Season-Opener Runner-Ups P2 Power & P3 Dixon Happy, But Not Surprised At Two-Stop Strategy

Podium race winners hold "The Chase" sculptured trophies above their heads during the "hat dance' - this with their engine manufacturers emblem on the front. Image Credit: Chris Owens via NICS (2021)

Season-Opener Runner-Ups P2 Power & P3 Dixon Happy, But Not Surprised At Two-Stop Strategy

Will Power and Scott Dixon were the head of the class of previous winners in the NTTINDYCAR SERIES in the season opener held at Barber Motorsports Park for the first time in the Honda Grand Prix of Alabama. They, however, were bested by a non-previous winner in second-year competitor Alex Palou who went off and hid during the first stint with an absolute wicked pace.

Other previous winners in the top 15 were outnumbered by non-winners largely because the rookie class for 2021 did well to finish this high in a field of 24 drivers. 

At the beginning of the race, 8 non-winners out numbered the winners (7) on Lap 89 of 90 Laps - the 7 drivers in the Winners Club, besides Will Power - Team Penske (2018 Indianapolis 500 winner and 2014 NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion - 39 Wins), and P2, Scott Dixon - Chip Ganassi Racing (2008 Indianapolis 500 winner and Six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion - 50 Wins), include ...

P5, Sebastien Bourdais - A.J. Foyt Enterprises (only INDYCAR driver to win four consecutive championships - 2004-2007 in Champ Car - and ranks sixth on Indy car career victory list with 37 wins).

P7, Graham Rahal - Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (six-time INDYCAR race winner who has won five times since 2015). 

P9, Alexander Rossi - Andretti Autosport (Seven-time Indy car race winner, won the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 in 2016, the first rookie to win the 500 since 2001 and the first American rookie to win at Indianapolis since 1928). 

P12, Simon Pagenaud - Team Penske (thirteen-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES race winner, including the 103rd Running of the Indianapolis 500 in 2019).

P13, Takuma Sato - Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (six-time INDYCAR race winner which includes being a two-time INDY 500 winner, 2017 & 2020}. 

To the bragging rights to all of the winners in the field, this all flipped when Alex Palou went from non-winner to Winner's Club when passing the Start/Finish Line at the end of Lap 90. 

NTT IndyCar Series News Conference 

Sunday, April 18, 2021 - Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Will Power - Team Penske No. 12 Chevrolet

Scott Dixon - Chip Ganassi Racing No. 9 Honda

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by our second and third-place finishers today, Will Power from the No. 12 Team Penske Verizon, and No. 9 Scott Dixon from Chip Ganassi Racing who drives the PNC Bank car.

Thanks for joining us. We'll start with Will. I know you had a lot of momentum going out of last season and you wanted to get off to a good start. Go ahead and talk about your day for us, please.

WILL POWER: Yeah, obviously went from a three stopper to a two stopper with all those yellows at the beginning, which I didn't mind. I know we're very good at getting fuel and lap time, but Alex pulled away extremely fast.

I was surprised. I actually thought he was on a three stopper. But I think he had a very good middle stint saving fuel, and we came out close to him.

I still had to save a bit of fuel at the end there, so in the last few laps I could use Push-to-Pass. Made a little mistake which made the gap not possible to close.

Very happy with the day, though. Really, really just wanted a solid start to the season, and that's what we got here so far.

THE MODERATOR: Scott, obviously a wonderful podium finish for you and a great day for Chip Ganassi Racing with Alex Palou getting his first win. Go ahead and tell us about your day, as well.

SCOTT DIXON: Yeah, it was definitely a huge day for the team. So good to see the 10 not just back on the podium but winning a race. It's been a lot of fun in the off-season. I think Alex has done a tremendous job. I think we had good pace.

It was just very tough once you were kind of in traffic and we even felt that once Will and I caught some lap traffic I think that middle stint we could have extended by probably another three laps, but because we caught that I think we just had to pit anyway to try and cover the 8 that was maybe trying to short pit us and jump on that situation.

Yeah, just, I don't know, it was kind of a bit of a blah day for us. We kind of sat there, tried to make some moments on the 12 car and with Will, but we just couldn't get close enough to pull it off and the speeds were so similar.

So congrats to everybody on the podium, and it's great to be back in Alabama. It was great to be back on the podium for us. Hopefully we can move up a couple spots come next weekend.

Q. Scott, I guess you've tested with Alex so you have a little bit of an idea what he's got; but Will, how familiar are you with Alex, and did you guys see or know that he had a win in him?

WILL POWER: Yeah. Yeah, I did, from last year, some of the pace he had at times and what he'd done in his previous series that he raced in. He was very, very good, a champion. It's not really a big surprise. It actually makes Ganassi a much stronger team because they've got two guys now that can win races (indiscernible).

Q. I know you've tested with Alex; were you expecting him to win so soon?

SCOTT DIXON: You know, it's hard to judge that, I think, just for the sheer fact that there's so many great teams, especially when you get to the first few races, it's hard to solidly know.

But yeah, his speed has been really good in preseason testing. We like a lot of similar things, the three of us, so it was good to see three CGR cars in the Fast Six. I'm not sure that's ever happened for us, so that was really good for us.

But last year, I think, as Will commented, even his podium at Elkhart was a pretty big effort coming through the field and what he did there and some of the speeds you saw with the team in his first season and last season for any kind of rookie was very tough. You hardly got any kind of track time.

Yeah, he turned up strong and it was the first one of the season. You can't start a season any better than that, and just feel real happy for him and the 10 car team, and it's definitely going to be a hell of a fight.

Q. I'm also curious, Jimmie yesterday tweeted he wasn't last in qualifying and he seemed really happy today after his race. Are these things that are small victories? They don't seem like victories, but are they?

SCOTT DIXON: Yeah, absolutely. Again, I couldn't think of anything more difficult than what he's trying to accomplish. So I think some people said, Oh, you know, wait for judging anything until midway through the season, but I think you've got to wait until next season. I hope and I think the deal goes through next year.

But you know, as we see from my rookies, even from Alex last year, he didn't get a win. It takes time to progress, and once you get some laps, and even this year with limited schedules that we have on track time and tires, it just becomes very hard.

You want to push, but then you also don't want to crash the car. So it's a very fine balance.

I don't know, I think he finished in 18th or 19th. I saw he had a spin there. Without the spin I think he would have been a lot better off. You know, he beat five or six cars; that's awesome.

Q. Alex seems to be so upbeat and so positive in addition to being fast. What is it really like working with him, because talking to him the other day and talking to him all last season, he just always seems to be very positive and upbeat.

SCOTT DIXON: Yeah, he's actually one of those really nice guys. There has to be some underlying thing going on there somewhere. None of us have found it yet, but no, he's a really nice person. His family -- I've met his dad a few times now. Everyone is just super nice.

It's great to see somebody that's easy to work with. Some drivers that we all get to work with can be somewhat difficult, but he also is extremely willing and wanting to learn, asks a lot of questions, sends a lot of text messages to try and just do a better job.

He's been a real pleasure to work with through these times, the same with Marcus throughout the season, obviously Jimmie, as well. Yeah, he's just a super nice person.

Q. Do you think it helped him a little bit that there was so much attention placed on the other guy that's the newcomer to the team, that he was able to just go about and do what he was supposed to do, to go out there with the 10 car and have a good season?

SCOTT DIXON: Yeah, maybe. But I think Alex is more of a kind of an under-the-radar type of person anyway. He's not very in your face or anything like that. You know, he definitely has a pretty relaxed personality, and then I think just wants the results to speak for themselves. Jimmie has been working hard, harder than all of us, I think, and that's a different dynamic all on its own, and maybe that does take a little bit of pressure off.

I also think when it's a four car team as opposed to a two car team that takes a little bit of pressure off, as well.

Q. For Will, to save your Push-to-Pass for the end of the race, how were you able to do that, and how realistic -- if you had been able to close the gap a little bit on Alex, how difficult would it have been to pass him?

WILL POWER: Yeah, it's pretty tough once you get close to them to pass. He would have had to have made a mistake or got caught behind someone slow that made a mistake.

I had saved enough fuel to use Push-to-Pass for the last two laps, then I made a mistake in Turn 9 and that opened the gap up too much. I closed right up to him at the end.

Obviously it's the last lap and he's not going to take any risks, but yeah, he was solid all day. It's very, very tough to even -- when he was pushing, it was so tough to close the gap. Yeah, I was happy just to have a good start to the year. Obviously it's only race one, but you know, obviously a win is always great. But compared to the way we started last season, this is nice.

Q. I wanted to ask how difficult it was to look after your red tires in that first stint and whether you think you would have had the same issues as O'Ward and Rossi appeared to have on the reds if you had gone after it and gone for a three-stop strategy.

WILL POWER: No, actually tires lasted the whole time for me. I could still pump out really fast laps at the end of the stint. They never went off. Reds never went off and the blacks never went off. They were just good. Yeah, I'm not sure if anyone else had issues, but that's how it felt to me.

SCOTT DIXON: Yeah, I thought the reds were really good. I spoke to Pato briefly, and he said like they were just trying to cover the 27, so I don't think they were planning on doing that, and I don't think their degradation was playing into -- they I guess just thought everybody was going to switch after that three-stop strategy.

But yeah, I concur with Will that we had no real tire wear issues. We had some balance issues. It was definitely behind somebody or in traffic and maybe tire wear was up a little bit because of that. But yeah, tire wear was actually really good.

Q. I haven't checked the Firestone report yet, but did you struggle to get fresh blacks up to temp? Because that was another thing that Pato seemed to struggle on, as well, like it took ages for the fresh blacks to come in.

SCOTT DIXON: Mine, not too bad. I think kind of by lap 2, like your first out lap was a little tough on just trying to get rotation. Seems like the rears came in really quick for us just trying to get the car turned. But after the first kind of out lap and in your first time, they seemed to be pretty good.

I don't know what the other teams seemed to struggle with. We definitely caught the 10 car a lot I think on that last switchover or last pit stop sequence. So yeah, maybe some cars did struggle with that.

