| RACE NEWS & VIEWS |
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| October 2024 News |
| Article Index |
10/26 - Tony Stewart Leaving Nascar
10/20 - IndyCar Ladder Series Testing at IMS
10/06 - Talledega Crash NASCAR's Largest
10/06 - Indianapolis 8-Hour Race
10/04 - Hybrid Testing for Indy 500 Begins
10/20 - IndyCar Ladder Series Testing at IMS
10/06 - Talledega Crash NASCAR's Largest
10/06 - Indianapolis 8-Hour Race
10/04 - Hybrid Testing for Indy 500 Begins
Hybrid Testing for Indy 500 Begins
Oct 4 - The Indy Speedway will host an IndyCar
test next week. Four teams will test tires on
October 10th and Nolan Siegel will attempt to
complete the 500 Rookie Orientation Program for
next year's Indy 500.
On Friday, the teams will begin testing the hybrid
engine on the big oval. Each team is limited to
one driver/car combination.
The new IndyCar hybrid engine debuted last July
at the Mid-Ohio road course. It made its first oval
track appearance at Iowa.
Plans are to use it in next year's Indy 500. It has
not been used on the 2.5-mile oval before.
Oct 4 - The Indy Speedway will host an IndyCar
test next week. Four teams will test tires on
October 10th and Nolan Siegel will attempt to
complete the 500 Rookie Orientation Program for
next year's Indy 500.
On Friday, the teams will begin testing the hybrid
engine on the big oval. Each team is limited to
one driver/car combination.
The new IndyCar hybrid engine debuted last July
at the Mid-Ohio road course. It made its first oval
track appearance at Iowa.
Plans are to use it in next year's Indy 500. It has
not been used on the 2.5-mile oval before.
Indianapolis 8-Hour Race
Oct 6 - The Indianapolis 8 Hour race literally came
down to a race against the clock.
Wright Motorsports’ Laurin Heinrich of Germany
held the late-race lead – comfortably, in fact – but
he knew a five-second penalty was coming from
an infraction on the final pit stop for the No. 120
Porsche 911 GT3 R. Heinrich ran some of his best
laps in the final minutes, but he crossed the finish
line 4.74 seconds ahead of Belgium’s Dries
Vanthoor and the Team WRT’s No. 31 BMW M4
GT3.
Thus, Vanthoor officially won the eight-hour
endurance event by .260 of a second.
The late-race drama as darkness settled over the
historic motorsports facility was heightened by the
fact both frontrunners were low on fuel. In fact,
Vanthoor’s machine ran out on the cooldown lap,
and it had to be towed to Victory Lane.
Vanthoor also won last year’s race co-driving with
Sheldon van der Linde of South Africa. The new
driver in this year’s group was Charles Weerts of
Belgium.
This event brings together the Intercontinental GT
Challenge and the Fanatec GT World Challenge
America powered by AWS. In an interesting twist,
Vanthoor and Heinrich both led their cars to Indy
victories as their programs race in different
categories. Heinrich also helped deliver a season
championship for Florida’s Adam Adelson and
California’s Elliott Skeer, who fought back
emotions on pit lane after overcoming a 33-point
deficit to ST Racing’s BMW.
The 23-car field included several drivers with IMS
ties, including reigning and three-time IndyCar
champion Alex Palou. Palou’s No. 4 Mercedes-
AMG Team Lone Star Racing was already three
laps off the pace with electrical issues when the
Spaniard climbed behind the wheel, and he helped
bring it home in 13th position. Still, that was good
for third place in the Intercontinental GT Challenge
Pro class.
Former IndyCar drivers Zach Veach and Gabby
Chaves co-drove the No. 93 Racers Edge
Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 with Luca Mars that
finished fourth overall and second in the Fanatec
GT World Challenge America event. They finished
53.149 seconds behind the race winner, one of six
cars on the lead lap.
The No. 99 Random Vandals Racing BMW that
included IndyCar driver Conor Daly finished 21st.
Full Race Results with Winner Photos
Oct 6 - The Indianapolis 8 Hour race literally came
down to a race against the clock.
