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McElrea Takes Pole for Indy Lights at Mid-Ohio

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Official Release
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LEXINGTON, Ohio (Saturday, July 2, 2022) — Hunter McElrea’s dominant Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires weekend at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course continued Saturday as he scored the pole for Sunday’s Indy Lights at Mid-Ohio event.

With a best lap of 1 minute, 12.1926 seconds in the No. 27 Andretti Autosport car, the rookie scored his second pole of the season. It rounds out what has been a strong weekend for McElrea, who was fastest in both practice sessions of the weekend.

McElrea put an exclamation point on his strong qualifying session by besting his own time, which was already good enough for first place as time expired in the 20-minute qualifying session around the 13-turn, 2.258-mile road course.

“It was good,” he said. “We were P1 almost the entire session. I started getting a little sloppy at the end. Even on my last lap, I completely blew through Turn 2, but I didn’t think that was going to be a (1:12) lap.

“I can’t tell you how fun it is when you drive a car this good around Mid-Ohio. I love this place. We’re back where we belong.”

Joining McElrea on the front row will be Indy Lights points leader Linus Lundqvist, who put down a best lap of 1:12.4218 late in the session to secure his seventh front-row start in eight races this season in the No. 26 HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing machine.

“I’m very happy and super proud of the team,” said Lundqvist, who holds an 82-point lead over Sting Ray Robb in the championship. “We knew that this place is probably one of our weakest places, so good job. Thanks to my guys for giving me a car that could fight for the front row.”

Lundqvist’s teammate Benjamin Pedersen will start third at 1:12.4459 in the No. 24 Global Racing Group with HMD Motorsports car. St. Petersburg winner Matthew Brabham qualified fourth at 1:12.4911 in the No. 83 Andretti Autosport car, and the series’ most recent winner Christian Rasmussen starts fifth with a best lap of 1:12.5129 in the No. 28 Road to Indy/Stellrecht car for Andretti Autosport.

This weekend’s performance at Mid-Ohio for McElrea is mirroring the drive he had at the start of the season on the Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. McElrea, 22, paced practice, started on the pole and led the first 11 laps of the race before a mistake put him in the wall and ended his chances for victory.

Since then, McElrea, a New Zealand driver who was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Australia, has worked on being less aggressive on track. He is currently seventh in the championship, 117 points back of leader Lundqvist.

In his young racing career, Mid-Ohio has proven to be strong for McElrea, who has five poles and two wins at this track prior to this weekend. Therefore, McElrea is confident about finally scoring that elusive first career win in Sunday’s Indy Lights at Mid-Ohio (10:35 a.m. ET, live on Peacock Premium and INDYCAR Radio Network).

“It’s pretty obvious what I’m going to plan on,” McElrea said. “We’re pretty dominant all weekend, so I don’t see why we shouldn’t keep that pace in the race.”

Expect a tight 35-lap race as the top nine drivers in qualifying were separated by just over half a second.

About Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires

Celebrating 35 years, Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires develops drivers and teams to compete in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. Past champions include INDYCAR SERIES champions Tony Kanaan, Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden, Paul Tracy and Cristiano da Matta. In 2021, 20 drivers in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES were Indy Lights graduates, including rising stars and race winners Colton Herta, Pato O’Ward and Rinus VeeKay. The 2022 season consists of 14 races in the United States. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Indy Lights, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IMS Productions are owned by Penske Corporation, a global transportation, automotive and motorsports leader. For more information on Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, please visit www.indylights.com. For more information on INDYCAR and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, please visit www.indycar.com.

About Cooper Tire

Cooper Tire, a subsidiary of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NASDAQ: GT), specializes in the design, manufacture, marketing and sale of passenger car, light truck, medium truck, motorcycle and racing tires. Cooper is headquartered in Findlay, Ohio, with manufacturing, sales, distribution, technical and design operations located in more than one dozen countries around the world. For more information on Cooper, visit www.coopertire.com, www.facebook.com/coopertire or www.twitter.com/coopertire.

About Goodyear

Goodyear is one of the world’s largest tire companies. It employs about 72,000 people and manufactures its products in 55 facilities in 23 countries around the world. Its two Innovation Centers in Akron, Ohio, and Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg, strive to develop state-of-the-art products and services that set the technology and performance standard for the industry. For more information about Goodyear and its products, go to www.goodyear.com/corporate.

Pagenaud Qualifies Sixth at Mid-Ohio for Meyer Shank Racing

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Official Release
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#60: Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing Honda

Castroneves will start 15th after interference setback in Group 1 qualifying

Lexington, Ohio (2 July 2022) – Simon Pagenaud will start sixth for Meyer Shank Racing’s (MSR) home race, Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio (Sunday, 12:30pm ET, NBC).

Pagenaud, driving No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda for MSR which is based in nearby Pataskala, advanced through two rounds of qualifying to reach the Firestone Fast Six for the second time this season.

It was an impressive charge for the Frenchman, who was 18th and 16th in the event’s two practice sessions. Once in the Fast Six, he ran as high as third before his final lap of 1:07.419-seconds put him on the outside of the third row.

MSR teammate Helio Castroneves – a two-time Mid-Ohio winner – will start 15th in the No. 06 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda. Castroneves also ran in the opening group, winding up eighth with a lap of 1:07.1798-seconds. On Castroneves’ fast lap, the Brazilian racer had a close call when the No. 12 entry – on a warmup lap – swerved which forced the MSR driver into the grass to avoid him. Following the incident, Castroneves was unable to improve his time and settled with 15th.

Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio is will have live broadcast coverage on NBC starting at 12:30pm ET. SiriusXM will also have IndyCar radio coverage on XM Ch. 160.