Q. Will, you touched on the start to the season and how you felt about that earlier, and I wanted to ask you a little bit more about that. Does this feel like kind of an emotional result for you? I know you're always looking for a win, but you've talked so much about needing that real strong start to the season. How are you kind of feeling sitting here now knowing that you've at least got that first race out of the way and scored a strong result?

WILL POWER: Yeah, it's just obviously satisfying to get a good start. Obviously it was a very calm day for me, and I'm calm about the season, to be honest. I've been around long enough to know how this ebbs and flows, and I think I've got a very good group of guys on my car this year.

I'm very happy with it. I think our stops are going to be really good all year. I think we've got the right combination to win another championship.

Yeah, just been calm, honestly, about the whole thing, and just trying to get the most out of every weekend and every situation we find ourselves in.

Q. Scott, nice to have another driver in the team who's capable of winning a race, and I guess you had that with Felix a little bit in the past, but it's probably been looking back to Dario the last time you had a regular winner in the team. Just wondered how you kind of interpret that because I guess for you, you want a strong teammate to help push the team forward and score points on a bad day, but at the same time Alex is taking points away from your championship today, so how do you kind of interpret that?

SCOTT DIXON: I think it's fantastic. At points we did have with that -- you know, with Felix and Marcus definitely had a strong start in qualifying. I don't know what happened with them later in the race, but he had a really strong actual second stint. He closed like an eight-second gap on Will and I, but looks like he maybe had fuel issues toward the end there.

Yeah, you know, I think it's great. It's kind of pushed the team forward, as you saw. I think, in qualifying to have three Ganassi cars in the Fast Six was a big day for us. Obviously we'd have wanted that to be one, two, three, but we were definitely a lot closer than we were in the past.

I think it will drive the team forward. It's great for team morale. It's great for the 10 car group. Obviously we expanded a lot in the off-season with additional INDYCAR, also the Xfinity and then the Cadillac program.

It's definitely been an interesting off-season, but this is huge for the team and hopefully that pumps everybody up.

Q. Scott, how much momentum does this give you guys as a team going forward to St. Pete but then also kind of further on in the season?

SCOTT DIXON: Yeah, I hope so. I know Alex is going to be pretty pumped, so I think that will pull the whole team along. I think even when you have a bit of a bad day in that situation, that's going to pump you up, as well, just because the team has done so well.

Obviously a very different circuit, very different tires. There's a lot of different things that go into it. We'll keep our head down, of course, for confidence and feeling good this is a huge weekend for us as a whole, but it doesn't guarantee you anything.

You've got to work hard and put in the effort, and hopefully all of our cars will be strong come next week.

Q. Just a quick word on Jimmie for next week. Obviously he was with you guys in St. Pete last year. How do you think he's going to perform on a street course for the first time?

SCOTT DIXON: It's definitely going to be an eye opener for Jimmie. He's spent a good amount of time on the (indiscernible)^ which is definitely going to help the transition somewhat.

But a lot of us, it's more of like a commitment level that you kind of have to step outside the bounds a little bit to get the tire to work and then to get the confidence again, and it kind of just rolls into something.

So if you're a bit timid, the car feels horrible and you never really get on top of it. You've got to be aggressive but confidently aggressive, and I think we've tried to do enough sort of prep work with Jimmie that will help him get into it.

Detroit will be definitely a lot more difficult I think just for the first street course because of the grip levels there. Hopefully it goes well, but I know he's definitely put in the time and effort.

But again, you just get such limited track time these days with a couple of sessions and then you're straight into qualifying, so hopefully it goes well for him.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Will, and good luck next week in St. Pete.

Q. I'm just going slightly off tangent for you, Scott. You'll understand it. We've got effectively five Kiwis now up in the States in the greater INDYCAR Series with three in the Road to Indy, and as you know, I'm a trustee of the Motor Sport Academy down here, and these guys are seeing you very much as the guy to emulate and be one day.

I just wonder how that makes you feel as a New Zealander knowing we're getting more and more Kiwis up to the States now? Those that can travel, of course.

SCOTT DIXON: Yeah, it's huge. I've been waiting 20 years to have a fellow Kiwi on the grid in INDYCAR, and that finally happened. Haven't seen how Scott did this afternoon, but he's done a tremendous job I think with fitting in and obviously with a great team.

But yeah, you know, I've caught up with Peter Vodanovich and then Hunter McElrea, and then I haven't seen I think it's Billy Frazer, I haven't seen him.

But been trying to keep up to speed on how they've done in races. I know they had a lot of bad luck this weekend with sort of mechanical issues. I think Hunter did a pretty good job.

Yeah, it's great. I think there's definitely a lot of talent in New Zealand. A lot of it sort of goes straight to Australia, whether it's Supercars or Porsche Cup or anything like that, but it's great to sort of see them tracking back to the American side and using the Road to Indy, which hopefully one day all three of those guys in those categories can make it to INDYCAR.

Q. It's important to come out of the box in good shape, isn't it?

SCOTT DIXON: Yeah, absolutely. It would have been if we had one, two, three for the team or one two three four. Obviously good stuff for the 10 car. St. Pete's will be interesting. Texas will be interesting. It was a track we didn't test at where I think the rest of the field did.

So it's a double-header, so could have a big swing potential in the points, but, yeah, I think the team is confident. I think we've covered a lot of areas I think in the off-season and tried to focus a little bit more, and the addition of Alex and Marcus sort of working on different parts of the program I think has really brought the team together, and we're definitely working well.

It's only one race, we'll just have to see how the next few go.

THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Scott, for joining us.

[ht: FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports]

... notes from The EDJE

FEATURED POSTING: Motorsports Journal - IndyCar

TAGS: NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, Chip Ganassi Racing, Alex Palou, Scott Dixon, Will Power, The EDJE

Welcome The Winner, Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou, Into The NTT INDYCAR SERIES Winner's Club

Spaniard sophomore racecar driver to the open-wheel NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Alex Palou, with driving suit dripping in sprayed champagne, celebrates in Barber Motorsports Park Victory Circle with photographers and, of course, the trophy. Image Credit: Chris Owens via NICS (2020)

Welcome The Winner, Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou, Into The NTT INDYCAR SERIES Winner's Club

There is only one club in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES that matters, at any time, and in any year, and that is the group of drivers that can be labelled as winners. Spaniard Alex Palou, in the first race of the 2021 Championship INDYCAR Season, won, for his first time, the first time season-opener held at Barber Motorsports Park ... the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.

Other drivers still looking for their first time win in this most competitive professional motorsports series include the much heralded crop of rookies in name only (RINOs) - Romain Grosjean - Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware, Scott McLaughlin - Team Penske, and Jimmie Johnson - Chip Ganassi Racing. Other notable names that pop up that ended up in this season debut race in the top 15 (in a 24 entrant field) include NTT P1 Pole Award winner Pato O'Ward - Arrow McLaren SP, Rinus Veekay - Ed Carpenter Racing, Marcus Ericsson - Chip Ganassi Racing, Jack Harvey - Meyer Shank Racing, & Ed Jones - Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan.

The strength of the drive and strategy proved to be too much for two other winners in the club - at P2, Will Power - Team Penske (2018 Indianapolis 500 winner and 2014 NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion - 39 Wins), and P2, Scott Dixon (2008 Indianapolis 500 winner and Six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion - 50 Wins). Not bad for a second year/sophomore series competitor.

NTT IndyCar Series News Conference

Sunday, April 18, 2021 - Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Alex Palou - Chip Ganassi Racing

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, we've been joined by our race winner, Alex Palou, driver of the No. 10 Segi TV for Chip Ganassi Racing. New team, new sponsor, Alex, and your first career win. Go ahead and tell us how exciting your day was.

ALEX PALOU: Hey, everybody. I didn't know what to say. It was an amazing weekend. It was a really exciting race, really exciting qualifying. So yeah, I don't know what to say to be honest. Like I'm super, super proud of the team. The team did an amazing job, as you could see on qualifying.

We had three cars in the Fast Six, which it's amazing. It was my first Fast Six, and today they just gave me the best car. I just had to do the obvious things right, as Chip likes to say, and we kept it simple. We went for a two-stop, we were able to manage our fuel mileage and our tires, so I'm just super, super happy.

THE MODERATOR: We saw Chip lean into the window and talk to you when you pulled into Victory Lane. Can you give us a little bit what he might have said to you? We know Chip likes winners.

ALEX PALOU: Yeah, so basically he was just super happy. He was saying, Congratulations, and he told me, Welcome to the winners. So I'm a winner now. But we've just got to keep it building and keep it winning.

It's going to be tough, but we're leading the championship, so it's just amazing.

Q. Alex, was the original plan to do a two-stop race, or when Rossi and Pato hit the pits, did you guys just decide to wait and see what the deg was like on the Firestone reds?

ALEX PALOU: No, the first plan was to do a three-stop. I think to do a two-stop you had to go really, really slow just because of fuel mileage, but as we got two yellows, it was clear. Like as soon as the first yellow came I was already thinking on two stops. I was trying to save as much fuel as possible there.

To be honest, I saw that Rossi and Pato, they were not saving that much fuel. I was like wondering are they going to just not even try to do it or do they just know how to do it and not me. I was surprised that they didn't go for a two-stop because I think it was fairly easy after the two yellows.

But hey, I didn't call a two-stop. It was the team that they just told me, Now it's a time to push. Do 15 more laps and this is the target for fuel mileage that you have to do.

So that's what I did, and that's -- and it worked.

Q. I was wondering what you think of Romain's adaptation to INDYCAR. You went through it yourself last year. How do you think he's been doing so far not just in the race today, but in general?

ALEX PALOU: Yeah, I think he did amazing yesterday. He's driving my car from last year -- well, with my team. He did really good being P7 there, and I don't know how he finished today, but yeah, so far, so good.

But he's a guy that's been doing single-seaters more than I've been walking, so it's a guy that has plenty of experience, and he's been doing it in the best level possible for a lot of years.

I kind of expected that.

Q. Let me see if I can get this right. So Montoya, Zanardi, Vasser, Dixon, Franchitti; you've done something that they didn't. You won in your Ganassi debut. What does that feel like?

