Ethan Miller - Results from #10

Just 10 laps prior, the NBC Sports commentary booth had said that he was far too loose to make a charge for the win. But with a little bit of help, John Hunter Nemechek put himself in position for his third win of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, and his first at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Nemechek qualified second, and remained in the top pack for a majority of the evening. As the race wound down, however, it appeared that the Kaulig Racing trio of Justin Haley, Chandler Smith, and Daniel Hemric had total control over the race. With the rest of the field unwilling to work together to pass the Kaulig drivers, Austin Hill was the only one even attempting to break out of line. With 3 to go, Hill dove once more to the bottom to try to get side-by-side with the car in front, only to slip up and allow Parker Kligerman underneath him.

Kligerman did not make contact with Hill. But the nature of airflow from car to car caused Hill’s Chevrolet to become loose and spin out. The caution flag flew, and the field of drivers prepared for an overtime restart. 

Nobody within the lead group pitted, making for a 2-lap dash among the same contenders who had been up front all night long. On the restart, Haley and Chandler Smith lined up on the outside, with Nemechek and Hemric on the inside. Nemechek, with a push from Hemric, took the lead into turn one. Haley fell into third, behind his teammate. Multiple cars, including Justin Allgaier, ran out of fuel on the restart, resulting in both lines being jumbled up. The race for the win was down to the top 5 and, with two teammates lined up behind him, Nemechek looked like a sitting duck.

Now is the time to be reminded that Justin Haley is not an Xfinity series driver. He drives full-time for Kaulig in the Cup Series, driving the no. 31 Camaro. Saturday night was just his fourth Xfinity race this year, as the no. 10 car for Kaulig is their “all-star” car. Each week, a different driver pilots the machine, and Haley is often placed in the seat for the drafting tracks due to his skills at that type of speedway. As a result, Haley was not running for points on Saturday. Daniel Hemric, his full-time teammate, was. And Hemric is winless so far this season.

Any fan watching would have assumed the same thing, seeing Haley lined up behind Hemric, who needs a win to make the playoffs. Haley would, logically, push Hemric past the leader Nemechek and get his teammate into the playoffs with a win. That scenario did not play out how anyone imagined– and certainly not how team owner Matthew Kaulig envisioned when he tabbed Haley to race last night.

As the leaders took the white flag, Haley got a run on the back of the 11 of Daniel Hemric. Rather than push him through, Haley dove to the bottom of the racetrack on the entry of turn 1 and pulled side-by-side with Hemric to attempt to pass him. Not only was the move fruitless for his own race (Haley ended up losing a position on the maneuver and finished fourth), but it left Hemric without any help, and Nemechek completed the final lap with no challenge to go on and win the race.

Hemric expressed his frustrations postrace, with Haley explaining to him and the TV crew that he was running out of fuel. An explanation, sure, but a weak one in many’s eyes. Haley could have stayed behind the 11 until the car completely ran out; by moving down from behind Hemric, he gave neither car a shot at catching Nemechek.

Earlier in the race, both Sheldon Creed and Riley Herbst looked like the cars to beat, as they each won a stage. At the start of Stage 3, however, Herbst suffered a flat tire and caused a big wreck that took both him and Creed out of the race, as well as the no. 39 of Ryan Sieg and other competitors. 

Behind Nemechek, Hemric finished the race in second. He also finished second in the spring race. Cole Custer drove up to finish third. Haley and Sam Mayer closed out the top 5. Ty Gibbs, current Cup Series driver and 2022 Xfinity champion finished the race in sixth, a strong recovery from a flat tire earlier in the race. Kyle Sieg crossed the finish line in a career-high seventh place, the second top 10 of his career. Parker Kligerman finished eighth. Josh Williams had a much quieter race than his spring visit to Atlanta, and came home with a strong ninth place result. Sammy Smith, in his first full time season, finished in the tenth position. 

With the win, John Hunter Nemechek maintained his points lead over Austin Hill in the regular season standings. 7 of the 12 playoff spots are locked in via wins, leaving 5 spots available currently to drivers to point their way in. Riley Herbst currently holds the last playoff spot, 6 points ahead of Parker Kligerman.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series travels to the Northeast next Saturday for their annual trip to New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The race is on Saturday, July 15th, at 3 PM EST on USA Network. 

8th place is Alex Palou’s worst finish in the 2023 NTT IndyCar Series season. With the way he is running, that may end up being the lowest all year. On Sunday at Mid Ohio, the Spaniard won his third straight race, and fourth of the last five. 

Palou started the race in fourth place on the primary tire, while the three ahead of him elected for the red alternates. That decision proved to be key come the first pit cycle. As polesitter Colton Herta’s tires wore off, Palou ran him down, and executed a perfect overcut to take the lead from the Andretti Autosport driver. Following that move, Palou only relinquished the lead during pit cycles, and effectively drove away from the field. The margin of victory for the 2021 champ was over 5 seconds back to teammate Scott Dixon in second— and 18 to third place Will Power.

Palou explained his strategy post race. 

“We knew that we had the pace, but we needed clean air,” Palou said. “Obviously it's tough at Mid-Ohio to follow cars -- well, to overtake cars, I would say. That's why we went for the primaries at the beginning, which we thought was probably a bit risky, but if we were able to cross the first lap on position, we were going to be good for our strategy. So, yeah, made it work. We saved a little bit of fuel. Waited until the 27 struggled a little bit on tires. We were able to pass and then just run a bit longer than Colton and Rahal to get the lead. Yeah, it was fun. The car was really fast obviously. It was great to be able to do everything that we planned, and all the pit stops and everything was fine.” 

Palou’s win extends his championship lead to 110 points with 8 races remaining. His mentality, however, has not changed even as he has opened up a dominant lead in the standings.

“I would say it's the same target if you are 10 points or 50 points in front,” Palou explained. “So, yeah, obviously everybody is seeing what we're doing. We've got three wins in a row. We can keep it going because I know we have good cars and a great team. So, yeah, I don't think it's getting larger.”

His competitors, however, may be losing hope. Will Power acknowledged post race the challenge of keeping up with Palou and the no. 10 CGR Honda. 

“Obviously everyone needs to beat Palou, but I don't think -- that's going to be a very tough challenge to beat him in a championship this year,” Power said. “He is so on point in every respect, in every respect. He is not missing a thing, which is very difficult in this series to be extremely fast, which there are a lot of guys that are, but then being able to do all the disciplines as well plus the intricacies of fuel save, tire conservation, in-and-out laps, the qualifying. It's bloody hard to have that all nailed, and he is doing it.”