Driver Quotes:

Simon Pagenaud:
“It was a great qualifying run and obviously we have such huge support here in Ohio. This is our home track and it’s a Honda track, so it’s very important for us to do well. We didn’t start really well yesterday and the team worked really hard last night, I was on the phone with my engineering until 10:30 last night. So I was really happy we could put it into the Fast Six and I think we have something really great for the race tomorrow.”

Helio Castroneves:
“It’s a tough situation and obviously not the position that we wanted for the race. I had pitted early for reds and I don’t think they [Will Power’s team] told him I was coming by on my green flag lap. And whoever obstructs you on your green flag lap, it’s a penalty. I was really hoping that he saw me and would let me by because obviously he was fast enough to move on. I feel bad, but the way he moved the car around I couldn’t avoid it. But now, we have to keep going and focus on the race tomorrow. It’s Mid-Ohio, anything can happen and you have to push to the limit.”

Chevrolet NCS: Chase Elliott Captures Second Pole of 2022 at Road America

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Official Release
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NASCAR CUP SERIES
ROAD AMERICA
KWIK TRIP 250
JULY 2, 2022

CHASE ELLIOTT CAPTURES SECOND POLE OF 2022 AT ROAD AMERICA
Three Camaro ZL1’s to Start in Top-Five

· Chase Elliott captured his second pole win of 2022 at Road America, recording a lap of 134.427 seconds, at 108.407 mph, in his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1.

· This marks Elliott’s 11th career pole win in 239 races in NASCAR’s premier series.

· Elliott’s pole win is the fourth for Chevrolet in 2022; and the bowtie brand’s 727th all-time in the NASCAR Cup Series.

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (July 2, 2022) – Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 team picked up right where they left off from their 2021 win at Road America. Edging out Chase Briscoe by .038 seconds, Elliott clocked-in a best-lap of 134.427 seconds, at 108.407 mph, to capture his second NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) pole win of 2022 and his 11th in 239 races in NASCAR’s premier series.

“Just appreciate everybody at Hendrick Motorsports, from the engine shop to every department that has a hand in what we do to make our NAPA Chevy what it was today,” said Elliott. “We’ll try to go to work and see if we can get it driving like it needs to for tomorrow.”

Elliott’s pole win marked the fourth for Chevrolet in 2022; and a manufacturer-leading 727th all-time in NASCAR Cup Series history. Chevrolet returns to the 4.048-mile, 14-turn Wisconsin road course circuit not only as the defending winners, but the bowtie brand heads into tomorrow’s race with an eight-race road course win streak. That feat started with today’s pole winner, Chase Elliott, and his win at Circuit of The Americas in May 2021.

The 26-year-old Georgia native led Chevrolet to three of the top-five in the starting lineup for tomorrow’s 62-lap, 250-mile race. Kyle Larson followed up a NASCAR Xfinity Series pole win with a strong run for the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1, securing a third-place starting spot to mark his 12th top-10 start of 2022. Tyler Reddick rounded out the Team Chevy top-five of the starting lineup in the fourth-position in his No. 8 3CHI Camaro ZL1.

USA Network will telecast the NASCAR Cup Series Kwik Trip 250 presented by JOCKEY Made in America live at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 3. Live coverage can also be found on the NBCSports Gold App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 – Press Conference Transcript:

TAKE US THROUGH YOUR QUALIFYING RUN AND WHAT IT MEANS TO START FROM THE POLE AFTER WINNING THIS RACE LAST YEAR.

“It was the exact opposite for us last year. I think we started last, so hopefully the results are good tomorrow like they were last season. Definitely a different vibe to the weekend. I think our car is going to need some different things to be successful tomorrow. I don’t think we’re as good as we need to be to be successful as we sit, so want to make sure we do our homework. Looking forward to getting out of here, getting across the street and start dissecting the direction we think we want to go to be solid all race long tomorrow.

Appreciate our team and everybody for sticking with it. NAPA, getting them the pole is always important. Getting that first pit box is always good. It’s not as important at a road course, but certainly nice to have nonetheless. I wasn’t expecting the pole.. we barely made the second round. I felt like it was just good to get through that second round. I thought that was going to be kind of a tall order there with the cars that went back out to re-run. It’s nice to get through.

We’ll go to work tomorrow and see what we have.”

INAUDIBLE

“I knew I had missed a couple here and there. But at least for me and how slow my brain works; I have to kind of take it one at a time. As I got back around there, I thought I had a pretty good exit from the carousel and a pretty decent quick right through the kink there. But I didn’t think my lap was good enough for the pole. I didn’t think it was a whole lot different than the lap I had run in the prior session. I felt like if we could just repeat that lap, that would be a solid starting spot considering we had a chance of not making the second round. Just wanted to put a solid lap together – try to minimize my mistakes, push in a couple different areas that I felt like I didn’t do a good job in the first session and try to maintain. Fortunately, it went a little better so I was surprised by that.”

HOW MUCH MORE OF A COMFORT LEVEL IS THERE GOING INTO SUNDAY FROM THE POLE RATHER THAN THE BACK OF THE PACK?

“There’s not.. not really at all. These races are very long. Typically the cars that are superior find their way to the front regardless of where they start. It’s nice to get a pole. You want them as much as you can, but I would much rather be good on Sunday than Saturday.”

INAUDIBLE

“I feel like we’ve had a good package on the road course stuff, more so on the old car than this car. I still feel like we’re learning. Like I said, I don’t think we’re as good as we need to be for tomorrow in a race situation as we sit. So we want to make sure we make the right decisions overnight to try and go in that direction.”

YOU SAID YOU EXPECT IT TO BE HARD TO PASS. WHY IS THAT?