Wright Motorsports’ Laurin Heinrich of Germany
held the late-race lead – comfortably, in fact – but
he knew a five-second penalty was coming from
an infraction on the final pit stop for the No. 120
Porsche 911 GT3 R. Heinrich ran some of his best
laps in the final minutes, but he crossed the finish
line 4.74 seconds ahead of Belgium’s Dries
Vanthoor and the Team WRT’s No. 31 BMW M4
GT3.
Thus, Vanthoor officially won the eight-hour
endurance event by .260 of a second.
The late-race drama as darkness settled over the
historic motorsports facility was heightened by the
fact both frontrunners were low on fuel. In fact,
Vanthoor’s machine ran out on the cooldown lap,
and it had to be towed to Victory Lane.
Vanthoor also won last year’s race co-driving with
Sheldon van der Linde of South Africa. The new
driver in this year’s group was Charles Weerts of
Belgium.
This event brings together the Intercontinental GT
Challenge and the Fanatec GT World Challenge
America powered by AWS. In an interesting twist,
Vanthoor and Heinrich both led their cars to Indy
victories as their programs race in different
categories. Heinrich also helped deliver a season
championship for Florida’s Adam Adelson and
California’s Elliott Skeer, who fought back
emotions on pit lane after overcoming a 33-point
deficit to ST Racing’s BMW.
The 23-car field included several drivers with IMS
ties, including reigning and three-time IndyCar
champion Alex Palou. Palou’s No. 4 Mercedes-
AMG Team Lone Star Racing was already three
laps off the pace with electrical issues when the
Spaniard climbed behind the wheel, and he helped
bring it home in 13th position. Still, that was good
for third place in the Intercontinental GT Challenge
Pro class.
Former IndyCar drivers Zach Veach and Gabby
Chaves co-drove the No. 93 Racers Edge
Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 with Luca Mars that
finished fourth overall and second in the Fanatec
GT World Challenge America event. They finished
53.149 seconds behind the race winner, one of six
cars on the lead lap.
The No. 99 Random Vandals Racing BMW that
included IndyCar driver Conor Daly finished 21st.
Full Race Results with Winner Photos
Five other sports car racing series filled out the weekend, with two races each.
Making the most news around the country was that movie star Keanu Reeves
competed in the Toyota GR Cup races.
Making the most news around the country was that movie star Keanu Reeves
competed in the Toyota GR Cup races.
Talledega Crash NASCAR's Largest
Oct 6 - The Nascar Cup race at Talledega was
going well, at times there were 4-wide racing in
the close-packed field!
However, with 5 laps to go -the "big one" finally
occurred. The crash occurred right at the front of
the field, as Austin Cindric, who was fighting
Ricky Stenhouse Jr for the lead, spun, after a
bump from behind.
That triggered a 28-car pileup behind him, besting
the previous record of most cars involved in a
crash in the modern era (1972+)
After making it through the crash, Stenhouse
would go on to win the race.
Oct 6 - The Nascar Cup race at Talledega was
going well, at times there were 4-wide racing in
the close-packed field!
However, with 5 laps to go -the "big one" finally
occurred. The crash occurred right at the front of
the field, as Austin Cindric, who was fighting
Ricky Stenhouse Jr for the lead, spun, after a
bump from behind.
That triggered a 28-car pileup behind him, besting
the previous record of most cars involved in a
crash in the modern era (1972+)
After making it through the crash, Stenhouse
would go on to win the race.
ABOUT HYBRID
The Energy Recovery System (ERS) charges the
Energy Storage System (ESS) when brakes are
applied. That energy is then expended to
generate more HP that the drivers can use in a
short burst. It takes roughly 4.5 seconds to fully
charge the ESS and the same amount of time to
deploy all that energy.
While using brakes is a frequent occurrence in a
race on a road or street course, drivers try to
refrain from using them on ovals - if anything, they
just let off the accelerator. Consequently, a
system has been devised which will ever-so-lightly
apply the brakes when the driver chooses. The
drivers won't be using their brake pedal though -
instead they will use the clutch paddle on their
steeering wheel to activate the ERS, probably
while they are in a tow.
