Much of the IndyCar Silly Season speculation has centered around the possible 2024 destinations of 2021 NTT IndyCar Series champion and current points leader Alex Palou. To just a slightly lesser extent, a lot of focus has been on his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate and 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson. It appears that there will be at least one vacant seat at Ganassi for next season. Depending on what Marcus Armstrong does (or what Ganassi decides to do with the No. 11 entry), there could be as many as three new drivers at Ganassi for 2024.
Archive for July, 2023
Where Will Romain Grosjean End Up?
Posted in IndyCar on July 28, 2023 by OilpressureA New IndyCar Season-Finale?
Posted in IndyCar on July 26, 2023 by Oilpressure
If you’ve listened to Trackside over the past couple of weeks, you’ve heard Kevin Lee throw out a theory where Nashville could become the site of the season-finale and also host the championship banquet. Last week, I also saw a tweet from sports business insider Adam Stern (@A_S12) saying “@IndyCar is in advanced talks to move its season finale and banquet to Nashville with the @MusicCityGP as soon as next year, per people familiar.”
Random Thoughts on Iowa
Posted in IndyCar on July 24, 2023 by Oilpressure
Those of us that watched the Hy-Vee Weekend at Iowa from afar got a real treat this weekend. Friday night after work, I treated myself to watching the replay of a long practice session from Iowa Speedway. Not much of significance happened, mind you, but there is something therapeutic about watching race cars on an oval after a long week at work. Josef Newgarden led that one and only practice session of the weekend, but that was certainly no surprise.
Iowa Preview
Posted in IndyCar on July 21, 2023 by Oilpressure
If you’re an IndyCar fan that has grown tired of street and road courses, the Hy-Vee IndyCar weekend at Iowa Speedway is just what you’ve been waiting for. For old-school race fans like me, this weekend is something of a throwback. For only the third time this season, the NTT IndyCar Series will visit an oval this weekend, when they take on Iowa Speedway, near Newton, Iowa. As an added bonus, this is a short oval – coming in at 7/8 of a mile.
This Has Been Way Overdue
Posted in IndyCar on July 19, 2023 by Oilpressure
Early last week, an announcement sort of came out of the blue for most of us, when the IMS Museum announced plans for an $89 Million capital campaign. The word they kept using was transform. That’s code-speak for finally bringing the aging museum into the 21st century.
Random Thoughts on Toronto
Posted in IndyCar on July 17, 2023 by Oilpressure
A couple of years ago, many were signaling the death knell for the Honda Indy Toronto. It was the only race on the NTT IndyCar Series schedule that missed a second straight year due to COVID. Many suspected that local apathy and rapid development in the area surrounding Exhibition Place had as much to do with the 2021 cancellation, as did the pandemic. Many people, myself included, thought the event was hanging by a thread.
Toronto Preview
Posted in IndyCar on July 14, 2023 by Oilpressure
The Honda Indy Toronto is this weekend. This race has always been held in mid-July going back to the beginning of this circuit in 1986. I always consider this the halfway point of the season, even though this year’s race is the tenth race in a seventeen-race schedule. I guess since it is the halfway point of the summer, I think that should apply to the NTT IndyCar Season as well.
Oilpressure 