Scott Dixon suggested that Palou is a star in the making following his recent run of dominance.

“The guy we obviously know is a big talent,” Dixon said. “You see some talents come along that maybe just really are quick and maybe inconsistent or something like that, but he is definitely the full package. It's early in Alex's career. He has a big, wide runway to go yet to see what comes. We'll see if he even sticks around in INDYCAR.”

Dixon surely wasn’t alluding to Colton Herta when he referenced quick but inconsistent talents, but the description may fit the driver of the Gainbridge Honda for Andretti Autosport. Herta won the pole for the second straight week, and failed to convert the top starting spot into even a podium once again. Herta lost the lead during the first pit cycle– though that may have to be chalked up to a perfect strategy from Palou’s team– and then compounded the damage by speeding on pit road during his second stop. He ended up finishing in the 11th position. 

Sunday’s race nearly went green the entire way, as the only caution flag came in a Lap 1 incident between Felix Rosenqvist and Marcus Ericsson. Ericsson took the blame for that wreck, which saw his car hop over Rosenqvist’s car after missing his lane into the corner. Both drivers suffered poor results– Ericsson in last and Rosenqvist in 25th, one lap down.

Behind the podium, Christian Lundgaard had another impressive run with a fourth place finish for Rahal-Letterman-Lanigan. Scott McLaughlin came home in fifth, and also shared some unkind words with rookie Benjamin Pedersen postrace. Pedersen raced hard to stay on the lead lap during the event, but then kept up the aggression even after being lapped, which frustrated many drivers.

David Malukas turned in another great run for Dale Coyne Racing with a sixth place finish. Graham Rahal, after starting second (his best qualifying effort in 4 years!), slid back to seventh following multiple slow pit stops. Rounding out the top 10 were Pato O’Ward, Marcus Armstrong, and Alexander Rossi. O’Ward had a rough qualifying session and started Sunday’s race deep in the field. The team went off strategy and still managed an impressive finish as O’Ward charged up through the field. 

Palou leads the standings by a large margin over Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden, Marcus Ericsson, and Pato O’Ward. The next race for the NTT IndyCar Series is on July 16th at the Toronto Street Course. 

Sunday was Colton Herta’s day. Until it wasn’t. 

The Andretti Autosport star won the pole, and led the most laps. The only time he didn’t lead was on pit strategy cycles. Otherwise, the driver of the no. 26 Gainbridge Honda was out front in comfortable fashion. On the final pit stop, however, Andretti called Herta into the pits one lap earlier than the other leaders. That move proved costly, as Herta was forced to heavily save fuel compared to the drivers who pitted a lap later. Alex Palou steadily ran him down, and with 7 laps left, passed him. Herta’s dominant day was suddenly switched off as he nursed the fuel number home, and he slipped all the way back to 5th as Palou cruised to another victory.

Palou’s weekend did not start well. In Practice 2 on Saturday morning, he crashed heavily into the tire barriers. His Chip Ganassi Racing team scrambled to make repairs, and got the car back on track for qualifying, where he secured the third starting position for the race. 

Palou talked post race about his struggles, and subsequent speed after the practice crash.

“I had a lot of speed again, but crashed it very hard,” Palou said. “Yeah, we almost had no time to rebuild the car. They [the no. 10 CGR Honda crew] did. They not only got the car back on track, but it was fast. Almost got the pole. Fought for it.”

Palou may have had speed, but he was clearly second behind Herta for most of the afternoon. However, when Herta was forced to save fuel, Palou pushed him into burning his stuff up earlier.

“Once my tires were into temperature, I was able to catch him,” Palou said. “I saw that he was struggling a little bit more. He had to save more fuel than us because he pitted one lap early. We were just a little bit better on tire deg, as well. I was just trying to push him to use the push to pass, then overtake him. It worked.”

Palou’s win on Sunday is reminiscent of his win in this same race at Road America two years ago in his 2021 championship season. That win, his second of the season that year, cemented him in the championship lead and set off a strong summer stretch as he rocketed towards his first career title. 

Sunday’s win is number 3 on the season (Indy GP, Detroit), all of which have come in the past 4 races. He now sits atop the championship standings by a stout 74 points over teammate Marcus Ericsson in second place. With a large championship lead, he could control the title fight for the remainder of the season by racing conservatively. That, Palou said, is not in the cards. 

“I would understand racing for points in the last two races, but it's too early,” Palou explained. “We did eight races. There's still eight or nine left….we're going to focus on scoring wins because that's the way we can score more points. That's the best way. Honestly, there's some races coming up now that are still really good for us and we know we're going to have a car and my confidence to fight for wins.”

Josef Newgarden continued his strong season with another podium in second, while Pato O’Ward held off a hard-charging Scott Dixon to finish in third. Overall, the race was hectic, and wildly entertaining for a large crowd that came out in support of the NTT IndyCar Series at Road America. Multiple cautions influenced strategy, the ensuing restarts shuffled the field, and close-quarters racing brought some tempers to the surface during a few tense moments. Newgarden commented post race on the quality of the race from a driver’s and fan’s perspective. 

“I mean, it was an unbelievable race,” Newgarden said. “I think as a driver, not always what you want. You want to be just out front, kind of green from start to finish, just an easy day. But if you're a fan, this is a very difficult race. There was just a lot that happened. Pato, like he spoke about, people were shuffling forward and backwards. Restarts were bringing different action. The tires were bringing something different for people. It was possible to pass, like very much so. It raced really well. There was a lot of unknowns going into the new surface on how it would race. I think today, I don't know how you could have asked for much better of a race. From that standpoint it was more stressful for us. Hopefully the fans really enjoyed the action of it.”

Scott Dixon placed fourth. Herta slid back to finish fifth as he continued to stretch his fuel to make it to the end of the race. Marcus Ericsson finished in sixth (surprise surprise), and Christian Lundgaard turned in a much-needed seventh place run for Rahal-Letterman-Lanigan. Scott McLaughlin was quiet all day, but still managed an eight place finish. Kyle Kirkwood and Alexander Rossi rounded out the top 10.

After an off week next weekend, IndyCar will roll right into the next round as they travel to Mid-Ohio on July 2nd for the Honda Indy 200. The race will be at 1:30 EST on USA Network.

