hill, the current Xfinity Series Rookie-of-the-Year leader, was in sixth ahead of Cassill, Herbst, Santino Ferrucci and Josh Berry.

Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Allmendinger continued to lead by more than three seconds over Bowman while Chastain, Briscoe and Allgaier occupied the top five.

With five laps remaining, Allmendinger stabilized his advantage to two-and-a-half seconds over Bowman followed by Chastain and Allgaier while Briscoe fell back to fifth. Meanwhile, Riley Herbst, who spun at the beginning of the second stage, carved his way back to sixth while Hill, Berry, Mayer and Gibbs, who rallied from his spin and pit road penalty in the second stage, were in the top 10. Gragson was in 11th followed by Cassill, Labbe, Sage Karam and Santino Ferrucci while Brandon Jones, Moffitt, Hemric, Anthony Alfredo and Ty Dillon were mired in the top 20.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Allmendinger remained as the leader by more than two seconds over Bowman while third-place Chastain trailed by more than 14 seconds. With no pressure mounting behind him and having a clear racetrack in front of him with a clean race car, Allmendinger smoothly navigated his way through the 14-turn circuit for a final time and cycled his way back to the frontstretch for his third checkered flag victory of the season.

With his third victory of the 2022 season, Allmendinger, who will attempt to sweep the weekend at the Brickyard after winning last year’s Cup Indy event, achieved his record-setting ninth Xfinity win on a road course event and his 13th career victory in his 80th start in the series. The victory was also the 17th overall in the Xfinity circuit for Kaulig Racing as Allmendinger became the fourth Xfinity regular to achieve three-plus victories this season.

“God, I love this place!” Allmendinger, whose last victory occurred at Portland International Raceway in June, said on NBC. “Indy, baby, let’s go! [I] Can’t thank everybody at Kaulig Racing, all the men and women. We’ve struggled. We’ve worked hard to get a little bit better. This Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevy was really good. I knew Bowman was really good on the long runs, so [I] tried to gap him as much as I could. God, I love Indy.”

“We win and lose as a team,” Allmendinger, who addressed his early slow pit stop, added. “I knew the way our car set up, in traffic, it’s not very good. We were having a little bit of brake issues as well. The [pit] guys recovered really well. I was just frustrated ‘cause I knew that we gave up stage points a little bit there as well to the guys we’re fighting in the points. At this point, points don’t mean a damn thing. We’re kissing the bricks. Hell yeah!”

Bowman finished in second place, trailing Allmendinger by more than two seconds, while Allgaier overtook and fended off Chastain to claim third place. Briscoe, who won the inaugural Xfinity Indy Road Course event, rounded out the top five in fifth.

“Yeah, just a little tight on the short run,” Bowman said. “[I] Thought I could get [Allmendinger] on the long run there and just kind of ran out of time. [I] Probably was a little too nice on the last restart. I knew he was gonna be better than us firing off, but yeah, ran out of time. Big thanks to everybody at Hendrick Motorsports, HendrickCars.com and Ally for letting me drive this [car] to try to help me for tomorrow. [I] Had a lot of fun. The race car was probably as fast as Xfinity Internet there at the end. We were definitely running [Allmendinger] down. Just not enough laps.”

Completing the top 10 were Herbst, Mayer, Gibbs, Hill and Gragson. Notably, Josh Berry finished 14th behind Sage Karam, Brandon Jones settled in 15th, Creed ended up 23rd behind Hemric and Paludo settled in 24th.

There were eight lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 11 laps.

With six races remaining in the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season stretch, AJ Allmendinger continues to lead the regular-season standings by 17 points over Justin Allgaier, 30 over Ty Gibbs, 92 over Josh Berry and 95 over Noah Gragson.

Ty Gibbs, Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger, Josh Berry, rookie Austin Hill and Brandon Jones are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 Xfinity Playoffs based on winning once throughout the regular season stretch while Sam Mayer, Riley Herbst, Daniel Hemric, Landon Cassill and Ryan Sieg occupy the remaining vacant spots to the Playoffs based on points. Rookie Sheldon Creed trails the top-12 cutline to make the Playoffs by 50 points, Anthony Alfredo trails by 75, Brandon Brown trails by 83, Brett Moffitt trails by 88, Jeb Burton trails by 142, Jeremy Clements by 148 and Myatt Snider by 151.

Results.

1. AJ Allmendinger, 42 laps led

2. Alex Bowman, four laps led

3. Justin Allgaier, four laps led

4. Ross Chastain

5. Chase Briscoe

6. Riley Herbst

7. Sam Mayer

8. Ty Gibbs, one lap led

9. Austin Hill

10. Noah Gragson, six laps led, Stage 1 winner

11. Landon Cassill

12. Alex Labbe

13. Sage Karam

14. Josh Berry, five laps led, Stage 2 winner

15. Brandon Jones

16. Brett Moffitt

17. Santino Ferrucci

18. Anthony Alfredo

19. Jeremy Clements

20. Ty Dillon

21. Bayley Currey

22. Daniel Hemric

23. Sheldon Creed

24. Miguel Paludo

25. Andy Lally

26. Austin Dillon

27. Ryan Sieg

28. Patrick Gallagher

29. Preston Pardus

30. Kyle Weatherman

31. Scott Heckert

32. Kaz Grala, one lap down

33. Myatt Snider, one lap down

34. Brandon Brown – OUT, Suspension

35. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Engine

36. Ryan Ellis – OUT, Accident

37. Parker Kligerman – OUT, Accident

38. Jeb Burton – OUT, Trackbar

Next on the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ annual visit of the season at Michigan International Speedway, which will occur on Saturday, August 6, at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

Challenging Day for Meyer Shank Racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

By

Official Release

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July 30, 2022

#06: Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing Honda

Indianapolis, Ind. (30 July 2022) – Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) faced several challenges during Saturday’s Gallagher Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.

Helio Castroneves led the team with an 18th-place finish in No. 06 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda, while Simon Pagenaud’s race ended early while in sixth in the No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda to finish 25th. Pagenaud did set the fastest lap of the race of 1:11.453-seconds.

Pagenaud was hoping to pick up right where he left off, finishing second in the May edition of the IMS road course event. The No. 60 crew was confident in its strategy heading into the event, and it was playing to the team’s favor which saw Pagenaud make it up to sixth position by lap 35.

Unfortunately, just as Pagenaud’s pit window opened for his second stop of the race, the three time IMS road course winner was left stranded on track, without fuel and a mechanical issue. Pagenaud’s race ended early to finish 25th.

Castroneves started 16th, but had a strong jump at the start to gain three positions on the first lap. The No. 06 crew opted to bring Castroneves in for an early stop on lap 10 to switch over to the favored Firestone alternate tires.

He worked his way up to 15th over the course of his second stint, and then pitted on lap 36, anticipating the caution for his stalled teammate. Castroneves returned to the race in 22nd, and gained two positions before a penalty for avoidable contact that sent him back several positions.

Stretching his final pit stop, Castroneves was running third when he pitted with 22 laps remaining. He returned to the fray in 20th, and managed to gain two positions in the run to the checkered flag to finish 18th.

It will be another short turnaround for MSR, with the team competing next weekend in the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on the streets of Nashville.

Driver Quotes:

Helio Castroneves:
“With the No 06 SiriusXM / AutoNation car, we started really well and I had an opportunity on the back stretch with Will (Power) and (David) Malukas. It was incredible, and I don’t know how it wasn’t a big accident. We were about to scuff it out and I was back at 15th or 16th. Then, we had a good strategy trying to save fuel, which was working out, but unfortunately, the yellow came out and that caught us out. I had a penalty as well, that was my bad, and I hit the No. 14 car. So, we lost another 10 seconds. So honestly with all this craziness, 19th is bad but it’s not bad to be honest because it could be much worse. Great job everyone here, and we’ve got to keep going with the process and move forward.”