After the test, Alex Palou stated he guessed
using the ERS slows the car about 0.5 mph, but
that he didn't notice the slowdown. He showed
concern about using it when leading the race,
though he enjoyed using the added 60HP boost it
provided. IndyCar drivers are used to getting a
horsepower boost from the Push-To-Pass system,
but that system is not used at oval tracks.
The new hybrid system adds 105lbs of rear bias
to the car, which negatively affects the handling of
the cars.
The Energy Recovery System (ERS) charges the
Energy Storage System (ESS) when brakes are
applied. That energy is then expended to
generate more HP that the drivers can use in a
short burst. It takes roughly 4.5 seconds to fully
charge the ESS and the same amount of time to
deploy all that energy.
While using brakes is a frequent occurrence in a
race on a road or street course, drivers try to
refrain from using them on ovals - if anything, they
just let off the accelerator. Consequently, a
system has been devised which will ever-so-lightly
apply the brakes when the driver chooses. The
drivers won't be using their brake pedal though -
instead they will use the clutch paddle on their
steeering wheel to activate the ERS, probably
while they are in a tow.
After the test, Alex Palou stated he guessed
using the ERS slows the car about 0.5 mph, but
that he didn't notice the slowdown. He showed
concern about using it when leading the race,
though he enjoyed using the added 60HP boost it
provided. IndyCar drivers are used to getting a
horsepower boost from the Push-To-Pass system,
but that system is not used at oval tracks.
The new hybrid system adds 105lbs of rear bias
to the car, which negatively affects the handling of
the cars.
UPDATES
Oct 11 - Siegel passed the Indy 500 Rookie Orientation test. He passed
it 6 months ago for the race last May, but because he didn't qualify for
that race, he is still a 500 rookie and had to retake it for next year's race.
Oct 12 - All teams showed up for the hybrid testing, except Prema Racing,
who are making their IndyCar debut next season.
Eleven teams combined to turn 1,123 laps in six hours of testing Friday.
Dale Coyne Racing used recently released driver Rinus VeeKay to drive
their car today. Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, an Indy 500-only effort, used
driver Ryan Hunter-Reay.
The hybrid system first began being used this past summer. It has not been
used in the Indy 500 before.
Oct 11 - Siegel passed the Indy 500 Rookie Orientation test. He passed
it 6 months ago for the race last May, but because he didn't qualify for
that race, he is still a 500 rookie and had to retake it for next year's race.
Oct 12 - All teams showed up for the hybrid testing, except Prema Racing,
who are making their IndyCar debut next season.
Eleven teams combined to turn 1,123 laps in six hours of testing Friday.
Dale Coyne Racing used recently released driver Rinus VeeKay to drive
their car today. Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, an Indy 500-only effort, used
driver Ryan Hunter-Reay.
The hybrid system first began being used this past summer. It has not been
used in the Indy 500 before.
IndyCar Ladder Series Testing at IMS
Oct 20 - The four racing series that make up the
IndyCar ladder system were at IMS this weekend
to test drivers and cars for the upcoming season.
The Indy NXT series held two sessions on Friday
for the annual Chris Griffis Memorial Test.
Twenty-two drivers from six teams combined to
turn 1,572 laps during the test.
Oct 20 - The four racing series that make up the
IndyCar ladder system were at IMS this weekend
to test drivers and cars for the upcoming season.
The Indy NXT series held two sessions on Friday
for the annual Chris Griffis Memorial Test.
Twenty-two drivers from six teams combined to
turn 1,572 laps during the test.
| The test is named in honor of Chris Griffis, who worked for several IndyCar teams, beginning with Patrick Racing. He was crew chief for Panther Racing when they won the 2003 Indy Lights championship and team manager at Sam Schmidt Motorsports for numerous Indy Lights championships. He died unexpectedly at age 46 in 2011. |
Max Garcia
Liam McNeilly
Liam McNeilly
Pabst Racing
Jay Howard Driver Development
Jay Howard Driver Development
1:22.0219
1:26.3269
1:26.3269
TEAM
TIME
SPEED
107.049
101.711
101.711
| SESSION |
3
1
1
DRIVER
SERIES
USF PRO 2000
USF 2000
USF 2000
| USF Fastest Times from Saturday: |
Not shown: USF 2000 Juniors series.