ALEX PALOU: Amazing. It feels amazing. I think those names you said, they won more than one time, and they won championships. They are 10 steps ahead of me. It's just a start. It's just the beginning. But for sure we couldn't start better with Chip Ganassi Racing.

It means a lot, to be honest. Like winning a race in INDYCAR, it's not easy. You can see in the past, people struggle, and yeah, last year I was struggling a lot to be up front.

INDYCAR is so competitive that you don't know if next week -- it's just next week, like the car is going to be the same, I'm going to be the same, but you don't know where we're going to be.

We'll try to do our best, but for sure at the moment I'm going to embrace the feeling of being a winner, and I'll try to do it again.

I'll try to learn from them. So far it's been super good to have Dario, Scott, Jimmie, people that's been winning championships for more than one time, and being able to talk to them for everything I want. It has helped me to be here today.

I'll keep trying to learn as much as possible from them and just go for practice at St. Pete, go for qualifying, and go for the race, so we'll try to do that.

Q. You mentioned Jimmie and Scott there. Between the two of them there's 13 championships split between both of them. How has their knowledge been for you? In such a short period of time with racing for Chip, has it been very beneficial to have those champions, I guess, whispering in your ear a bit?

ALEX PALOU: Yeah, I'm sure -- I'm in love with them. Like I'm in love with them. But I'm sure if you asked them, they are not going to say the same for me, because every time I see them I'm like, Hey, Scott, um, what did you do today, or how did you prepare that race or whatever, or how did you do the 2015 race?

And I'm the same with Jimmie. How do you keep up winning seven championships? How do you do it? So I think every time they see me around they are like, Oh, no, this guy again. But I'm enjoying it.

I try to learn everything from them.

I'll tell you that I've never been around a champion like them until this year, and seeing how they work, you understand why they are able to win that much and to be able to win that much.

I was surprised when I saw Scott that's been doing INDYCAR for, I don't know, 20 years, and has been winning six championships that he was at the shop every time I was there.

So I was like, Man, this is not possible. Like if I see him every time it means that maybe he's more. So I started going more and more, and he just works a lot.

Same goes for Jimmie, same goes for all the team. That was pushing me to be here now.

Q. Second Spaniard to win an INDYCAR race, 16 years after Oriol Servia. I wanted to ask you how you feel and how you perceive such an achievement for a driver who only a few years ago only had enough budget to race in GP3 and had INDYCAR as a distant future dream?

ALEX PALOU: Yeah, thank you. Amazing, right, 16 years, second Spaniard? That's amazing. I didn't know that, and that's good to know.

It's just amazing, but I think it was part of the job, so when you are part of a big team and a successful team like Chip Ganassi, they give you all the tools. Like you have everything you need to win, and that's why you see so many successful drivers.

So I just have to thank the team for giving me the opportunity and all the sponsors. It's been amazing the road that we began single seaters. I went to Japan, spent time there, and my focus was to come here in U.S.

Last year I was struggling a bit, rookie year, pandemic going on, small team, didn't know any track, but now we had this opportunity, and I think we started out strong, but we've got to keep it up.

Q. How were the last 20 laps inside the car, especially knowing that you had Will Power behind you?

ALEX PALOU: Yeah, it was not easy, especially because I had some guys in front. I had lap cars, and I was trying not to get to think too much and go over the radio like, Come on, go away.

I know INDYCAR is like that. I think it's good for the show. When you are leading it's not fun, but when you are P2 or you are P3 it's super fun. So I think it was fun, but I was like, Oh, man, please, go away.

The good thing is that I was not able to pass a lap car, so I think even if Will was just behind me, two tenths close to me, he was not able to pass me, either.

So yeah, I was trying to stay calm and the team was trying to keep me calm on the radio.

Q. I think you said that you're in love with Scott; does that mean you're in awe with him, like you're the little brother who's following him and learning from him?

ALEX PALOU: If I could, yeah, but I think his family wouldn't be so happy about that. But I try. I try. To be honest, when he's around, when we are around at the workshop and we are working, yeah, I try.

It's the opportunity I have been given. I think not everybody has the opportunity to be a young driver and having a champion as your teammate, so I try.

Q. When you got this opportunity to join the Ganassi team, what did you think?

ALEX PALOU: I thought that it was 50 percent of my dream. One of the dreams was to come here to the U.S. once you are in the U.S. you want to be more and you want to be competitive, and to be competitive I wanted to be part of Chip.

I actually introduced myself to Chip at the Indy 500 because I wanted to be part of that team. I saw the spirit of the team, just because of the years I was following. And yeah, to be part of Chip Ganassi is 50 percent of another dream, which is to become a champion.

But it's just 50 percent. I have to do the job now.

Q. So 50 percent was to join Ganassi and the other 50 percent is to be a champion?

ALEX PALOU: Of course.

Q. And how long did you think it would take to win a race?

ALEX PALOU: I thought it was going to be during this year because I saw that my pace was good, I was comfortable with the car, with the team. But you never know in INDYCAR if it's going to come on the first race, on the last race, in the middle, or maybe the second year.

Like it's not bad to not win a race. But yeah, I didn't really expect to win a race the first weekend, but to be honest, when I saw my pace during free practice and qualifying, I was like, Man, we've got a shot.

This morning when I woke up I felt like I had lots of chances to win. We did it.

Q. In all this following around Scott, what do you learn the most?

ALEX PALOU: I learn that you've got to keep working as hard as possible every day, not only in the races, not only when you are struggling. You've got to go to work -- maybe not tonight. Maybe tonight I can have a good fatty dinner because I like fatty dinner after win.

But tomorrow I have to go 8:00 a.m. and work and prepare St. Pete, because that's what they do, that's how you keep on working, and that's what I'm going to do tomorrow.

Q. What kind of dinner did you say you like?

ALEX PALOU: So to be honest, I like fried chicken after a win or after a race. I don't know what's wrong with the drivers, but I think that 80 percent of the drivers will tell you that after a race we need something that is not good for our body, and that's what I'm going to take tonight, if I can.

Q. Fried chicken?

ALEX PALOU: Fried chicken.

Q. Kentucky Fried Chicken?

ALEX PALOU: I don't care. Fried chicken, whatever. And fries. Lots of fries.

Q. Alex, I was kind of curious, and I've got to give Rob Howden credit here. Back at Mid-Ohio last year you had told INDYCAR radio that you didn't have budget for 2021. I'm kind of curious how the situation played out for you ending up at Ganassi and being able to pay it forward right out of the gate this year?

ALEX PALOU: Yeah, that was true, and I didn't really have strong talks with Chip at the moment, so that was completely -- I was devastated by Mid-Ohio because we had a good chance to stay up front and we crashed on the first lap, so that was not good, and that's not what I needed.

But Chip -- and not only Chip, but all the team trusted in me, believed in me, and they gave me this opportunity, which is amazing. Like going from not knowing if you're going to be around next year or not and then suddenly they give you the champion car, it's like, wow, amazing.

Q. How long was that holding pattern for you just kind of not knowing what your future was going to be for this year?

ALEX PALOU: That normally goes from January to December, to be honest. It's been like that all my life. But here in INDYCAR, it came earlier. The season starts, the preseason or post-season starts earlier, and I think just before St. Pete I knew that I was going to be driving the No. 10 this year.

Q. I asked Scott, he said, you come over and you're always so upbeat and positive and this and that, and Scott says, He's really just a nice guy. He says, We keep looking for bad things that we can find out about him and we can't find anything. When you hear a guy like Scott Dixon describe you that way, what do you think?

ALEX PALOU: Wow, I didn't know he felt like that, so that's really cool. That's amazing. I'm just in a happy place. I am racing cars in the U.S. I'm driving INDYCARs and I'm driving for the best team. They gave me the opportunity to be here talking with you guys and winning races, so that's why I'm always smiling, always positive, and I'll keep like that as long as I keep racing.

Q. Also this arrangement you had last year with Team Goh and Dale Coyne Racing. How important was that to get you where you are today? What did you learn in that season with Dale Coyne Racing and with Team Goh that's really been a longtime supporter of yours?

ALEX PALOU: Yeah, it was everything I needed. Like Team Goh and Delco, they were able to take me from Japan to the U.S. to INDYCAR, which is a crazy move, and they made it happen. They gave me the chance to show everybody what I could do or what I thought I could do, and to have the opportunity to drive with Chip Ganassi Racing today.

Yeah, I owe everything to Team Goh, to Delco, and to be honest, I've been to those places a lot of times in my life, like from the car team there was somebody that helped me to go to Europe, to the European Championships, and then to go to single seaters and then always there was somebody there to helped me to do the next step. I've been really lucky in life.

Q. I think it was back in March where you said that you believed that you would be able to score a win before Fernando Alonso and before Carlos Sainz. Congratulations on fulfilling that. I wanted to ask, if you had stuck to the three-stop strategy, did you feel that you had the pace in the car to beat O'Ward and Rossi if it had come down to one of those races where it's just flat-out and it's a three-stop strategy?

ALEX PALOU: You never know. You never know what could happen, but I think I was able just because when we started pushing, like when we were racing with them, I was saving fuel already, like I was hitting my numbers and I was just keeping my tires and saving fuel to be able to go for a two-stop.

I didn't know they were not, so that's why I was like, Man, they are pushing a lot and they had some more pace than me, but it was just that I was fuel saving and they were not.

So I thought maybe with Pato, I thought Pato was strong, so it would have been something with strategy that we could do to overtake him, and with Rossi I think we could have done something on track to overtake.

Q. Will was saying that it blew his mind that he assumed that you were so fast because you were on a three-stop strategy, as well. Clearly Ganassi has done its homework on road courses over the winter. Does this give you further encouragement for places like Road America, Mid-Ohio and those kinds of tracks?

ALEX PALOU: Yeah, a hundred percent, a hundred percent. I think everybody could see from free practice that Chip Ganassi did an amazing job over the winter, especially on qualifying. Like qualifying we struggled -- they struggled a lot last year, and suddenly first race and you put three cars in the Fast Six.

I think it's going to be good also when we go back to Indy road course, to Mid-Ohio, to Road America, but you never know if you're going to have such a good day yesterday. But we'll try and we'll work for that.