Simon Pagenaud:
“The silver lining is that we had the fastest lap of the race today! There are a lot of positives but it doesn’t show in the result. We have made major improvements on the car for our road course package and I’m very excited for when it will all pay off in the end! Maybe Nashville!?”

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES AT INDIANAPOLIS: TEAM CHEVY RACE RECAP

By

Official Release

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July 30, 2022

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
GALLAGHER GRAND PRIX
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA

TEAM CHEVY RACE RECAP & QUOTES

POWER PUTS CHEVY ON THE PODIUM AT INDY ROAD COURSE

LEAVES INDIANA WITH NINE-POINT LEAD IN THE STANDINGS

INDIANAPOLIS

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA (July 30, 2022) – Will Power put his No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet on the podium for the Gallagher Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) Road Course. With the strong run to third, Power leaves with nine-point lead in the standings with four races remaining in the 2022 NTT INDYCAR Series Season. It is the 92nd career podium for Power.

Following close behind Power in the final order was teammate Scott McLaughlin driving the No. 2 Gallagher Insurance Chevrolet to finish in the fourth position. The second year Team Penske driver is seventh in the point standings.

Capturing the fifth spot in the final order is two-time Series’ champion Josef Newgarden, giving Chevrolet powered drivers three of the top-five finishing positions. Newgarden sits third in the standings.

Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Bitcoin Racing Team with BitNile, crossed under the double checkered flags in sixth position. Pole winner Felix Rosenqvist finished ninth in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet to give Team Chevy five of the top-nine in the finishing order. Alexander Rossi was the race winner and Christian Lundgaard completed the podium.

Chevrolet continues to lead the NTT INDYCAR Series Manufacturer standings 1086 points to 999.

Next on the calendar is the Music City Grand Prix on the Streets of Nashville on August 7, 2022 and will be broadcast on NBC 3:00 p.m. ET

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 4TH, FINISHED 3RD:

TELL US HOW THIS DAY WENT AND WHAT MORE YOU MIGHT HAVE NEEDED? “Yeah man, it was a crazy start and some pretty questionable driving there at the beginning. It was a great recovery for us, and we kept out of trouble and then we were able to get to third. What a day.”

FOURTH TO THIRD SEEMS ROUTINE, BUT YOU WERE DOWN AS FAR AS 16TH: “It definitely was a rough start. I got pushed around in Turn One, I got pushed into Pato (O’Ward), which spun him. Then Helio (Castroneves) went for a big move and pushed me on the curb. It was a great recovery. You can never expect a normal day in INDYCAR!”

YOU HAD SOME COMMENTARY ABOUT THE DRIVING OF THOSE AROUND YOU AT THAT TIME. “It was just one of those things. Everyone is very aggressive. It’s so hard to win in this series. It’s the toughest series in the world, and everyone fights for position. You just have to keep it clean. Great job today by the Verizon 5G guys. It’s amazing that we can go all the way back there and recover to third, and thanks to Chevy for such great fuel mileage.”

YOU’RE LEADING THE CHAMPIONSHIP THROUGH YOUR CONSISTENCY. “That was the goal from the very beginning… to play the long game, and we’ve been doing that. We’re doing what we know, and that’s what I’ve been doing. I know this game so well, and I know it can change very quickly. But you take what you can get every day and every race.”

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 GALLAGHER INSURANCE CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 15TH, FINISHED 4TH:

“It was as good as we could have hoped. P4 after qualifying 15th, with a great start and we were able to press on and get going. Very proud because Team Chevy gave us great fuel mileage and we were able to just control it to the end.”

I’m pretty pumped. We needed one of those. To get from 15th to fourth in the Gallagher Chevy in the Gallagher Grand Prix was fantastic. The car was good. I was pumped. I was trying to push this guy (teammate Will Power)… I was like, ‘C’mon, let’s go!’ I had a bit of a blister on my right-front but he controlled it really well. We just missed out on the podium but a top-five was a great day for us.”

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 PPG TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 5TH, FINISHED 5TH”Good day for our PPG Team Penske Chevrolet. I am just glad to be back out there on the track and get this race under my belt. We were able to come away with a solid top-five finish and make up some points, which is a pretty solid day. We had great strategy and Team Chevy brought some great power today, which allowed us to stay up front. Overall, a really good day for our PPG team.”

RINUS VEEKAY, BITCOIN RACING TEAM WITH BITNILE, QUALIFIED 8TH, FINISHED 6TH: “Pretty happy actually. Got in the mess at the start with everyone where I think Pato (O’Ward) spun to the inside, which you don’t see that often. It was a bummer because I think I chose the wrong side and lost some positions there. I think I went from like sixth or seventh to 13th or 14th. So, that didn’t really help but for the rest of the race, good pace. Again, not much luck at the yellow with me pitting just before. That would have brought me much more of an advantage if it didn’t go yellow. I’m pretty happy, because that is stuff we cannot control that didn’t go our way. But everything we could control was great.”

FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 7 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, QUALIFED POLE, FINISHED 9TH:

“Today was a tough race. I gave it everything. The first stint on blacks was pretty poor; good in the beginning and then we started losing ground. I feel like the car felt good, but we just didn’t have any pace so we just kept losing positions. The Andretti cars just left us in the distance.

“We started out in like P12 or P13 after the first sequence and from there on there was nothing really happening as we were just doing the same lap times as others on the reds. The car felt good, but I think we had some issue like a dragging brake as we kept losing ground on the straights and it felt a bit abnormal so we will have to look into that.

“We have to nail the details on days like this, and it seems like today we didn’t. To come away with P9, though, were were able to collect some good points. We’ll have a look at everything and go to Nashville.”

PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED , FINISHED 12TH:

“What looked to be like it was going to be a good day, turned out to be really tough for both cars. I got hit during the start which damaged the car and I kind of had to nurse it until the end. We basically went all the way to last place and had to shift strategy-wise. The car wasn’t far off, but this wasn’t a good race for us today.”

CALLUM ILOTT, NO. 77 JUNCOS HOLLINGER CHEVROLET, JUNCOS HOLLINGER RACING , QUALIFIED 19TH, FINISHED 14TH: “It was quite a tough race. We ended up 14thh and ran out of fuel over the line so I lost one position. It was tough, especially in the first half. When the track was low-grip, it was taking awhile to get the car to work, and I was struggling to get past other cars. We had good pace in clean air but I was always stuck behind someone. Once we ended up getting some free air in that last stint-and-a-half. The pace was quite strong, actually. We were catching Pato (O’Ward) but then I had to go into fuel-saving mode… eco-friendly and tried to save it. It was a bit unfortunate. I almost caught him but then almost didn’t finish. But it was a great result to end with. We needed to find a bit of pace earlier in the weekend. We struggled for pace when it was low-grip conditions. Overall I’m happy with P14 from P19. It wasn’t too bad.”

CONNOR DALY, NO. 20 BITNILE CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 10TH, FINISHED 17TH:

“I made a mistake today in pits, stalling the car. The team gave me a really great car, it was really fast. I can admit when I make a mistake and it was a real shame. We will try to bounce back next week. I am thankful the car was fast as it was.”