The 107th running of the Indy 500 is this weekend on Sunday, May 28th, at 12 EST on NBC. The race is the crown jewel of the IndyCar schedule, and it features big crowds, big money, and great racing. Many fans only watch the Indy 500- last year, 4.8 million watched the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, compared to about 1 million per race for the rest of the schedule. The Indy 500 is IndyCar’s prizewinning race; so, to the millions of fans who ONLY tune into the 500, who should you root for? 33 options, most of them compelling— I make the case for them all below.

 

Drivers are listed in their qualifying order.

 

Alex Palou #10

Nation of Origin: Spain

Team: Chip Ganassi Racing

Sponsor: The American Legion

Alex Palou is an exciting young driver. He’s also very very good. The 2021 champion has already come close to winning the 500, as he finished second to Helio Castroneves in 2021. Palou is off to an excellent start to the year, and won the previous IndyCar race 2 weeks ago at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Bonus: Formula 1 fans, you may recognize this name— he tested an F1 car for McLaren last fall.

 

Rinus VeeKay #21

Nation of Origin: Netherlands

Team: Ed Carpenter Racing

Sponsor: Bitnile.com

VeeKay is part of IndyCar’s latest youth movement, and has 1 career win in the series. Just 22 years old and already running his 4th Indy 500, VeeKay is always a fast competitor at the Speedway. His career qualifying positions for the 500? 4th, 3rd, 3rd, and now 2nd this year. He’s struggled to finish the race, as he crashed out early last year, but keep an eye on VeeKay to spice things up on Sunday.

 

Felix Rosenqvist #7

Nation of Origin: Sweden

Team: Arrow McLaren

Sponsor: Arrow McLaren

On a flashy McLaren IndyCar team, Rosenqvist is the constant, quiet veteran. He’s won in the series before (2020, Road America), as well as in Indy NXT and Formula E. Felix has a career best finish of 4th in the 500 (2022), and won the pole at the last oval IndyCar visited (Texas earlier this year). 

 

Santino Ferrucci #14

Nation of Origin: United States

Team: A.J. Foyt Racing

Sponsor: Homes For Our Troops

It will be easy to spot Ferrucci’s car on Sunday— look for the American flag. His sponsor, ABC Supply Co., does a fantastic job putting worthwhile charities on the racecar. Ferrucci is as American as it gets, so if that is what you are looking for, he may be your best bet. He’s also fast at Indianapolis; in 4 starts, he’s never finished outside of the top 10. Him and teammate Benjamin Petersen are the big surprises of qualifying— both qualified their underdog A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolets into the top 12. 

 

Plato O’Ward #5

Nation of Origin: Mexico

Team: Arrow McLaren

Sponsor: Arrow McLaren

O’Ward is, based on recent merchandise numbers, the most popular IndyCar driver. It’s no surprise why, as he is both fast and a driver for McLaren, the most popular racing team on the planet. O’Ward finished second here last year to Marcus Ericsson in a fantastic battle, and he’s once again a favorite to lead the race. Just keep your eyes peeled— he’s in a black throwback ride this weekend, a divergence from his normal papaya orange.

 

Scott Dixon #9

Nation of Origin: New Zealand

Team: Chip Ganassi Racing

Sponsor: PNC Bank

6-time champion and 2008 Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon has a legitimate argument for being the GOAT. The one thing he’s missing? More Indy 500 wins. Recent years have been one heartbreak after another— he finished second in 2020 after leading the most laps, won the pole in 2021 but finished 17th, and led the most laps from the pole last year before a speeding penalty on his final pit stop cost him the race. Despite his struggles to seal the deal, he still may be the favorite— bandwagon fans, here’s your guy. 

 

Alexander Rossi

Nation of Origin: United States

Team: Arrow McLaren

Sponsor: Arrow McLaren

Rossi won in his first ever Indy 500, the historic 100th running in 2016. Towards the end of his tenure with Andretti, he struggled. Now he’s with a new team, flashy McLaren, and has shown more speed as of late. Rossi is one of the most talented drivers in the garage; the field is waiting for him to show it once more. 2022 Indy finish: 5th.

 

Takuma Sato #11

Nation of Origin: Japan

Team: Chip Ganassi Racing

Sponsor: Deloitte

Sato has won 2 Indy 500s—in 2017 and 2020—and is one of the better oval racers in the series. He’s only running the ovals this year for CGR (Marcus Armstrong is running the road and street courses. Sato is a fan-favorite driver, and he has the speed to make it 3 wins in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

 

Tony Kanaan #66

Nation of Origin: Brazil

Team: Arrow McLaren

Sponsor: Arrow McLaren

Sunday will be the last ride for Tony Kanaan; expect the emotions to run high regardless of whether he wins or finishes last. Winning the race isn’t out of the question, as Kanaan and his McLaren team are incredibly fast. Kanaan won the 2004 championship, and the 2013 Indy 500– a second 500 win is in the cards. He’s an IndyCar legend, and his amazing career will come to a close on Sunday.

 

Marcus Ericsson #10

Nation of Origin: Sweden

Team: Chip Ganassi Racing

Sponsor: Huski Ice Spritz

The champ is here! Ericsson won last year’s race in thrilling fashion. This year, he looks to become the first back-to-back winner since Hélio Castroneves in 2001 and 2002. Ericsson currently sits third in the points standings with a win at St. Petersburg earlier this year; since he won this race last year, he’s been one of the most consistent drivers in the field. Ericsson is a championship threat, and he is cementing himself as a top driver in the field. 

 

Benjamin Pedersen #55

Nation of Origin: Denmark

Team: A.J. Foyt Racing

Sponsor: Sexton Properties

Pedersen is the most shocking driver to make the top 12. A rookie driver, for an underdog team, being top 10 on speed? This is no fluke; he and teammate Santino Ferrucci have been high up on the speed charts in most of the practice sessions this month. What Pedersen has done is incredibly impressive, as the highest qualified rookie in the field. Keep an eye on him Sunday to make more waves than he’s already made. 

 

Will Power #12

Nation of Origin: Australia

Team: Team Penske

Sponsor: Verizon

Will Power, the defending IndyCar champion and 2018 Indy 500 winner, is a character. One never knows what to expect from Power, who also won the 2014 title, so keep your eyes on the driver of the #12. Team Penske, one of IndyCar’s top teams, has struggled on speed slightly in May— Power is the highest qualified driver from the team. Look for him and Penske to make improvements on Sunday

 

Ed Carpenter #33

Nation of Origin: United States

Team: Ed Carpenter Racing 

Sponsor: Bitnile.com

2023 is Ed’s 20th attempt at winning the Indy 500— the best he has finished was in 2018, where he finished second. Ed and his race team are consistently fast at Indianapolis, as he’s won 3 poles in his career at the track. Teammates Rinus VeeKay and Conor Daly start 2nd and 16th, respectively, and always end up towards the front of the race. Can attempt #20 pay off for Ed? He’s got a fighting chance to pull it off on Sunday.

