Morning Warm-Up: Road America 2023

At the location of his first career pole position, Colton Herta won the tenth pole position of his IndyCar career for the Sonsio Grand Prix of Road America. Herta took the top spot with a lap of 100.1945 seconds. He is the 40th driver to reach ten career pole positions. This is the 73rd appearance in Herta's IndyCar career. The Californian has an average finish of fifth at Road America in five starts. Herta's only top five finish this season was fourth at Long Beach. His most recent podium result was second at Toronto last July, which was his most recent pole position before this weekend. Herta has won from pole position four times, most recently the 2021 Laguna Seca race.

Patricio O'Ward was 0.1698 seconds behind Herta's top time and O'Ward will start second. This is O'Ward's first front row start of the season. O'Ward has failed to finish the last two races, classified in 24th for the Indianapolis 500 and 25th in Detroit. Since joining McLaren, only twice has O'Ward had three consecutive races finishing outside the top ten. One was the 2021 season finale at Long Beach spread over the first two races of 2022 at St. Petersburg and Texas. The other started last year at Road America and covered Mid-Ohio and Toronto.

Álex Palou ended up third, 0.2985 seconds behind Herta. Palou enters Road America with six consecutive top five finishes, the longest streak of his career. This is the longest top five finish streak in IndyCar since Scott Dixon had a seven-race top five streak spread over the final six events of the 2018 season and the 2019 season opener. Dixon also had another six-race top five finish streak earlier in the 2018 season, which included two victories. The next lap Palou leads will be the 500th lap led in his IndyCar career.

Josef Newgarden will start fourth. The only time Newgarden has won from fourth starting position was at Texas earlier this season. Newgarden is looking to become the fourth driver to win consecutive Road America races joining Mario Andretti, Michael Andretti and Jacques Villeneuve. In each of those previous three occasions, those drivers won the championship in the year of their second consecutive Road America victory.

Alexander Rossi qualified fifth. This was the first time Rossi made it to the final round of qualifying this season. Rossi is looking for four consecutive top five finishes for the first time since he had four consecutive podium finishes in 2020 spread over the Mid-Ohio doubleheader and Harvest Grand Prix doubleheader. Seven of Rossi's eight career victories are from a top three starting position. The exception is when he started 11th in the 100th Indianapolis 500.

Kyle Kirkwood had an engine expire at the end of round two, but his time was enough to advance to the Fast Six. Kirkwood will start sixth by default. The Long Beach winner ended up 20th in last year's Road America race, a four-place improvement from his grid position. Last race, Kirkwood picked up his first career fastest lap in the Detroit Grand Prix.

Christian Lundgaard was 0.0532 seconds shy of advancing to the final round of qualifying and Lundgaard will start seventh. Lundgaard was sixth and fourth in the first two natural-terrain road course races held this season at Barber Motorsports Park and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. He started in the top ten in both of those races as well. 

Marcus Armstrong gets his first top ten start in IndyCar as Armstrong will be starting eighth. Armstrong was 0.1257 seconds off advancing to the Fast Six. He is making his sixth career start this weekend. Héctor Rebaque won the inaugural IndyCar race at Road America in what was his sixth career start.

Marcus Ericsson occupies ninth on the grid. Ericsson has eight consecutive top ten finishes dating back to last season. Ericsson's longest top ten finish streak is nine races spanning from the 2021 first Belle Isle race through Laguna Seca. This is the third consecutive season Ericsson has had a top ten finish streak at least seven races in length.

Benjamin Pedersen made the second round of qualifying for the first time in his career and Pedersen also earned his first career top ten starting position. Pedersen takes tenth on the grid. This is the fifth time Pedersen has been the top Foyt starter this season. Detroit was the second time this season the Dane was the best finishing A.J. Foyt Racing driver. The other race was Texas. 

Santino Ferrucci made it two-for-two in second round participants for A.J. Foyt Racing. Ferrucci will start 11th. It is the first time A.J. Foyt Racing has had both cars advance to the second round of qualifying for a road/street course race since 2018 at St. Petersburg when Matheus Leist qualified third and Tony Kanaan started tenth. Ferrucci has finished outside the top twenty in four of seven races this season. 