Q. Looking at Barber Motorsports Park, you've tested here before, never raced here. Are there any circuits that you've raced on around the world that give you a little bit of a reference like, oh, I've driven this track like this before, that you've been able to use to help you in your experience?

ALEX PALOU: Yeah, it's true that we never raced before, but it was good to be able to test here. And yeah, for sure, over the years with experience you go through so many tracks that when you go back you say, Hey, this Turn 1 is the same as Turn 5 in, I don't know, in Budapest, for example.

For sure it helps, but Man, every track is different. Every day changes. Every lap changes because there's more rubber, less rubber. So it was hard to keep up with those guys, but yeah, we did it.

Q. I know you spoke earlier in the off-season about feeling fairly confident that a win would at least be the target this year and would be possible, but after today's result, getting it so early, how does this impact your interpretation of going for the championship this year? Do you think that's a realistic and achievable goal for you, or is that setting your sights a little bit high based on one victory?

ALEX PALOU: Yeah, I think it's a target for the 24 drivers or 28 drivers that are doing post-season. Yeah, it's achievable. That's the end target, but that's not what I'm thinking now. I'm thinking about St. Pete, free practice, qualifying, and hopefully gets lots of points and hopefully be on the podium and hopefully win the race.

This championship is so long that you need to take it one race at a time, and yeah, maybe when it's three races to go we can start talking about what's really the championship or how is it going. But at the moment let's focus on St. Pete, try to do the best result we can there. If we have a car to finish fifth, try to finish fourth, and that's what we're going to try to do all year.

THE MODERATOR: Alex, that's it for you for this press conference. Congratulations on your first career win in the NTT INDYCAR Series. Really exciting day and we can't wait to see you in St. Pete next week.

[ht: FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports]

FIFTH GEAR: FIVE TAKEAWAYS FROM BARBER RACE

By Zach Horrall | Published: Apr 19, 2021

It was a battle between two young athletes eyeing their first career win, with Palou and the No. 10 SEGI.TV Chip Ganassi Racing team’s two-stop strategy getting the best of pole sitter Pato O’Ward and the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP team’s three-stop strategy. Sandwiched between the young stars were series champions and Indy 500 winners Will Power in the No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet and Scott Dixon in the No. 9 PNC Bank Grow Up Great Honda in second and third, respectively.

The season-opening race offered a lot to take in before we get to the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg this Sunday, April 25 (noon ET, live on NBC, INDYCAR Radio Network). Allow us to shift our minds into Fifth Gear to see what we learned in Birmingham, Alabama - LINK >>>.

[ht: NICS]

... notes from The EDJE

FEATURED POSTING: Motorsports Journal - IndyCar

TAGS: NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, Chip Ganassi Racing, Alex Palou, Scott Dixon, Will Power, The EDJE

Chevrolet Sets Table For 2021 And Gives Hints On Future Hybrid Engine Evolution Development

Felix Rosenqvist taking a break between testing sessions at the 2-Day IMS Open Test in his new Chevrolet-powered Arrow McLaren SP Dallara. This will be the first year he will compete in a Chevrolet-powered NTT INDYCAR SERIES ride. He posted a 16th fastest time in the 2-Day IMS Open Test. Image Credit: Chris Jones via NICS (2021)

Chevrolet Sets Table For 2021 And Gives Hints On Future Hybrid Engine Evolution Development

A pre-season NTT INDYCAR SERIES ZOOM Call was held in advance of the first race of the 2021 championship season. The call, held with members of the world press, was fairly open-ended and highlighted current developments on the 10 year old turbo-charged 2.2 liter specification racing engine, and gave additional information on the developments of the 2023 Hybrid 2.4 liter specification racing engine.

It was stressed that nothing will be left on the table for 2021 or 2022 in terms of continued evolution of improving performance power bands and reliability on the current 2.2 liter power plants as the all new 2.4 liter specification comes forward for 2023.

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES - INDY GP OF ALABAMA - APRIL 17-18 - BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK - LEEDS. ALABAMA

CHEVROLET ZOOM CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT - APRIL 15, 2021

MARK STIELOW, DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT COMPETITION FOR INDYCAR, IMSA,NHRA (CHEVROLET AND CADILLAC) 

ROB BUCKNER, CHEVROLET RACING ENGINEERING PROGRAM MANAGER FOR INDYCAR 

CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT - MEDIA VIA ZOOM AND DISCUSSED OUTLOOK FOR NEW INDYCAR SEASON STARTING WITH THIS WEEKEND AT BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK, THE INDY 500 AND OTHER FUTURE ENGINE DEVELOPMENT TOPICS. 

THE MODERATOR:

First of all, some introductions of two people who you probably have heard of but may not have met yet, we’re going to make that right today. 

The first is Mark Stielow, the General Motors Director of Motorsport Competition Engineering for the INDYCAR Series, IMSA, and NHRA for Chevrolet and Cadillac. 

We also have Rob Buckner, the Chevrolet Engineering Program Manager for the INDYCAR Series, as well.

 

Mark, let’s start with you. Please talk to us about what your overall expectations and goals are for the Chevrolet INDYCAR program ahead of the opening weekend at Barber.

 

MARK STIELOW:

“I joined the team back in September and am getting up to speed. We kind of got INDYCAR racing going after the COVID-19 hibernation we did; so, I got to the last couple of races in the season and then went into the off-season. There was a lot of work done by our engine partners and our teams to get us ready for this season. And I think we’re going to have some strong teams and I think things are going to look pretty good for us this year.”

 

Rob, it’s been a long time since we’ve been in action, but you were in Indianapolis recently for the open test. Talk with us about some of the highlights of that session and what you think we can look forward to in the opening couple of rounds.

 

ROB BUCKNER:

“Thank you everyone for taking the time to talk with us today. I know a lot of familiar faces, and miss seeing you on pit lane. We’ve been so limited. We used to do these types of things in person and now everything is a video call. Thank you for everything you have done to try to cover motorsports during COVID-19 and people not being at the track. Going into this year, it’s always great for us when we can run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Track time testing there is very limited. We had a great two days there. We’ve already run over 8500 miles on our 2021 race engines and 4900 of those came from Indianapolis. So, we really ran a lot of miles over those two days in preparation. I think we learned a lot. We’re always working with our teams. Our engine program is always looking for any opportunity to improve and we’re excited to get going.”

 

Q&A’s:

 

Q.) A RECENT GENERAL COMMENT BY PENSKE DRIVERS WAS THAT THERE SEEMS TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE TORQUE OUT OF THE HONDA ENGINE OVER THE CHEVY ENGINE. WHAT IS YOUR VIEW ON THAT EVEN THOUGH WE ALL KNOW THE ENGINE PERFORMANCES ARE EXTREMELY TIGHT AND EXTREMELY CLOSE?

 

ROB BUCKNER:

“Yeah, it’s interesting. The 2.2 liters have been in competition for 10 years. And I think over that time, both us and our competitors have recognized and addressed some weaknesses that we’ve had, individually. Or, sometimes we’ve got a slight advantage somewhere and they always catch up. The general thought is we’ve always had a very strong top end and they’ve always had a very strong mid-range. I think we’ve kind of converged to a very similar torque delivery but all we can control is our own power profile going into this weekend, and I think we’ve got a very robust package for Barber. 

Team Penske's Will Power is looking forward to getting back on the track in his Verizon sponsored 5G machine. He's had great success at Barber Motorsports Park and he believes this season opener will be his. Image Credit: Joe Skibinski (2021)

To Will’s comments, the surface has a lot of grip. A lot of times at road courses we’re struggling to put power down and Barber is kind of unique in that I think this weekend, the car and the tire is going to be able to take all that the engine can give it. And that’s what we’ve been preparing to do. I think we’ll be in a pretty good place come this weekend.”

 

Q.) YOU COVER ALL THE OTHER MAJOR RACING CIRCUITS HERE IN AMERICA, WHETHER IT BE IMSA OR NHRA OR NASCAR OR WHATEVER; WHAT DO YOU SEE AS YOURBIGGEST CHALLENGES OVERALL?

 

MARK STIELOW:

“The biggest challenges that we’re working on right now is you know, folks spend a lot of time on Sports Car racing. So, the GTLM class is going to converge into GT Daytona Pro. So, we’ve been working a lot on a conversion package for that. And there has been a lot of investigation, a lot of work has been done, on our end studying the LMDh proposal. 

LMDh is very interesting to us and there’s going to be a lot of manufacturers in that space, so we’ve been heavily looking at that. So, there’s a lot of activity going on in that space. My counterpart, Eric Warren, has got all the NASCAR stuff and with all the work going into NG7 car, and with that getting ready to launch next year, there’s a lot of activity in that space also. So, there’s going to be some exciting stuff going on in motorsports in the next few years.”

 

Q.) ON THE CHEVROLET DETROIT GRAND PRIX WEEKEND, IT’S BEEN A BIG INCONVENIENCE WITH THE RE-SCHEDULING OF EVENTS THIS PAST YEAR. RECENTLY WE’VE LEARNED DETROIT WILL BE THE TRADITIONAL IMSA/INDYCAR DOUBLEHEADER AND A HOMETOWN DEBUT ON THE CORVETTE C8.R. WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF THAT WEEKEND TO SHOWCASE GM RACING’S TECHNOLOGY WITH CADILLAC, CORVETTE, AND CHEVROLET?

 

MARK STIELOW:

“It’s always good to play on a home field. We’ll be racing in the shadow of the Ren Cen. In my previous jobs at GM, I’ve actually driven some of the parade cars down there. So, it’s nice to run that event and for us to do well. Unfortunately, our competitors won’t be showing up to race against the Corvettes, so we’ll be running exhibition only. There are some prior commitments that Porsche has that they can’t get out of, so we’ll be running the Corvette exhibition. And the Cadillacs will be there strong and INDYCAR also. It’s always a fun event. I’m hoping that COVID-19 turns around and we can have it be a well-attended event, but that’s still kind of up in the air right now.”

