Latest news with #GainbridgeOpenTest
Fox Sports
24-04-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Scott Dixon Edges Josef Newgarden To Lead Day 1 of Indy Open Test
INDYCAR Scott Dixon has won four of his six NTT INDYCAR SERIES championships in the last 11 years, but his only victory in the Indianapolis 500 came in 2008. His performance during the first day of the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge Open Test could be the first step toward changing that equation. SEE: Test Results | No-Tow Results Six-time series champion Dixon was the fastest driver Wednesday on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, turning a top lap of 225.182 mph during the last hour of testing in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. "It's testing – just trying to get through the test list, lots of changes,' Dixon said. 'We didn't do the October test, so first time with the hybrid here, which definitely adds some elements to it and makes it pretty interesting. I think it is going to determine a lot race-wise, maybe even for the shootout at the end. I think it could determine that. 'So, trying to clarify a lot of those situations to make sure that you're covered muscle memory-wise and memory-wise. It comes down to that. So even in qualifying, I think it be a few different strategies of how to get that right.' Dixon took the top spot from two-time reigning race champion Josef Newgarden, who ended up second at 225.125 in the No. 2 Shell V-Power NiTRO+ Team Penske Chevrolet. Two-time series champion Newgarden is trying to become the first driver to win the world's most prestigious auto race three years in a row Sunday, May 25. 'Today was really solid just to start out,' Newgarden said. 'The big thing is you come here with a new car or an existing car that you're taking apart and completely rebuilding it. For most everybody here, putting a car on the track for the first time and hoping it just goes relatively quick … When the car is fast, everything else can be fixed. It's the car's speed that fixes everything. 'For us, it's been a really good start. It doesn't mean it's going to be all smooth sailing, but I hope we can come out of this and be prepared for the Month of May.' Two-time '500' winner Takuma Sato started his 'one-off' Indianapolis 500 effort with vigor, ending up third at 225.069 in the No. 75 AMADA Honda fielded by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Marcus Armstrong led three Meyer Shank Racing cars in the top eight, as he was fourth at 224.987 in the No. 66 SiriusXM/Root Insurance Honda. Colton Herta rounded out the top five at 224.857 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global. Besides MSR putting Armstrong fourth, four-time '500' winner Helio Castroneves seventh and Felix Rosenqvist eighth, another trend line was drawn during the first day of the test: Honda engines are fast. Honda powered nine of the 10 fastest drivers today, with Newgarden the only Chevy driver in that group. Honda drivers also took the top three spots on the 'no-tow' list of drivers' best laps turned without the speed-enhancing edge of an aerodynamic slipstream from a leading car. Rosenqvist was the top no-tow driver at 220.835 in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda, followed by three-time series champion Alex Palou at 220.354 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Testing continues starting at 9:30 a.m. Thursday. Teams will have access from 9:30-noon to the same elevated turbo boost levels as 'Fast Friday' practice May 16 and PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying on May 17-18. Then boost will be reduced to race levels from 2-5 p.m. for the final segment of testing this week. 'I'm excited to turn up the boost and curious to see how this hybrid is going to be used in qualifying,' said Pato O'Ward, who was 16th overall at 222.775 mph in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. 'I think everybody is kind of playing a guessing game now, so we'll see what's the best one tomorrow.' Thirty-four drivers are eligible to participate when Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge practice opens Tuesday, May 13, as Jacob Abel, Louis Foster and Robert Shwartzman completed the Rookie Orientation Program and Marco Andretti, Devlin DeFrancesco, Callum Ilott, Kyle Larson and Sato completed the veteran refresher test Wednesday. All 34 drivers expected to compete next month for the 33 starting spots were on track today, turning a combined 2,805 laps. Rookie Swartzman was the busiest driver, turning 133 laps in the No. 83 PREMA Racing Chevrolet. In an interesting twist, two-time reigning series champion and current championship leader Alex Palou was one of the most inactive drivers, completing just 46 laps despite no apparent technical problems. Palou, seeking his first '500' victory, ended up sixth overall at 224.786. 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Larson was 11th at 223.430 in the No. 17 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Larson is once again trying to complete the 'Double' of racing in the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on the same day May 25. There was just one caution period during more than six hours of testing. Graham Rahal brushed the SAFER Barrier in Turn 3 twice in his No. 15 United Rentals Honda fielded by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing with 13 minutes remaining. Rahal was unhurt.
