Forward looking front end of the debut release of the first Auto
Union AG 1936 Auto Union Type C grand prix racer sculpted in
aluminum by Michael Etrick with Raul Cenan and finished by Etrick Art. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2022)
Etrick Art Captures 90th Commemoration Of Auto Union AG/AUDI In Stunning
Sculpture
The automotive innovator and Germany based design stalwart that began life as
Auto Union, and the world knows by the name AUDI, celebrates 90 years of
continued motor culture participation. Through the merging of resources of,
Audi, DKW, Horch, and Wanderer in 1932, Auto Union was able to bring together
highly talented and determined individuals to develop outstanding race
cars.
The unveiling at Eric Nobel's CarLab design studio in Orange
California. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2022)
In the sculpture series REFLECTS, Michael Etrick and Raul Cenan, aided by Devin Etrick and Mike Tellez - that is Etrick Art - debut its lead sculpture of the 1936 Auto Union Type C. The debut of these brilliant aluminum art pieces is coinciding with the 90th anniversary of the formation of Auto Union AG on June 29, 2022.
Lead sculpture in the REFLECTS Series depicting the race car
designs of the early 1930's (1936 Auto Union Type C) that formed the Auto Union AG design language for speed Image
Credit: Edmund Jenks (2022)
In his artist development career arch, Michael Etrick was contracted in
Germany as an automotive design clay sculptor. He worked at AUDI and was
impressed through his tours of the facilities at seeing some of the original
race cars produced through the formation of Auto Union throughout the early
1930's. The historic nature of these racers, along with the bold designs,
caught his attention. The formation of Etrick Art and his current artworks are
a direct result of this preliminary and formative encounter.
The perfectly polished reflection off of the metal has the
stationary 302 pound sculptor piece feel that is moving very
quickly. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2022)
Etrick Art's 1936 Auto Union Type C going away. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2022)
"I was working at Audi, and I’ve seen all the classic race cars and
models in person. If you’re going to start with Auto Union and the coolest
thing the company did including Ferdinand Porsche’s involvement - the whole
build-up of it, and if you are going to do an iconic vehicle related to
Audi, the 1936 Auto Union Type C would be the one!" - reflects Michael
Etrick on the choice of this debut, 302 pound billet aluminum racer, that
preceded the Mercedes Benz versions and became known as the "Silver Arrows"
race cars, a Benz icon term used to this day.
The full display consists of six separate pieces. The display
stand with placement impressions, four sculpted wheel elements,
and the main racecar body with driver. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks
(2022)
Driver takes the wheel! Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2022)
The solid, polished aluminum Auto Union Tribute sculptures are idealized,
organic forms inspired by the Type C race cars from a bygone era add
beauty and excitement to any décor. Yet, being an auto enthusiast isn’t
necessary to fully appreciate the Etrick Art pieces.
The REFLECTS sculpture series is produced in two distinct sizes
- this being an example of the smaller one of the 1936 Auto
Union Type C. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2022)
Additionally, the mirror-finish of the material coupled with flowing forms
masterfully reflect light, hence the name of this series. The sculptures
are currently available in two sizes, the impressively larger piece,
again, weighs in at over 300-pounds.
Side-by-side of the initial release from REFLECTS Series from
Etrick Art. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2022)
REFLECTS Series produced by Etrick Art is a tribute commemoration that
honors the formation of four brands - Audi, DKW, Horch, and Wanderer - who
agreed to join together on June 29, 1932 to survive the vast
challenges encountered by the global depression. The four interlocking
rings of the logo symbolized the merger creating Auto Union. Today, Audi’s
logo proudly displays the same interlocking rings on its products, as a
reminder of this exquisite motor culture heritage.
Along with the unveiling of these new sculptures, the Etrick Art web
site comes alive at
https://etrickart.com. The site
covers all aspects of the development process, history, products,
images, and availability. Beyond the featured sculptures and prints,
bespoke artwork can be commissioned, as well.
Motor culture visionaries and artists Michael Etrick and Raul Cenan of Etrick Art present their debut REFLECTS Series sculpture at Eric Nobel's CarLab in Orange to select small groups of communicators. Most all in attendance were pleasingly stunned when this piece is revealed. Image Credit: Chris Erickson - Secret Car Club Events (2022)
This excerpted and edited from LinkedIn -
Exceptionally crafted, solid metal, limited-production sculptures for a fortunate few—Michael Etrick
Published By John Dinkel - LinkedIn - July 26, 2022
What you are looking at here is an incredible piece of automotive art. More than a decade in the making, the idea for this sculpture came about when Michael Etrick, an American automotive design sculptor, was working for Audi.
He became fascinated with the prospect of bringing the 1930s Auto Union era to life in the form of fine art. Along with Raul Cenan, who has a long history of automotive design with VW/Audi and Ford, the two capture the essence of the 1936 Type C racer in this sculpture.
From concept, the idea evolved into hand renderings, then to a clay model. Molds were made, and a hard copy was reproduced out of fiberglass/ epoxy, which allowed Etrick to further refine the design.
Then the model was scanned using the latest digital software and this data was sent to a six-axis milling machine, which milled out the basic shape from a block of TC 6061 aluminum.
Typically, the automotive design studios’ internal projects, along with
those that are developed outside of their facilities, are indeed a team
effort. However, this recent endeavor is personal to Mr. Etrick. Michael
combines his traditional clay modeling capabilities along with modern
technologies, where the end result does not have a designed-by-committee
look or feel. The initial sculptures in the REFLECTS Series pose a
hint of concept car-like vision while also being race car relatable.