 

Q.) ONE OF THE BIG QUESTIONS WE’VE GOTTEN SINCE LAST YEAR’S INDY 500 IS WILL WE HAVE CHEVY BACK, HOPEFULLY ON EQUAL TERMS; MAKING IT A TRUE QUESTION MARK AS TO HOW THE 2021 EVEN WILL PLAY OUT. IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WERE ABLE TO TAKE FROM THE OPEN TEST HERE THAT MIGHT LEAD BOWTIE FANS TO HOPE AND BELIEVE THAT THERE COULD BE A REALLY HARD AND COMPETITIVE RUN HERE IN MAY THAT MIGHT LEAD INTO A REVERSAL OF FORTUNE FROM LAST YEAR’S EVENT?

 

ROB BUCKNER:

“I think so. I always joke with our group that hope is a very bad plan. So, we’ve had to really dig deep and try to look at where we missed it last year. Collectively, our groups have never worked better together when you look across the Chevrolet performance team with Ilmor and Pratt & Miller and everyone at Chevy, and then our race teams. I can’t thank them enough for all that they’ve contributed in the off-season. And we didn’t play a blame game. We just left there frustrated with our overall performance and have done everything we could since late August there to address it for this year. I think that the cars have changed enough that it’s kind of a re-set from 2020 when you look at the new aero parts that INDYCAR is introducing there. It seemed like at the test that guys could follow closer is maybe a little easier to pass with the barge boards and some of the different floor configurations that INDYCAR has come up with. But that was a pretty favorable day. It was cool and cloudy. I’m sure if we have a 95-degree sunny race day it’s still going to be really difficult. So, we’ve put a lot of emphasis on how we are going to qualify better, how are we going to get the most out of our engine package; like I said, we’ve visited every area of performance and tried to polish on everything. Our group is very detail-oriented, so I think we’re going to have a strong package.”

 

Q.) THE END OF 2022 IS THE END OF THE CURRENT INDYCAR ENGINE REGULATIONS. YOU ARE PROBABLY WORKING RIGHT NOW ON THE NEW ENGINE CONFIGURATION. BUT FOR THIS CURRENT ENGINE, IS THERE STILL DEVELOPMENT GOING ON?

 

ROB BUCKNER:

“Yeah, we’re very fortunate to have a lot of depth and talent and motivated people. So, there’s still things we can work on in the 2.2 liter. There are some areas that are always open. And we’re running 2.4 liters now. We have our first engines on the dyno. We’re very happy with where that program is at and we’re multi-tasking. It’s very busy times for the engine program. We still have to go to the track. We’ve got to race the 2.2 liter approximately 32 to 34 more times. We’re not looking to give up anything there. And then we’ve got to have a prom debut in 2023 as well. So, the engine-side of things is flat out at the moment.”

 

Q.) JOSEF NEWGARDEN WAS TALKING LAST MONTH ABOUT HOW THE COVID RESTRICTIONS HAVE REQUIRED THEM TO WORK SMARTER AND MORE EFFICIENT AND THAT THEY STRUGGLED WITH THAT LAST YEAR AND WEREN’T ABLE TO USE OPTIMIZATION ACROSS ALL THE CARS. FROM A CHEVROLET PERSPECTIVE, HOW ARE YOU APPROACHING THESE CHALLENGES?

 

ROB BUCKNER:

“COVID-19 has affected motorsports and everyone in the paddock kind of the same. We don’t look at it as an excuse that we have less track time because it’s the same for all the competitors. There has been a trend in the last five years that track time is reduced and you have to roll off the trailer very, very strong. If you’re completely lost Friday morning or Saturday morning, it doesn’t make that much difference. But overall, we’re all recognizing come P1, you really need to be in the window, you need to be close; and then just polish on it. Ideally, you don’t make many changes. So, the pre-event preparation, I think, circuit by circuit, how we use our DIL simulator working with teams and drivers before we ever get to the race track; all those things were already trending in this direction, and then with the COVID-19 reductions in track time, it’s really just amplified it. I don’t think anyone would have ever thought two years ago that NASCAR would only have really four practice sessions in an entire year. So, even within NASCAR, that’s the extreme; and then specific to INDYCAR, we have a reduction but not an elimination of practice. So, we still have an opportunity to learn and improve; especially at street courses where you cannot test. But Jay Frye and his group have done a great job of putting together a pretty logical plan of street courses. They’re mostly three-day events. Road courses are two days. If you really struggle at a road course you can test there in the off-season. So, I think we’re really pleased with how INDYCAR has handled this and the direction that it’s going. For us, it just amplifies the work you do before getting to the race track really matters and needs to be correct.”

 

Q.) WHAT’S THE BREAKDOWN BETWEEN ILMOR ENGINEERING AND GM IN TERMS OF WHAT DO THEY DO AND WHAT DO YOU DO ON THE ENGINE? AND WHEN IT COMES TO THE HYBRID THAT’S COMING IN, WHO IS GOING TO DO THE HYBRID PIECE? WHO IS GOING TO INTEGRATE IT?

 

ROB BUCKNER:

“Our technical group tries really hard to not operate in silos or individual company-type thinking. So, we all work for the Chevrolet program. We’re all pulling in the same direction all the time. So, we really blur those lines. A lot of times the collaboration amongst the group has been spectacular. And even breaking down, just beyond the engine program, of bringing in the race teams to these conversations and where we want things to progress over time. So, I would like to think, internally, that Ilmor and GM are all just one engine program working together to try to have the best package we can. There are certainly strengths Ilmor has that we don’t have and vide-versa. We have some analysis and tools that as General Motors and Chevrolet is very useful. And Ilmor is a very competent, excellent engine supplier in motorsports. So, I think we try to put all that together and that makes us have an overall really good engine package.”

 

Q.) HOW POSSIBLE IS IT TO TEST THE 2.4 LITER ENGINE WITHOUT THE HYBRID SYSTEM HOOKED UP? ARE YOU ABLE TO PUT A FIGURE ON HOW MUCH THE INCREASED DISPLACEMENT OF THE ENGINE AND HOW MUCH WOULD COME FROM THE HYBRID?

 

MARK STIELOW:

“On the hybrid-side we could emulate that. Before we get the hybrid unit, we can run some simulations on our dyno to simulate that. On the power-side of the equation, I’ll let Rob answer that. I haven’t really been in all the details of that yet.”

 

ROB BUCKNER:

“I think somewhat lost in the 2.4 liter transition is the fact that we’re going up in base boost as well. So, the easy thing is to think we’re going up roughly 10 percent in displacement. We’re going to go up 10 percent in power; but also, we’re going to start operating at 1.6 bars, the standard for street courses instead of 1.5 bar. And you put all that together with the hybrid unit, I think fans will be pleased with the power projections and where the engine programs are headed overall. To answer your question, we can’t run a 2.4 liter with a hybrid. Once you delete an alternator it is gone for good. So, I think all of us, INDYCAR, Honda, Chevrolet are all in for the hybrid unit to run the 2.4 liter is going to be required, not optional.”

 

Q.) THE 900 HP TARGET AT INDYCAR, WHEN DO YOU THINK WE’LL SEE THE ENGINES HITTING THAT MAGIC MARK?

 

ROB BUCKNER:

“I’m not sure. I think a lot of that depends on the finalized specs of the hybrid unit, which is really INDYCAR’s area of development during this. On the engine-side, we’re just going to focus on getting all we can out of the 2.4 liter at all the various race levels of boost.”

 

Q.) IN THE PAST YOU HAVE USED THE INDYCAR ENGINE PROGRAM TO HELP DEVELOP THINGS LIKE DIRECT INJECTION TECHNOLOGY AND TO RUN ENGINEERS THROUGH. WITH THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE IN POWERING CARS, IS THAT STILL THE MAIN PURPOSE FOR BEING PART OF A SERIES LIKE INDYCAR?

 

MARK STEILOW:

“Yeah, my counterpart, Russ O’Blenes, has the propulsion-side of motorsports, and there are a lot of young engineers in that space that learned about racing and there’s also joint development work being done both at Ilmor like Rob talked about Ilmor and GM up at Pontiac for motorsports powertrain development. So, there is still a lot of technology transferred between the two. It’s still a viable training ground for us to learn more things and for us to develop people, processes, and tools to become better. General Motors and Chevrolet are still going to keep on making internal combustion engines for a while; so, we’re going to keep on pushing it as far as we can.”

 

Q.) I WON’T ASK ALL THE NAMES OF THE TEAMS AND ENTRIES YOU’LL BE ENGAGED WITH FOR THE INDY 500, BUT CAN YOU TELL US THE ANTICIPATED FINAL NUMBER OF CHEVY-POWERED ENTRIES? AND IF YOU ARE UN-SIGNING TEAMS OR IF THERE ARE STILL POSSIBILITIES FOR MORE TO BE HAD FOR THE MONTH OF MAY?

 

ROB BUCKNER:

“That’s a very good question given the time of year. I think that’s the most cars last week we’ve ever run at Indy during an open test which, for our group…. It’s a difficult expansion when you go from running 10 to 11 full-time cars and then I think last week we had15 and then that’s kind of an incremental step. We expect we may add another one. We’re not completely sure. But it’s getting close to crunch time, so we’re close to finalizing. For us it’s really do we have the parts and the people to do it. And if race teams put something together, we try to be good partners with our teams; and we’ll figure out a way to make it happen.”

 

Q.) REGARDING 2023 HYBRIDIZATION AND INDYCAR, GENERAL MOTORS HAS NOT CONFIRMED ANYTHING IN REGARD TO IMSA AND LMDH, BUT BY CHANCE BOTH CLASSES WILL INDEED BE GOING HYBRID AT THE SAME TIME. AT LEAST WHILE PLANNING TO BE IN INDYCAR, CONSIDERING BEING IN IMSA, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN DO AS A MANUFACTURER KNOWING THAT NASCAR IS ALSO LOOKING AT HYBRIDIZATION? WHAT DO YOU DO AND HOW DO YOU TREAT ALL THESE POSSIBILITIES FOR THE PLACES WHERE YOU ARE RACING, COULD BE RACING, SWITCHING TO THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY WITH POSSIBLY EACH ONE A BIT DIFFERENT THAN THE OTHER? DO YOU WORK WITH THESE SANCTIONING BODIES AND SAY HEY, DON’T ASK US TO BUY THREE DIFFERENT ONES OF THE SAME UNIT? HOW DO YOU TREAT WHAT COULD BE THREE VERY DIFFERENT THINGS?