 

Scott McLaughlin #3

Nation of Origin: New Zealand

Team: Team Penske

Sponsor: Pennzoil 

McLaughlin, since his rookie season in 2021 coming over from Australian Supercars, has skyrocketed into superstardom. Last year, he won 3 races and finished 4th in points; this year, he’s 5th and already has a win at Barber. McLaughlin hosts the entertaining “Bus Bros” series with teammate Josef Newgarden on YouTube, and is active and engaging on social media. At only 30 years old, McLaughlin has a fantastic IndyCar career ahead of him, and an Indy 500 win would be another mark towards an impressive start to his career.

 

Kyle Kirkwood #27

Nation of Origin: United States

Team: Andretti Autosport

Sponsor: AutoNation

Kyle Kirkwood had a dismal rookie season. This year is off to a much better start with his new team. Kirkwood won at Long Beach last month in a breakthrough moment with Andretti Autosport. He, and Andretti as a whole, have had speed without results. The team seems down on speed at Indy, however, and needs a strong run to right the ship heading into the summer. Kirkwood can right the ship. 

 

Conor Daly #20

Nation of Origin: United States

Team: Ed Carpenter Racing 

Sponsor: Bitnile.com

He’s the local kid, from Noblesville, Indiana. He’s got a podcast with Dirty Mo Media. He used to drive the US Air Force car and sport a mullet, and he ran the Daytona 500 this spring. Conor Daly is IndyCar’s most interesting man, and he’s also been fast at Indianapolis as of late. He led 40 laps in 2021, and finished in 6th last year. With a solid starting spot, expect some cheers from the local crowd as he drives towards the front. 

 

Josef Newgarden #2

Nation of Origin: United States

Team: Team Penske

Sponsor: Shell Powering Progress

Newgarden is the best driver in the field to not have won an Indy 500. By all accounts, he should have won one by now. Of his 26 career wins, 12 have come on ovals, including his last 3. Newgarden is a 2-time champion, and has finished second in points the last three years. He is one of the stars of the sport, and also the host of Bus Bros with teammate Scott McLaughlin. A chalk pick at any other race, Newgarden is a talented driver who will aim for a breakthrough win at the Speedway on Sunday. 

 

Ryan Hunter-Reay #23

Nation of Origin: United States

Team: Dreyer & Reinbold Racing

Sponsor: Root Insurance

RHR is back! The 2012 IndyCar champion and 2014 Indy 500 winner is back in the seat with Dreyer & Reinbold. He retired from full-time competition in 2021, and has spent time as an analyst for TV—it’s nice to see him return to the driver’s seat. He’s won 16 races in his career, 8 of which came on an oval. Hunter-Reay is experienced, steady, and consistent. He will be a factor at the end of this year’s race.

 

Romain Grosjean #28

Nation of Origin: Switzerland

Team: Andretti Autosport

Sponsor: DHL

From the former driver of the #28 DHL machine to the current, Grosjean has found plenty of speed this season. What he hasn’t found, however, are the finishes. Grosjean has been competitive in every race this season. If not for 2 crashes late in the opening 2 rounds of the season, he would likely be the points leader. Last year, he crashed out of his debut in the race, but ran strong beforehand. Grosjean’s following is strong– he ran 179 races in F1 with 10 podium finishes– and he’s considered one of the most popular drivers in the garage. The cheers will be loud on Sunday, but can he make it to the front from a midpack starting spot? We shall see

 

Helio Castroneves #06

Nation of Origin: Brazil

Team: Meyer Shank Racing

Sponsor: AutoNation/SiriusXM

Helio is an Indy 500 legend. In 2021, he won his record-tying 4th Indy 500, all while running just a part time schedule that year. Now, he’s back in the seat full time, and will be vying for a 5th Indy 500 crown on Sunday. He’s with the same team, Meyer Shank Racing, that he won with in 2021; they’ve struggled to find speed at other tracks, but perhaps the fan-favorite Castroneves can work his magic one more time at the yard of bricks. 

 

Colton Herta #26

Nation of Origin: United States

Team: Andretti Autosport

Sponsor: Gainbridge

Colton Herta’s 2022 season at Indianapolis had the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. High: a dominant Indy GP win in wet conditions, featuring the greatest save in motorsports history. Seriously. Look it up. Low: a crash and flip on Carb Day, 48 hours before the green flag of the 106th Indy 500. Herta was unscathed, but his fast Honda machine was not after a long slide on its aeroscreen down the backstretch of the speedway. On raceday, the backup car was slow, and eventually retired due to mechanical failure. Herta has all the talent in the world, Formula 1 aspirations, and a powerful race team and manufacturer behind him. Could 2023 be the year that he shakes off the inconsistencies and bad luck and delivers a fantastic 500 result? It has to happen eventually.

 

Simon Pagenaud #60

Nation of Origin: France

Team: Meyer Shank Racing

Sponsor: AutoNation/SiriusXM

A few small things have happened in the 4 years since Pagenaud was the one drinking the milk in victory lane in 2019. Since then, Pagenaud’s career has gone differently than he may have expected. Now, the 15-time IndyCar winner and 2016 champion is partnered with longtime Penske teammate Helio Castroneves…at a team not called Penske. The veteran pairing bring a lot of experience to the garage, and Pagenaud has a solid chance to 

 

David Malukas #18

Nation of Origin: United States

Team: Dale Coyne Racing with HMD

Sponsor: HMD Trucking

After Texas, Malukas became “Little Dave”, a moniker advanced by the NBC TV booth during the race. His performance there was anything but little- a top 5 on one of the toughest ovals in the series. Malukas has embraced the nickname while also proving his worth with some strong finishes to start the season. He qualified deep in the field, but don’t be surprised to see him make an underdog run towards the front

 

Marco Andretti #98

Nation of Origin: United States

Team: Andretti Autosport

Sponsor: KULR/Curb

The son of racing royalty has done everything at Indianapolis except win. He finished second in his rookie race at the speedway, the 2006 Indy 500, won the pole in 2020, and has 8 career top 10 finishes in 17 races. Marco is always a factor in the Indy 500, even when it’s his only race of the year (like this year). Starting in 24th place, he will have a tall hill to climb; it's nothing he hasn’t done before.