Practicality and performance have a place in the real world, but those
definitely take a backseat to refined, styling brilliance found through
the processes at Etrick Art.
Public showings are being planned and it is understood that AUDI
dealerships throughout the county would love to have this sculpture be the
centerpiece of their own recognition of Auto Union/AUDI celebrating 90 years
strong through parties held at their dealerships for special customers and
business affiliates.
Chip Ganassi Racing's lead driver, Scott Dixon sails through Turn 1
with the Prince's Gate (erected 1927 for the Prince of Wales) as a
backdrop. The Princes' Gates is a triumphal arch and a monumental
gateway at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The
structure was named Princes' Gates, after Edward, Prince of Wales
and Prince George, Duke of Kent who officially opened these gates on
August 30, 1927. Image Credit: Chris Jones via Penske Entertainment (2022)
Scott Dixon Slays As Will Power Survives Commonwealth Based Race At Honda
Indy Toronto
Canada, New Zealand, and Australia are all still active members of the
Commonwealth Of Nations ... Britain and its dominions agreed they were "equal
in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their
domestic or external affairs, though united by common allegiance to the Crown,
and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations". The
term "Commonwealth" was officially adopted to describe the community.
[ht: Wikipedia]
There are as many active (full season) Commonwealth origin racecar drivers in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES as American racecar drivers - 7 drivers versus 8 drivers respectively) Image Credit: WorldPopulationReview.com (2022)
The reason that this point-of-order came to light in conjunction with this
Honda Indy Toronto race is that Scott Dixon, upon winning at this venue a
fourth time in his career, stated that he considers Toronto to be his "home"
track since New Zealand, Dixon's birthplace, is a Commonwealth member nation -
so is Australia, Will Power's birthplace.
After the three round Knock-Out Qualifications format, the following 25 car
field for the 10th race of the 2022 season was set up as follows:
Four rookies in the top 12 of the field. Season points leader Marcus
Ericsson starting down at P9 - number two in the season points, Will Power
starts way down at P16 (but has two sets of fresh REDS), and third in the
points, Josef Newgarden starts at P3.
Biggest possible season points winner in this deal may just be sixth in the
season points starting at P2 Scott Dixon if he has nothing but Green Flag
racing ahead of him - he is set to begin a season ending run.
Race Stare Tire Strategy - Image Credit: Facebook (2022)
For Will Power to survive the battle for season points out of the shortest
street course on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule, he will need another drive
of the year as he had in Mid-Ohio where he started at P21 due to a Quals.
Penalty - slid to last place at P27 due to a non-contact spin on the first
lap - to finish at P3 on the podium!!!
This excerpted and edited from Motorport.com -
Toronto IndyCar: Dixon scores 52nd win, matches Mario Andretti
By: David Malsher-Lopez - Jul 17, 2022, 2:16 PM
Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda’s legend Scott Dixon held off Colton Herta and
Felix Rosenqvist to score his 52nd IndyCar triumph and his fourth in
Toronto, and match the legendary Mario Andretti in second on the all-time
IndyCar winners list.
From the start, polesitter Herta was unthreatened, while Dixon swept
across from the outside to ensure Newgarden couldn’t sneak up from third
to claim second. Newgarden checked his momentum and that allowed Alexander
Rossi around his outside to try and claim third, but Newgarden had put the
matter beyond dispute by the end of the lap. Scott McLaughlin, his
teammate, passed David Malukas for fifth, but there was even worse luck
for the other Dale Coyne Racing-Honda, that of Takuma Sato who was shoved
into the wall at the Turn 1 kerfuffle, and limped his very broken car back
to the pits. The debris left behind obliged Race Control to throw the
full-course caution.
Following the Lap 4 restart Felix Rosenqvist demoted Malukas down to
seventh, while Power had already taken advantage of his alternate tires to
move into 12th, from 16th on the grid, but rather than burn up all his
push to pass trying to stay ahead of Romain Grosjean who he’d passed on
the opening lap, he let the Frenchman back past on Lap 11 and pitted next
time by to grab primaries. Defending champion Alex Palou, who had started
22nd, had pitted a couple of laps earlier to take on primaries and such
had been his pace, the undercut ensured Power emerged behind him. To avoid
the risk of getting jumped should a yellow fall, the leaders rapidly
started pulling in, Newgarden remaining ahead of Rossi but now split by
rookie Malukas. Herta and McLaughlin stopped on Lap 19, a lap after Dixon
and found himself being outbraked by the six-time champion into Turn 1, to
effectively take the lead. Behind them, Newgarden and now Rossi were ahead
of Malukas, while Rosenqvist had turned in fast enough laps at the end of
his stint to emerge ahead of McLaughlin and hold off the Penske driver.
However, Dixon wasn’t yet in the lead, for Graham Rahal, Rinus VeeKay,
Pato O’Ward, Jimmie Johnson and Conor Daly had risked running a long first
stint on their primaries to try and make a net gain.
Rahal finally pitted from the lead on Lap 25, emerging in 14th which
would become 10th once his fellow long runners stopped. Further back,
Power was only 19th, and not even threatening the Andretti cars of
DeFrancesco and Grosjean ahead.
On Lap 30, Rosenqvist moved ahead of Malukas and onto the tail of future
Arrow McLaren SP driver, Rossi, who was applying the pressure to Newgarden
while the Penske driver stayed bottled up behind the yet-to-stop Daly.