 

MARK STIELOW:

“Right now, all the conversations I’ve been in and everything we’ve seen, there is very little sharing between the sanctioning bodies. So yeah, in a utopian world, it would be awesome if those guys all worked together, and we could come up with a common solution. But for a lot of reasons, everybody wants their own special mousetrap. So, what I’ve seen so far is everybody is heading down a slightly different path. But that stuff seems to be changing all the time. These meeting are constantly evolving.”

 

Q.) THERE HAS BEEN SOME TALK OR RUMORS ABOUT WHAT F-1 DOES. THEY CAPTURE MGU-H TO TAKE THE HEAT OFF THE ENGINE AND CONVERTING THAT TO ENERGY IN THE BATTERY. IS THAT ANY TALK OF DOING THAT FOR INDYCAR OR IS THAT STRICTLY A KINETIC ENERGY SYSTEM?

 

ROB BUCKNER:

“Yeah, it’s been an interesting conversation with INDYCAR because we would be the first series to run a Hybrid on an oval. So, a lot of this is very conceptual. To your point, INDY qualifying engine duty cycle is ideally 100 percent if you never lift. So, how do you get any kinetic energy from that? Other times during the race, the engine duty cycle is not 100 percent when you’re in traffic. So that does open up the possibility of the car wasting some energy there. In the end it’s an energy balance equation that INDYCAR is going to need us or going to need to tell us how that want this. It also adds a layer of complexity and cost that I’m not sure is the right fit for INDYCARS. So, I think we’re leaning more toward it’s going to be a kinetic recovery system primarily.”

 

Q.) THE PUSH TO PASS WE HAVE TODAY, IS THAT COMPLETELY GOING AWAY WITH THE HYBRID? OR WILL THERE STILL BE A TURBO BOOST PUSH TO PASS IN COMBINATION WITH THE HYBRID SYSTEM?

 

ROB BUCKNER:

“The nice thing is with our boosted engines is if any point during the development and first test of the hybrid unit we need more or less power, the engine programs function on electric wastegates. So, it’s relatively easy to change the boost limitations if INDYCAR desires that. I think that. If they need us to help push with a little bit more boost, I’m sure we would easily be able to do that.”

 

Q.) YOU MENTIONED EARLIER THAT YOU’VE DEVOTED A LOT OF TIME LATELY TO IMSA AND THE LMDH AND GTD-PRO. CAN YOU GIVE US AN IDEA ON WHEN GM MIGHT REACH A DECISION OR MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT ON FUTURE PARTICIPATION THERE?

 

MARK STIELOW:

“I would say it would be in the next 45 days.”

 

Q.) CONCERNING THE NEW ENGINE WITH THE HYBRID 2.4 LITER, CAN YOU SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE MEASUREMENTS?

 

ROB BUCKNER:

“INDYCAR and us are working around the assumption that it will be around the same size engine, physically. We’re going up in bore size but 2.4 is not a huge architecture change. Our engine is going to be all-new. I don’t know of any carryover components that we’re taking from the 2.2 liter. So, from that perspective, it’s a clean sheet design; but fitting in the same envelope, if you will.”

 

Q.) ON THE ISSUE OF COST, IF YOU HAD TO GUESS, WHAT INCREASE WOULD THERE BE TO THE TEAMS WHEN THE HYBRID SYSTEM IS IMPLEMENTED, PER SEASON?

 

ROB BUCKNER:

“That’s pretty open-ended and not really defined at the moment as the early hardware and INDYCAR is still working through what that system is going to look like. It’s really not going to be a part of our relationship with the teams, so I’m not really familiar. I know that Jay Frye and Darren Samsum are leading that program for INDYCAR and they’re very cost-conscious; and they’ve been involving the teams in these discussions. So, we think overall, the paddock will be able to make that work. But I can’t say I know any exact figures or details as of today.”

[ht: Inside Track Communications For Chevrolet]

... notes from The EDJE

FEATURED POSTING - PERFORMANCE & RACING TECH TALK >>>

FEATURED POSTING - EVHNews - EV-Hybrid Vehicles Technology News >>>

TAGS: Mark Stielow, Rob Buckner, General Motors, Chevrolet, Cadillac, NTT INDYCAR SERIES, IMSA, NHRA, Hybrid 2.4 Liter. Turbo 2.2 Liter, The EDJE

Four Car Team Penske Effort High On Prospects As McLaughlin, Newgarden, Pagenaud, & Power Size Up Season Before Barber Start

Top to bottom - Josef Newgarden (Hitachi), Scott McLaughlin (PPG), Will Power (Verizon), & Simon Pagenaud (Menards) in all of their first race of 2021 liveries. Image Credit: Team Penske via Facebook (2021)

Four Car Team Penske Effort High On Prospects As McLaughlin, Newgarden, Pagenaud, & Power Size Up Season Before Barber Start

We are at a point in time during the ebb and flow of emotion impressions that are colored by some extensive testing information from different track configurations and team building conditions but none of this has been tested in actual competition.

Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama becomes the 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES opener Sunday, April 18 at Barber Motorsports Park. To be honest, it was amazing, given the moving goal posts put up during the 2020 year of varied virus protocols throughout the nation, that the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season was able to complete 14 races from a planned 18. A series of four races in three weekends will start the season, including the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Sunday, April 25 and a doubleheader weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, Saturday, May 1 and Sunday, May 2 for the Genesys 300 and the XPEL 375.

2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Season driver review plates. Image Credit: Team Penske Twitter (2021)

These are the quotes that will be driving Team Penske during these next three weekends:

#1) For me, I don't really know what to expect. I think we've done some really good work as a team in the off-season. From what I understand the team's in a positive spot, but you don't know with testing right now sort of where everyone's at. I don't think we'll know until qualifying at Barber. That's my best answer to that sort of thing.  

#2) I think all those four engineers working together are really a fantastic group. Four awesome drivers, four awesome engineers. Obviously there's a lot more engineers in the background that really makes for a super team.  

#3) Yeah, the Honda versus Chevy, I think Barber probably is favored a little bit more to Honda because the way their engine seems to have more torque than ours. I think actually at the Speedway this year we'll be pretty strong. I think Chevy's made a really good gain.  

#4) I'm pretty excited. I think we've got a good opportunity to come out pretty strong this year. I think we've done a lot of good work this off-season. I'm very encouraged about everywhere we're going, to be honest. Barber included. I can't wait to get going this weekend. It's been a while since we got to do our normal jobs. I'm excited to get back with the boys and get working.  

TEAM PENSKE DRIVERS PRE-BARBER QUOTES

TEAM CHEVY DRIVER ZOOM CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT

David Hovis - Team Penske - APRIL 12, 2021

TEAM PENSKE DRIVERS SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, JOSEF NEWGARDEN, SIMON PAGENAUD AND WILL POWER met with media to discuss upcoming NTT INDYCAR SERIES season opening race at Barber Motorsports Park (post 2-day IMS test):

Q. What have you done to prepare for a track like Barber, which can be a tricky circuit? 

SIMON PAGENAUD:  Barber10 years ago, it was my first ever INDYCAR race. Lots of great memories. Obviously a great win in 2016. Battle with Graham Rahal. A great track, really technical, high commitment. Really need to bring a lot of confidence to the game. It's a brilliant oval track for those reasons.  

Q. Scott, what have you done to prepare for a track like Barber, which can be a tricky circuit?  

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I'm feeling as prepared as I can be right now. I said to my wife last night, Whatever happens this week, I feel like I've done a lot of hard work, worked on my fitness. It's going to be a very physical week, tough track on the body.  

Worked with the team to get an understanding. This track requires a lot of commitment, a lot of bravery, and a lot of commitment to the aero, aerodynamics of the car. That's something I'm getting used to right now.  

Bit by bit I've got used to it across the run. Having a couple test days here puts me in good stead knowing what I've got and what I will have chassis-wise when we hit the track on Saturday morning.  

Yeah, look, I'm happy where we're at. Really excited for the challenge. It's going to be an up-and-down year. I'm really excited for all the obstacles, what's going to come across in my rookie season.  

Q. Obviously it's going to be a pretty quick couple of races at the start of the season. For Simon and Scott, how confident are you guys going into the season? Also you've come off the back of a really good test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. How much confidence does that give you going into the month of May?  

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Look, it's going to be an exciting year. Yeah, absolutely had a great test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Nice to also do some laps around there. I've got three great teammates to lean on, not only in terms of driving style but setup-wise, trusting what the car is going to be like at qualifying trim, race trim, understanding that. That was really nice to lean on all three of the guys. All three of them were fantastic with me, helping me build up, get acquainted.  

For me, I don't really know what to expect. I think we've done some really good work as a team in the off-season. From what I understand the team's in a positive spot, but you don't know with testing right now sort of where everyone's at. I don't think we'll know until qualifying at Barber. That's my best answer to that sort of thing.  

For me right now, it's about doing as many laps as I can, getting as much understanding under my belt, leaning on my three great teammates as much as I can.  

SIMON PAGENAUD: Clearly we focused a lot on the Indianapolis 500. Last year was not what we expected. We wanted to come back and really show the resilience of Team Penske. As you saw the test, the drivers felt, we were very pleased with the improvement. Everybody worked so hard this winter. We found speed. 

 

It's obviously just the beginning of testing at Indy, but it felt very good. That's clearly a very enjoyable thing to say as it's also my number one goal.  

Now when it comes to the full championship, also like Scott said, made big improvements on the race car, making it more consistently able to go get the last little bit of lap time. I don't know where we're going to stack up exactly, but I know that we've done everything we can to run up front and be there for the championship in the end. 

 

It's going to be a long season. You are going to have to score points and always be top five to fight for the championship.  

Q. Simon, obviously we have condensed schedules again this year. Last year you didn't know that going into it. Do you have to prepare a little differently now this year knowing that you're only running Saturday and Sunday at Barber, everything is condensed? Does that change how you prepare in the off-season and week-to-week? 

SIMON PAGENAUD: The big advantage is this year we knew that the schedule was going to change. We knew in advance. That really helped my team and myself to prepare and understand how the weekend was going to roll.  