Devlin DeFrancesco made the second round for the second time in his career and he will start 12th, matching his best road/street course start, which occurred last year at Toronto. DeFrancesco rolls into Road America with consecutive top fifteen finishes for the first time in his IndyCar career. DeFrancesco scored his best road/street result in Detroit when he finished 12th. This is DeFrancesco's 25th career start, and he has yet to finish in the top ten in his IndyCar. Only three drivers took more than 25 starts for their first top ten finish. 

David Malukas fell 0.0481 seconds short of advancing from group one during the first round of qualifying, and Malukas will start 13th, only his second top fifteen start this season. Dale Coyne Racing has not had a top twenty finisher in the last three races and it has not had a top fifteen finish in the last five races. The team's average finish in the last three races is 26.333 and Coyne's average finish over the last five races is 24.2.

Graham Rahal is 14th on the grid. Rahal has finished outside the top twenty in the last two races. It is the first time he has had consecutive races outside the top twenty since the final two races of the 2018 season. The only time Rahal has had three consecutive results outside the top twenty was Edmonton, Mid-Ohio and Loudon in 2011.

Rinus VeeKay will start 15th. This is the fourth time in five races VeeKay has started in the top fifteen after starting no better than 19th in the first three races of the season. The Dutchman has one top ten finish in the last 11 races. VeeKay has finished outside the top fifteen in six of those last 11 races.

Felix Rosenqvist will not start in the top ten for the first time this season with Rosenqvist rolling off from 16th position. The Swede is coming off his fifth career podium finish after finishing third at Detroit. Rosenqvist's average finish in the race following a podium result is 16.75. Only once has he finished in the top ten in the race after a podium result. That was fifth in the 2019 Laguna Seca season finale. 

Callum Ilott qualified 17th. After opening the season with two consecutive top ten results, Ilott has finished outside the top ten in five consecutive races. His average finish over this five race span is 17.8. Last season, Ilott had nine consecutive starts without a top ten result, where his average finish was 17th during that stretch.

Scott McLaughlin is 18th on the grid, his worst starting position of the season. McLaughlin's only top five finish this season was his Barber Motorsports Park victory. His best IndyCar finish in the month of June was seventh at Road America last year.

Romain Grosjean starts 19th for the second time in three races. For the second consecutive season, Grosjean has finished outside the top ten in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, Indianapolis 500 and in the city of Detroit. Grosjean broke that slump with a fourth-place finish at Road America. 

Simon Pagenaud makes it an all-French row ten. Pagenaud is in the middle of a ten-race top ten finish slump. He has finished outside the top ten in the last four Road America races 

Agustín Canapino makes his Road America debut in the 21st starting position. This is the third time Canapino has started on row 11 this season. Canapino has been the second-best rookie finisher in four races this season and he was the top rookie at Texas. 

Will Power starts 22nd, his worst starting position of the season and his worst starting spot at Road America. His previous worst was 15th last year. Power was second in the last race in Detroit. Power has not won after finishing second in the race prior since 2018 when he was second at Pocono and then won at Gateway. That Gateway race was the fourth consecutive time he had won the race following a runner-up result. He has eight runner-up finishes since that Gateway victory. His average finish in those previous seven races following a runner-up finish is tenth. 

Scott Dixon starts 23rd. This is the fifth time Dixon has started 23rd or worse in a race, the most recent was when he started 26th in the August 2021 IMS road course race. Dixon's first career victory came from 23rd on the grid at Nazareth over 22 years ago. The New Zealander has yet to be the top Chip Ganassi Racing finisher this season. Dixon was the top Ganassi finisher in seven races last season, six of which came in the final eight races. Dixon has finished in the top ten in the eighth race of the season in seven consecutive years.

Jack Harvey ended up 24th in qualifying. Harvey has one top ten finish in the last 23 races. Harvey has not had a top ten finish on a natural-terrain road course since he was fourth at Portland in 2021, ten natural-terrain road course races ago.

Sting Ray Robb ended up 25th on the grid. Robb has yet to start inside the top twenty this season and he has finished outside the top twenty in the last four races. Robb's average starting position is 24.25, the worst among the full-time drivers.

Hélio Castroneves takes 26th on the grid, matching his worst starting spot of the season. This race comes on the 23rd anniversary of Hélio Castroneves' first career IndyCar victory at Belle Isle. Castroneves currently ranks tied for tenth all-time on 31 career victories and he is one of 12 drivers to reach the 30-victory milestone. 