Trackside performance artist Bill Patterson posted this tribute to Scott Dixon tying Mario Andretti on 52 career wins - the second most wins behind A.J. Foyt's 67 wins. CAPTION: Congratulations on #52 to Scott Dixon! Making it look easy today in Toronto, now tied for 2nd (with Mario Andretti) in IndyCar history, Scott still has "it"!!! His 1st in 20021, his latest in 2022. Wow, just wow! Both originals available at http://ow.ly/CjI150JXHm2 - Image Credit: Bill Patterson via FB/META (2022)
O’Ward finally stopped on Lap 32, leaving Dixon out front with a 2.5sec
lead over Herta, the pair of them in a race of their own as 14sec behind
them, Daly continued to hold up a train of cars led by Newgarden, Rossi
and Rosenqvist. Finally Daly uncorked the bottle on Lap 36 and pitted.
Not that Newgarden then made any notable progress thereafter because he
was in fuel-save mode having been one of the early stoppers. On Lap 43,
just past half distance in this 85-lap race, Dixon was 2.3sec ahead of
Herta, with Newgarden still 14sec back, with Rossi and Rosenqvist 2sec
further back disputing fourth.
That dispute ended in tears on Lap 45, just as Rosenqvist was encouraged
by his strategist to make the pass. At Turn 3, the AMSP driver flicked to
the inside of the future AMSP driver, and he was fully alongside as they
exited the turn but as Rosenqvist floored the throttle his car slid
sideways and the contact sent the Andretti car hard into the wall. Race
Control would say the attempt was legit and so there was no penalty for
the AMSP driver.
The drivers wended their way into the tortuous pitlane, and Newgarden
suffered a horrible stop as he stopped too far from his crew, and the
refueler struggled to get the nozzle engaged nad Newgarden was down to
11th.. With VeeKay and Daly having stayed out front after their late
stops, Ed Carpenter Racing-Chevrolet had a 1-2 – VeeKay on reds, Daly on
blacks – ahead of Dixon, Herta, Rosenqvist, McLaughlin, Rahal, Pagenaud,
Ericsson and Palou. Following the restart, Newgarden lost out further to
Christian Lundgaard and O’Ward.
Up (almost) at the front, Herta was now fully able to stay in Dixon’s
wake, but then the yellow flew for debris at Turn 1 – concrete debris,
caused by the track breaking up – compressed the field once more.
Following the Lap 59 restart, Ericsson had a couple of wheel banging
moments with teammate Ericsson over eighth place but failed to make a move
stick. He only had to wait a few seconds to gain eighth anyway, because
the yellow had to be thrown once more due to Kirkwood and Johnson coming
together at the back of the field and stalling. That yellow saw VeeKay
duck into the pits, but because the field had to go so slow through the
incident scene, the Dutch driver was able to emerge in 13th despite the
field being bunched together.
The next restart came at the end of Lap 66, with 19 laps to go, and into
Turn 1, Rahal muscled down the inside of McLaughlin to snatch fourth and
the Penske driver got out on the marbles through Turn 2 and lost places to
Ericsson, Palou, Lundgaard and Pagenaud. On Lap 69, Pagenaud passed
Lundgaard for seventh. Another Penske driver, however, moved forward,
getting ahead of O’Ward and Malukas to grab 10th.
Up front, Dixon pulled away from Herta who was having to watch his
mirrors for Rosenqvist. Some 1.7sec back, Rahal was fending off the
Ericsson vs Palou battle.
In the final 10 laps, Palou eased off from the back of Ericsson, allowing
the championship leader to focus on trying to find a way past Rahal. Three
seconds further up the road, Rosenqvist’s efforts to get around Herta
redoubled, but he couldn’t quite get it done, and he fell half a second
short. Ahead of them Dixon scored his first win of the year, after leading
40 of the 85 laps, and ensuring he has now scored at least one win in 18
seasons.
Rahal was great fourth ahead of Ericsson, while Palou can be proud of his
charge from 22nd to sixth place, the highest finishing driver of those who
had never seen Toronto before this weekend.
Lundgaard was a fine eighth ahead of Penske drivers McLaughlin and
Newgarden who completed the Top 10.
ENDS
A great day for points movement for Chip Ganassi Racing drivers with a win by
Dixon, the maintaining in the season points lead by Ericsson (tacking on a few
points to the margin between him and Penske's Will Power), and a couple of
leap frog position moves - Alex Palou moves Newgarden to P4 and takes over P3
with Scott Dixon winning, he moves from P6 over Pato O'Ward to P5.
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Point Standings:
Ericsson 351, Power 316, Palou 314, Newgarden 307, Dixon 307,
Lundgaard 183, Castroneves 173, Malukas 163, Sato 154, Harvey 126,
Ilott 113, DeFrancesco 111, Johnson 108, Kirkwood 106, Tony Kanaan 78,
Kellett 76, Santino Ferrucci 71, Tatiana Calderon 58, JR Hildebrand 53, Ed Carpenter 49,
Juan Pablo Montoya 44, Simona De Silvestro 21, Marco Andretti 17, Sage Karam 14, Stefan Wilson 10
CGR drivers are now sitting at P1, P3, and P5 in the season points tally with seven races remaining.