 

Devlin DeFrancesco #29

Nation of Origin: Canada

Team: Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport

Sponsor: Sodexo

Defrancesco is the lone Canadien in this year’s race. The young driver is in the midst of his sophomore season after a trying rookie year. In his Indy 500 debut last year, he finished 20th, a very respectable result. DeFrancesco has consistently been solid on ovals in the early stages of his career, and can be expected to return another clean run on Sunday.

 

Augustin Canapino #78

Nation of Origin: Argentina

Team: Juncos Hollinger Racing

Sponsor: Juncos Hollinger Racing

Canapino is sporting a livery supporting the Argentinian National Football Team this year, as the driver makes his inaugural Indy 500 start. Last week, things did not look promising for him (or teammate Callum Ilott, but the team pulled out some upgrades as practice went on. He’s still starting far back, and is very new to ovals, but the energetic driver with legions of national fans will certainly make his mark this weekend. 

 

Callum Ilott #77

Nation of Origin: England

Team: Juncos Hollinger Racing

Sponsor: Juncos Hollinger Racing

Ilott started the season strong; as of late, he’s ran into some bumps in the road. Regardless, the Englishman is steadily improving as he works his second full season. Like Canapino, he was off the pace in early practice sessions, and even looked to be in danger of getting bumped. He and the team pulled through and, while still starting towards the rear, the car is fast enough to give him a chance at a good finish. 

 

RC Enerson #50

Nation of Origin: United States

Team: Abel Motorsports

Sponsor: Abel Motorsports

Enerson is making his Indy 500 debut, and his first IndyCar start since 2021, for the family-run Abel Motorsports. The consensus 34th entry, the team was considered most likely to be bumped from the field. Instead, not only did Enerson make the race, but he made the top 30 and thus avoided the extra Bump Day qualifying session. Enerson and the team have already surpassed expectations this month; on Sunday, they’ll be capable of even more. 

 

Katherine Legge #44

Nation of Origin: England

Team: Rahal Letterman Lanigan

Sponsor: Hendrickson

This isn’t Legge’s first rodeo or, rather, Indy 500. But it is her first in a decade. Despite that, she showed no rust by being the highest qualifying and most consistent RLL Honda, and was the only Rahal machine to avoid the Last Chance Shootout on Bump Day. Legge is the only female driver in the field, but she has impressed in her return from a decade-long hiatus and will continue to do so on race day. 

 

Christian Lundgaard #45

Nation of Origin: Denmark

Team: Rahal Letterman Lanigan

Sponsor: Hy-Vee

Lundgaard is one of the sport’s young rising stars. He scored a podium in his rookie season, and a pole in the series’ most recent race at the Indy GP two weeks ago. He currently sits 9th in the points standings with a strong average finish. But, as with all the RLL cars, he barely made the field and qualified in the 30th. Lundgaard’s talent is undeniable; he will need every ounce of it to wheel a struggling team to a competitive race. 

 

Sting Ray Robb #51

Nation of Origin: United States

Team: Dale Coyne Racing with RWR

Sponsor: biohaven

First off, that’s his real name. And yes, it’s the best name in racing. Robb has struggled to find his footing in his rookie year, as he’s only finished 1 race out of 5. Indy will need to be a get-right race for him and his #51 team as he starts 31st. He’s got the ability, and has won before in Indy NXT and USF2000– now, he has an opportunity to show it. 

 

Jack Harvey #30

Nation of Origin: England

Team: Rahal Letterman Lanigan

Sponsor: PeopleReady

Harvey had the unenviable challenge of racing his boss– Graham Rahal– for the final spot in the race. Harvey won out by 0.007 seconds, making the field as the final entry for the 2023 Indianapolis 500. He’s ran 6 prior 500s, and his best career finish in the race is 9th, which came in 2020.

 

Graham Rahal #24

Nation of Origin: United States

Team: Dreyer & Reinbold Racing

Sponsor: DRR Cusick CareKeepers

The previous paragraph said that Graham Rahal got bumped out of the Indy 500. And he was. But Stefan Wilson and Katherine Legge crashed during Monday’s practice, and Wilson suffered an injury that will prevent him from running the race. Rahal, having run hours of practice during the month, was the best option for the part-time Chevrolet operation, despite him and RLL’s Honda ties. With a new lease on life, and an injured friend to race for, Rahal could be a threat in his 16th Indy 500 start. 

 

The 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500 will be on Sunday, May 28th at Noon EST on NBC

33 drivers will take the green on Sunday in the 107th running of the Indy 500. Graham Rahal will not be one of them.

Rahal, veteran of 15 starts in the Greatest Spectacle of Racing, missed the cut by 0.007 miles per hour to teammate Jack Harvey after a frustrating week for Rahal-Letterman-Lanigan, Rahal’s IndyCar team. 3 out of the 4 RLL cars were involved in Sunday’s Last Chance Shootout (part-time entry Katherine Legge qualified inside the top 30 on Saturday and locked herself into the field). Rahal appeared safe as the clock wound down for the session, but Harvey went out for one more last ditch run despite not having cooled down his engine enough to get a solid run in.

Harvey’s first laps were trending towards him missing the show, but a strong third lap put him back on track. The fourth lap was just enough; Harvey was in the race for the seventh time in his career, and Rahal was going home. 

“We had done two attempts,” Harvey said. “Neither of them seemed to be enough to get it done, and actually on the final one, I said to the guys, do you even think we can do this. The car is hot, engine is hot, and they said, yeah, you've got to try; it's the Indy 500. In that moment I just tried to forget about everything else for a moment.”

Harvey is not only teammates of Rahal’s, but close friends as well. Early in the day, they discussed the possibility of one bumping the other out. Afterwards, they talked about the result.

“I said to Graham, ‘I'm sorry, I'm not sorry,” Harvey explained. “What do you say to someone in that moment? I want to be in the race. I want to be in the 107th running of the Indy 500. I want to do it for me, for my family, my friends. I want to do it for the mechanics on the team, for everybody on the team, for all of the sponsors that we have on the No. 30 car, especially for people ready this weekend. I hate what it means for the 15 car and for Graham and all his crew because at the end of the day we are one united effort, and we know there's a lot of work ahead, but I just said to him, ‘I just wanted to do the best four laps I could. I'm sorry it's bumped you out.”