DALTON KELLETT, NO. 4 K-LINE CHEVROLET, AJ FOYT RACING, QUALIFIED FINISHED 21ST: “We moved up in the race with the No. 4 K-Line car, so that was good not to finish where we started because we were toward the back after a tough qualifying. We made improvements to the car from the start of the weekend, figured a few things out and was able to collect some spots. It was a decent race overall for us. We’re making some progress on our road-course car. We’re trying to work on showing up for these races and knowing where we need to be in that window. We head to Nashville next weekend and I’m really excited. It was a fun track last year and it will be a fun party in Country Music Town. It should be a lot of fun.”

KYLE KIRKWOOD, NO. 14 SEXTON PROPERTIES CHEVROLET, AJ FOYT RACING – FINISHED 23RD: “It was actually a fun race; we were just on the wrong strategy. We started off on the red tires, which didn’t work out for anyone except Scott McLaughlin and he went long on them. We just didn’t really have the pace on the black tires. From there we went to an old set of reds because it was all we had left. We were the only ones to use reds in practice. We got hit in Turn Nine… that ultimately gave us too much damage to have any pace for the rest of the race. It ultimately put us a lap down with an extra pit stop due to an issue with the rear-right tire from that incident. It was an unfortunate day, but we made improvements this weekend. We’ll take the positives from it, and that was definitely one of them. We’ll go on to Nashville and another street course. Fingers crossed we’ll be good there.”

PRESS CONFERENCE INTERVIEW WITH WILL POWER:

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everyone. Wrapping up the Gallagher Grand Prix here at the world famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. We are joined by the now-once-again points leader in the NTT INDYCAR Series, Will Power, driver of the Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, his 92nd career podium today, which ties him with Dario Franchitti for seventh all time, seventh podium of the season and retakes the points lead and now has a nine-point advantage over Marcus Ericsson.

Congratulations on another podium. You got the points lead again. You’ve got to feel pretty good coming out of here.

WILL POWER: Yeah, I do, yeah. Considering the start of the race, yep, great recovery, man. Great recovery. It’s amazing some of the runs we’ve had this year. But yep, just kept my head and did what I could in the situation. I had to get a big fuel number and go as fast as I can.

Very good day. Good day for the team all around.

THE MODERATOR: Outside of Iowa and here, I know you were begging for starts of races up front because it didn’t happen there for a while where you didn’t have to make up big ground like you did at Mid-Ohio, and so far so good the last three races.

WILL POWER: Yeah, that’s right. It’s always hard starting fourth or the outside row at this track. You get — I don’t know, you get freight trained. So it’s tough going into 1. We didn’t make the most of that, but we definitely made the most of the rest of the race.

THE MODERATOR: Final restart and all that, at least towards the end, did you have anything for Rossi?

WILL POWER: No, not with the fuel number I had to get. I had to get a big fuel number because we pitted five laps before everyone.

THE MODERATOR: And played catch-up a little bit after that because of chasing the fuel?

WILL POWER: Yeah, pretty much all the way to the end we were on a number that was definitely holding us back. We had definitely a lot of pace in hand.

THE MODERATOR: We welcome all of you joining us on Zoom. We’ll get to your questions in a matter of moments. Let’s begin with questions in person.

Q. Will, you kind of said you made what you had today and you referenced in your post-race interview that you’ve been playing the long game all season. Are you pleased with where the long game has gotten you with four races to go?

WILL POWER: Yeah, definitely. It’s not necessarily the long game, it’s just that sort of attitude switch where you know these races are long, the season is long, and you’ve got to make the most of every situation, even if you’re fighting for like 12th. If that’s your day to finish 12th, well, finish 12th, not 24th.

Yeah, it’s certainly working very well.

Q. You also kind of referenced outside that there’s a point at which it switches now in the last four races. Did you have to sort of race points for a week or two here now? How do you look at the rest of the way?

WILL POWER: That totally depends on the situation, how you qualify, who’s in front of you, where you’re running, and where the guys that you are fighting or you believe will be the people or the drivers that you have to fight at the end. It becomes a little more obvious with three to go.

The next couple races you’ve got to know, okay, this is definitely the lead guys that we’re racing. We’ve got to cover them on strategies and such.

Yeah, it’s still not completely clear. A lot of guys still clustered up — I think there’s probably still five guys are out in the game, so still a long way to go.

Q. Otto told us Thursday that he feels like it’s going to go down to Laguna obviously but with five guys. Do you expect the same thing? Are you keeping your eye on anybody in particular or do you feel like it’s going to be five guys all the way to the end?

WILL POWER: I mean, that’s impossible to predict, but it’s still pretty close right now. It will always — it feels like it’s always going to go down to the last race. I expect to be having a fight at Laguna. Yeah, we’ll see how it plays out. Impossible to predict in this series. There’s just too many fast guys, good teams, good drivers, everything. It’s just try and pick a winner each week and try and pick a pole sitter. Impossible.

THE MODERATOR: Just 46 points separating the top 5 right now as an illustration of how tight it is.

Q. It’s been a while since you’ve been this deep into the season as the points leader. It happened a lot early in your career. Do you think that experience is beneficial to you to know what it takes to get through the day-to-day pressure that’s going to come with that?

WILL POWER: Absolutely. So different to what it was back then. Just know the game so well. Mentally just miles ahead mentally in every respect than I was back then.

Yeah, just a tremendous amount of experience in this series.

Q. Also, I hate to use the term “wild card,” but because of its unpredictable nature, do you see next week’s race at Nashville as being one of the ones that could cause somebody to go over the cliff?

WILL POWER: Yeah, I hope no one does go over the bridge (laughter), but it could be like Toronto where it could be an absolute crazy race, but it could also be very green. You just can’t predict. You don’t know. We don’t know.

Obviously last year, yeah, with track blockages, this sort of thing, it was pretty crazy, but sometimes a race gets into a flow and it goes. But honestly I think if it goes yellow, it’s going to breed more yellows for sure. That’s when people go for the big moves.

Yeah, we’ll see what happens.

Q. What was it like racing behind the Great Dane today?

WILL POWER: I could only see him as a dot in the distance. He took off. He was too fast.

Q. Will, you and Pato and Sato both pitted underneath the first yellow. You’re here in third, Pato finished 12th and Sato was 15th. What was the major differentiator? Was it tire strategy or something else that worked well for you?

WILL POWER: I think it was our pace on the fuel mileage we had to get. Definitely we were able to make some hay just getting big numbers that we had to get. We had a great car. Car was really fast. Yeah.

Q. It seems like something wild happens to you pretty much every other race this season, whether it be qualifying or in the race, and you were able to bounce back from that so well. Just wondered if it’s kind of crept into your mind yet that you feel like the favorite in the championship based off that because you’re able to come back from some of these crazy situations?

WILL POWER: Yeah, I mean, to this point we’ve had a fantastic year, obviously leading the points right now. Just got to keep doing what I’m doing. I know the game so well, been in it so long. We have great potential to win the championship, but there’s four other guys that also do. It’s going to be hard fought to the end.

I’m enjoying it. I really am.

Q. Will, a couple laps in when you’re in 16th, what’s going through your mind? What’s your approach in a situation like that?

WILL POWER: Well, at that point you’re starting to think of what can we do, if there’s an alternate strategy, then the yellow comes and you’re like absolutely, all right, I think the guys understand, and we talked about it before the race, like we’ll pit, and try and make it on two more stops from there. Yeah, big fuel number, and that was a great call.

Yeah, never got upset or — just yep, that’s what it is. That’s how it rolls in this series. Just kept going.

Q. Obviously you knew you had a chance to take over first place in the standings; is that something on your mind during the race? Is that something you try not to think about? What’s your perspective on that?