Next up? Two races - HY-VEEDEALS.COM 250 PRESENTED BY DOORDASH & HY-VEE SALUTE TO
FARMERS 300 PRESENTED BY GOOGLE - Iowa Speedway - July 22-23 -
Official Schedule
Will Power immerses himself during the winning tradition splash
in the Belle Isle Scott Fountain waters at the Chevrolet Detroit
Grand Prix . Image Credit: James Black via Penske
Entertainment (2022)
Team Penske's Will Power Gives Preview Impressions On Honda Indy Toronto
After Two Year Absence
While Team Penske has had all three of its drivers - Scott McLaughlin, Josef
Newgarden, Will Power - score wins this 2022 season (the first season in the
post COVID-19 protocol era of protocols and shut downs), it is Will Power that
has risen above the deepest challenges to score enough points to be sitting P2
in the season championship points race.
Chip Ganassi Racing's (CGR) INDY 500 winner Marcus Ericsson sits at P1 just 20
points ahead of Will with 321 points and Penske teammate Josef Newgarden is a
mere 14 points behind Will in P3. What is further enlightening as to how
competitive this season has been, Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou (recently
signed under contest by CGR to McLaren Racing's Formula 1 team for 2023)
trails Newgarden by one (1) point with the P5 points driver, Arrow McLaren
SP's Pato O'Ward chases at another 30 points behind Palou.
OTHER Pre-Toronto Race Factoids:
Race weekend: Friday, July 15 - Sunday, July 17
Track: Streets of Toronto’s Exhibition Place, an 11-turn, 1.786-mile
temporary street course
Race distance: 85 laps / 151.81 miles
Push-to-pass parameters: 200 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 20
seconds per activation.
Firestone tire allotment: Seven sets primary, four sets alternate. Teams
must use one set of primary and one new set of alternate tires in the race.
Twitter: @HondaIndy, @IndyCar, #IndyTO, #IndyCar
Event website: www.HondaIndy.com
INDYCAR website: www.INDYCAR.com
2019 race winner (most recent event): Simon Pagenaud (No. 22 DXC Technology
Team Penske Chevrolet)
2019 NTT P1 Award winner (most recent event): Simon Pagenaud (No. 22 DXC
Technology Team Penske Chevrolet), 58.4293 seconds, 110.041 mph
Qualifying record: Gil de Ferran, 57.143 seconds, 110.565 mph, July 17, 1999
(Note: Josef Newgarden set a qualifying mark of 58.4129 seconds, 110.072
mph, for the current layout in 2019.)
There have been six different winners in nine NTT INDYCAR SERIES races in
the 2022 season. Scott McLaughlin (Streets of St. Petersburg, Mid-Ohio
Sports Car Course), Josef Newgarden (Texas Motor Speedway, Streets of Long
Beach and Road America), Pato O’Ward (Barber Motorsports Park), Colton
Herta (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course-1), Marcus Ericsson
(Indianapolis 500) and Will Power (Raceway at Belle Isle Park) have all
won in 2022. The record for most different winners in a season is 11 in
2000, 2001 and 2014.
There have been six different winners in the last 10 NTT INDYCAR SERIES
races (Colton Herta, Scott McLaughlin, Josef Newgarden, Pato O’Ward,
Marcus Ericsson and Will Power). The only repeat winners in that stretch
are Newgarden (Texas 2022, Long Beach 2022 and Road America 2022) and
McLaughlin (St. Petersburg 2022 and Mid-Ohio 2022).
There have been nine different NTT P1 Award winners in 2022. Scott
McLaughlin (Streets of St. Petersburg), Felix Rosenqvist (Texas Motor
Speedway), Colton Herta (Streets of Long Beach), Rinus VeeKay (Barber
Motorsports Park), Will Power (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course-1),
Scott Dixon (Indianapolis 500), Josef Newgarden (Raceway at Belle Isle
Park), Alexander Rossi (Road America) and Pato O’Ward (Mid-Ohio Sports Car
Course) have won pole positions in 2022. The modern-day record for most
different pole winners to start a season is 10 set in 1952. The record for
most pole winners in a season is 12 set in the 1999 CART season.
The Honda Indy Toronto will be the 36th INDYCAR SERIES race held on the
streets of Toronto’s Exhibition Place. The race returns after a two-year
absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Simon Pagenaud won the last time the
race was held, in 2019.
Scott Dixon and Will Power are tied as winningest active INDYCAR SERIES
drivers at Toronto with three victories apiece (Power won in 2007, 2010
and 2016, and Dixon won both races in 2013 and the 2018 race). Michael
Andretti has the most wins at the track with seven. Dixon and Power, along
with previous race winners Josef Newgarden (2015 and 2017) and Simon
Pagenaud (2019), are entered this year.
Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, met with the media via Zoom
conference to preview the NTT INDYCAR SERIES race July 17 in Toronto. Power,
who advanced 18 spots from his starting position (P21 - 24 spots if one counts
from the position he was left in - P27 - after his first lap spin) to finish
third July 3 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, is a three-time winner and
two-time pole sitter on the 1.78-mile, 11-turn Toronto street circuit.
CHEVROLET Racing/NTT INDYCAR SERIES ZOOM Call
Full transcript:
HOW MUCH ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GOING BACK TO TORONTO?
“Yeah, very much so. I love the city there, and the track is very unique.
Really isn't a track that we go to that's like that. It's near impossible to
get a good balance in the car, so it's a lot of compromise. Feel like it's a
real driver's track. It's pretty hard.”