Taking up the final row of the grid is Christian Lundgaard, also of RLL, rookie Sting Ray Robb, and Harvey. The fourth RLL car, driven by Katherine Legge, will start in 30th place.

On the opposite end of the grid, 2021 IndyCar champion Alex Palou won the poll after an electrifying Fast Six shootout. He beat Rinus VeeKay’s speed of 234.211 MPH by 6 thousandths of a second and grabbed the top spot with a speed of 234.217 MPH. Palou is off to a hot start in 2022 and is coming off a win at the Indy GP.

“Yeah, it's been amazing for the 10 car, honestly,” Palou said after winning the pole. “We knew we had a fast car since the beginning. We had to take advantage of that. Yeah, enjoying my time here. Last year, as I said, we were really close, learned how we could go be more aggressive if we were in that position again, and lucky if we were in that position again today, we took it.”

Palou’s best finish in the 500 came in 2021 when he finished second to Helio Castroneves. 

Felix Rosenqvist will start third. Row 2 will have Santino Ferrucci, Pato O’Ward, and Scott Dixon. Row 3 will feature Alexander Rossi, Takuma Sato, and Tony Kanaan, making his final IndyCar start. 

Sunday’s 107th running of the Indianapolis 500 will start at Noon ES

Spring is in full swing as we rush into summer, but the year warming up isn’t the only thing getting up to speed in Indianapolis. All 34 entries for the 107th Indy 500 descended upon the speedway Wednesday morning to begin the hectic push of preparation for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing in 10 days’ time. Wednesday was the first of many practices for the prospective Indy 500 field in the lead up to the race on Memorial Day weekend; some prospects rose, and others plummeted. 

Stock Up:

Chip Ganassi Racing: Takuma Sato and Scott Dixon topped the board as the only drivers to reach an excess of 229 MPH in Wednesday’s session. Both cars were fast and their teammates were not far behind. Alex Palou placed 4th in the session; Marcus Ericsson, last year’s winner, finished 7th in time. To have all 4 cars from the same organization post top 7 times is an impressive achievement, and Ganassi enters Thursday with a chance to cement themselves as the clear-cut favorite for qualifying this weekend.

Santino Ferrucci: A Foyt car in the top 3 on speed? Impressive. Ferrucci has a penchant for strong runs in underperforming cars, and he has never finished outside of the top 10 in 4 starts in the Indy 500. The American driver posted a speed of 228.977 MPH- just a hair away from 229- and was the fastest Chevy in the session. Also worth noting is that teammate Benjamin Pedersen was the fastest rookie in the session, placing 21st with a speed of 225.48 MPH. Foyt has clearly brought some stout cars to Indy this year; Ferrucci and Pedersen will look to keep those heads turned as we race towards qualifying on Saturday.

Team Penske: While not as strong a session as Ganassi had, Penske left Wednesday looking solid on speed and performance. Scott McLaughlin was 5th, Josef Newgarden was 9th, and Will Power was 12th on speed. For a team that’s best finish in this race last year was 13th (Newgarden), a strong running on Wednesday gives optimism for a stronger run this year. 

Stock Down:

Juncos-Hollinger Racing: A car will be bumped this year. 34 entries, 33 spots. And after Wednesday’s practice? Callum Ilott is in danger of missing the field. The entire Juncos organization was woefully off on speed, but Ilott especially struggled to post a competitive time. The team spent the entire day in last on the chart, Ilott at one point being 5 MPH behind the next closest car (his teammate, Augustin Canapino). Canapino was able to jump up to 22nd towards the end of the day, salvaging an equally rough session for him, but Ilott was unable to climb out of the 34th place spot on the speed chart. The struggles were a carry-over from the April practice, but they were able to improve throughout the day. However, the concerns persist. There are a few more sessions before qualifying, and the team can improve their prospects, but if not? We may see a full-time entry going home this weekend. 

McLaren: TV commented, multiple times, that the orange team has the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th place drivers from last year’s Indy 500. All that is fine and dandy, but to repeat those results you need a fast car. A fast car the McLaren was not on Wednesday, as they could only muster the 19th best speed as their fastest car in the session (Alexander Rossi). We may be early in the Indy 500 preparations, but to see a powerhouse organization like McLaren- with 2 former 500 winners on its roster to boot- struggle heavily to find speed at a track that has become one of their strengths is concerning. Thursday will show whether Wednesday was a fluke or not, but the eyes are on those beautiful throwback rides to see some improvement as we inch towards qualifying this weekend. 

Andretti Autosport: It’s a mixed bag for Andretti leaving Wednesday; reach a hand in and you may pull out Colton Herta, who ended the session in 6th place and looked strong all day. Reach a hand in again, however, and you’ll pull out Romain Grosjean, who finished a measly 30th in the session and was among the worst, especially for those who drive for a consensus top team like Andretti, Ganassi, Penske, and the like. Teammate Devlin DeFrancesco was just one spot better, and Kyle Kirkwood was in 25th. Marco Andretti, returning to the Speedway once more, was tenth, but even he seemed dissatisfied with the car following his runs. Andretti has had the speed, albeit not the results, early in the 2023 season; Thursday will show if they can regain the speed after a frustrating Wednesday practice.

Up Next:

Thursday will see another 6 hour session for all teams from 12-6 PM. It can be viewed on Peacock and listened to on SiriusXM channel 160. 

Kyle Kirkwood did not have a good rookie season in 2022. Driving for the oft-maligned A.J. Foyt Enterprises, he failed to finish 7 races and finished nearly dead last in points. Yet, when Alexander Rossi left IndyCar superpower Andretti Autosport in the offseason and vacated the iconic no. 27 Honda, Kirkwood was tabbed as the replacement. Some questioned the move. But on Sunday, Kirkwood proved the doubters wrong with a dominant win at the historic Grand Prix of Long Island.

Kirkwood put in a blistering lap during Saturday’s qualifying session, besting Marcus Ericsson and teammate Romain Grosjean for pole position. Starting out front on Sunday afternoon, he bolted out to an early lead before a lap 1 caution for Helio Castroneves bunched the field back up. Following the resumption of the race, he continued to lead comfortably.