Ryan Hunter-Reay brought out a red flag late in the group two session in round one, and this will put Hunter-Reay 27th on the grid. This is Hunter-Reay's worst starting position since Portland 2021 when he started 27th. That was only two starts ago for Hunter-Reay as he makes his first road course appearance in IndyCar since 2021. Hunter-Reay did not have a top ten finish on a road course that season. Hunter-Reay ended up 17th in the championship for the 2021 season. 

USA's coverage of the Sonsio Grand Prix of Road America begins at 1:00 p.m. ET with green flag scheduled for 1:23 p.m. ET. The race is scheduled for 55 laps. 

Track Walk: Road America 2023

The eighth round of the 2023 NTT IndyCar Series season brings the series to Road America. After the Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar's first race on a new Detroit street course, the series now visits the longest track on the schedule. After having five different winners in the first five races, there have been two repeat winners. There have been four different winners in the last four Road America races. In two of the last three seasons has the Road America winner gone on to win the championship. Eight times has the Road America winner won the championship. The only time the Indianapolis 500 winner won at Road America in the same season was in 1995 with Jacques Villeneuve, who also went on to win the CART championship that season. Speaking of 1995, that was also the last time Road America had been resurfaced prior this offseason. With a new ribbon of asphalt, Dario Franchitti's track record of 1:39.866 stands a good chance of being broken.

Coverage

Time: Coverage begins at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday June 18 with green flag scheduled for 1:23 p.m. ET.
Channel: USA
Announcers: Leigh Diffey, Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe will be in the booth. Kevin Lee and Dillon Welch will work pit lane.

IndyCar Weekend Schedule

Friday:

First Practice: 4:00 p.m. ET (75 minutes)

Saturday:

Second Practice: 10:55 a.m. ET (60 minutes)
Qualifying: 1:55 p.m. ET 
Sunday:
Warm-up: 10:15 a.m. ET (30 minutes)
Race: 1:23 p.m. ET (55 laps)

* - All sessions will be available live on Peacock

Palou's Lead

IndyCar is accustomed to close championship battles going down to the final race, but through seven races in the 2023 season, we are seeing Álex Palou running away from the field already. 

Though double points were not awarded after this year's Indianapolis 500, Palou's championship lead is 51 points entering Road America with 11 races remaining this season. If Palou starts this weekend, he is guaranteed to leave Wisconsin as the championship leader. Even if Palou did not show up for Road America, only Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Marcus Ericsson could surpass Palou and that would require Ericsson winning at Elkhart Lake. Palou has led the championship after three consecutive races and will be guaranteed a fourth consecutive if he starts this weekend.

Palou has started 40 races for Chip Ganassi Racing. Palou has led the championship after 14 of those races and he has been ranked in the top five of the championship after 36 of those races. The worst his championship position has been with Ganassi was eighth after this year's St. Petersburg season opener. 

Since reunification, this is only third time in 16 seasons the championship lead after seven races was greater than 50 points. Simon Pagenaud had a 59-point lead through seven races in the 2016 season. In 2020, Scott Dixon held an 84-point lead after seven races. Both Pagenaud and Dixon went on to claim the title in those respective seasons.

This is only the fifth time since 2008 the championship lead is greater than 25 points after seven races. Only one of those champions did not hold on to take the title. That was Will Power in 2012 when he had a 36-point lead through seven races.

In the last four seasons, the driver leading the championship after seven races went on to win the title, however, in only eight of the 16 seasons since reunification has the championship leader through seven events held on to be champion.

While Palou is ahead now, there is still plenty of time for the competition. In 2020, Dixon's championship lead grew to 117 points over Josef Newgarden after eight races and only six races followed in the pandemic-altered season. However, over the next five races, Newgarden decreased the deficit to 32 points and double points were not on offer for the season finale that year at St. Petersburg. 

Pagenaud's championship lead in 2016 also grew after the eighth race of the season. Pagenaud's lead went up to 80 points with eight races remaining, but the lead decreased. It was down to 20 points over Will Power after the 13th race at Pocono. Power had an accident at Watkins Glen with Charlie Kimball, allowing Pagenaud to increase his advantage, but it was only 43 points, enough to keep the champion alive into the Sonoma season finale if the finale was only single points and not double points, as it was. 

The last time an IndyCar championship was decided before the season finale was the 2007 Champ Car season when Sébastien Bourdais claimed his fourth title with a race to spare. The last time this series, following the Indy Racing League lineage, was decided early was in 2005 when Dan Wheldon clinched the title with a victory at Chicagoland with two races to spare. 