LOOKING BACK AT YOUR MID-OHIO DRIVE – A CHAMPIOSHIP-SAVING DRIVE MAYBE. HOW
BIG WAS THAT WEEKEND FOR YOU?
“It was a very good recovery. I would say we had a car that, I feel like,
could definitely challenge for pole. It was unfortunate what happened. Our
fault. We weren't on top of that. We should have been. Obviously, the strategy
and the car was great in the race. Yep, did not expect to make it all the way
back to third, but I knew our car was strong. With yellows and restarts, good
pit stop sequence, we were able to make our way all the way up to a podium. I
was hoping at the beginning of that day for a top 10. I said that a few times
this year, like at Detroit, like at Barber, but we've made it much further.
Definitely showing my race craft ability with all these bad qualifyings, which
I haven't been able to do for most of my career because I've always qualified
right up at the front. Plus, you learn when you're back there, as well, when
you're in the mix of stuff.”
YOUR TEAMMATES HAVE WON MULTIPLE RACES. WHAT DO YOU SEE THE REASON FOR WHY THE
ENTIRE TEAM IS BETTER?
“The tire changed a little bit. Basically, the Firestone tires that we were
running last year had sat around a lot, so the tire was obviously hardening
over time. I think the tire's simply better this year, which brought our cars
into a better place for where we live. We also did a lot of development in the
off-season. I actually feel like last year we had bad luck. I wouldn't call it
luck, but just strange things happened when we had cars in position to win and
such. Yeah, last year wasn't as bad as it looked on performance. It was just
one of those years that was just a little bit messy and things didn't flow our
way. Newgarden should have won Road America. I should have won in Detroit. We
should have challenging for the win in Laguna. It's just races like that that
kind of made it look worse. Yes, we're certainly firing on all cylinders this
year.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE ALEX PALOU, MCLAREN, CHIP GANASSI SITUATION?
“I've heard rumors around the paddock of exactly what's transpiring right now.
Yeah, it's kind of good for the series really to have a bit of action in the
paddock. Yeah, obviously I don't know the details of everything that has gone
on there. Yeah, it's going to be interesting to see how that whole things
plays out.”
DOESN’T IT ALSO CREATE A HUGE DISTRACTION ON THAT TEAM AS THEY’RE TRYING TO
BATTLE FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP?
“Well, I think that's been a distraction all year for those guys because this
whole thing has been going on behind the scenes. Yeah, not ideal if you're
fighting for a championship within a team. Definitely not ideal.”
HAVE YOU EVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE IN YOUR CAREER IN INDYCAR?
“I have not seen this in INDYCAR. I mean, this sort of thing goes on obviously
all the time, various businesses. It's just one of those things where it's
going to come down to the wording in the contract simply.”
HOW DISTRACTING CAN CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS BE FOR A DRIVER MID-SEASON?
“It can make some drivers perform better and some perform worse. Yeah, some
need that sort of pressure to bring the best out of them, and some don't do
well under those situations. Ideally, I think you want everything settled and
you want pretty good vibes in the team. But it totally depends on the
individual.”
THERE’S BEEN NINE DIFFERENT POLE SITTERS SO FAR. WHY DO YOU THINK QUALIFYING
HAS BEEN SO UP IN THE AIR THIS SEASON?
“Simply because it's so competitive. There is no one that is dominating, no
one stands out. You can try to pick the polesitter for this weekend. You
simply couldn't. Even the drivers, you couldn't pick who might be on pole,
which to me is a great thing.”
WHICH DRIVE WAS MORE IMPRESSIVE FOR YOU – MID-OHIO OR DETROIT?
“I think Mid-Ohio, coming from the very back, having spun, to get to the
podium was definitely, yep. Tires weren't a big deal there. Like reds and
blacks were pretty similar over a stint. Yeah, that's a great job from the
team overall with strategy and staying in the game, and also for me to keep my
head, slowly chip away at it.”
YOUR TEAM HAS WON SIX OF THE NINE RACES. CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE CONFIDENCE YOU
GUYS ARE WALKING IN WITH EVERY WEEK?
“I've always had that confidence being in that team, that you will turn up to
a weekend with a chance to win. That's always kind of been my feeling. Like, I
never walked into a weekend thinking, Man, we've got no chance. When you start
having good runs on the board, you're right there in the points, it does give
you confidence. You're obviously feeling good about the situation. You're not
feeling like you have to do anything desperate, you're just having to execute.
You're sitting in that sweet spot of performance.”
YOU SAID AFTER MID-OHIO THAT YOUR PARENTS HAVE NEVER BEEN HERE FOR A WIN. IS
THAT LEGITIMATE OTHER THAN THE TIME YOU WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP IN ’14?
“Yeah, my mother was at the championship when I won in '14. But, yes, my
parents haven't been to a race for years. I can't remember the last time my
dad came. Might be 2009 or something. No? '11 was the last time my dad came to
a race. Yeah, they haven't really seen much of on-track action. My brother has
come twice. '18 when I won the 500, then on to Detroit when I won Detroit. I
have two other brothers as well that have never been to a race.”
Current pre-race Honda Indy Toronto race season championship top
six driver points. Image Credit: Penske Entertainment - indycar.com
(2022)
YOU’RE IN THE TITLE FIGHT WITH EIGHT RACES LEFT. ANY DISCUSSIONS OF THEM
COMING OVER HERE, BEING HERE BY MONTERREY?
“No, they won't come. I don't know that for sure. My wife might surprise me. I
doubt it. I doubt I'll see my parents. I doubt it, yeah. I don't think they'll
come.”