Fox Sports
23-04-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Inside Line: Open Test Focus?
INDYCAR Today's question: What are you looking for at the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge Open Test this Wednesday, April 23 and Thursday, April 24 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway? Curt Cavin: I'm eager to see how Christian Lundgaard stacks up in his second IMS test with Arrow McLaren. He raced reasonably well in three '500' starts with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, finishing 13th in last year's race, but his qualifying results – he never started higher than 28th and was twice in the 30s – were troublesome. In October, Lundgaard was slowest among the 11 drivers in the first hybrid test at the Speedway, which was surprising given Arrow McLaren's pace on the oval the past three years. Ordinarily, I wouldn't give that a second glance, but that won't be the case if he's in that neighborhood this week. At any rate, Lundgaard's Month of May will be an interesting watch. If he can be a legitimate contender at Indy and on ovals, in general, I look for him to be a factor for the championship. Eric Smith: Two-time defending NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou began the 2025 season with two consecutive victories, inducing panic in the paddock that he will run away with his fourth championship in five seasons. He leads the standings by 34 points entering the test. However, my eye is on Josef Newgarden to create a similar narrative to Palou's hot start. Can the two-time defending Indianapolis 500 winner create his own panic within Gasoline Alley by being fastest in this week's test? How's this for a stat: Newgarden was quickest in the Open Test in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024: A fifth straight year could signal he is THE favorite for the return to the 2.5-mile oval next month. Newgarden told Curt and me last October that no one wants to see him become the first driver in the 109-year history of the great event to win a third Indy 500 in a row. Newgarden is aware that what worked the last two years won't automatically translate to this Month of May. But he has the capability to rattle off a top speed this week and create a narrative that this is still his race to lose. Arni Sribhen: This test at IMS is not unlike most practice days in the Month of May at Indy. It's about learning how your car reacts in different conditions. For those who spend their days at the track, we're focused on lap times to see who has speed or watching pack runs to see who looks good in traffic and could be a potential favorite to win on Race Day. I'm sure this week's test will be similar, but with the addition of hybrid technology to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES cars last summer, I'll be curious to see how and when drivers choose to deploy and regenerate the additional electrical power. We're used to seeing how this generation of INDYCAR SERIES car races at IMS. The lead cars pass using runs developed down the long, 5/8th-mile straights at IMS. It's how Pato O'Ward passed Josef Newgarden in Turn 1 just after the white flag flew last May and how Newgarden passed O'Ward back entering Turn 3 to earn his win. With the addition of hybrid, might we see more passing behind the leaders? Could we see some regeneration on the straights, allowing a driver to deploy at corner exit to set up a run to the line? I hope so. And I hope it sets up a classic finish like we've seen in 1982, 1992 or 2006. Paul Kelly: I'm watching Andretti Global. The team seems to be on an upswing lately in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, with Kyle Kirkwood winning at Long Beach and Kirkwood and Colton Herta sweeping the front row. Kirkwood is second in points, with Herta seventh. But the team hasn't won 'The Greatest Spectacle in Racing' since 2017 with Takuma Sato. That's a seven-year drought at Indy, the longest since the team returned to the '500' and the series in 2003. Andretti's Marcus Ericsson already knows how to win this race, taking the checkered flag in 2022. But the Indy oval has been a rough spot for Herta, whose best '500' finish in six starts is eighth in 2020. Kirkwood finished seventh last year, his only top-10 at Indy in three starts. It's no longer essential to have a great day in the '500' for championship contention, as the race stopped paying double points in 2023. Still, if Andretti Global is to topple two-time reigning series champion Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi Racing and stand at the center of the stage as the championship winners in late August in Nashville, a win by any of its three drivers – especially the contending Kirkwood – would go a long way toward achieving that goal.