“A lot of the places that we’ve gone this year with narrow braking zones and narrow corner entries have just made it that way. Like Martinsville was that way and Gateway was that way – just kind of those narrow, flatter corner entry places where it’s kind of hard to get fresh air. It seems like the inboard side of the car, we’re used to where you could get a headlight out on someone, say through whatever turn. If you could just get that inboard headlight, you had a little sniff of fresh air and it would benefit you. Now, it’s like the inboard side of the car isn’t as effective in clean air as it used to be. You used to have to be further out to get some cleaner air on the nose. There’s just no further out to go.. you’re not going to get that big of a gap. So we’re going to have to really be smart tomorrow about how we play our strategy and how I drive the car to make sure we’re good throughout an entire stint. It’s all good.. it’s not necessarily a problem. I’m just saying that’s what it feels like to me. Somebody else might give you a different answer.”

THIS EVENT AND HAVING IT ON A HOLIDAY WEEKEND, JUST TALK ABOUT HOW UNIQUE IT IS.

“I told a lot of people this, but I was super nervous leaving Daytona for our July 4th race. For NASCAR, that’s been a tradition that’s been in place for many years. That was a race that I grew up going to as a kid, so I had a little bit of an emotional tie to that one. I just always thought it was a lot of fun. It was a great environment and it was fun to be at the beach.

Man, we came up last year and I was blown away, I really was. The people are nice and it’s a beautiful area. The people are outside and enjoying the race track. I feel like it couldn’t have received us better for trying to start a new tradition somewhere. I don’t know how long NASCAR is planning on coming here on this weekend, but I feel like it’s been a really nice fit for us. The people around here have accepted us really with open arms and have brought a lot of energy. Like I always say – anytime you bring energy to a race track, it’s more fun for everybody involved; and the fans are a direct piece to that.”

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

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.

Cadillac claims second-row starts for Chevrolet Grand Prix

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Official Release
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Tristan Vautier drives No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R to third qualifying position

BOWMANVILLE, Ontario (July 2, 2022) – Tristan Vautier says he’ll have to watch a video replay of his qualifying lap that secured the third starting position for the Chevrolet Grand Prix because it was a blur.

Vautier, driving the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R, recorded a best lap of 1 minute, 4.895 seconds on the fast 2.459-mile, 10-turn to lead the Cadillac contingent in qualifying for the 2-hour, 40-minute race that NBC will telecast at 3 p.m. (ET) July 3.

“I actually don’t remember my whole lap. When you don’t it means that you were really on the edge because you didn’t have any energy left to process,” said Vautier, who delivered the best starting spot for the JDC-Miller MotorSports entry since the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January when he qualified second.

“It feels good to be back up there. From yesterday on, we did not look that great in the time charts but we felt like we had something better than the last few races.

“We didn’t panic about the practice lap times and stuck to our package so that we would not get too much out of line and be able to go into qualifying knowing our package well. We managed to make the tires work really well when it mattered. It’s good for the team; we needed that.”

Lap times for all six DPi entries were lower than the previous track qualifying record of 1:05.452, set in 2019 – the last time the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship visited the facility – led by Tom Blomqvist’s 1:04.394 in the No. 60 Acura.

Alex Lynn drove the No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V.R to the fourth starting position with a best lap of 1:05.082. Olivier Pla, driving the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R, registered a 1:05.126 lap, while Sebastien Bourdais check in with a 1:05.266 lap in the No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R.

Track and tire management will be key in the race, according to Renger van der Zande.

“I think the racing you will be bumped up with traffic with an LMP3 or a GT car and if you’re behind you can’t go over them so you have to wait,” the co-driver of the No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R said. “The guy behind you is going to come with a big slingshot and might pass you on the straight. So, it’s attack mode and defend at the same time. You’ll see that the DPis will take a little risk getting by one or two cars just to have a gap from the guy behind you.”

Cadillac Racing lineup, starting position and quotes

No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R (JDC-Miller MotorSports)

Tristan Vautier, Richard Westbrook

Vautier drove in the qualifying session (start third, 1:04.895): “It feels good to be back up there. From yesterday on, we did not look that great in the time charts but we felt like we had something better than the last few races. We didn’t panic about the practice lap times and stuck to our package so that we would not get too much out of line and be able to go into qualifying knowing our package well. We managed to make the tires work really well when it mattered. It’s good for the team; we needed that.”

Car chief-Josh Kerrigan

Lead engineer-Rick Cameron

Race strategist-John Church

No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V.R (Chip Ganassi Racing)

Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn

Lynn drove in the qualifying session (start fourth, 1:05.082): “P4 is not amazing. We are a little bit off the pace of the other cars than we would’ve liked but I think we have a very drivable race car for tomorrow. We have more work to be done overnight and will see what we can do on race day.”

Car chief-Jamie Coates

Lead engineer-Danielle Shephard

Race strategist-Michael Harvey

No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R (Action Express Racing)

Pipo Derani, Olivier Pla

Pla drove in the qualifying session (start fifth, 1:05.126): “We made a lot of progress since the beginning of the weekend. Tomorrow we’ll make sure we have the best car for the race.”

Car chief-Bill Keuler

Technical director/lead engineer-Iain Watt

Race strategist-Tim Keene

No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R (Chip Ganassi Racing)

Renger van der Zande, Sebastien Bourdais

Bourdais drove in the qualifying session (start sixth, 1:05.266). “Disappointing day for the 01. It was not my greatest showing. We’ve been trying a few different things to get it right. We’ll keep at it and see what we can do in the race tomorrow.”

