IndyCar: Saturday Morning Report from Road America
Good morning from Road America, where the NTT INDYCAR Series had Practice 2 this morning (see results below) and will Qualify this afternoon. This will be the hottest weekend at Road America since the series returned to racing here in 2016.
The temperatures are expected to reach the low 90s, and with the combined humidity, the heat index is expected to reach 105 degrees today. This will make it difficult for the drivers, who are now partially enclosed with the aeroscreen.
Autoracing1 spoke with several drivers about the unusual conditions caused by the hot weather. Some drivers will use a cool suit to keep themselves a little cooler in the cockpit.
When you add a cool suit to the mix, you have to adjust for the weight of the car, taking into account the water weight and the pump, which circulates water on the driver’s chest and back.
Will Power has driven in the NTT INDYCAR Series since 2005. The Australian is one of the most successful drivers in the history of IndyCars, currently fourth in all-time wins (44), first in all-time poles (71), and fourth in all-time podiums (106). He has driven full-time for Team Penske since 2010.
Rumblings about being replaced by David Malukas next season have been circulating, especially among the Fox broadcast team, following the expiration of his contract at the end of this season.
Autoracing1 spoke with Will about the possibility of his departure from the team. He was calm in his answer and expects to stay in the series no matter what happens with his current ride.
“I know the sport too well, but I know we’re going to have a good chance for good cars. I always look forward to each weekend, because I know I have a good shot. So I do my work. Hopefully, try to be right at the front.”
“It would be lovely to get a pole on the road. It’s difficult to win any IndyCar race. So you know, even if you’re on pole, you know it’s going to be a hard fight, it’s just too many good guys in the game. Yeah, it is nice to get pole, though, believe me, if I could start on pole, absolutely going to do my best. ”
Strangely enough, this weekend, David Malukas is pitted up front between the Team Penske cars, with Power having the first pit box.
The schedule for today is as follows in Central Time:
9 am Practice 2 for INDY NXT by Firestone
10 am Practice 2 for NTT INDYCAR Series
12:30 pm Qualifying for INDY NXT
1:30 pm Firestone Fast Six Qualifying for IndyCars
Practice 2 Results
| Pos | No | Name | Time | Behind | Gap | FL | Laps | Speed | Engine | Team |
| 1 | 7 | Christian Lundgaard | 1:45.3412 | 0.000s | 0.000s | 3 | 10 | 137.177 | Chevy | Arrow McLaren |
| 2 | 10 | Alex Palou | 1:45.5916 | 0.2504 | 0.2504 | 11 | 16 | 136.852 | Honda | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 3 | 12 | Will Power | 1:45.6809 | 0.3397 | 0.0893 | 16 | 16 | 136.736 | Chevy | Team Penske |
| 4 | 27 | Kyle Kirkwood | 1:45.7126 | 0.3714 | 0.0317 | 8 | 14 | 136.695 | Honda | Andretti Global |
| 5 | 26 | Colton Herta | 1:45.7160 | 0.3748 | 0.0034 | 8 | 13 | 136.691 | Honda | Andretti Global w/Curb‑Agajanian |
| 6 | 9 | Scott Dixon | 1:45.7386 | 0.3974 | 0.0226 | 9 | 13 | 136.662 | Honda | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 7 | 60 | Felix Rosenqvist | 1:45.7707 | 0.4295 | 0.0321 | 8 | 13 | 136.620 | Honda | Meyer Shank Racing |
| 8 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | 1:45.8011 | 0.4599 | 0.0304 | 9 | 11 | 136.581 | Chevy | Team Penske |
| 9 | 14 | Santino Ferrucci | 1:45.8079 | 0.4667 | 0.0068 | 4 | 13 | 136.572 | Chevy | AJ Foyt Enterprises |
| 10 | 30 | Devlin DeFrancesco | 1:45.8632 | 0.5220 | 0.0553 | 9 | 12 | 136.501 | Honda | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing |
| 11 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin | 1:45.8809 | 0.5397 | 0.0177 | 11 | 13 | 136.478 | Chevy | Team Penske |
| 12 | 5 | Pato O’Ward | 1:45.9107 | 0.5695 | 0.0298 | 5 | 14 | 136.439 | Chevy | Arrow McLaren |
| 13 | 18 | Rinus Veekay | 1:45.9142 | 0.5730 | 0.0035 | 2 | 12 | 136.435 | Honda | Dale Coyne Racing |
| 14 | 15 | Graham Rahal | 1:45.9308 | 0.5896 | 0.0166 | 8 | 16 | 136.414 | Honda | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing |
| 15 | 4 | David Malukas | 1:46.0365 | 0.6953 | 0.1057 | 11 | 16 | 136.278 | Chevy | AJ Foyt Enterprises |
| 16 | 6 | Nolan Siegel | 1:46.0440 | 0.7028 | 0.0075 | 2 | 12 | 136.268 | Chevy | Arrow McLaren |
| 17 | 45 | Louis Foster | 1:46.1079 | 0.7667 | 0.0639 | 11 | 14 | 136.186 | Honda | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing |
| 18 | 66 | Marcus Armstrong | 1:46.1082 | 0.7670 | 0.0003 | 9 | 13 | 136.186 | Honda | Meyer Shank Racing |
| 19 | 21 | Christian Rasmussen | 1:46.2298 | 0.8886 | 0.1216 | 4 | 13 | 136.030 | Chevy | Ed Carpenter Racing |
| 20 | 8 | Kyffin Simpson | 1:46.2929 | 0.9517 | 0.0631 | 8 | 14 | 135.949 | Honda | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 21 | 28 | Marcus Ericsson | 1:46.3220 | 0.9808 | 0.0291 | 9 | 13 | 135.912 | Honda | Andretti Global |
| 22 | 90 | Callum Ilott | 1:46.3406 | 0.9994 | 0.0186 | 12 | 13 | 135.888 | Chevy | Prema Racing |
| 23 | 51 | Jacob Abel | 1:46.4429 | 1.1017 | 0.1023 | 15 | 15 | 135.757 | Honda | Dale Coyne Racing |
| 24 | 83 | Robert Shwartzman | 1:46.6817 | 1.3405 | 0.2388 | 8 | 15 | 135.453 | Chevy | Prema Racing |
| 25 | 20 | Alexander Rossi | 1:46.7646 | 1.4234 | 0.0829 | 9 | 11 | 135.348 | Chevy | Ed Carpenter Racing |
| 26 | 76 | Conor Daly | 1:46.8963 | 1.5551 | 0.1317 | 9 | 12 | 135.181 | Chevy | Juncos Hollinger Racing |
| 27 | 77 | Sting Ray Robb | 1:47.0219 | 1.6807 | 0.1256 | 10 | 14 | 135.023 | Chevy | Juncos Hollinger Racing |
Note: Times are 5-seconds per lap slower than the CART IndyCars 20 years ago. If you think the current cars are fast, they are not.
Lucille Dust reporting live from Road America