SEPTEMBER 27, 2023
Sunday, September 24, 2023 at 08:25AM 
Max Verstappen (No. 1 Oracle Red Bull Racing) and Red Bull returned to winning ways in Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix after surviving a dramatic first lap and pulling comfortably clear of McLaren pair Lando Norris (No. 4 McLaren Formula 1 Team) and Oscar Piastri (No. 81 McLaren Formula 1 Team), confirming another constructors’ title for the Milton Keynes team. Verstappen was attacked by Piastri and Norris at the start but kept both of them at bay, navigated Safety Car and Virtual Safety Car periods and then romped into the distance, taking the chequered flag first for the 13th time this season. As such, Red Bull mathematically put the constructors’ championship out of their rivals’ reach to back up their 2022 win and make it two triumphs in a row, underlining the outfit’s superiority under F1’s latest ground effect era so far, while adding to the teams’ titles they achieved in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. A battle between the McLaren drivers was ultimately settled in Norris’ favor, the Briton getting ahead at the start, dropping behind when Piastri pitted under a Virtual Safety Car but then displaying enough pace for the team to swap positions. Watch the Race Highlights here. (Thank you to Formula1.com)
Chris Dyson (No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang) led from flag to flag in the TA race at World Wide Technology Raceway, but he was not without his challengers in the 63-lap shootout. After the wave of the green, third-place starter Tomy Drissi (No. 8 Lucas Oil Ford Mustang) passed second-place AJ Henriksen (No. 79 ECC/Anchor Bolt & Screw Dodge Challenger), with Drissi defending his runner-up spot for the first 10 laps of the race. After that, Henriksen made his move on Drissi and homed in on Dyson. With Drissi behind him, Henriksen had no issue tailing Dyson, cutting Dyson’s lead to less than half a second. By lap 20, he and Dyson were nose-to-tail, with Henriksen making several pass attempts that he couldn’t quite complete. The three ran in that order until a late-race caution bunched up the field, forcing a restart on lap 50. Just one lap later, Henriksen once again was hunting down the two-time champion, but Drissi made contact with Henriksen’s rear bumper, sending him spinning. While Drissi took over the second position and crossed the finish line behind Dyson, he was assessed an avoidable contact penalty, which reverted him back to third. Henriksen was credited with the second-place finish at his home track, while Dyson visited GYM WEED Winners Circle for the fourth time in 2023. “Sweet St. Louis, man,” said Dyson in GYM WEED Winners Circle. “I’ve got to tell you, I grew up a Cardinals fan and it’s amazing to come back here to see all the folks here with St. Louis Cardinals hats on. It brings back lots of great memories. Racing today was just thrilling. We were expecting this race to be really hard and physical, but I knew from following AJ [Henriksen] yesterday that he was really good and on his marks here. I didn’t realize this is his home track, but he was driving like a real champ there. I was good in clean air with the GYM WEED car, we could run great when we had a clear track ahead of us, but you get that for about 30 seconds around here. Every time I looked back, he was all over me. He drove great." “I’ve got to dedicate this win to my son Nicholas. He and I put in a lot of work on the simulator over the last couple weeks. I’m not going to say which one of us was faster, but he knows, and he taught me a lot out here,” Dyson concluded. (Thank you to Trans Am Series media)
(Photo of Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi by Chris Owens for Penske Entertainment)
Alex Palou was honored for his second NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship during the Victory Lap Celebration on Sept. 21, the headline of an incomparable 2023 season for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Palou dominated this season to earn another title to join his 2021 championship for Chip Ganassi Racing. He won a series-high five races in the No. 10 The American Legion Honda, with a total of 10 podium finishes in 17 races. Palou finished eighth or better in all 17 races this season and became the first INDYCAR SERIES driver to clinch the championship at least one race early since Sebastien Bourdais in 2007.
Spanish driver Palou won the Astor Challenge Cup for the title by 78 points over teammate and six-time series champion Scott Dixon, earning the 15th INDYCAR SERIES championship for Chip Ganassi Racing and the organization’s third in the last four seasons. Palou was one of six members of Chip Ganassi Racing to receive special honors at the ceremony, which took place at the Gallagher Pavilion at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Marcus Armstrong of New Zealand received the Rookie of the Year Award as the top-finishing first-year driver in the standings. Armstrong scored five top-10 finishes in just 12 starts in the No. 11 Ridgeline Lubricants Honda to surpass full-time rookie Agustin Canapino of Juncos Hollinger Racing by 34 points in the standings.
