| RACE NEWS & VIEWS |
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| August 2023 News |
| Article Index |
08/04 - Notable Drivers Coming to Indy
08/10 - Nascar Changes Restart Zone for Brickyard 200
08/13 - Results from Triple Header Weekend at IMS
08/13 - McDowell Won Brickyard 200
08/22 - Foyt and Penske Teams Form Alliance
08/10 - Nascar Changes Restart Zone for Brickyard 200
08/13 - Results from Triple Header Weekend at IMS
08/13 - McDowell Won Brickyard 200
08/22 - Foyt and Penske Teams Form Alliance
Notable Drivers Coming To Indy
Aug 4 - IndyCar and Nascar will be racing at the
Indy Speedway the weekend of August 11-13th on
the facilities road course.
Since the vast majority of stock car races are on
ovals, teams sometimes bring in drivers from other
racing series who have more experience turning
right. Sometimes they refer to these drivers as
"road course specialists". A more generic term is
"ringer".
New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen returns
to Nascar Cup for the 2nd time, to compete in
the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard on Sunday,
August 13th. The three-time Australian Super-
cars champion was brought in as a ringer a few
weeks ago for Nascar Cup's first race in the
streets of Chicago, and he won it! He is also
driving in a Nascar Truck series race at Lucas
Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on Friday,
August 11th.
Another ringer competing in the 200 will be
retired F1 driver Jenson Button. He is racing
for Rick Ware Racing this year in three races -
COTA, Chicago and Indy. Button last competed
on Indy's road course in 2007 during the US
Grand Prix. He won the F1 drivers champion-
ship in 2009. He retired from F1 at the end of
2016.
Mike Rockenfeller, a two-time 24 Hours of Le
Mans winner, will drive for Legacy Motor Club in
the Verizon 200, as well as at Watkins Glen next
week. Rockenfeller made two starts with Spire
Motorsports last season at Watkins Glen and the
Charlotte Roval.
Australian Supercars Championship driver Brodie
Kostecki will be driving the No.33 Chevy for
Richard Childress Racing.
Kamui Kobayashi races in WEC and Super
Formula. He has competed in F1 and Formula E
in the past. He won the WEC Championship as
well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2021.
Aug 4 - IndyCar and Nascar will be racing at the
Indy Speedway the weekend of August 11-13th on
the facilities road course.
Since the vast majority of stock car races are on
ovals, teams sometimes bring in drivers from other
racing series who have more experience turning
right. Sometimes they refer to these drivers as
"road course specialists". A more generic term is
"ringer".
New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen returns
to Nascar Cup for the 2nd time, to compete in
the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard on Sunday,
August 13th. The three-time Australian Super-
cars champion was brought in as a ringer a few
weeks ago for Nascar Cup's first race in the
streets of Chicago, and he won it! He is also
driving in a Nascar Truck series race at Lucas
Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on Friday,
August 11th.
Another ringer competing in the 200 will be
retired F1 driver Jenson Button. He is racing
for Rick Ware Racing this year in three races -
COTA, Chicago and Indy. Button last competed
on Indy's road course in 2007 during the US
Grand Prix. He won the F1 drivers champion-
ship in 2009. He retired from F1 at the end of
2016.
Mike Rockenfeller, a two-time 24 Hours of Le
Mans winner, will drive for Legacy Motor Club in
the Verizon 200, as well as at Watkins Glen next
week. Rockenfeller made two starts with Spire
Motorsports last season at Watkins Glen and the
Charlotte Roval.
Australian Supercars Championship driver Brodie
Kostecki will be driving the No.33 Chevy for
Richard Childress Racing.
Kamui Kobayashi races in WEC and Super
Formula. He has competed in F1 and Formula E
in the past. He won the WEC Championship as
well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2021.