Car chief-Phil Binks

Lead engineer-John Hennek

Race strategist-Peter Baron

About Cadillac

A leading luxury auto brand since 1902, Cadillac is growing globally, driven by an expanding product portfolio that features distinctive design and technology. More information on Cadillac appears at www.cadillac.com.

Zilisch Gets First Mazda MX-5 Cup Win at Road America

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Official Release
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Contact relegates fast-starting Parker Kligerman to 16th on debut

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (July 2, 2022) – He may have started and finished at the front of the 30-car field, but Connor Zilisch (No. 72 Hixon Motor Sports) had his hands full at Road America en route to his first Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich® Tires victory on Saturday. Zilisch shared the podium with two former series champions: Michael Carter (No. 08 Carter Racing Enterprises) and Gresham Wagner (No. 5 Spark Performance).

The Mazda scholarship shootout winner is having a busy Road America event, racing in both Mazda MX-5 Cup and Trans-Am for the holiday weekend. The 15-year-old went straight from Trans-Am qualifying and into his MX-5 Cup car waiting at the front of the grid.

Another driver pulling double duty is Parker Kligerman (No. 75 Thunder Bunny Racing). The Camping World Truck Series driver is an NBC Sports pit lane reporter for the NASCAR Cup Series this weekend. Kligerman, who’s making a guest appearance in MX-5 Cup, lined up directly behind Zilisch, starting third.

Zilisch held the lead early and was joined up front by his teammate Selin Rollan (No. 87 Hixon Motor Sports) who started fifth. They were soon joined by another teammate, Bruno Carneiro (No. 21 Hixon Motor Sports). It was up to Kligerman and Carter to break them up before they got away.

As Rollan took over the lead from Zilisch, Carneiro soon fell back into the hands of Carter and Kligerman. Zilisch and Rollan tried to work together to pull out a gap on the rest of the pack, but it was nearly impossible with a full field of evenly matched Mazda MX-5 Cup machines making the most of the draft at Road America.

After four laps up front, Rollan had to relinquish the lead back to Zilisch and now it was 2021 MX-5 Cup Champion Carter who was trying to break up the Hixon teammates.

He succeeded and brought Wagner with him around Rollan. Shortly thereafter a full-course yellow slowed the field to recover Kligerman’s Thunder Bunny Racing entry after being knocked off course and into the Turn Six gravel by another car.

Remarkably, the podium order stayed this way through the first restart and another soon after. The order remained that way all the way to the checkered flag, even with the notorious drag race out of the last corner to the finish line. But it was still another chapter in the well-established series history of close finishes, as Zilisch beat Carter to the finish line by just 0.088-second.

“At Road America you don’t want to be the leader going into the last lap,” Zilisch said. “I was nervous on that last restart. I thought they were just going to blow by me, but Michael [Carter] pushed me and I was able to get the win. I’m just super happy!

“It’s been a really busy weekend and a bit of an up and down year in MX-5 Cup. But to win my first race at this track is super awesome! It was a good race for me, I led a bunch of laps and kept my wits about me and stayed out front. I was able to capitalize and get the win. I’m super proud of the car that Hixon Motorsports brought me. It was a really good race. I think this will create a lot of momentum into the rest of the year.”

Carter, a former MX-5 Cup Shootout winner like Zilisch, was thrilled with a runner-up finish as it was his first podium of the season.

“I just tried to put my car in a place to have that opportunity on the last lap,” Carter said. “I did the same thing last year (when he beat Sam Paley to the line by 0.008-second). Coming out of the last turn, I just didn’t quite have enough this time coming to the line. Connor drove pretty much a perfect race. He’s got a good handling car and he deserved every bit of that win. It was good for us, to run up front again and have nervousness on the last lap again. It was exciting. The car is in one piece which is always a goal. It was a lot of fun. It was good running up front with the usual group again.”

After a difficult weekend at Watkins Glen, Wagner, who started 13th, was all smiles with his third-place trophy.

“I had a fast car,” Wagner said. “The car felt great in practice. Me and a few other guys have been working from the back the last couple races. Starting from mid pack was a bit better than how Watkins went. I knew we could get up there. We had the pace. I was expecting to be in the fight for the win.

“Connor did a great job, being a rookie it’s hard to figure out how to win one of these things especially here at Road America. He did a great job. Michael was back up there like he should be. It was just a good race. I was really happy with that and had a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to doing that again.”

Rollan and Carneiro completed the top five, making it three cars in the top five for Hixon Motor Sports.

There were a number of drivers who made strong charges to the front in Saturday’s race, but the one who outdid them all was Chris Nunes (No. 32 Formidable Racing) who picked up 15 positions during the 45-minute race and finished ninth to claim the $1,000 prize for the Hard Charger.

“We have had a lot of bad luck this year unfortunately,” Nunes said. “But that is part of racing. We learn, we improve as a team, myself as a driver, and we adapt and overcome. That’s what we did today. We’ve learned so much and we are ready to get back on the box here soon.”

The MX-5 Cup Championship Point Leader did not have a good points day at Road America. Jared Thomas (No. 96 JTR Performance Engineering) started 12th but finished 26th after contact in the race earned him a costly drive-through penalty.

Zilisch will start on the pole again for Sunday’s race at Road America and will share the front row with Kligerman. The race goes green at 9:05am CT and will be streamed live on RACER.com and IMSA.com.

About: The Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich® Tires is the signature spec series for Mazda Motorsports. The series has been operated by Andersen Promotions since 2017 and is currently sanctioned by IMSA. Mazda-powered grassroots champions can earn Mazda scholarships for this pro-level series. The Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup champion is awarded $250,000 as the top rookie nets $80,000.

Find out more at http://www.mx-5cup.com.