Pato O’Ward, racing Scott Dixon for 6th, made an extremely late lunge inside of Dixon that resulted in side-by-side contact. Dixon was sent into the tire barriers, and was not pleased with the move when asked later. He was able to continue with damage, but eventually retired from the race from a mechanical failure. On the restart from the caution, O’Ward attempted a similar move on Kyle Kirkwood, but instead spun himself out, which he never recovered from and finished 17th. The ensuing chaos gave Josef Newgarden the lead, with Grosjean and Kirkwood in tow. Newgarden led the next 27 laps while Kirkwood, who quickly maneuvered around his Andretti teammate, gave chase. Kirkwood was able to easily follow Newgarden, and maintained his stuff while keeping Newgarden close.

When Newgarden made his final pitstop with 33 laps remaining, Kirkwood was able to stay out an extra 2 laps and build a gap on Newgarden by taking advantage of a clean racetrack in front of him. Kirkwood regained the lead once the pit sequence cycled through the field, and held off a hard-charging Grosjean in the final laps to secure his first career win. He led a total of 53 laps and had the fastest car; Andretti overall brought home a fantastic day with his cars finishing 1-2-4 (Devlin DeFrancesco, the Andretti-Steinbrenner entry, finished 16th.) Kirkwood’s previous best finish was 10th at Long Beach last year. Now, he’s an IndyCar winner.

“[It was] a little bit nerve-wracking there at the end to be honest because we thought we had a fuel number we needed to hit, all of a sudden it changed for about a lap,” Kirkwood said of the final laps and his first win. “I knew Romain had a ton of push to pass left. I don't know how much he saved fuel, how much he could use. It was a little bit scary. It was a little bit of a scary moment. But once I crossed the finish line, I was so happy, so happy for myself, so happy for the team, so happy for Michael, everyone that works so hard to make this happen. It's not just me, it's the entire group that works all year long. They work a lot harder than me if I'm being honest. To have my first win at Long Beach is something that's incredible. I know I'm going to cherish this moment and this day for the rest of my life.”

Romain Grosjean finished in second, his first podium (and his first race finished of the season after 2 DNFS). Following a rough start to the season for the entire team, he was content with securing the 1-2 for Andretti.

“I did not even want to try to go for the win today,” he said in his post race press conference. “It would have been taking too much risk. Kyle drove a brilliant weekend. He had the best strategy out there, but he was on pole. He was fast. He didn't make any mistake. He drove well. He deserved the race. For me, it was more like after the two first races, Marcus mentioned he won St. Pete, kind of was mine, but it's okay, I give it to you. You got it anyway. I think we're strong everywhere. Today the race car wasn't the best ever. I think we're going to learn a few things and move forward. Generally we have a very fast car. Two weeks ago in Texas Motor Speedway, also showed I could do ovals.”

Grosjean can carry today’s result forward and build momentum for Barber in 2 weeks.

Ericsson is once again the NTT IndyCar Series points leader after his third place finish at Long Beach. His result, coupled with his win at St. Pete and a top 10 at Texas, gives him an excellent start to the 2023 championship hunt.

“It gives a lot of confidence,” Ericsson said. “I think we've been really strong. Last year already, we were fighting for the championship and leading the championship for a long time. Was disappointed to miss out on that. But I used that as motivation this winter to work hard on myself and my team. I think we've come out even stronger this year. Winning in St. Pete showed that. We had a good weekend on a bad weekend in Texas, quite a good result. Here again this weekend, we had tremendous speed. We're definitely in the fight. Leading the championship feels good, but it's a long way to go. We need to keep focused and keep working hard.”

Colton Herta and Alex Palou claimed the final two spots of the top 5, while Will Power, Felix Rosenqvist, Marcus Armstrong, Josef Newgarden, and Scott McLaughlin closed out the top 10.

As for the points standings, Marcus Ericsson is back out front of the field, with Pato O’Ward in second. Alex Palou and Josef Newgarden sit in third and fourth, respectively. Kirkwood’s win vaulted him from 20th to fifth. 

A driver’s first win only comes once. And for Kirkwood it proves, not only to his competitors and critics but more importantly to himself, that he is capable of winning at the top level of American open-wheel racing.

“It's really just a moment of calmness for me. I've had almost like built-up anxiety that I haven't been able to do as well as I know I can do. The fact that I've actually been able to do it today, it's like okay, level off, calm down, now I'm going to be able to focus on getting wins now that I have my first one…”

Marcus Ericsson was not the fastest car in Sunday’s season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. He wasn’t the second fastest either, and may not have even been the third. But, in a form that is quickly becoming an Ericsson specialty, he kept the car clean, and found himself in victory lane after 3 hours of chaotic racing around the streets of St. Petersburg. Ericsson only led 4 laps– the last 4– on the way to his fourth career IndyCar victory, yet he was there when it mattered.

Ericsson was asked post race if he’s noticed that most of his wins have come during dramatic, chaos-filled events. His response? “It's my thing, apparently.”

“All those races are very high intensity races,” Ericsson said. “It's not sort of straightforward races. There's a lot of things happening. You need to be ready to adjust your strategy, pit stops, restarts. There's a lot of things going on, and we seem to be very good at that. That's definitely one of our strengths. Not saying we cannot win without the red flag, but it's definitely been working for us.”

Sunday’s chaos was hinted at on Friday and Saturday when multiple drivers experienced issues during practice and qualifying preparing for the main event. Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden each had to sit through multiple toe link repairs before qualifying began on Saturday, and eventual pole sitter Romain Grosjean crashed by himself during Friday practice. The track proved to be tough on drivers throughout the weekend.

At the drop of the green flag, polesitter Romain Grosjean got away cleanly, as did his teammate and outside pole position driver Colton Herta. At the back half of the top 10, however, the race was immediately marked with a dramatic crash on lap 1.

Scott Dixon made contact with Felix Rosenqvist, which sent the Swedish driver into the wall. The field behind Rosenqvist checked up to avoid the slow-moving McLaren, and the resulting accordion effect saw Helio Castroneves get spun in front of the field exiting the turn. Multiple cars crashed in a 5-car pileup, which only got worse. Benjamin Pedersen, who was further behind the field, rounded the corner and was at near full speed when he encountered the wreck. The AJ Foyt Enterprises driver slammed into a stationary Devlin DeFrancesco, launching the no. 29 Andretti Autosport Honda into the air. The scary wreck resulted in a 20 minute red flag to clean up. Also involved were Santino Ferrucci, Simon Pagenaud, and Sting Ray Robb.