A LOT OF ROOKIES AT TORONTO THIS WEEKEND. THIS WILL BE YOUR 14TH START. IS
THAT AN ADVANTAGE OR DOES THE AEROSCREEN KIND OF NEGATE EVERYTHING?
“I think it will be different. The tire's probably a little different. It's so
tight these years. The little tiny things do make a big difference. Yeah, the
field is so good now, there's so many good drivers, it really doesn't matter
if someone has been there or not because they seem to get up to speed so
quickly. Yeah, you can't feel like you ever have an advantage in this game.”
THERE’S A GOOD SHOT WE COULD BE COMING TO INDY IN A COUPLE WEEKS AND YOU THREE
PENSKE GUYS ARE FIGHTHING FOR A TITLE. IS IT A TOUGH ACT TO BALANCE WORKING
WITH A TEAMMATE, FIGHTING THAT SAME TEAMMATE FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP?
“It is a very tough balance. To me, the most awkward thing about motorsport is
that you have a teammate, and you're absolutely compared off your teammates,
you have the same equipment. Very tough balance. But Penske, I don't think
Penske would ever allow it to get to the point where we're having big issues
with each other on track. We understand that. We understand that it's about
the team and not about the drivers. You never put yourself first. You work
hard, you work together off the track. Obviously we're kind of separate teams
on the track. I have to say with both Scott and Josef, it's been very good as
far as the information that we share. Like, they are both super quick. It has
helped me a lot. That's to me an advantage.”
IT SEEMS LIKE STREET COURSES COULD GO EITHER WAY AS FAR AS QUALIFYING
POSITION. TORONTO SEEMS TO FAVOR STARTING POSITION MORE. IS STARTING POSITION
GOING TO MEAN A LOT THIS WEEKEND?
“It looks like that way just reviewing the race. I've thought that a few times
this year. Obviously tracks I feel like are tough to pass. We've actually made
some hay. Like who knows, it could be a straightforward race, it can be pretty
green, not much chance to make passes. But INDYCAR at the moment is so
competitive that who knows. Like, at the end of the day you can never give up.
Don't be too down in the mouth if you don't qualify well. But it matters,
though. Qualifying up front, if you execute well, you're certainly going to
finish up front.”
WHAT MAKES TORONTO SO DIFFICULT, AND WHY IS THAT THAT THE GUYS THAT ARE
CHAMPIONS OF THE SPORT ALWAYS SEEM TO PERFORM WELL THERE?
“The track is just difficult because there's so many different levels of grip.
Like, you never feel in the track, on top of the track, it's sliding. The car
never handles well. It's kind of difficult to tell your engineer what to do
because there's so much compromise. Maybe it's a track that it's easy to make
a mistake on. That's why maybe veterans or people being around a bit longer
don't end up making mistakes. That might be the reason that you've seen
champions win.”
YOU TALKED ABOUT HOW YOUNG GUYS CAN SHOW UP AT TRACKS AND BE ON THEIR A GAME.
IS PART OF THAT BECAUSE OF SIM WORK – THEY’RE MORE PREPARED?
“Definitely simulator work. You know the braking points, you know the gears,
you know the track. You don't know the track condition. But, yeah, that's a
pretty big chunk of time you cut off trying to understand where a track goes
by being on a sim the week before. That is a big, big help. Obviously video
these days, so much on-board footage, there's so much information to take in
before you get there. You turn up, you're going out first session knowing the
track.”
MID-OHIO 2022 RACE 09 HIGHLIGHTS - Will Power's Drive Of The Year
A LOT OF DRIVERS PERFORM WORSE AFTER A MISTAKE, BUT YOU SHOWED THE OPPOSITE AT
MID-OHIO. DO YOU THINK MISTAKES CAN MAKE YOU MORE POWERFUL ON TRACK?
“Yeah, honestly after I spun, I just gathered it up and didn't really reflect
on it, and just started passing people. Obviously it's not even on your mind
when you get to that point. Then you just start progressing, doing your job. I
think that's the only mentality you can have. I think the mistake people might
make, I've made in the past, you get desperate. Oh, my God, I'm at the back, I
made a mistake. That is right there, the mindset, that will make you have a
worse race. I wasn't even upset or mad. It's like, OK, how do I keep going?
Don't stall the car. Got right back into it. Didn't even think about it. The
sooner you can get over that stuff, the better. You can't be thinking about it
three laps later. You have to keep chipping away. Still at that point in your
mind every single point matters, so every position does matter. Maybe that's
your bad day that you spun. It's your bad day. But every point matters here.
That's kind of the mentality I had at Indy when I went back to pretty much
last in the first stint. I was like, This is double points, every position I
get matters at the end of the year. That was the mentality. You're not going
to win every race, so it's just getting the most out of every situation.
That's really what I have been doing this year.”
WERE YOU SATISFIED ABOUT THAT PERFORMANCE? YOU WERE FRUSTRATED ABOUT WHAT
HAPPENED?
“I was extremely happy about the finish. I was very, very happy with third. I
couldn't honestly believe that I made it to third. I was really, really happy.
Just felt great for the team. It was a weekend that we had a lot of potential
to win. But, like I said, you can't win them all. You do have bad races. If
you can come back from a mistake, that's even better. Yeah, I was very, very
happy with that day. Very happy.”
DO YOU SEE AUSTRALIA FOSTERING NEW TALENT TOWARD SINGLE-SEATER RACING,
PARTICULARLY IN NORTH AMERICA?