COMPLETE DETAILED RESULTS:
Friday Aug 11 - INDY NXT FIrestone Grand Prix Results
Saturday Aug 12 - IndyCar Gallagher Grand Prix Results
Saturday Aug 12 - Xfinity Pennzoil 150 Race Results
Sunday Aug 13 - NASCAR Verizon 200 at the Brickyard Qualifying & RACE RESULTS
Friday Aug 11 - INDY NXT FIrestone Grand Prix Results
Saturday Aug 12 - IndyCar Gallagher Grand Prix Results
Saturday Aug 12 - Xfinity Pennzoil 150 Race Results
Sunday Aug 13 - NASCAR Verizon 200 at the Brickyard Qualifying & RACE RESULTS
Nascar Changes Restart Zone for Brickyard 200
Aug 10 - NASCAR has made two procedural changes for the Indianapolis road course,
hoping the third year will be the charm when it comes to cleaner competition through
Turn 1.
By backing up the restart zone, NASCAR hopes the field will be more spread out by the
time they reach Turn 1, trying to stop the urge for divebombing into the tight right-hander.
The restart zone has been moved to before the final corner (between Turns 13 and 14)
where the field comes onto the frontstretch.
Once the field goes through the restart zone, cars will be able to change lanes. Drivers
will not have wait until crossing the start/finish line as is mandated during restarts on an
oval.
Elton Sawyer, NASCAR senior vice president of competition, told SiriusXM NASCAR
Radio. “We will start the weekend, as we do every weekend, with double-file restarts
and if things happen that we feel like we need to call an audible and go to single file, we
have the ability to do that. But our race fans for overtime have come to really enjoy
double-file restarts; we don’t want to take that away unless there’s a real need to do
that. So, the goal is to hopefully eliminate some of the carnage in Turn 1.”
Aug 10 - NASCAR has made two procedural changes for the Indianapolis road course,
hoping the third year will be the charm when it comes to cleaner competition through
Turn 1.
By backing up the restart zone, NASCAR hopes the field will be more spread out by the
time they reach Turn 1, trying to stop the urge for divebombing into the tight right-hander.
The restart zone has been moved to before the final corner (between Turns 13 and 14)
where the field comes onto the frontstretch.
Once the field goes through the restart zone, cars will be able to change lanes. Drivers
will not have wait until crossing the start/finish line as is mandated during restarts on an
oval.
Elton Sawyer, NASCAR senior vice president of competition, told SiriusXM NASCAR
Radio. “We will start the weekend, as we do every weekend, with double-file restarts
and if things happen that we feel like we need to call an audible and go to single file, we
have the ability to do that. But our race fans for overtime have come to really enjoy
double-file restarts; we don’t want to take that away unless there’s a real need to do
that. So, the goal is to hopefully eliminate some of the carnage in Turn 1.”
08/12 - Alex Palou has decided to stay with CGR next year. Driver changes for
next year have been waiting on his decision. Follow it all on IndyCar Silly Season.
next year have been waiting on his decision. Follow it all on IndyCar Silly Season.
| FINAL RESULTS |
Series
Race
Pole
Winner
INDY NXT
IndyCar
Xfinity
NASCAR Cup
IndyCar
Xfinity
NASCAR Cup
Firestone Grand Prix
Gallagher Grand Prix
Pennzoil 150
Verizon 200
Gallagher Grand Prix
Pennzoil 150
Verizon 200
Laps
35
85
62
82
85
62
82
Hunter McElrea
Graham Rahal
AJ Almendinger
Daniel Suarez
Graham Rahal
AJ Almendinger
Daniel Suarez
Hunter McElrea
Scott Dixon
Ty Gibbs
Michael McDowell
Scott Dixon
Ty Gibbs
Michael McDowell
Scott Dixon broke some records today. By winning the IndyCar race, he has now won
at least one race in every season for the last 19 years! He already owned that record.
He also surpassed Tony Kanaan's record of 318 consecutive race starts.
The Xfinity race was halted after 8 laps due to rain.
They came back out and was ready for a restart at 7pm.
They left it up to the drivers to decide if they wanted to start on slicks instead of rain tires.
AJ Almendinger chose slicks, hoping the track would come to him and he would inherit the
lead as cars pit to change tires. That happened as other cars began to pit on Lap 15.
Almendinger went from the back to the lead. He went on to finish 3rd, while Ty Gibbs won.
at least one race in every season for the last 19 years! He already owned that record.