WILL POWER: You’re just focusing on the race. You are aware of championship contenders if you’re around one or you do understand if there’s one — somebody racing behind you that you’re competing for the championship, you’ll definitely do your absolute best to keep him behind, but if it’s someone else, you’ve got to save big fuel, you might not fight him as hard.

Q. Will, you talked a while ago about seeing a dot in front of you, ahead of you, as opposed to maybe getting up on somebody’s tailpipe. When did that settle into your brain that third was going to be the best you could do today? How do you actually settle that into your brain?

WILL POWER: Well, when it all reset and all those guys pit, I had to pit before it went yellow. When we reset, it was, okay, we don’t have to get as big a fuel number now, and we’re P3, so if I can finish P3, that’s a great day.

Q. Will, this maturation process, you’re more settled, you keep talking about experience. How much of that is on the track and also off the track? Beau is getting a little older, the family man thing —

WILL POWER: Yeah, it is on both sides. It simply feels like the older you get, the more relaxed you get, just understand how life is. Life is not easy, it doesn’t flow that way like you expect when you’re younger that everything should just go right, but it simply just never does. That’s just the way it is. You get more relaxed about that.

Q. Do you enjoy moments like this a little bit more as you get older?

WILL POWER: Oh, yeah, yeah, I’m loving the racing. It’s a privilege to feel nervous before a race because there’s going to be a time that you don’t get to do that for decades. Some people never get to do that.

Q. You get to go into full dad mode.

WILL POWER: Yeah, exactly.

ABOUT CHEVROLET:

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in nearly 80 countries with nearly 2.7 million cars and trucks sold in 2021. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Alexander Rossi snaps three-year winless drought to reign the Gallagher Grand Prix

By

Andrew Kim

-

July 30, 2022

After enduring a difficult stretch for the past three seasons, Alexander Rossi made a triumphant return to Victory Lane after winning the Gallagher Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course on Sunday, July 30.

The 30-year-old Rossi from Nevada City, California, was running in second place approaching the halfway segment between Laps 42 and 43 of 85 when his teammate and race leader Colton Herta fell off the pace and was eliminated following a mechanical issue. From there, Rossi assumed full control of the race and managed to beat rookie Christian Lundgaard by three-and-a-half seconds to snap a 49-year winless drought and record his first NTT IndyCar Series victory of the 2022 season.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Felix Rosenqvist started on pole position for the second time this season after notching a pole-winning lap at 125.030 mph in one minute, 10.2265 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Alexander Rossi, who clocked in his best lap at 124.539 mph in one minute, 10.5030 seconds.

When the green flag waved and the race commenced, the field fanned out to multiple lanes through the frontstretch and entering the first turn as Rosenqvist retained the lead ahead of Alexander Rossi and Josef Newgarden, who bolted his way from the third row to third place. Then in Turn 2, Pato O’Ward, coming off his victory at Iowa Speedway, plummeted down the leaderboard after getting hit by Will Power and spinning while running towards the front.

With the event remaining under green, Rosenqvist retained the lead ahead of Rossi and Newgarden. His No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet continued to lead the field through the 14-turn circuit and back to the frontstretch as the first lap was recorded.

Through the second lap, Rosenqvist remained as the leader by seven-tenths of a second over Rossi followed by Newgarden, Herta and Lundgaard while Conor Daly, Devlin DeFrancesco, Alex Palou, Scott McLaughlin and Jack Harvey were in the top 10.

During the following lap, the first caution flew when Dalton Kellett made contact against Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 Carvana Dallara-Honda as he spun in Turn 7 in front of O’Ward’s No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet. During the caution period, few names like Takuma Sato and O’Ward pitted while the rest led by Rosenqvist remained on the track.

When the event proceeded under green by the fourth lap, Rosenqvist continued to lead ahead of Rossi and the field. A few laps later, Colton Herta, who won at Indy’s Road Course in May, muscled his No. 26 Gainbridge Dallara-Honda into the runner-up spot while Lundgaard and Newgarden, who was penalized and forced to surrender two spots on the track for exceeding track limits, were in the top five.

Then on the seventh lap, Herta gained strong run and overtook Rosenqvist in Turn 7 to move into the lead. Shortly after, teammate Rossi took over the runner-up lap as Lundgaard moved his No. 30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Dallara-Honda into the top three.

Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Herta was leading by more than a second over teammate Rossi followed by Lundgaard, Rosenqvist and Newgarden while Conor Daly, Scott McLaughlin, Devlin DeFrancesco, Alex Palou and Jack Harvey occupied the top 10. Behind, Graham Rahal was in 11th ahead of Rinus VeeKay, Scott Dixon, Helio Castroneves and Romain Grosjean while Marcus Ericsson was in 19th ahead of Jimmie Johnson and Will Power.

Shortly after, names like VeeKay, Dixon, Castroneves, David Malukas and Callum Ilott pitted under green. By then, Simon Pagenaud made an unscheduled pit stop. When Lap 13 occurred, more names like Palou, Rahal, McLaughlin and Conor Daly, who stalled his car, pitted under green.

During the following lap, Herta surrendered the lead to pit along with Rosenqvist, Rossi and Lundgaard as McLaughlin moved into the lead.

By Lap 20, McLaughlin, who continued to stretch his fuel tank as part of a strategic move, remained as the leader by more than 14 seconds over Ericsson while Johnson, Power and O’Ward were in the top five. By then, Herta was in seventh behind Takuma Sato while Kellett, Rossi and Lundgaard were in the top 10. Newgarden was in 11th ahead of Palou, Simon Pagenaud, VeeKay and Rosenqvist while Dixon in 18th in between DeFrancesco and Harvey.

Two laps later, the leader McLaughlin pitted his No. 3 Gallagher Dallara-Chevrolet under green along with Ericsson. Once Jimmie Johnson pitted by Lap 24, Power cycled his No. 12 Verizon 5G Dallara-Chevrolet into the lead followed by O’Ward, Sato, Herta and Rossi.

At the Lap 30 mark, Power was leading by more than three seconds over Herta followed by Rossi, Lundgaard and Sato. McLaughlin was in sixth while Newgarden, Palou, Pagenaud and VeeKay were in the top 10. By then, O’Ward pitted for fresh red tires.

During the following lap, Power surrendered the lead to pit for fresh red tires along with Sato while Herta cycled his way back into the lead ahead of teammate Rossi.

Then on Lap 35, names like VeeKay, Rosenqvist, Rahal, DeFrancesco, Jack Harvey, David Malukas, Helio Castroneves, rookie Kyle Kirkwood, Dixon, Grosjean and Conor Daly under green as Simon Pagenaud’s No. 60 SiriusXM Dallara-Honda was off the pace after running out of fuel as he came to a stop off the course in Turn 10. Just as Herta, Rossi, Newgarden, McLaughlin and Lundgaard peeled off the track to pit, the caution flew for Pagenaud’s issue.

When the green flag waved and the race restarted on Lap 38, Herta retained the lead ahead of teammate Rossi, Lundgaard, Power, Johnson, McLaughlin, Newgarden and O’Ward.

Then as the event reached its halfway mark between Laps 42 and 43, Rossi assumed the lead after teammate Herta, who was leading, fell off the pace through Turns 10 to 12 due to a mechanical issue with no clutch as his car came to a stop inside the pit lane entrance. With Herta out of contention and out of the race, Rossi was out in front by more than a second over Lundgaard followed by Power, Johnson and McLaughlin while Newgarden, VeeKay, Rahal, O’Ward and Dixon were in the top 10.