“Yeah, I was really happy to see Hunter McElrea doing so good. I think he's a
super fast driver. Has definitely, definitely the potential to get to INDYCAR
and do well. But, yeah, I don't know what's going on down in Australia so much
these days. I haven't been back there for a long time. I have to say, though,
I'm sure Drive to Survive is helping just open-wheel motorsports in general.
Like, I think go-karting is more popular now. I think all those series. I
think it's great. It's giving open-wheel racing relevance. People understand
the cars now. When they see an INDYCAR, they can identify, Oh, yeah, that's
just like a Formula 1 car. I think having Scott (McLaughlin) come over and do
really well from Supercars, I think kids would see that and go, Maybe I want
to go that route. If you do some Supercar driving, doesn't mean you can't come
and race open-wheels. You've seen how well Scott adapted pretty quickly. Yeah,
I would love to see more Australians over here. I think now Roger has taken
the series over, the ladder system will get stronger. You already see there's
more Indy Lights cars. Hopefully more again next year. That's what it needs,
is a very good ladder system with three categories before INDYCAR. If you
start doing more than that, it starts watering the three down. I hope that we
can get three strong series together, massive fields. Yeah, it helps that
ladder system.”
THERE’S A LOT OF NEW ZEALANDERS AND AUSTRALIANS THAT GO ON TO DEVELOPMENT
SERIES WITH SUPERCARS. WHAT MCLAUGHLIN HAS DONE HELPS.
“What you have to look at, too, look at the past champions of Indy Lights. Not
even champions, but guys that have competed first and second. Look at Pato
O'Ward and Colton Herta. Those guys are testing Formula 1 right now. Who was
last year's champion? Kirkwood. I mean, if you go through that ladder system,
you win on each rung of those ladders, you get money to go to the next series.
There's nothing like that anywhere else in the world. It's a good place to go,
it really is. It's not as expensive as Europe. You are guaranteed to continue
if you win. I think that's a pretty good deal.”
THE CANADIAN FAN BASE LOKING FORWARD TO A RACE THERE. I’M SURE THAT WILLMAKE
THE RAE THAT MUCH MORE EXCITING FOR YOU AS A DRIVER.
“Yeah, I think speaking to Kevin Savoree, he said ticket sales are really
good. I think we'll get a massive crowd. Always do. I think the Canadian fans
are some of the best in the world. They love their sport. A real party
atmosphere. Nothing better than racing in front of a big crowd. I expect it to
be a pretty good event.”
ZOOM Call - Edmund Jenks
HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT TEAMING UP WITH YOUR BROTHER AND HAVING HIM GIVE
HIS SHOWS SURROUNDING INDYCAR VENUES?
“No, obviously really enjoy him coming over because we share a similar sense
of humor. Obviously enjoy his company massively. No, I've often thought about
what we could do together after INDYCAR, on the comedy side of stuff because
obviously he has a lot of contacts in Australia. Maybe we can do some sort of
TV show or something. Yeah, haven't ever really thought about him. He has
talked about coming to the U.S. and doing gigs. I think he'd just have to
follow what his management puts in place for him. Yeah, no, I would love him
to live over here. That would be cool. I think he's going to at some point
pretty soon.”
Damien Power With Will Power - Comedy Promo
TORONTO HAS VARYING GRIPS AND IT’S HARD TO PASS. IS THAT TROUBLE IF YOU DON’T
START IN THE FIRST THIRD OF THE FIELD?
“Yeah, these days if you get in the top six, you're pretty happy. You know you
can do a lot from there. God, man, it's so hard to predict the races. Like, it
could go green. It could be a very straightforward race. I don't think Toronto
is all that difficult to pass. There are places to pass. You can pass. What's
happened is the field is so tough now, everyone is about the same speed in the
race. That's what makes it hard to pass. It's not necessarily the track. I
think Firestone has done a good job of making a big difference between blacks
and reds. There's another way that you can just switch up strategy and just be
on a different tire than everyone else, different to the conventional
strategies. Yeah, based on the three races I've had this year where I've come
from way back, you would stress less about qualifying badly, just knowing if
you keep your head you can definitely make hay. The points situation also
changes the way you race a bit. You're not in this 'I have nothing to lose'
sort of mentality, so you do race a little differently because of that, as
well.”
SEEING YOU ON TRACK THIS YEAR – VERY MATURE, A LOT OF FUN. YOURE’ JUST MAKING
IT ROUGHER FOR EVERYONE ELSE.
“Everyone makes it tougher on each other. It's a great group, great series.
There's nothing like it in the world, honestly. The disciplines you have to
do, the competition, the different nationalities, it's a pretty unique
series.”
ANY CONCERN ON YOUR PART OR THE TEAM’S PART ON CHEVY RELIABILITY GOING
FORWARD?
“Yeah, obviously always concerned when you see that. I will say that all the
Chevys are switching out engines because they're all up on mileage for this
race. They are all on new engines. (Indiscernible) Indy 500 race engines.
Chevy obviously does a big investigation into what happened. Usually a failure
creates -- it doesn't happen twice, put it that way. I don't know the findings
of their investigation. I know one of them was not a Chevy issue.”
THE TEAM COMFORTABLE WITH THE SWAP-PUT, JUST FEELING NO ISSUES?
“No. No. I think we're all pretty comfortable. We've had this engine for a
long time. It's been pretty reliable. Sometimes oddball things happen. They
take care of it.”