No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 Qualifies on Front Row at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

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Official Release
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Bowmanville, Ontario (July 2, 2022) — In today’s closely contested qualifying session, Ricky Taylor secured a starting position of second for tomorrow’s Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05. His lap of 1:04.462 at 137.472 mph beat the previous DPi track record, but was under a tenth of a second away from the sister Acura of Meyer Shank Racing, which took pole position.

Taylor will look to take the lead of the race tomorrow, before handing the controls to co-driver Filipe Albuquerque. The team continues to lead the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship DPi standings, with a gap of 14 points to the No. 60 Acura behind. The two cars will start side-by-side in an all-Acura front row tomorrow.

“We had a very good car in qualifying,” said Ricky Taylor. “All the Konica Minolta guys did a great job to give us an amazing car. We did a lot of preparation because qualifying is very important here. Unfortunately, we were just short of pole, but it’s good to have the other Acura up there with us. We’ve shown this year that we favor the races, even if they favor the outright lap time. We’re going to have a good clean fight, and hopefully we can get one of the Acuras on the top step of the podium. Traffic is going to be the biggest factor. The closing speeds are very high, so it’s going to be very difficult.”

Green flag for the Chevrolet Grand Prix will wave at 3:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 3rd with full coverage streaming on Peacock and television coverage on NBC beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET.
DPi STARTING GRID:

1.) Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian (No. 60 Acura ARX-05) Oliver Jarvis & Tom Blomqvist (1:04.394 at 137.472 mph)

2.) Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 (No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05) Ricky Taylor & Filipe Albuquerque (1:04.462 at 137.327 mph)

3.) JDC Miller MotorSports (No. 5 Cadillac DPi) Tristan Vautier & Richard Westbrook (1:04.895 at 136.411 mph)

4.) Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing (No. 02 Cadillac DPi) Earl Bamber & Alex Lynn (1:05.082 at 136.019 mph)

5.) Whelen Engineering Racing (No. 31 Cadillac DPi) Olivier Pla, Pipo Deroni (1:05.126 at 135.937 mph)
ABOUT KONICA MINOLTA

Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. is reshaping and revolutionizing the Workplace of the Future. The company guides and supports its clients’ digital transformation through its expansive office technology portfolio, including IT Services (All Covered), intelligent information management, managed print services and industrial and commercial print solutions. Konica Minolta has been included on CRN’s MSP 500 list nine times and The World Technology Awards recently named the company a finalist in the IT Software category. Konica Minolta has been recognized as the #1 Brand for Customer Loyalty in the MFP Office Copier Market by Brand Keys for fourteen consecutive years, and received Keypoint Intelligence’s BLI 2021 A3 Line of The Year Award and BLI 2021-2023 Most Color Consistent A3 Brand Award for its bizhub i-Series. Konica Minolta, Inc. has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for nine consecutive years and has spent four years on the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World list. Konica Minolta partners with its clients to give shape to ideas and works to bring value to our society. For more information, please visit us online and follow Konica Minolta on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter. The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 effort and Wayne Taylor Racing is supported by an outstanding lineup of partners including Harrison Contracting, Acura Motorsports, Hammer Nutrition and CIT.

CORVETTE RACING AT CTMP: Steep Hills to Climb

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Official Release
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Corvette C8.R feeling good but struggling for pace in Canadian debut

BOWMANVILLE, Ontario (July 2, 2022) – Corvette Racing’s No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R will start from the third row of the GT Daytona (GTD) category Sunday for the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motosport Park – the first race for the mid-engine Corvette in Canada.

Jordan Taylor set a best lap of 1:15.955 (116.547 mph) in the Mobil 1/SiriusXM C8.R to qualify fourth in the GTD PRO category. He was 0.487 seconds behind the pole-winning Porsche of Mathieu Jaminet.

A performance deficit left Taylor and Antonio Garcia starting similarly down the GTD PRO order a week ago at Watkins Glen International. With no significant changes to the Corvette on the performance side, the key will be gaining positions through strategy and execution – just like at The Glen.

Corvette Racing – and the rest of the WeatherTech Championship – is back at CTMP for the first time since 2019. The C8.R is the fourth generation of Corvette to compete around and over the elevation changes at CTMP since the Corvette Racing program first competed there in 2000 with the Corvette C5-R.

Since that time, the team has claimed 11 victories at the track – second-most among all venues behind only Sebring. Three of those came in Corvettes driven by Canadian and Corvette Racing legend Ron Fellows, who is co-owner of Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

The Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 3. The race will air live on NBC and stream live on Peacock inside the United States and IMSA.com outside the U.S. IMSA Radio will broadcast the race at IMSA.com with the call also on XM 207 and SiriusXM Online 992.

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – QUALIFIED FOURTH IN GTD PRO: “The car is good. We’re just slow. It’s frustrating. I felt like the lap was pretty good but we’re off the pace. It’s nothing we’re doing wrong. We’ve improved the car through the weekend, and it’s the best it’s been since we’ve been here. Hopefully we can play some strategy in the race, jump ahead of some guys and hopefully hold them off.

“I think the only hope for us is big tire degradation or traffic. On speed alone, we won’t be able to pass anyone I don’t think. We’ll have to hope for some other guys to make mistakes and hopefully our guys in the pitlane can make some passes for us.”

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 80 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.

CHEVROLET NCS AT ROAD AMERICA: Chase Elliott Pole Winner Quick Quote

By
Official Release
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NASCAR CUP SERIES
ROAD AMERICA
KWIK TRIP 250
TEAM CHEVY POLE WINNER QUOTE
JULY 2, 2022

CHASE ELLIOTT CAPTURES HIS SECOND POLE WIN OF 2022 AT ROAD AMERICA
Three Camaro ZL1’s to Start in Top-Five

· Chase Elliott captured his second pole win of 2022 at Road America, recording a lap of 134.427 seconds, at 108.407 mph, in his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1.