Through Lap 50, Rossi’s No. 27 NAPA/AutoNation Dallara-Honda was leading by more than three seconds over Lundgaard’s No. 30 while Team Penske’s Power, McLaughlin and Newgarden were in the top five. By then, Johnson surrendered his spot in the top 10 to pit. Meanwhile, Castroneves was mired back in 22nd after making earlier contact with Kirkwood that sent Kirkwood spinning in Turn 9. The contact prompted IndyCar to issue the four-time Indianapolis 500 champion a penalty for avoidable contact.

With less than 30 laps remaining, Rossi continued to lead by nearly four seconds over Lundgaard as Power, McLaughlin and Newgarden remained in the top five. VeeKay was in sixth ahead of Rahal, Dixon, Palou and Rosenqvist. By then, O’Ward was back in 11th and Ericsson was in 12th while Sato, Harvey and Callum Ilott were in the top 15. David Malukas was in 16th followed by Conor Daly, Devlin DeFrancesco, Romain Grosjean and Helio Castroneves while Jimmie Johnson was back in 22nd.

Then with nearly 25 laps remaining, Power pitted under green along with O’Ward, Dixon, Sato and Ilott. Newgarden, VeeKay, Rahal, Palou, Harvey, Malukas, Daly, DeFrancesco, Grosjean and Johnson pitted not long after before the leader Rossi pitted along with Lundgaard, McLaughlin, Rosenqvist and Ericsson.

Down to the final 20 laps of the event and with most of the leaders having made a pit stop under green, Rossi retained the lead by two-and-a-half seconds over Lundgaard while third-place Power trailed by. Power’s teammates McLaughlin and Newgarden remained in the top five while VeeKay, Rahal, Dixon, Rosenqvist and Palou were scored in the top 10. Ericsson, meanwhile, was in 11th ahead of O’Ward, Sato, Ilott and Harvey while Malukas, Daly, DeFrancesco, Grosjean and Castroneves occupied the top 20. Following his late pit stop, Jimmie Johnson was mired back in 23rd behind Kyle Kirkwood.

With 10 laps remaining, Rossi, who was trying to navigate his way around the lapped car of Dalton Kellett, continued to lead by less than three seconds over runner-up Lundgaard and more than 14 seconds over third-place Power as McLaughlin and Newgarden remained in the top five. In addition, VeeKay, Rahal, Dixon, Rosenqvist and Palou continued to run in the top 10.

Down to the final five laps of the event, Rossi stabilized his advantage to four seconds over Lundgaard while third-place Power trailed by nearly 16 seconds as he could not close in on the top-two competitors.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Rossi remained as the leader by more than four seconds over Lundgaard. Despite making light contact with the wall earlier, Rossi, who had a clear racetrack in front of him, was able to smoothly navigate his way through the 14-turn circuit for a final time and cycle back to the frontstretch as he claimed his first checkered flag in more than three years.

With the victory, Rossi became the eighth different winner of the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series season as he also notched his eighth career victory and his first since winning at Road America in June 2019. He also became the second American competitor to win in this year’s IndyCar season and he recorded the fourth victory of the season for Honda. The victory occurred as Rossi is down to his final four races with Andretti Autosport before moving to Arrow McLaren SP in 2023.

“It’s a relief, man,” Rossi said on NBC. “It’s been so many things for so long. I do feel for Colton [Herta]. I do, but I’m happy. Thankfully, something came our way. I just wanna give a huge shoutout to Andretti Autosport and their continued belief, NAPA Auto Parts and AutoNation. I’m so happy to drive pink. The Honda power. There’s just been so much belief for so long and it’s nice to finally accomplish it. To kind of come back at Indianapolis at home is pretty amazing…It was the No. 27’s turn [to win]. That’s awesome.”

Meanwhile, rookie Christian Lundgaard claimed both his career-best IndyCar result and maiden podium result by finishing in second place in his 14th series start while Will Power, who won the Gallagher Grand Prix a year ago, reassumed the points lead after rounding out the podium in third place.

“I think at the end of the third stint, I was catching Alex [Rossi],” Lundgaard said. “I was really hoping because every pit stop, we always caught up. We lost a bit in the beginning of the stint. I think the Andretti car just had so much better power than we did today. That was what killed our rear tires and we struggled on the long run. But, it sure does feel like a birthday present. I think the results speak for themselves. Coming in this weekend, we knew we had a strong car. I wasn’t so happy in practice. I think there was definitely something we found there. Then, we rolled into qualifying with last year’s car. Look where we are. I love to be at Indy. Now to have a podium, this being the place. I would’ve preferred it now being the other way around, but we’ll take that next year.”

“Definitely a rough start,” Power said. “[I] Got pushed around in Turn 1, got pushed into Pato [O’Ward], we spun him. Then, Helio [Castroneves] went for a big move and pushed me on the curb, but great recovery. You can never expect a normal day in IndyCar. It was just one of those things. Everyone’s very aggressive and it’s so hard to win in this series. It’s the toughest series in the world. Everyone fights hard for positions. Just got to keep in clean, but great job by the Verizon 5G guys. It’s amazing that we can go all the way back there and recover to third. I’m so happy for that. It’s gonna be coming time here. Just gotta do what you know. I know this game so well. I know I can change very quickly, but you got to take what you can get every race day.”

Power’s teammates McLaughlin and Newgarden finished in the top five while VeeKay, Rahal, Dixon, pole-sitter Felix Rosenqvist and Alex Palou completed the top 10.

Following the event, Conor Daly, who ended up 17th, was issued a penalty from IndyCar for late blocking against 18th-place finisher Devlin DeFrancesco, whom Daly vocalled his displeasure towards for forcing him off the track in Turn 12 earlier.

There were five lead changes for five different leaders. The event featured two cautions for five laps.

With his third-place result, Will Power leads the standings by nine points over Marcus Ericsson, 32 over Josef Newgarden, 38 over Scott Dixon, 46 over Pato O’Ward, 52 over Alex Palou, 81 over Scott McLaughlin and 113 over Alexander Rossi.

Results.

1. Alexander Rossi, 44 laps led

2. Christian Lundgaard

3. Will Power, seven laps led

4. Scott McLaughlin, 10 laps led

5. Josef Newgarden

6. Rinus VeeKay

7. Graham Rahal

8. Scott Dixon

9. Felix Rosenqvist, seven laps led

10. Alex Palou

11. Marcus Ericsson

12. Pato O’Ward

13. David Malukas

14. Callum Ilott

15. Takuma Sato

16. Romain Grosjean

17. Conor Daly

18. Devlin DeFrancesco

19. Helio Castroneves

20. Jack Harvey

21. Dalton Kellett, one lap down

22. Jimmie Johnson, one lap down

23. Kyle Kirkwood, one lap down

24. Colton Herta – OUT, Mechanical, 17 laps led

25. Simon Pagenaud – OUT, Off Course

Next on the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series schedule is the second annual running of the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Street Circuit in Nashville, Tennessee. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, August 7, at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

Tyler Reddick scores Cup Series pole for Indy Road Course

By

Angie Campbell

-

July 30, 2022

NASCAR Cup Series Verizon 200 at the Brickyard - Qualifying — Tyler Reddick poses for photos after winning the pole award during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Verizon 200 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 30, 2022 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

Tyler Reddick outpaced the field with a 99.378 mph lap during qualifying to win the Busch Light Pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Verizon 200 at The Brickyard.

It is the second pole for the Richard Childress Racing driver in his third full year of completion in the Cup Series and his ninth top-five starting position this season.

“It certainly seemed like a pretty good lap,” Reddick said, “but definitely not a pole lap. So certainly right away we were hustling to cool the car down and cool the brakes down so we could re-run but it ended up being a good enough lap and it stood up against the nine other competitors.