HOW MUCH DO YOU SEE THE AEROSCREEN AFFECTING THE RACING IN TORONTO?
“Yeah, it definitely changed the car a lot because it moves the weight further
forward. But I've actually found at Toronto, as the weight has gone forward,
it's really helped. On those really slippery cement patches, the actual weight
downforce matters, so you get more weight force on the front tires, and it
actually helps turn the car. That was a big problem when the car had really
rearward weight, that the front tires would not work over that cement.
Obviously at some point, when you have high grip, that weight matters
laterally. But the grip is so low that the lateral -- the actual weight
downforce is more than the actual lateral force. So, yeah, it's interesting.
To me it actually helped at that specific track, at Toronto.”
YOU’VE BEEN STRONG THIS YEAR. WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU AND TEAM PENSKE NEED TO DO
TO BE EVEN STRONGER?
“For me personally is to qualify better. It's not always been about pace. Last
week it was just strategy and the lack of communication that got us. I
actually feel like we would have definitely made it through to the Fast Six
and potentially had a pole. Yeah, the last couple, Road America being P2 in
practice, then not converting that in qualifying, that's the sort of thing
we've got to be on top of. I've just had a messy year of qualifying as far as
being in the wrong place on track or not getting a big enough gap to the car
in front, or simply not performing, not being fast enough. I've had all those
situations. That's the area I need to improve on for the next half of this
season. I think that will put me in a really good position, if I do.”
DO YOU FEEL THE COMPETITION LEVEL IS AT AN ALL-TIME HIGH?
“Yeah, definitely the all-time high as far as driver talent, the quality of
teams. Yeah, it hasn't been this tough ever. Yeah, three big teams now, four
big teams: Penske, McLaren, Andretti, Ganassi. You add Shank into that. I
don't think there's a series more competitive around the world than this.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE WHOLE TEST SITUATION WITH COLTON HERTA AND FORMULA 1?
“Yeah, man, I wish there was Zak Brown around when I was that age, when I
first got to INDYCAR, because I know I would have got a chance in Formula 1.
It's cool to see that because I know how that feels. I know how awesome that
would be for Colton. I really hope, if he goes there, he does really well.
But, yeah, I mean, a great opportunity. I think it's just so fantastic to have
a team like McLaren and Zak Brown in INDYCAR. I think it's great for the
series. It's good for the young guys here obviously. I think it's great what
Zak Brown is doing, I do. Cool to see.”
DO YOU THINK MCLAREN, ARROW MCLAREN SP HAS AN ADVANTAGE CORNERING YOUNG TALENT
BECUASE HE CAN DANGLE THIS F1 RIDE TO JOINING THE TEAM?
“Yes, absolutely. That would be 100% why Palou would want to go there. I don't
blame him honestly. I mean, I would be the same. If you had a chance to go and
race in F1, as big as F1 is now, yeah, you would want to go there. It's pretty
cool. You think about the reach that McLaren has, Formula E, Formula 1, sports
car. Man, it's a pretty good place, pretty good organization to be involved
with.”
HOW FAR OFF DO YOU THINK ARROW MCLAREN SP IS TO JOINING THE PENSKES AND
GANASSIS AT THE VERY ELITE LEVEL OF INDYCAR?
“They're right there. They're right there. It will be interesting. Obviously
they've had young drivers, so it takes a while for the young guys to
understand exactly what you need as far as development goes. But adding Rossi
to the team, there's a guy with a lot of experience. I think that's kind of
what it needed. Yeah, they're there, man. They're very, very strong. They're a
very good team.”
WITH HALF THE FIELD NEVER BEING IN TORONTO, DOES THAT GIVE YOU A CONFIDENCE
BOOST BECAUSE YOU HAVE BEEN THERE BEFORE AND DONE WELL?
“No, no. Basically with simulators and video and everything, it doesn't really
give you an advantage any more. I think people turn up, they pretty much know
the track. Yeah, it's anyone's guess who will be the quickest there and what
the top 10 would be, honestly.”
ENDS
Honda INDY Toronto Exhibition race track front straight looking
toward right-handed Turn 1 with downtown Toronto's iconic CN Tower,
the world’s tallest free standing structure for 32 years from
1975–2007, and The Princes' Gates, designed by the architectural
firm of Chapman and Oxley and were officially opened by H.R.H.
Edward, Prince of Wales on 30 August 1927, on the occasion of his
visit to Canada to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee (60th) anniversary
of Confederation, in the background. Image Credit: Toronto Grand Prix Tourist - A Toronto Blog
(2022)
At-track schedule (all times local - ET):
Friday, July 15
2:30-3:45 p.m. - NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 1, Peacock Premium/INDYCAR
Live!
Saturday, July 16
10-11 a.m. - NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 2 (45 minutes limited guarantee),
Peacock Premium/INDYCAR Live!
2-3:15 p.m. - Qualifying for NTT P1 Award (Three rounds of knockout
qualifying), Peacock Premium/INDYCAR Live!
Sunday, July 17
10:55-11:25 a.m. - NTT INDYCAR SERIES Final Practice, Peacock
Premium/INDYCAR Live!
3 p.m. - Peacock Premium/SportsNet 360 on air
3:23 p.m. - The Honda Indy Toronto "Drivers, start your engines"
3:30 p.m. - The Honda Indy Toronto (85 laps, 151.81 miles), Peacock
Premium/SportsNet 360 (Live)
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