· This marks Elliott’s 11th career pole win in 239 races in NASCAR’s premier series.

· Elliott’s pole win is the fourth for Chevrolet in 2022; and the bowtie brand’s 727th all-time in the NASCAR Cup Series.

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1
3rd KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1
4th TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 3CHI CAMARO ZL1
8th ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1
12th ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 ADVENTHEALTH CAMARO ZL1
17th DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 JOCKEY CAMARO ZL1
20th AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW SALUTES VETERANS CAMARO ZL1
21st AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 16 GOLD FISH CASINO SLOTS CAMARO ZL1
26th JOSH BILICKI, NO. 77 ZEIGLER AUTO GROUP CAMARO ZL1
27th ERIK JONES, NO. 43 U.S. AIR FORCE CAMARO ZL1
29th WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 RAPTORTOUGH.COM CAMARO ZL1
30th TY DILLON, NO. 42 ALLEGIANT CAMARO ZL1
33rd RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 PICK’N SAVE / VELVEETA CAMARO ZL1
34th JUSTIN HALEY, NO. 31 LEAFFILTER GUTTER PROTECTION CAMARO ZL1
35th COREY LAJOIE, NO. 7 BUILT.COM CAMARO ZL1

TOP-FIVE UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)
2nd Chase Briscoe (Ford)
3rd Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)
4th Tyler Reddick (Chevrolet)
5th Austin Cindric (Ford)

USA Network will telecast the NASCAR Cup Series Kwik Trip 250 presented by JOCKEY Made in America live at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 3. Live coverage can also be found on the NBCSports Gold App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 – Pole Winner

“Hopefully the results are the same tomorrow as they were last year. That’s what’s important.

Just appreciate everybody at Hendrick Motorsports, from the engine shop to every department that has a hand in what we do to make our NAPA Chevy what it was today. We’ll try to go to work and see if we can get it driving like it needs to for tomorrow. I think it’s going to be really, really hard to pass, based on what I saw in practice. It would be nice to keep track position as long as we can. That’s always a tough thing at road courses, to manage that balance of what to do at what time.

We’ll see, but we’re looking forward to it, for sure.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 8th

“I think we are good. We kind of just have to wait and see, but a lot of things can happen at these road course races. There’s a lot of strategy involved. Our No. 48 Ally Chevy is a lot better than eighth, so we’re looking forward to it.”

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

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.

CHEVROLET NCS AT ROAD AMERICA: Kyle Larson Press Conference Transcript

By
Official Release
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NASCAR CUP SERIES
ROAD AMERICA
KWIK TRIP 250
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
JULY 1, 2022

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series doubleheader race weekend at Road America. Press Conference Transcript:

KYLE, WALK US THROUGH YOUR QUALIFYING LAP TODAY IN THE NO. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO SS THAT LANDED YOU THE POLE FOR TOMORROW’S NASCAR XFINITY SERIES RACE?

“It was good. The first run, my goal was to hit my marks and I didn’t do that. It was kind of good to do that because then I could back off of that a little bit and just know if I got through the corners OK, my car was going to be fast enough that I could have a shot at the pole. I didn’t expect to be that much faster than the field, but it felt really good.

I’m excited about tomorrow. My car felt amazing in race trim, as well. Hats off to the team for preparing a car for me to race this weekend and try to learn and better our efforts for Sunday. Definitely excited about it.”

YOU HAVEN’T COMPETED IN THE NASCAR XFINITY SERIES IN FOUR YEARS. WHAT’S IT LIKE BEING BACK IN A XFINITY CAR?

“Yeah, it was honestly surprising when I had read that it had been since I think 2018. It doesn’t feel that long ago.

I don’t know – the driving stuff is whatever. It’s just like the visuals of the tach and the gauges. It’s a different style of dash than what I was even used to when I was racing Xfinity for Ganassi. Just the little things like that are hard to adjust to at first. But once you’re out there, it all kind of becomes natural and it’s just another stock car at that point.”

HOW MUCH ATTENTION HAVE YOU PAID TO THIS SERIES OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS WITH THE NEW TALENT?

“I honestly probably haven’t paid enough attention, so I don’t really know how to answer that question. But I’m looking forward to competing with a lot of the young up-and-comers, as I’m sure they’re looking forward to compete with me also. It should be a lot of fun this weekend and for the couple of others I get to run the rest of the year.”

YOU’VE LED AT LEAST 19 LAPS ON THE CUP SIDE IN SEVEN OF THE LAST NINE RACES. DO YOU FEEL LIKE SOME OF THOSE HAVE KIND OF SLIPPED AWAY FROM YOU, AS FAR AS WINS? DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU GUYS ARE JUST A LITTLE BIT OFF? YOU FIND YOUR WAY UP FRONT AT SOME POINT DURING THE RACE.

“I don’t know. There were definitely a couple that we almost won that slipped away there late, like Kansas (Speedway) and Charlotte (Motor Speedway). But I feel like in both of those, we performed at a very great level and honestly a little bit better than what we should have; and that’s just a testament to our team and how strong we are.

As I’m sure everybody does, I feel like we’re really close to being good; leading even more laps and challenging for even more wins. The cars are developing each week. Everyone is refining their stuff, setups and getting better. We just have to keep working really hard.”