“But yeah I definitely had a little bit of concern, missing it a little bit in turn four and just a little bit in the braking zone. Just glad it was a good enough lap. Certainly, you always try and run the perfect lap and we didn’t quite do that but it was good enough to win the pole.”

Austin Cindric’s lap of 99.095 mph earned him the second starting position.

“When you get beat for pole I guess you’d rather be a chunk slower than a little bit slower because I feel like there’s a little bit I could have done better,” Cindric said, “but not a chunk. I felt like our Ford Mustang was fast all day and I’m proud of that effort. We’re trying a few new things this weekend and I’m looking forward to seeing how they play out in the race.”

Chase Briscoe ((98.962 mph), Christopher Bell (98.721 mph) and Joey Logano (98.476 mph) rounded out the top five fastest qualifiers followed by Ryan Blaney, Michael McDowell, Chase Elliott, Todd Gilliland and Kyle Busch to complete the top-10 starters for Sunday’s race.

Team Penske drivers were strong in qualifying with Cindric, Logano and Blaney grabbing starting spots in the top six.

“It’s a good start and hopefully we can continue that,” Logano said. “It’s always special to win here. When your boss owns the track it probably adds a little bit to that, but a top-five qualifying effort is nice and we’ll try to pick it up a little from there.”

Notably, Elliott was the only Hendrick Motorsports driver in the top 10. His teammates Kyle Larson, William Byron and Alex Bowman will start 22nd, 23rd and 28th, respectively.

Ty Gibbs will start 26th, filling in for the second consecutive race for Kurt Busch. Busch has not been medically cleared to race since his accident during qualifying at Pocono Raceway.

Tune into Sunday’s Verizon 200 at The Brickyard at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC and the NBC Sports App with radio coverage on IMS Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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CHEVROLET NCS: Tyler Reddick to Lead the Field to the Green in Indianapolis

By

Official Release

-

July 30, 2022

NASCAR CUP SERIES
IMS ROAD COURSE
VERIZON 200 AT THE BRICKYARD

TEAM CHEVY POLE WINNER

TYLER REDDICK TO LEAD THE FIELD TO THE GREEN IN INDIANAPOLIS

Fifth NCS Pole Win of 2022 for Camaro ZL1

· Tyler Reddick clocked-in a lap of 88.354 seconds, at 99.378 mph, to capture the pole position for tomorrow’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.

· This marks Reddick’s second career NASCAR Cup Series pole, both of which have been captured on a road course.

· Reddick’s pole gives Chevrolet its fifth NASCAR Cup Series pole win of 2022; and 728th all-time in NASCAR Cup Series history.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (July 30, 2022) – The last time the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) turned laps on a road course circuit, Tyler Reddick drove his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Camaro ZL1 to victory lane for the first time in his NCS career (Road America, July 2022). Today, the 26-year-old California native picked up right where he left off, capturing the pole for tomorrow’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. Reddick laid down a lap of 88.354 seconds, at 99.378 mph, in his No. 8 3CHI Camaro ZL1 to capture his second career pole win in NASCAR’s premier series. Reddick’s pole winning lap was almost three tenths of a second faster than the second-fastest driver, proving the No. 8 3CHI Camaro ZL1 will be a strong contender to go back-to-back in road course wins.

“I could have done a better job, but it was really nice to know that we really did such a good job; everyone at RCR and the ECR power under this hood,” said Reddick. “Just this whole group on the No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet team did a really good job of preparing the last couple of weeks for this race.”

Reddick’s pole win marked the fifth for the Camaro ZL1 in 2022; and a manufacturer-leading 728th all-time in NASCAR Cup Series history. The bowtie brand has proven to be a force to be reckoned with on road course circuits, with Chevrolet currently sitting at nine consecutive NCS road course victories. A streak that started with Chase Elliott’s victory at Circuit of The Americas in March 2021, six drivers from four different Chevrolet teams have added to the Chevrolet NCS road course win count and the manufacturer looks to take that number to double digits this weekend.

NBC will broadcast the NASCAR Cup Series Verizon 200 at the Brickyard at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 31. Live coverage can also be found on the NBCSports Gold App and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 3CHI CAMARO ZL1 – Press Conference Transcript:

WALK US THROUGH YOUR FAST LAP OUT THERE?

“Well, it certainly seemed like a pretty good lap, but definitely not a pole lap. Right away, we were hustling to cool the car down and cool the brakes down so we could re-run. But it ended up being a good enough lap and it stood up against the nine other competitors. I definitely had a little bit of concern missing it a little bit in turn four and just a little bit in the braking zone.

I’m glad it was a good enough lap. Certainly you always try and run the perfect lap. We didn’t quite do that, but it was good enough to win the pole.”

YOU’RE COMING OFF YOUR FIRST NASCAR CUP SERIES VICTORY AT ROAD AMERICA AND NOW YOU’RE SITTING ON THE POLE HERE IN INDIANAPOLIS. HOW MUCH CONFIDENCE DOES THAT GIVE YOU KNOWING THAT YOU’VE WON AT A ROAD COURSE; WON A ROAD COURSE IN THIS CAR; AND YOU’RE SITTING ON THE POLE AT INDIANAPOLIS?

“I certainly have a little bit more confidence. A lot of the confidence that myself and my whole team has comes from the work that we put in. The confidence that we have and displayed today comes from that, but certainly it’s good to know that we’re doing the right things and we’re on the right track.

We’ll see how tomorrow goes. We’re going to have a really good pit stall selection and have the opportunity from the start to control the race. Hopefully we’ll be able to do that and keep it up front all day.”

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Ford Performance NASCAR: Six Fords Qualify Top 10 for Cup Race on Indianapolis Road Course

By

Official Release

-

July 30, 2022

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Verizon 200 Qualifying | Saturday, July 30, 2022

Ford Qualifying Results:
2nd – Austin Cindric
3rd – Chase Briscoe
5th – Joey Logano
6th – Ryan Blaney
7th – Michael McDowell
9th – Todd Gilliland
12th – Brad Keselowski
13th – Harrison Burton
14th – Aric Almirola
16th – Chris Buescher
18th – Kevin Harvick
24th – Cole Custer
27th – Joey Hand
33rd – Cody Ware
34th – Loris Hezemans
37th – Josh Williams

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang – “It’s certainly an important weekend for us at Team Penske, but it would be pretty cool to run up front and try and get a win for Roger at the Brickyard. It’s a long race ahead, but obviously a good place to start, a good pit stall for the boys, so a good foundation with a long race ahead.”

HOW WAS YOUR LAP IN THE FINAL ROUND OF QUALIFYING? “When you get beat for pole I guess you’d rather be a chunk slower than a little bit slower because I feel like there’s a little bit I could have done better, but not a chunk. I felt like our Ford Mustang was fast all day and I’m proud of that effort. We’re trying a few new things this weekend and I’m looking forward to seeing how they play out in the race.”

TODD GILLILAND, No. 38 Ruedebusch Development & Construction Ford Mustang – “It’s been a good morning, but we still have a long day ahead of us. It takes everything and my guys did a good job with the setup of the car. I was telling them it’s much easier to drive than Road America, so it’s all about progress. We’re learning a lot from the 34 team as they’re running really well. Overall, a pretty good start to the day.”