He also surpassed Tony Kanaan's record of 318 consecutive race starts.
The Xfinity race was halted after 8 laps due to rain.
They came back out and was ready for a restart at 7pm.
They left it up to the drivers to decide if they wanted to start on slicks instead of rain tires.
AJ Almendinger chose slicks, hoping the track would come to him and he would inherit the
lead as cars pit to change tires. That happened as other cars began to pit on Lap 15.
Almendinger went from the back to the lead. He went on to finish 3rd, while Ty Gibbs won.
2023 Verizon 200 at the Brickyard Spotter's Guide - NASCAR CUP
| Indy Speedway Triple-Header Race Weekend - Aug 11-13 |
McDowell Won Brickyard 200
Aug 13 - Michael McDowell drove to victory in the 3rd Brickyard 200 for
Front Row Motorsports, beating Chase Elliott to the finish by .937 of a
second. It was his second career Cup Series victory.
McDowell led 54 of the 82 laps. He passed pole sitter Daniel Suarez for the
lead after the sole restart of the race on Lap 6 and only trailed thereafter
during pit stops.
Arizona native McDowell cycled to the front for the last time on Lap 53 after a
host of cars made their final pit stops. He led Elliott by 3.471 seconds on Lap
56, but Elliott gradually chipped away at that gap over the next 20 laps.
Elliott pulled to within 1.394 seconds with one lap to go as he and McDowell
snaked through lapped traffic. Elliott gained even more ground on the final lap,
but McDowell kept his composure and held on for victory.
“I was really trying to pace myself,” McDowell said. “I figured there would be
a late-race caution. I didn’t want to burn my stuff up. I was just trying to
maintain that gap, but then when I got into traffic, it (gap) started to close, so
I had to push it.”
That caution never came, as the last 77 laps of the race ran under green.
Suarez finished third, 5.750 seconds behind McDowell. He could have
contended for victory on pure pace but lost too much ground when an air hose
got stuck under the left front tire when the jack dropped on one of his pit
stops.
McDowell started his career in open-wheel racing, winning the 2004 USF Pro
2000 championship and made two Champ Car starts at Surfers Paradise and
Mexico City. He made his 453rd Cup Series start today since his debut in
NASCAR’s top series in 2008.
Aug 13 - Michael McDowell drove to victory in the 3rd Brickyard 200 for
Front Row Motorsports, beating Chase Elliott to the finish by .937 of a
second. It was his second career Cup Series victory.
McDowell led 54 of the 82 laps. He passed pole sitter Daniel Suarez for the
lead after the sole restart of the race on Lap 6 and only trailed thereafter
during pit stops.
Arizona native McDowell cycled to the front for the last time on Lap 53 after a
host of cars made their final pit stops. He led Elliott by 3.471 seconds on Lap
56, but Elliott gradually chipped away at that gap over the next 20 laps.
Elliott pulled to within 1.394 seconds with one lap to go as he and McDowell
snaked through lapped traffic. Elliott gained even more ground on the final lap,
but McDowell kept his composure and held on for victory.
“I was really trying to pace myself,” McDowell said. “I figured there would be
a late-race caution. I didn’t want to burn my stuff up. I was just trying to
maintain that gap, but then when I got into traffic, it (gap) started to close, so
I had to push it.”
That caution never came, as the last 77 laps of the race ran under green.
Suarez finished third, 5.750 seconds behind McDowell. He could have
contended for victory on pure pace but lost too much ground when an air hose
got stuck under the left front tire when the jack dropped on one of his pit
stops.
McDowell started his career in open-wheel racing, winning the 2004 USF Pro
2000 championship and made two Champ Car starts at Surfers Paradise and
Mexico City. He made his 453rd Cup Series start today since his debut in
NASCAR’s top series in 2008.
| Michael McDowell - Winner of Brickyard 200 |
Update: WHERE THEY FINISHED
Shane van Gisbergen
Jenson Button
Mike Rockenfeller
Brodie Kostecki
Kamui Kobayashi
Jenson Button
Mike Rockenfeller
Brodie Kostecki
Kamui Kobayashi
10
28
24
22
33
28
24
22
33
08/16 - With Tom Blomqvist and Linus Lundqvist joining IndyCar next year, there will
be 3 drivers whose names end in "qvist"! While Felix Rosenqvist and Lundqvist are
Swedish, Blomqvist is British.
be 3 drivers whose names end in "qvist"! While Felix Rosenqvist and Lundqvist are
Swedish, Blomqvist is British.