I ASSUME YOU WEREN’T EXPECTING A SEASON LIKE LAST YEAR BECAUSE THOSE JUST DON’T COME AROUND, BUT HAS IT BEEN FRUSTRATING AT ALL NOT TO BE AS DOMINATE? OR DOES THE FACT THAT NOBODY HAS BEEN REALLY DOMINATE THIS YEAR KIND OF MAKE UP FOR ANY POTENTIAL FRUSTRATION?

“I haven’t been frustrated yet. I think I understand that the season we had last year was hard to repeat, especially going into a season with a new car and all that. I’m sure if we were in last year’s car and I was sitting here with the same stats – yeah, I’d probably be frustrated. But I thinking having the understanding that we have a new car, pit stops and everything, that helps kind of forget about the success, I guess, of last year.

And two, I think nobody has been dominating. Pretty much everybody has been inconsistent at some point throughout a race every week. Just have to find some consistency and I feel like that’s where you’ll standout across the field.”

GIVEN HOW DIFFERENT THE CARS HAVE BECOME BETWEEN THESE TWO SERIES, WHAT DO YOU GAIN TOMORROW THAT’S GOING TO HELP?

“I don’t know yet until I get out there tomorrow. But I think for me, just getting more laps – figuring out your angles of what works and what doesn’t work; the shapes of the corners and stuff like that to try and go faster and be better. I imagine our braking points will be much deeper tomorrow. It seems like this year compared to last year’s car, the Cup cars can brake a lot deeper into the corners. That might take some getting used to at first.

I definitely think it doesn’t hurt to get more laps, especially on the same race track.”

WOULD YOU HAVE BEEN BETTER OFF DOING DOUBLE DUTY A YEAR AGO?

“I don’t know – who’s to say. I pick them because it just works out for my schedule. But I picked this one because I’ve only raced here twice. I don’t remember at all the race I ran here in 2013 and I don’t remember being fast. And then the Cup race last year, this was probably our worst road course we had of the season. So that’s why it was important for me to run this race and just try and learn something every lap.”

AFTER LAST WEEKEND’S RACE, YOU MADE THE REFERENCE OF NEEDING TO CLEAN UP A FEW THINGS. YOU HAVE KEVIN (MEENDERING) HERE WORKING WITH YOU ON THE XFINITY CAR, SO YOU GET HIM DOUBLE DUTY LIKE YOU THIS WEEKEND. WHAT DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU NEED TO CLEAN UP OR IF THERE’S ANYTHING IN TERMS OF WORKING WITH HIM AND HOW CAN THIS WEEKEND HELP TOWARDS THAT?

“I don’t know – I don’t remember those exact comments because I felt like everything went pretty smooth, as far as on my end on that. The radio stuff and all that was smooth. I don’t know – maybe I was talking about something else, I can’t remember (laughs).

But it is good. It was an unfortunate circumstance that Cliff (Daniels) is suspended for four weeks, but if it’s going to happen, it falls at a good time where I’m doing this race also with Kevin (Meendering). Just getting more familiar with him. I feel like I’m super easy to work with and I feel like I can work with anybody, so it’s not hard for me to adjust to different crew chiefs and stuff. I guess just being familiar with the tone of voice and stuff on the radio is important to me. I know the car is always going to be fast when we hit the track.

Cliff is Cliff and there’s nobody like him on a pit box, especially when he talks to you on the radio. I guess just getting familiar with that end of things.”

PEOPLE WILL LOOK AT THE LAST ROAD COURSE RACE AND SAY FOR AS STRONG AS YOU WERE AND SUCCESSFUL UNTIL THE WHEEL CAME OFF, THE EXPECTATION WOULD BE THAT IT WOULD CARRYOVER TO THIS PLACE. IS THERE MUCH FROM SONOMA (RACEWAY) THAT YOU CAN TAKE AND FEEL GOOD ABOUT GOING INTO THIS WEEKEND BASED ON HOW YOU DID AT SONOMA?

“It’s hard to say. Last year, we dominated Sonoma (Raceway) and we were extremely good, and we weren’t great here (Road America). I don’t know – I’m sure on the car side of things, there are things that they learned from it. I’ve raced a lot at Sonoma and I haven’t raced here much. And yes, the two don’t really compare, so it’s hard to judge off of Sonoma for this place.”

DOES IT SEEM PRETTY SEAMLESS BEING IN A HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS’ XFINITY CAR? IT’S BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE THEY’VE RACED IN THIS SERIES, SO I’M JUST CURIOUS WHAT THAT TRANSITION HAS BEEN LIKE?

“I don’t really know what all went into the logistics of fielding a Hendrick Motorsports car in the Xfinity Series. I know they probably had some help from JR Motorsports and stuff like that, but I don’t know the extent of it. I can only speak from my vantage point and everything has been smooth. I went and sat in the car once last week and it fit first try. I showed up today, sat in it again to make sure nothing changed, and it fit fine again. The radios worked fine. That’s the stuff that I worry about when I go to run a car that I haven’t ran before and everything has been smooth, so far.

I have no doubt that with the depth of talent that Hendrick Motorsports has, that it’s going to be performing at a high-level. It should be easy-going.”

I KNOW THAT WITH THE CAR NUMBER AND THE PAINT SCHEME, IT’S A TRIBUTE TO RICKY HENDRICK. YOU NEVER GOT TO MEET RICKY. WHEN YOU’RE DRIVING A CAR THAT CERTAINLY HAS SIGNIFICANCE TO THE TEAM AND THE OWNER, BUT YOU DON’T HAVE AS MUCH OF THAT RELATIONSHIP. HOW DO YOU FEEL? IS THERE ANY EXTRA WEIGHT ON YOUR SHOULDERS AND HOW DO YOU TRY TO LEARN A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT RICKY SINCE YOU NEVER GOT THE CHANCE TO MEET HIM?