After the red flag was lifted, the drivers settled into the first long run of the day. Grosjean and teammate Colton Herta, both on the softer alternate tires for the first stint, built a big lead on third place Pato O’Ward. Herta used up his tires early and slipped back while Grosjean continued to expand his lead. The first pit cycle opened up on lap 28, with Herta being the first taker of fresh Primary tires, followed by leaders Grosjean and O’Ward 5 laps later. Scott McLaughlin took over the lead of the race, and maintained it over Grosjean when the no. 3 Penske crew executed a flawless pitstop to keep him out front of the former F1 veteran Grosjean. One lap later, Conor Daly spun with help from Kyle Kirkwood, bringing out the second yellow.

The cliche goes that cautions breed cautions. There is a reason it’s always repeated because it does often ring true. On the restart from the previous caution, Rinus VeeKay went too deep into a corner and cooked it into the tire barriers, making contact with Jack Harvey in the process. Kyle Kirkwood had nowhere to go, and launched over Harvey, completely clearing Harvey’s machine before crashing back to earth. It was the second liftoff at the converted runway/street course of the afternoon, after Devlin Defrancesco left the pavement briefly on lap 1. Miraculously, Kirkwood’s day was not done, though he was uncompetitive and finished 3 laps down in 15th place. Jack Harvey had a hard time getting out of his wrecked race car and was taken to the hospital out of an abundance caution; as of this writing, he’s been cleared and released. 

The cautions were not done yet. On the following restart, Will Power sent it on Colton Herta, made contact, and Herta went into the tire barriers. For the reckless move, Power was penalized and sent to the rear of the field; on the flip, the damage to his Gainbridge Honda sent Herta to the garage, done for the day. Calamity had struck 3 of the 4 Andretti Autosport Hondas during the afternoon, and more was on the way

The race finally settled back down long enough for a green flag run to develop. Scott McLaughlin led, but Romain Grosjean remained glued to his rear wing. Never dropping further back than a second, Grosjean kept up with McLaughlin despite having the slower primary tire compared to McLaughlin’s alternates. Grosjean seemed faster, and McLaughlin’s team was worried that if they pitted before Grosjean, the Frenchman would pass the Team Penske driver by virtue of having clean air. McLaughlin pushed it on the tire stint, forcing Grosjean to pit first on lap 71. McLaughlin followed on lap later, and the two converged at nearly the same exact spot on the track when McLaughlin emerged from the pits. Grosjean had warm tires, and flew to the outside, knowing that he had to act quickly to move in front of McLaughlin. McLaughlin fought back on the inside as the two cars screamed towards the right-handed Turn 4, and drove in deep. Grosjean gave room, but McLaughlin trusted his cold tires too much– the back end stepped out, and he slid into Grosjean’s Honda, putting both cars in the tires. Three times Grosjean has been the bridesmaid in his short IndyCar career; on an afternoon that looked like his first career win was likely, he went home with a crushed-up race car instead. McLaughlin suffered less damage, but incurred a penalty for the reckless move and finished a lap down in 13th. Both drivers were visibly frustrated post race (both with McLaughlin, ironically, as he even blamed himself for the move).

Pato O’Ward assumed the lead following the stunning development between Grosjean and McLaughlin, followed by Marcus Ericsson and Scott Dixon. O’Ward took off, and gapped Ericsson on the restart. Ericsson slowly chipped away at his lead, with Dixon in tow, and O’Ward’s lead was down to 7 tenths of a second with 10 laps to go. Another caution seemed to be a possibility with 6 laps left when Josef Newgarden’s Chevy caught fire, but he nursed the wounded machine back to the pits without causing an issue. Ericsson continued to hound O’Ward, but the Mexican McLaren driver proved adept at keeping last year’s Indy 500 winner behind him. Ericsson needed a daring move or a stroke of luck to get around O’Ward; the daring move may have happened soon had the latter not occurred with 4 laps to go. On the exit of Turn 14, O’Ward’s Chevrolet experienced a random plenum backfire– a rare occurrence that momentarily shuts the engine off– and Ericsson darted around him to take the lead. O’Ward regained power immediately and did not lose any more positions, cruising home in very disappointing second place. 

“Yeah, we did everything right today,” said a frustrated O’Ward during his post race press conference. “I've got to give it to the teams. Arrow Electronics and everybody, not just our 5 car, but Felix, Alex, their groups, as well. I feel like we've all really collaborated fantastically and come with a package that has been a massive step up to where we were last year, so that's super promising. Super happy with that. Didn't really move much; we rolled off the truck strong, which is what we wanted to do…. I don't know what else to tell you. It's very unfortunate….It makes me proud of -- we arrived here, people knew we were here. We were fighting for the win. That was ours to take, and it was just very -- I wouldn't say heartbreaking, but I would say just very -- it was very generic. I was trying to find a more fancy word. Frazzled. I learned that maybe it's not the right thing. I learned it in school. But no, just slightly annoying.”

Savvy veteran Scott Dixon rounded out the podium by finishing third. Alexander Rossi came in fourth in his McLaren debut, and Callum Ilott turned in a very impressive fifth place finish for Juncos-Hollinger. Graham Rahal improved 14 spots from his starting spot to finish sixth, Will Power recovered from a penalty to place seventh, and Alex Palou slid back from the top 5 during the last run to the eighth finishing spot. Youngsters Christian Lundgaard and David Malukas closed out the top ten in ninth and tenth, respectively.

On the rookie front, Marcus Armstrong paced the 2023 class by finishing an impressive 11th in his IndyCar debut. Even more impressive is the fact that he achieved that result despite an unscheduled pit stop resulting from a flat tire. Augustin Canapino finished 12th, Sting Ray Robb finished 16th despite suffering heavy damage in the lap 1 wreck, and Benjamin Pedersen finished last in 27th. 

Back to Ericsson. The 32-year-old Swede now has 4 career wins and an early points lead in 2023. The driver of the no. 8 Huski Chocolate Honda for Chip Ganassi is extremely optimistic for this season.

“I think we're going to be good on all types of tracks,” he said. “That's the goal, of course. Yeah, it's been a promising start for us, and we need to keep working hard because we cannot just relax and say everything is fixed. This was one weekend. We need to make sure we continue this trend for the rest of the year, as well.”

Ericsson may not have come to IndyCar by a traditional path. He’s not flashy, and has a penchant for unexpected wins. But there is no doubt what his goals are, and what he thinks he is capable of. 

“I'm here to win. I want to win a championship. I want to win another 500. That's our goals, and what other people say doesn't really matter. But I think we've proven last year and the year before that we can be up front and run, fighting for a championship. We just need to keep doing that, and what people say, I don't really mind too much.”