At the end of the day it's about knowing how to tackle each practice for qualifying and then the race. I think we have right now a very good outlook on everything.  

Super excited about this format, quite frankly. I think we have a two-day weekend in Barber. St. Pete is different, three-day weekend. Texas is two races. The next four races are back-to-back. It's going to be intense. But I know we're ready. I can't wait to get going.  

Q. Simon, Team Penske has been three cars in the past. What advantages do you see in getting a fourth car full-time this year? 

SIMON PAGENAUD: You know, I know it's very simple actually to understand. It's two and two. Two and two make work a lot easier. When it's three, two guys might like the same thing, one guy might not. When it's two and two, there's more chances that two guys are going to like the same things and two others are going to like the exact same stuff for their cars or their style.  

As four, it also has a better flow, better energy within the team also. It's the same with the engineers. Jonathan Diuguid is with Scott McLaughlin. He used to lead the sports car program. Jonathan was also Helio's engineer in the past. Lots of experience there.  

I think all those four engineers working together are really a fantastic group. Four awesome drivers, four awesome engineers. Obviously there's a lot more engineers in the background that really makes for a super team.  

Scott McLaughlin's Merch page graphic. Image Credit: Team Penske via FB (2021)

Q. With the new aero package for the superspeedways this year, as I understand it you have more options as a team or a driver in terms of your setup. What has been your experience? I can ask both of you this question. What has been your experience so far? Has it made it confusing or has it made it better for you as a driver in that you have these more options? 

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: For me, it's probably -- I was speaking to Will Power about this, knowing that it's one of my first times on a superspeedway, on the oval, having no experience on really anything else. Going in, it's all brand-new.  

The feeling? I didn't have any old feelings of old cars and stuff. I was probably able to get acquainted almost easier because some of the older guys, in some ways they're so used to different feelings.  

I think it's a good option of having the option of putting the balance boards on or taking them off or whatever. It's going to be interesting what the racing is like.  

I think we found in Indianapolis, yeah, depends on your setup. It was difficult to pass three or four back in the train. But I think it certainly looks better than last year.  

Yeah, look, I'm learning every lap I do really, especially at the ovals. 

 

SIMON PAGENAUD: I felt like INDYCAR did a great job allowing us more options. It was important to make sure the show was going to be awesome. Especially if we get some fans in the grandstand, it would be fantastic to come back and put on the best show ever.  

The balance board, the more aerodynamics, also they fill up the hole on the side of the floor, and you can definitely add onto the front wing to help run in traffic. It was a big improvement.  

I really enjoyed being able to run in traffic without big surprises in the aerodynamics of the car. I think with more testing, a lot more cars will figure it out and drivers.  

So overall I think it's very, very positive.  

Q. 'Push to pass' was tested at the Indy oval recently. There's been some mixed feelings as to whether or not INDYCAR should allow 'push to pass' on ovals. In the past they never have. Like to get your thought as to having that option? I asked Juan Montoya last week. He was very much in favor of having it on the ovals. I've heard other drivers say they weren't so sure. I'd like to hear your opinion.  

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Well, for me, I think anything that makes racing better is a good thing. If INDYCAR thinks the racing is going to be better with a 'push to pass' option potentially. But I think you'll find if that gets brought in, it will be a very strategic move how you use them. You probably will save them for a long time, hopefully have enough fuel to use it, or gas as you say over here.  

I think, yeah, it's going to be interesting. It's hard for me to tell because I haven't been in a race situation. I think you got to back INDYCAR officials in anything that makes the racing better. Hopefully that will work.  

SIMON PAGENAUD: Yeah, I think it's very situational. Quite frankly, we don't really have -- drivers, it doesn't really matter. We're coming in, the rules are the rules. What INDYCAR decides is for us to use. I'm very much backing them up because they've made great choices in the racing in general.  

Would I have liked to have the 'push to pass' in 2019? Probably not. Would I have liked to have it last year? Absolutely. It depends on the situation. It's very hard to have one determined opinion on that.  

I think for the racing, it would be great. For the fans, it would be fantastic. But it all depends how it's gone in place.  

I look forward, in any case, to changes. It shuffles the cards and it's good for racing.  

Q. Scott, this month here you're kind of running the gamut of all the different types of courses that INDYCAR hits. You get the Indy 500 test, now you got a dedicated road course followed immediately by a street course and then a high-speed oval at Texas. Is that difficult to prepare for, to think about all the different types of racing that's coming up in quick succession? 

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Look, any time I get laps in these cars, it's better. It's wild, but this is exactly why I came to America for. I came to race nearly every weekend on all different disciplines I haven't done before.  

It's definitely a difficult thing to prepare for for everyone. I think we're all sort of working out times to get on the simulator, when do you give up preparing for this race this weekend and then start thinking about the next race in a week's time.  

But thankfully for the start of season when it's crazy, all these tracks I've been to before. I know what I need. We've got a solid plan in place. We can sort of hit the ground running at each track.  

So, yeah, I think probably this one this week is probably the one track that definitely I need to work harder. St. Pete I feel, having known that track, I know our balance there, it's going to be okay. Then Texas, it's an oval. I've just got to work my way around it.  

It's exciting. Like I said, I came to America to race most weekends. This is a dream for me really. 

 

Q. Scott, obviously last year was sort of an interesting one for you going from the Bathurst 1000 straight over to America to make your INDYCAR debut. What is it like this weekend? You've had a fair bit of buildup. Does it feel like you're having your debut all over in some ways? 

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: It certainly feels like a bit of a reset button, I guess. I definitely feel a lot more prepared. I have an understanding of the car a lot more than I did when I was sort of rolling into St. Pete. That can only be beneficial for me.  

I came into St. Pete with a thought of what the car was like in sort of February, March. Got to October, it was all full on. That week was full on for me. I was jetlagged, whatever. I'm not making excuses, but at the same time like I said, I feel as prepared as I can be right now.  

The only thing right now I lack is experience. I feel like I've got, like I said, great teammates to lean on. I've got a great engineer, as Simon said, who has a huge amount of experience. I'm just leaning on everyone really and soaking everything up like a sponge.  

It's business time now. I really need to get into it.  

Simon Pagenaud at Texas Motor Speedway test - happy to be at the precipice of 2021. Image Credit: Chris Owens (2021)

Q. Following up on that 'push to pass' question before. Up until now it's been allowed to be used as a defense mechanism as well as offense. Some drivers think that's a good thing. Others feel it defeats the purpose of having it. I'd like to get your opinion on that.  

SIMON PAGENAUD: That's a loaded question (laughter). You never get everybody to agree on that one.  

It is what it is. Again, like I said earlier, I think it depends what INDYCAR decides to do, and we have to oblige by the rules. We're an entertainment show, so at the end of the day it's about making sure we put on a fantastic show.  

As we saw last year, racing without fans is not racing. They have a huge part of -- they are a huge part of what we do, so we have to think about that, making sure that the fans enjoy the racing. That is what INDYCAR is doing.  

Whatever the drivers think doesn't really matter as much. But no matter what, it would be a great show. It has been without it. It will be with it, if we have it. So I personally have zero opinion on it. I don't personally like gimmicks in racing, but honestly it completely depends on the situation and how it's implemented.  

Q. Scott, can you tell me a little bit about the helmet design you're going to be running at the Indianapolis 500. Is that a tribute to Rick Mears? 

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah. It's just basically the same helmet design that Helio has run in previous years. Obviously what Rick was synonymous for with the yellow submarine.  

I love tradition, I love history. I think it was a cool tribute. I couldn't fit McLaughlin down the side, it would wrap around my visor as well. I had to subs substitute for Scott.  

I thought it was pretty cool, quite on the back. It's just a tribute to the 500, the people that have run it before, and hopefully a legacy we can start with myself and Pennzoil. I'm tremendously excited to run that car. I feel very lucky and privileged. Excited to see what we can do with it.  

Q. I'd like to get your thoughts on INDYCAR going to Nashville for the Music City Grand Prix later this year.  

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I've never been to Nashville before, so the more America I can see, the better. Very excited. I heard Nashville is a wild city. I'm really excited for the street track there, around the stadium where the Titans play, too, is cool.  

Sounds to me, Josef is the Nashville king or Nashville mayor, he's pretty pumped by it. He said it's an awesome city and awesome vibe. Yeah, super pumped. Any track that goes over a bridge, man, is pretty bad ass, so I'm excited for that.  

SIMON PAGENAUD: Can you play any instrument?  

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: No. Depending how many drinks I've had.  

SIMON PAGENAUD: I want to see it. I want to see it (laughter).  

Pretty exciting when we get to that market. It looks like a really interesting layout, for sure, going over the bridge. I'm sure those photos will go around the world and be very iconic after a while. I am really looking forward to it.

It's a town of festivities and we're bringing the show. Very excited to get to know the town. I've actually never been to Nashville either. As you know, I look forward to finding some good restaurants.  

MODERATOR: We're joined by Will Power, Josef Newgarden. Will, as a two-time winner and four-time pole winner at Barber, it's been a couple years since we have been to Barber, so how excited are you to get back to racing?  

WILL POWER: Yeah, I'm super excited to get back in the car. Yeah, very excited. Josef is going to be very amused at this (laughter). Yeah, I think we've had two test days at Barber, so I reckon we've got the car pretty well sorted.  

I know it's going to be super competitive. It's going to be very, very competitive. So many good guys and teams this year. Certainly have to put everything together to make sure that we're in the game.  

But just really happy to get back to racing. It's been quite a long off-season.  

MODERATOR: We're also joined by Josef Newgarden, who is the most successful driver in the history of INDYCAR Series at Barber with three wins. Josef, what is it about Barber that kind of suits you?  

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I'm pretty excited, too, like Will said. I think we've got a good opportunity to come out pretty strong this year. I think we've done a lot of good work this off-season. I'm very encouraged about everywhere we're going, to be honest. Barber included.  

I can't wait to get going this weekend. It's been a while since we got to do our normal jobs. I'm excited to get back with the boys and get working.  

Excited we've got four cars. I think we've got some of the best people as always. We've been bolstered this year with adding Scott, his engineer J.D., and a couple others. Very, very excited to get going.  