“Yeah, that’s a good question. I never got the chance to meet Ricky (Hendrick), but I’ve heard a lot of stories. When we were on vacation last year, we watched that documentary that they came out with years back. So I could kind of learn a little bit about him, his family and Rick and Linda (Hendrick) even more watching that. That was good.

And then I think for me, having children myself makes me running this car much more important. I can’t imagine losing one of my children and what that would do to me. Talking to Rick on the phone a few different times, he’s so excited about seeing this paint scheme and number on the race track. I hope to see him here this weekend. I know he’s trying hard to get here and we have a good shot to win. I did tell him that it does add some more pressure to you driving this car because you know how special it is to their family and to Hendrick Motorsports as a whole.”

I WAS TALKING TO ONE OF YOUR CREW MEMBERS AND TEHRE ARE A NUMBER OF PEOPLE WORKING ON THE CAR THIS WEEKEND THAT DID WORK WITH RICKY (HENDRICK). I WAS CURIOUS IF ANY OF THEM HAD MENTIONED THAT TO YOU YET.

“I hadn’t heard of that, but that’s really neat and I think that just adds to these races that we’re running with this car. It’s special for everybody at the race shop and anybody who’s ever had a relationship with Ricky (Hendrick) or worked at Hendrick Motorsports in the past.

I knew we were going to have this paint scheme because it’s Rick (Hendrick) and he’s flipping the bill for it. But when I heard that it was going to be that number and paying tribute to Ricky, I think it just made everybody really excited and it was just the perfect thing to do.”

THIS WEEK, IT CAME OUT THAT YOU HAVE BEEN NOMINATED FOR AN ESPYS FOR DRIVER OF THE YEAR AGAINST MAX VERSTAPPEN, ALEX PALOU AND STEVE TORRENCE. HOW COOL WAS THAT TO BE INCLUDED IN THAT GROUP AND BE UP FOR THAT HONOR?

“It’s a great honor. I know there has been a lot of NASCAR drivers to win the award, so my fingers are crossed that I can win that. That would definitely be one of the coolest awards. Just being nominated alone is a great honor. But if I was to win it and beat a F1 World Champion, as well as the other champions, that would be a great honor.

We’ll see. I hope. Max (Verstappen) had a great year, as well as everybody else. Hopefully they consider my dirt wins, as well; because if you factor in my dirt wins, then that would give me a better shot.”

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

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.

Newgarden Picks Up Where He Left Off, Tops Opening Practice at Mid-Ohio

By
Official Release
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_P5A9571.JPG

LEXINGTON, Ohio (Friday, July 1, 2022) – Josef Newgarden’s summer hot streak continued Friday at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

The two-time winner at this permanent road course picked up where he left off in the most-recent NTT INDYCAR SERIES race – at Road America – by topping the practice charts here Friday in the only session of the day in preparation for Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by The All-New 2023 Civic Type R (12:30 p.m. ET, live on NBC and the INDYCAR Radio Network).

Newgarden drove the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet to a best lap time of 1 minute, 7.0549 seconds on the 13-turn, 2.258-mile permanent road course.

Newgarden’s series-leading three race wins have come at Texas Motor Speedway (March 20), on the streets of Long Beach (April 10) and at Road America (June 12). The weekend before Road America he scored the NTT P1 Award for pole at The Raceway at Belle Isle Park.

Newgarden is also the defending winner at Mid-Ohio.

“The car feels really good,” he said. “I think the (temperatures) definitely made the trap speed low, and it felt very difficult to drive the car today to bring it up to temperature.

“I’m relatively happy. I think our car was good off the truck.”

Defending NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou ended the 75-minute session second on the practice sheet with a best lap time of 1:07.2610 in the No. 10 NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Felix Rosenqvist rounded out the top three with a best lap time of 1:07.3171 in the No. 7 Vuse Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet.

The session featured 673 laps turned compared to last year’s first practice (461).

Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Marcus Ericsson, who finished second in this race in 2021, ended the day fourth in the No. 8 Ridgeline Lubricants Honda at 1:07.3720, and Colton Herta rounded out the top five in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda for Andretti Autosport w/Curb-Agajanian at 1:07.4998.

David Malukas was the fastest rookie of the session, clocking in eighth with a best lap of 1:07.5361 in the No. 18 HMD Honda for Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports. He completed 26 laps in his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES session at Mid-Ohio.

“Everything from our end, I think it was very good,” Malukas said. “From start to end of that session it was good. Mid-Ohio is so special, because every time you go out on track, it feels completely different, and track conditions to start the session were very tough to say the least.”

All 27 drivers in the field fought through the summer heat, with several drivers noting how challenging the mid 90-degree day was. Following practice, Newgarden said he has “rarely been this warm in the car.”

While Newgarden, a two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion, bested Palou, the reigning series champion, by more than two tenths of a second, the rest of the field was much more compact, with first and 20th separated by just 1 second.

The only incident of the session came with about 40 minutes to go. Two-time Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato lost control of the No. 51 Nurtec ODT Honda in Turn 1 and spun off course and into the gravel trap.

Sato’s Dale Coyne Racing with RWR machine sustained no significant damage, and he continued on to pit lane as the track went under red flag conditions.

The only other off-course excursion came with roughly 25 minutes to go in the practice. Andretti Autosport’s Romain Grosjean spun in Turn 12 in the No. 28 ForeverLawn/DHL Honda. He kept the car under power, and no red flag was thrown.

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES is back on track at Mid-Ohio Saturday with Practice 2 at 9:30 a.m. (ET), followed by qualifying for the NTT P1 Award for pole at 2:45 p.m. Both sessions will be live on Peacock Premium and INDYCAR Radio Network.

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