HOW DO YOU TRANSLATE THIS INTO THE RACE AND KEEP THAT TRACK POSITION ALL DAY? “That is the crazy part about shifting your expectations. Even when we got into the second round you really have to shift into going to get the pole, but I feel like a road course is even more so of when your car has speed and there are so many turns that it kind of just adds up to having good speed. It makes me feel confident about the race tomorrow and, like I said, my car feels really driveable. Overall, I’m pretty happy with it. There are still gonna be some tough decisions tonight, but, overall, it’s probably our best race car going into a race this year.”

MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 34 Horizon Hobby Ford Mustang – “We got both cars in the top 10. I think that’s the first time we’ve done that on a road course, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow. This is not our first time making it to the second round at a road course. I think three out of the four we’ve moved on and honestly I didn’t put in a really good lap, it was kind of a messy, sloppy lap so I wish I could have a re-do, but I think we’ll be there tomorrow when it counts.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang – “I had a good first lap, but my second lap I overshot turn one. I just went for it. I felt like I was in contention to maybe get a pole and so I sent it in there pretty hard and missed turn one, and then you’re just fighting from behind. It’s a long lap from there all the way around to try to make up for a mistake, but it was a good pickup from practice.”

THREE TEAM PENSKE CARS IN THE TOP SIX TO START TOMORROW. YOUR THOUGHTS? “Absolutely. It’s a good start and hopefully we can continue that. It’s always special to win here. When your boss owns the track it probably adds a little bit to that, but a top-five qualifying effort is nice and we’ll try to pick it up a little from there.”

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang – “In practice I was a little bit worried. I didn’t really feel like I had the speed I needed. I felt like everything I had was what I had and I was still only 13th-quick and didn’t feel like the car was really that great. I still don’t necessarily feel like the car is quite where I need it to be, but definitely the speed kind of surprised me there in qualifying. We’ve got a really good starting spot for tomorrow. We’ve got a good pit stall selection, so all of those things will help. We’ve just got to put it all together. We’re kind of in a unique spot where we have to kind of go for points and it might not be the best strategy to win the race, so hopefully the race will come our way and we can catch some breaks along the way and hopefully be kissing the bricks at the end of it.”

Ford Performance NASCAR: Ryan Blaney Ready For Indianapolis Road Course

By

Official Release

-

July 30, 2022

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Indianapolis Advance | Saturday, July 30, 2022

Ryan Blaney, driver of the No. 12 Menards/Moen Ford Mustang, is still looking for his first victory of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season. He stopped by the infield media center at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this morning to talk about his hopes for tomorrow’s race.

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Moen Ford Mustang — YOUR FOUNDATION IS HOSTING A SECTION OF FANS IN HONOR OF ALZHEIMER’S AND BRAIN AWARENESS. CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THAT? “I’m really excited to be able to do that. We’ve worked with the Alzheimer’s Association in the past and they’ve been great to work with and that’s really what our charity was founded on years ago, so it’s great to have them out. It’s great that Indianapolis let us kind of set up a booth and fans could buy a package to come to the race. I get to meet a lot of them tomorrow, which I’m very excited about the fans who have supported our charity and supported our cause for a very long time really ever since it started, but it’s a neat event. My family has been a big part of it since the foundation got up and started. I’m excited to meet all those fans that bought that package and all going to support the Alzheimer’s Association. It’s gonna be a really fun day tomorrow.”

WHAT IS THE STATUS OF YOUR CONTRACT? AREN’T YOU UP PRETTY QUICK, TOO? “Really, at the end of the day I’m smiling about it, so stay tuned.”

IF ROGER GIVES YOU A CHOICE WOULD YOU RATHER RUN THE OVAL OR ROAD COURSE HERE IN A CUP CAR? “It’s special no matter what course we run, I think. I’ve enjoyed running on the oval. I enjoyed running on the road course last year. I personally wouldn’t mind seeing it maybe switch up every few years – a couple years. I don’t think running the road course makes this place any less special. I mean, you’re still racing at Indianapolis and you understand the history behind this place. I’m just really fortunate to be racing here and then to be racing for Roger here. That makes it even more special, so either one, but I wouldn’t mind seeing it switching up every two or three years and that might happen.”

CAN ANYTHING BE DONE TO DECREASE THE FORCE ON THE DRIVER IN CRASHES WITH THIS NEXT GEN CAR? “That’s been a topic of conversation and it’s definitely come up the past week with Kurt getting hurt and hopefully he’s on the right path to getting back. It’s something that was kind of brought up in our meetings between drivers and NASCAR in the offseason, understanding where they were when they designed this car for intrusion – safety upgrades for sure, but I think the car is so rigid and stiff in the front and back and even the sides that some of these hits are harder on the driver even though they might show that they’re better on paper. So, it’s something I’ve noticed. I think everyone will tell you that they’ve noticed that some of these hits that you really wouldn’t think twice about last year’s car, you definitely feel them a lot more in this car. I’m sure they’re working on it. That’s NASCAR’s area to try to improve and the teams all we can do is give them feedback and try to help that process along. I’m sure they’ve got a plan for the offseason and I think all the drivers really want to help out with giving our feedback and just trying to make it better all around.”

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES GOING TO BE AT MICHIGAN WITH THIS NEW CAR? “I think it’s gonna be a lot different than last year. It was almost like s speedway race last year, essentially, with the high downforce stuff. This year going back I feel like it’s gonna be more of a look of what we had a few years ago with the other car, kind of lower downforce. I’m not really sure what to expect. I’d love to tell you all what I expect going to these tracks for the first time with this new car, but I don’t know. Hopefully, the track we get up in the old PJ1 and keeps the track wide for this car. I think it’ll help, so it’s really hard to tell but I’m excited to get back there. It’s obviously a big weekend, just like this weekend for us with Ford being right in their backyard. I think it’ll be a good race, that’s for sure, with this car. We’ve seen it this year. This car puts on really good shows at mile-and-a-half and two-mile tracks and I expect nothing less.”

GOING BACK TO RICHMOND FOR A SECOND TIME, WHAT DID YOU LEARN THE LAST TIME TO BE BETTER? “I thought we learned a lot at the spring Richmond. We sat on the pole and led some laps. That’s a big day for me at that place, just trying to continue to get better there. It figures, right when we start to figure out Richmond they take it out of the playoffs, which is pretty funny, but I think we learned a lot just kind of how that race developed. That place, I feel like I’ve got it half figured out now of kind of being good early in the race and good in qualifying and just need to figure out the second half of the race when that track kind of changes. You take all those notes and figure out, ‘OK, where did the track change?’ You can usually do a pretty good job of looking around this lap the track changed. Why did it change and what did we do? Maybe we missed making a change or wanted the wrong thing at that time, so all of that stuff you go back and look at. I’ll go back and look at it next week to kind of prepare for Richmond and hopefully do a little bit better job there.”

WHAT IS YOUR COMFORT LEVEL IN THE POINTS WITH MARTIN GETTING CLOSER TO YOU AND CHASE PULLING AWAY IN THE REGULAR SEASON POINTS RACE? “That one is probably definitely out the window. He’s put together a really good past month-and-a-half and we haven’t. He’s kind of pulled away significantly from the whole field and then our race with Martin, I mean he’s closed the gap up pretty good. He’s been running pretty well, so it’s two-fold. I mean, the easiest but hardest thing to do is win, and I could stop talking about it, but we’ve been trying all year. Hopefully, we can get it done and not have to worry about it, but you just have to be in the back of your head of realizing that you’re still points racing Martin – we are – for the final. You don’t want to be on the bubble if there’s no new winners, and obviously you want to try and win the race, so it’s a balancing act, especially the two road courses that we have. Do you pit? Do you take the stage points to try to keep a good gap to the 19, or if you think your car can win do you try to cycle to the lead? So, it’s kind of situational, I feel like. We talk about all these scenarios throughout the week and in our pre-race meetings, but at the end of the day the main focus is trying to win the race and just doing all you can to try and make that one happen.”