Q. Going to be a pretty frantic start to the season. How beneficial is it to you guys to have Scott kind of added for a fourth car this season?  

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I think it's tremendously beneficial. I think we're going to find a lot of benefits from it. Last time we were four cars, we worked really well together when Helio was in the mix. Having the resources that come with an extra car at Team Penske has, in my opinion, been quite useful. I think probably more useful now with the shortened track time.  

We still have to be better at showing up with a car that's going to work out of the box. But I think just having that extra car with the workload demand across the weekend will be very, very beneficial.  

It will be fun. It's also fun to just see a pure rookie kind of going at it. He's obviously super talented, going to have a good car on him. But it's fun to watch how excited he is for every little thing, which I think makes it exciting to go to the track.  

Q. I wanted to ask, obviously we always expect Penske and Ganassi drivers to contend for titles. Who do you reckon are going to be the new contenders for titles, people outside that group that are going to fight for titles? Do you expect to see Colton or Pato or Felix battling for the championship this year? 

WILL POWER: Yeah, I think McLaren is going to certainly be strong this year, with Pato, they've added Felix, who has a lot of experience in INDYCAR now. I think those guys are going to be pretty strong.  

Obviously Colton was already a threat last year, so more so this year ... (Loss of audio).

  

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: As Will was saying, all of these guys are going to be very good. Is he back?  

WILL POWER: Was I just talking and nothing happening?  

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: You froze, yeah.  

WILL POWER: I thought everyone was so engrossed in what I was saying, they were just like frozen, looking like, Oh, my God (laughter). Just an amazing, amazing reply. Then it just stopped. Oh, I'm frozen, okay. I should stop.  

Q. Do you want to finish your statement, Will?  

WILL POWER: I have no clue where it stopped - Oh, yeah, just basically you add after Herta Penske and Ganassi and you've got a very fierce championship. I think you're going to see many different winners this year. It will probably be a year of consistency that will win it.  

Q. Josef, anyone else? Do you see maybe Rinus VeeKay with a year of experience under his belt being a threat? 

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don't think you can count him out. Yeah, I don't know. I think time will tell. I wouldn't necessarily put him in the list right now. I think we probably need a little bit more evidence of that.  

Like Will said, I think Colton and Pato are probably the strongest newcomers to join the mix, and are definitely already threats in the championship. That's only going to get probably better.  

We've got to see how Scott takes to it. Scott has an opportunity I think to be very strong in his first year, which could be unique to other rookies. I think he's going to have a good opportunity. We'll see how it takes to it.  

WILL POWER: Yeah. I mean, I liken Scott to Wickens. I believe he can have a year like that just from experience in top-level motorsports.  

Q. The new aero package this year, on ovals you have had a chance to test it at Indy. I'd like to get your opinion with the options you now have compared to before in terms of setups. Also you tested the 'push to pass' on the oval. Should that work into the mix? Is that not necessary?  

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, I mean, I guess I'll speak to the 'push to pass' because I was at the test.  

I was certainly not a big believer that's something we need at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I want the racing to be as difficult as possible at Indy. I want opportunities for the front group to be able to race, to put on a good show.  

You can't have everything. It's really, really difficult to find a good balance where you have the most difficult cars to drive, the drivers can really showcase their talent behind the wheel and work with the team to make a faster car. Also to create an environment where the race is thrilling.  

I think you can have both of them. Honestly at Indy we've had that for the last 10 years. I think it's been very difficult races and also very thrilling races. I think we're talking about adding horsepower. I would rather just add pure horsepower to the car, which is what we all want. We just want more power for the cars.  

I think the 'push to pass' situation where you create this big speed disparity between cars is more of a risky proposition, putting it in the hands of the some of the field of 33 would make me a little bit nervous, not because it's going to be more difficult, just because I think it would be more risky for no reason.  

Adding more horsepower is great, but probably not in a 'push to pass' format I think at Indy.  

Q. Will, Honda versus Chevy, road course versus oval. Have you seen any trends? Your photo shop skills are getting as good as NASCAR. Will you be doing more of that in the future? 

WILL POWER: Yeah, the Honda versus Chevy, I think Barber probably is favored a little bit more to Honda because the way their engine seems to have more torque than ours. I think actually at the Speedway this year we'll be pretty strong. I think Chevy's made a really good gain.  

Yeah, it's very close. I mean, both honestly are very close. But the field is so stacked now that any little advantage really makes a difference. If one manufacturer is just weighted a little bit more on the torque side, torque of the engine, for somewhere like Barber where it's just pure power because there's so much grip, it kind of stacks the field one way. Yeah, it's super close.  

And my videos, yeah, I can keep doing them. Josef is actually using my guide to what to do, how far I should go. Is this okay to post? Any post that you don't agree with, you should really message him because nothing to do with me, it's his decision (laughter).

Will Power feels, given past performances, Barber Motorsports Park gives him a shot at a great start. Image Credit: Team Penske via Facebook (2021)

Q. Yourself and Simon have spoken fairly highly of Scott McLaughlin leading into his first full year in INDYCAR. What sort of separates him from perhaps other rookies that we've seen over the last few years? What has your advice been to him ahead of his first full season? 

WILL POWER: Yeah, I mean, the difference is that Scott has a significant amount of experience at a very high level because the Super Car Championship in Australia is very competitive, very professional. It's on par with INDYCAR.  

He's been through all the stuff that rookies go through. You've seen that in his testing. He hasn't thrown it off. I don't think he's even been off the track. Yeah, he's very methodical about his approach. I think experience is going to help him significantly over a rookie that had only done junior categories.  

Q. Will, obviously in the Road to Indy you're helping out or mentoring Myles Rowe, but also there's some young Australians. How cool is that as an Australian to see guys like Alex Peroni and Cam Shields come over here and try and make it? 

WILL POWER: Yeah, no, I've certainly helped Cameron Shields a lot in trying to make sure he continues. Obviously Myles is in a great program and has had a lot of laps in the car now. I'm hoping he'll be super strong.  

But, yeah, I actually don't know Alex Peroni very well, but I've kind of followed him a little bit with what he's done in Europe. I think he'll be really quick.  

Yeah, it's great to see, especially Cameron Shields, he's from Toowoomba, and he is very quick. I really believe he can get all the way to INDYCAR.  

I've got to give it to him because he has absolutely zero money or funding and he stuck it out for the last few years here by just meeting the right people, getting in the right situation and performing when he needs to.  

Yeah, I hope he gets a full season this year. I think he's in a good car. We'll see what happens there.  

Q. How excited are you to be affiliated with Paretta Autosport for the Indianapolis 500? How impressed were you with Simona's time over the weekend?  

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Very excited. They're certainly a great addition to our group. It's fun to have another car with Simona, too. I think Simona is a top-shelf talent. I think a lot of us feel that way about her in INDYCAR. It was almost a shame that she got cut short with her timeline in INDYCAR. When she left, she never probably had the best opportunity to compete at a high level. She was already doing that.  

I think she's going to be fantastic. She took to things pretty quickly, almost like she never left. With Paretta, the entire team, they've been absorbing the way work. We've had a lot of the different women at the track with us trying to understand our philosophies, the way we go about racing.  

It's going to be exciting. They're a really fun program. I think they're going to be covered pretty well in the 500. There's a lot of interest in their specific group. I think they'll have a good opportunity to compete at a high level.  

Q. Will, a couple years ago you were involved with trying to get INDYCAR back to Australia. Any update on that? Any movement in that area? Is that a dead horse? 

WILL POWER: I don't think that will ever happen. I don't think it will ever happen (laughter).  

I shouldn't say never, but not in the time that I'm in INDYCAR. Let's say it's definitely not going to happen in the next five years. I think Roger's focus is going to be on North America, not really going anywhere else. I don't know that for a fact. I think he'll try to grow that before he thinks about going anywhere else.  

Q. The Music City Grand Prix in your hometown of Nashville. What can everyone expect from that new race coming up this year? 

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think you could expect a good party, a really good party. I think it's very positive. When I think of street course racing in INDYCAR, I think of thrilling racing for all the purists out there. But I think of an entertaining show, certainly a bit of a party, which caters to everybody. That's what you want. You want that atmosphere where everyone can show up and have a good time regardless of how much of a racing fan you are.  

I think Nashville is going to do that probably better than anywhere. I'm very excited for it. I think it will be a great event. I know all the drivers in the paddock are excited for that one to come around.  

Q. Will, with Scott on the team, both from the same part of the world, do you have any secret language you can talk to each other your teammates won't understand? 

WILL POWER: We certainly do, but probably nothing I can mention on here. If you've ever been to Australia, you probably understand they like to throw swear words around a lot (laughter).  

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: They like to use their language at restaurants, I've noticed, when we go there (smiling). People love it.  

WILL POWER: Yeah, no, we certainly have our own language, which isn't good language, I would say (laughter).  

[ht: Judith Kouba Dominick - Chevrolet Racing Trackside Communications]

FAST FACTS

Will Power, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Josef Newgarden, Simon Pagenaud and Takuma Sato are the only entered drivers to have won at Barber Motorsports Park. 

Power won the race in 2011 and 2012, Hunter-Reay in 2013 and 2014, Newgarden in 2015, 2017 and 2018, Pagenaud in 2016 and Sato in 2019.

Power, Hunter-Reay, Pagenaud, Newgarden and Sato are the only entered drivers to have won the pole position at Barber Motorsports Park. Power claimed the pole position in 2010, 2011, 2014 and 2017, Pagenaud won the pole in 2016, Hunter-Reay won the pole in 2013, Newgarden won the pole in 2018, and Sato won the pole in 2019.

Five drivers have won the race from the pole – Power in 2011, Hunter-Reay in 2013, Pagenaud in 2016, Newgarden in 2018 and Sato in 2019

Race weekend: Saturday, April 17 – Sunday, April 18

NBC Sports race telecasts: Qualifying, 10 p.m. ET Saturday, NBCSN (tape-delayed); Race, 3:30 p.m. ET Sunday, NBC (live). Leigh Diffey is the play-by-play announcer for NBC's coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy.

... notes from The EDJE

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