Foyt and Penske Teams Form Alliance
Aug 22 - Team Penske and AJ Foyt Racing have
begun forging a reciprocal relationship that
currently has no official set of agreements.
The basic plan is that Penske will offer technical
and go-fast parts to Foyt. This process has
apparently began.
In exchange, Foyt will accept junior drivers and
engineers that Penske is interested in, but who
need seasoning first before moving to the top-tier
Penske team. Penske will benefit by having a
relationship with those junior team members until
they are ready to move up and can hopefully get
them under contract before losing them to a rival
top-tier team.
Besides the benefit of Penske engineering for
Foyt, simply being known as the proving ground
for future Team Penske drivers raises Foyt’s
desirability in the eyes of future stars.
The Red Bull team in Formula 1 uses a similar
system to observe up-and-coming talent. Red Bull
has been an elite F1 team since 2010 and are the
current World Champions. They have a junior F1
Aug 22 - Team Penske and AJ Foyt Racing have
begun forging a reciprocal relationship that
currently has no official set of agreements.
The basic plan is that Penske will offer technical
and go-fast parts to Foyt. This process has
apparently began.
In exchange, Foyt will accept junior drivers and
engineers that Penske is interested in, but who
need seasoning first before moving to the top-tier
Penske team. Penske will benefit by having a
relationship with those junior team members until
they are ready to move up and can hopefully get
them under contract before losing them to a rival
top-tier team.
Besides the benefit of Penske engineering for
Foyt, simply being known as the proving ground
for future Team Penske drivers raises Foyt’s
desirability in the eyes of future stars.
The Red Bull team in Formula 1 uses a similar
system to observe up-and-coming talent. Red Bull
has been an elite F1 team since 2010 and are the
current World Champions. They have a junior F1
team – Alpha Tauri (previously known as Toro
Rosso), which they use to bring in rookie drivers.
They also share their chassis and engines with the
junior team, though it does not receive all of their
go-fast parts. If the junior driver excels, they may
get the opportunity to move up to the elite Red Bull
F1 team.
This method has proven successful for Red Bull
several times, in particular their 4-time champion
Sebastian Vettel first drove for Toro Rosso for
nearly two years before being promoted to Red
Bull where he immediately won four championships
in a row. Current world champion Max
Verstappen also raced at Toro Rosso for two
years before being promoted. Both of those
drivers were brought in to Toro Rosso at a very
young age. I believe Vettel was 19 and
Verstappen 17.
On the other hand, things don’t always go as
planned. For example, a talented young driver
may join a rival team when they suspect they won’t
be getting promoted, such as Carlos Sainz and
Pierre Gasly. Similarly, Red Bull does not always
hire from the Junior team. Current driver Sergio
Pérez was hired away from the team now called
Aston Martin in 2021.
Rosso), which they use to bring in rookie drivers.
They also share their chassis and engines with the
junior team, though it does not receive all of their
go-fast parts. If the junior driver excels, they may
get the opportunity to move up to the elite Red Bull
F1 team.
This method has proven successful for Red Bull
several times, in particular their 4-time champion
Sebastian Vettel first drove for Toro Rosso for
nearly two years before being promoted to Red
Bull where he immediately won four championships
in a row. Current world champion Max
Verstappen also raced at Toro Rosso for two
years before being promoted. Both of those
drivers were brought in to Toro Rosso at a very
young age. I believe Vettel was 19 and
Verstappen 17.
On the other hand, things don’t always go as
planned. For example, a talented young driver
may join a rival team when they suspect they won’t
be getting promoted, such as Carlos Sainz and
Pierre Gasly. Similarly, Red Bull does not always
hire from the Junior team. Current driver Sergio
Pérez was hired away from the team now called
Aston Martin in 2021.