HOW INVOLVED ARE YOU GOING TO BE IN DECIDING WHETHER TO GO OPPOSITE OF TRUEX OR FOLLOW HIM, OR IS THAT THE CREW CHIEF’S ROLE? “Jonathan and I talk a lot about that. You have all of these plans before the race, but a lot of it is kind of where you qualify. If you’re qualified towards the front and you think your car is really fast and you have a chance to win, you might stay on that strategy and try to stay up towards the front and just cycle back to the front all the time. We’ve done that strategy before at Sonoma, getting stage points, but you end up with a top five day because you stay out of the mess and you stay up front. So, at the end of the day it’s Jonathan’s call and what he thinks is best, but he trusts me enough to where I have input too. If I think, ‘Hey, I don’t know if we can win this race, let’s maybe try to get all the stage points we can.’ He trusts me and I trust him. A lot of those discussions are throughout the race of kind of what’s happening in the moment, but you do make all these plans throughout the week – he and I and our engineers — of what we’re thinking baseline and then you can modify plans off of that.”

SOME OF THE DRIVERS HAVE WORN MOUTHGUARD ACCELEROMETERS TO GIVE NASCAR FEEDBACK. HAVE YOU TRIED THAT OR DONE ANYTHING TO HELP THAT PROCESS? “I haven’t done the mouthguard. I know some guys have. I don’t know what they’ve said about it, but I think that’s just getting data. You’re getting data. The data on the car they have, but they’re trying to get data on what the driver hits are. I know Indy Car they use accelerometers in their earpieces, in their ear molds, and I’ve heard good and bad things about that talking to our Indy Car guys. It can be weird in your ear and if you hit your headrest a certain way one is gonna be a lot higher than the other, but the mouthguard thing, I don’t want to wear a mouthguard while I’m racing. That’s just plain and simple. I know it’s smaller, it’s a retainer, but I really don’t want to have that in my mouth while I’m out there racing. Hopefully, we can figure something out. I think the in-ear piece, they’re already in there. You could put something in your ear molds to at least get you some sort of an idea of what drivers are going through.”

DID YOU IMAGINE THERE WOULD BE A YEAR OF POSSIBLY 17 WINNERS IN A SINGLE YEAR? “Yeah. Honestly, I’m surprised it hasn’t happened yet. You look at all the great teams and drivers who could win in this series and I’m surprised it has not happened yet, and it could happen this year. It’s just one of those things. That’s why you’ve seen people be so aggressive at the end of these races for wins. You have to do it, especially when you have so many winners. You cannot pass up your opportunity. I mean, I don’t like roughing people up or moving people out of the way, you have to get physical with it. You can’t afford to not be physical and give up a shot to win a race. It’s just one of those things where people are so aggressive nowadays, well, you have to be. It’s one of those situations to where if you don’t, you might not ever get that chance again and you might miss out on the playoffs. I’m shocked there hasn’t been 16 winners yet, but I’m sure it will happen. If not this year, at some point.”

DO YOU VIEW MICHIGAN AND DAYTONA AS YOUR BEST SHOTS FOR A WIN? “Not really. I look at any week and I feel like this group can go out and win any week. It’s just a matter of putting all the pieces together. I know we won at those two places last year, but completely different scenarios, different car at both of the tracks. At Daytona, these things draft way different. At Michigan, they’re gonna drive way different than what they did last year, so I don’t view those as two of the best weekends. I feel like this is a great weekend for us and the four other races after that. I don’t really look at favorite tracks I think we have a better shot to win at. I try to keep the mindset of we can go out and win any week.”

THROUGH 21 RACES WITH THE NEXT GEN CAR. WHAT’S YOUR PERSONAL EVALUATION OF IT? “I feel like there are some things we can definitely improve on it. I mean, you know that’s gonna be a thing when you have anything new. There’s always things you can do better with it and kind of learning pains of this car, whether it’s team side to NASCAR side on what they can do better to make the racing even better, which I think it’s put on pretty good racing this year, but there are some situations to where I wish this car was a little bit better. I’ll give it a solid B-plus. I feel like they can get to an A, for sure. Just the racing side of it, I don’t care how these cars drive by themselves. I mean, any driver will tell you that they drive how they’re gonna drive and we’ll get around that, but it’s all about how they race in traffic. I think there are things that we’ve been talking about with NASCAR and they’ve been testing some stuff out, whether it’s taking the diffuser off of it at a short track and things like that, so hopefully we can get something figured out to keep improving it and I’m sure we’re gonna do it. We did it from the offseason. To be honest with you, when we were testing in the offseason I was pretty nervous about this year of being able to put on any good races because I thought they struggled in the offseason in all those tests in traffic and things like that, and we’ve made big improvements since then, so I think after you get a whole year under your belt you can really go in and dive in and figure out how to make it even better.”

ERIK JONES TO REMAIN IN THE NO. 43 CHEVY WITH PETTY GMS

By

Official Release

-

July 30, 2022

STATESVILLE, N.C. (July 30, 2022) – Petty GMS today announced the team and Erik Jones have agreed to a multi-year agreement for Jones to remain in the No. 43 Chevy Camaro starting with the 2023 season.

“I’m really excited to have this deal done and finally be able to talk about it,” said Jones. “I really like the group I have at Petty GMS and working with Dave (Elenz). Each week I feel like we get better and better and put ourselves in contention to win. Knowing where I’ll be driving allows us to really focus on building the team and making our cars better. I’m looking forward to finishing this season strong, hopefully with a win, and continuing to build on what we started this year with Petty GMS.”

Jones joined Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) in 2021 and continued in the No. 43 Chevy when GMS Racing and RPM merged at the start of the 2022 season.

“Erik (Jones) has been a great addition to Petty GMS this year and we’re thrilled to have him signed for the coming years,” said Petty GMS Owner Maury Gallagher. “We’re excited to continue building our Cup program with Erik, Dave (Elenz) and the No. 43 team. They’ve shown great growth and potential this season and we know it will only continue.”

Jones is currently in his seventh season in the Cup Series. With 204 starts in the series, Jones has two wins, 35 top-five finishes and 75 top-10 finishes. During the 2022 season, his first season with Petty GMS and crew chief Dave Elenz, Jones has 21 starts with two top-five finishes and seven top-10 finishes with 72 laps led.

“We’ve had a great relationship with Erik (Jones) since he joined RPM and now Petty GMS,” said Petty GMS Chairman Richard Petty. “Erik’s done an outstanding job representing the No. 43 and all of the fans who love to see that car on track. It’s nice to have Erik locked in for the years to come and continue building on the legacy of the No. 43 as he continues his Cup career.

Jones and the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will take to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course for the NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday, July 31, beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET. NBC will carry live television coverage and Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will carry the live radio broadcast.

About Petty GMS

Petty GMS competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, operating the No. 42 Chevrolet for Ty Dillon and the No. 43 Chevrolet for Erik Jones. The newly formed team brought together two storied organizations in December 2021. Over the last decade, owner Maury Gallagher built a victorious team, capturing two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championships, one ARCA Menards Series title, and two ARCA Menards Series East championships, as well as 65 wins and 235 top-five finishes across six series. Richard Petty, a member of the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2010, serves as Chairman of Petty GMS. Petty, known as “The King,” accumulated 200 wins and was the first of three drivers to win seven championships in the Cup Series. For more information, visit www.pettygms.com.

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