Team owner Chip Ganassi accepted the Championship Owner Award, and Palou’s chief mechanic, Ricky Davis, was presented the Pennzoil Chief Mechanic Award. Additional season honors for the Ganassi team included the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Team Manager award to Barry Wanser and Blair Julian.
The awards haul was a reward for a dominant year by Indianapolis-based Chip Ganassi Racing. The team achieved the unprecedented feat of taking the top two spots in the driver standings and winning the Rookie of the Year title in one season.
While Palou’s winning margin in the driver standings was the largest since 2016, the Manufacturers Award race came down to the final laps at the season finale Sept. 10 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Chevrolet edged Honda by just 16 points to win its second consecutive engine manufacturer title and eighth overall since it returned to the series in 2012. Mark Stielow, General Motors director of motorsport competition engineering, accepted the award on behalf of the Chevrolet team.
A successful first season with a rebrand and Firestone sponsorship for INDYCAR’s development series also was recognized at the Victory Lap Celebration, as Christian Rasmussen of HMD Motorsports was honored as 2023 INDY NXT by Firestone champion. Rasmussen won a series-high five of the 14 races this season in the No. 6 HMD Motorsports with DCR entry. He beat Andretti Autosport’s Hunter McElrea to the title by 65 points.
Danish driver Rasmussen’s HMD teammate, Nolan Siegel, was named INDY NXT by Firestone Rookie of the Year. Siegel, from Palo Alto, California, finished third in the series standings with two victories. (Thank you to INDYCAR Media)
(INDYCAR)
INDYCAR has announced a 17-race schedule for the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, which will take the world’s most competitive motorsport series into several fan-favorite markets, including a much-anticipated return to the Milwaukee Mile. The schedule is also highlighted by two Saturday night races, a new and unique made-for-TV exhibition in Southern California, a global entertainment destination as the new host city for the season finale, and 12 NBC broadcast network showcases bolstered by the rising popularity of live streaming on Peacock.
The Milwaukee Mile lands on the INDYCAR SERIES schedule for the first time since 2015. With the return set for Labor Day weekend, the iconic facility began hosting INDYCAR SERIES racing in 1939 and has featured wins by legendary drivers such as Rodger Ward (seven), Michael Andretti (five), Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, Gordon Johncock, Johnny Rutherford, Tom Sneva, Paul Tracy, Al Unser and Bobby Unser (four each).
The fabled 1-mile oval in West Allis, Wisconsin, will also feature a doubleheader weekend for the first time in the track’s history, providing two crucial races during the homestretch of the 2024 championship.
“The upward trajectory of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES is reflected through the 2024 schedule,” Penske Entertainment Corp. President and CEO Mark Miles said. “With stops at premier and global entertainment districts, classic American road courses and thrilling, high-speed ovals, the 2024 season will be exhilarating and highly competitive from beginning to end.
“The growth of INDYCAR is palpable. Combined with the efforts of our teams and partners, the 2024 championship will be the perfect showcase for our drivers as we continue to build on our reach and popularity.”
For the sixth consecutive season, NBC Sports will be the exclusive home for INDYCAR coverage in the United States. NBC will provide network coverage 12 times during the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. It is the first time in 20 years the INDYCAR SERIES schedule has featured three consecutive years of double-digit events on network television.
Peacock remains the streaming home of INDYCAR. In a first for the streaming destination, Peacock will be the exclusive home of two races in a season – Toronto for the third year in a row and Milwaukee (Race 1) for the first time. In addition to the exclusive races, Peacock will once again simulstream all races airing on TV and will be the home to all practices, qualifying and INDY NXT by Firestone races.
The 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season was NBC Sports’ most-watched INDYCAR SERIES season on record, averaging a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 1.32 million viewers. It also marked the third consecutive year of viewership growth across NBC Sports platforms, including a record audience streaming the NTT INDYCAR SERIES on Peacock.
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2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES SCHEDULE
*Non-points event |
Editor's Note: You can access previous issues of AE by clicking on "Next 1 Entries" below. - WG