Max Garcia
Liam McNeilly
Liam McNeilly
Pabst Racing
Jay Howard Driver Development
Jay Howard Driver Development
1:21.8215
1:26.1548
1:26.1548
TEAM
TIME
SPEED
107.312
101.914
101.914
| SESSION |
1
1
1
DRIVER
SERIES
USF PRO 2000
USF 2000
USF 2000
| USF Fastest Times from Sunday: |
Over 50 drivers, across three USF series, participated Saturday and Sunday in the USF Fall Combine.
Each series had three test sessions per day. The fastest drivers of the day are listed below.
Each series had three test sessions per day. The fastest drivers of the day are listed below.
Myles Rowe
Dennis Hauger
Lochie Hughes
Dennis Hauger
Lochie Hughes
Abel Motorsports
Andretti Global
Andretti Global
Andretti Global
Andretti Global
1:15.1848
1:15.3285
1:15.3736
1:15.3285
1:15.3736
TEAM
TIME
SPEED
116.784
116.561
116.492
116.561
116.492
| SESSION |
2
2
2
2
2
DRIVER
| Fastest INDY NXT Drivers on Friday: |
Tony Stewart Leaving Nascar
Oct 26 - Back in May, Tony Stewart and Gene Haas announced that their 4-car Cup team,
Stewart-Haas Racing, would be closing down at the end of the 2024 season after 15 years.
There have been various rumors as to why, but losing Ford and two major sponsors likely
played a large part.
Stewart won the Cup championship as a driver in 2002 & 2005 with Joe Gibbs Racing.
He won it again in 2011 with SHR. Stewart retired from Nascar racing after 2016.
Kevin Harvick joined the team in 2014 and won the Cup championship that year. He retired
at the end of 2023.
The closure forced their Cup drivers to find new rides for 2025:
* Chase Briscoe will replace Martin Truex, Jr. at Joe Gibbs Racing.
* Noah Gragson will drive for Front Row Motorsports
* Josh Berry will drive for Wood Brothers Racing.
* 2025 Plans for Ryan Preece have not been officially set yet.
While Stewart will be gone from the sport, 71-year-old Haas is creating a 1-car Cup team -
Haas Factory Team. He has signed Cole Custer to drive their No. 41 Ford. Custer drove
for the SHR Xfinity team this year. The team will also run two Xfinity cars, to be driven by
Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer.
Tony Stewart Racing got into NHRA drag racing in 2022. Stewart began driving a TopFuel
Dragster for the team this year.
Oct 26 - Back in May, Tony Stewart and Gene Haas announced that their 4-car Cup team,
Stewart-Haas Racing, would be closing down at the end of the 2024 season after 15 years.
There have been various rumors as to why, but losing Ford and two major sponsors likely
played a large part.
Stewart won the Cup championship as a driver in 2002 & 2005 with Joe Gibbs Racing.
He won it again in 2011 with SHR. Stewart retired from Nascar racing after 2016.
Kevin Harvick joined the team in 2014 and won the Cup championship that year. He retired
at the end of 2023.
The closure forced their Cup drivers to find new rides for 2025:
* Chase Briscoe will replace Martin Truex, Jr. at Joe Gibbs Racing.
* Noah Gragson will drive for Front Row Motorsports
* Josh Berry will drive for Wood Brothers Racing.
* 2025 Plans for Ryan Preece have not been officially set yet.
While Stewart will be gone from the sport, 71-year-old Haas is creating a 1-car Cup team -
Haas Factory Team. He has signed Cole Custer to drive their No. 41 Ford. Custer drove
for the SHR Xfinity team this year. The team will also run two Xfinity cars, to be driven by
Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer.
Tony Stewart Racing got into NHRA drag racing in 2022. Stewart began driving a TopFuel
Dragster for the team this year.
| 2014 - Tony Stewart, Gene Haas and Kevin Harvick |
Oct 25 - Pato O'Ward drove Lando Norris' McLaren F1 car during FP1 at the Mexico
Grand Prix. O'Ward turned 21 incident free laps during the session, finishing 13th on
the speed chart. FP1 Results
Grand Prix. O'Ward turned 21 incident free laps during the session, finishing 13th on
the speed chart. FP1 Results