Good morning from a partly cloudy Road America. After two days of brilliant sunshine each morning, it is currently partly cloudy with a forecast of complete overcast later in the day. The forecast also calls for cooler temperatures, with a high of 65° and breezy. I dressed accordingly and wore a sweatshirt. I am re-thinking that decision as it is already 70°. It felt rather warm getting out of the car. I’m still betting it cools off before the race. Anything will be better than last year’s race, with its uncharacteristic high temps. This weekend has been much more representative of the
As expected, traffic was fairly heavy driving in. This is the eleventh year for this event since open-wheel racing returned here in 2016. Each year, the crowd has grown. While it is good for the event, I am selfishly hoping that attendance levels off in the coming years. Anything more crowded than what it is now can become annoying.
The morning warm-up is taking place as I type, with about 13 minutes to go. Currently Nolan Siegel is setting the pace, but that will likely change when the checkered flag falls on the session. Still don’t overlook the fact that Siegel is having a great weekend. With the Ferrucci grid penalty, Siegel will start seventh this afternoon, and he has been solid all weekend. His time at Arrow McLaren may come to an end at the end of the season, but he will land somewhere. He has half a season to prove his abilities to other teams watching.
Earlier this weekend, Marshall Pruett published an article where he reported a rumor that Indianapolis 500 winner, Felix Rosenqvist, had received a massive offer from a top team. I am now seeing reports from others that the offer came from Andretti Global. If you connect the dots and who is out of contract at the end of the season, that would suggest that Marcus Ericsson is out in favor of his fellow countryman Rosenqvist. Might we see a driver swap between Andretti Global and Meyer Shank? Silly season is about to get interesting.
The checkered flag has now fallen on the warm-up. As expected, Siegel slid down to fourth – but that’s still good. Scott Dixon turned the fastest lap, with Marcus Armstrong and Felix Rosenqvist rounding out the Top-Three. I still say, don’t be too surprised if Armstrong finds himself in victory lane this afternoon. He has been exceptionally fast all weekend.
That’s going to do it for us, for now. We are going to go out and about and enjoy our last day at this great place, before the race gets underway this afternoon. TV coverage begins on Big FOX at 2:00 pm EDT. I’ll be back here with a wrap-up this afternoon, then I’ll have my usual Random Thoughts on Monday.
Enjoy the race!
George Phillips