Daly Out

Since the most recent IndyCar outing at Detroit, there has been a driver change. 

Conor Daly has been relieved of his duty as the driver of the #20 BitNile Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing. Daly had driven for Ed Carpenter Racing since 2020. Daly started as the road/street course driver in the #20 Chevrolet, splitting the car with Ed Carpenter. Daly ran the Indianapolis 500 for ECR in each of those seasons while contesting the other ovals in the #59 Gallagher Chevrolet with Carlin in place of Max Chilton, who focused on the road/street courses and ran the Indianapolis 500.

In 2022, Daly became the full-time driver of the #20 Chevrolet. Over 46 starts with ECR, Daly had one top five finish and three top ten finishes, including top ten results in the last two Indianapolis 500s, a sixth in 2022 and an eighth this year. However, Daly's average finish over those 46 starts was 16.782. 

During that same timeframe, Rinus VeeKay has won once, stood on the poidum four times and has eight top five finishes and 18 top ten finishes. The Dutchman's career average finish is 14.094. In the intra-team ECR battle, VeeKay was the top finisher in 25 of the 45 races against Daly, including going 9-0 head-to-head in VeeKay's rookie season in 2020. Daly was on top in 17 of those events with Carpenter taking top ECR driver on three occasions. 

In qualifying, VeeKay topped Daly 30 times with Daly qualifying the best 14 times and Carpenter topping both once during that span. VeeKay has ben the ECR qualifier in six races this season while Carpenter was the best of the three drivers at Texas in April.

The interesting thing is this season Daly has been the top ECR finisher in four of seven races, including in the last two races. 

Joining Ed Carpenter Racing in place of Daly will be Ryan Hunter-Reay. Hunter-Reay won the 2012 IndyCar championship and he won the 2014 Indianapolis 500. Hunter-Reay's 18 career victories have him ranked 25th all-time. His 283 starts are the tenth most in IndyCar history. Hunter-Reay's 72 top five finishes have him tied with Josef Newgarden for 20th all-time. 

Hunter-Reay was 11th in the Indianapolis 500 this past May driving for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, his first start since the 2021 Long Beach season finale, his final race with Andretti Autosport. Last year, Hunter-Reay ran two IMSA races, the 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans with the Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac program and he competed in the full Superstar Racing Experience season with his best finish being fourth on dirt at Sharon Speedway in Ohio. 

Hunter-Reay has made nine starts at Road America. He has four top five finishes and five top ten finishes with his best result being second in 2018. VeeKay's best finish in three Road America starts is 13th, which was in his first start back in 2020. VeeKay did sweep the U.S. F2000 doubleheader at Road America in 2017 and he won here in Indy Lights in 2019. 

Can Anyone New Win at Road America?

There have been eight Road America races since IndyCar returned in 2016 and three teams have claimed victory in all eight of those races: Team Penske, Chip Ganassi Racing and Andretti Autosport. That means seven teams entered this weekend are looking for their first victory at Road America and those seven teams are all aiming to become the fourth different team to win this season. 

The leading favorite is Arrow McLaren. All three of McLaren's drivers are in the top ten in the championship and the team has been on the podium in four of seven races this season. Patricio O'Ward has three runner-up results this year alone, and O'Ward was second in the second race of the 2020 Road America doubleheader after leading 43 laps from pole position. O'Ward lost that race to Felix Rosenqivst, as the Swede overtook the Mexican on the penultimate lap. To date, it is Rosenqvist's only IndyCar victory. Rosenqvist has finished sixth or better in three of his four Road America starts.

While O'Ward looks for his first victory around the 4.048-mile road course, like Rosenqvist, Alexander Rossi has already won at the circuit. Rossi won the 2019 race, leading 54 of 55 laps from second on the grid. Rossi had finished on the podium in three of the last five Road America races. He led 16 laps from pole position last year before finishing third.

Though recent form would suggest otherwise, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing is worth keeping an eye on this weekend. Graham Rahal has two podium finishes, three top five finishes and seven top ten finishes in nine Road America starts. Rahal's average finish here is 8.111. Outside of the second race of the 2020 doubleheader where Rahal was run over in the first corner and failed to complete a lap, he has completed every lap in his other eight starts. 

Christian Lundgaard started 13th and finished tenth last year in his first visit to Road America. Lundgaard also led a lap during a pit cycle. Jack Harvey has good qualifying form at Road America, but his race form is lacking. Harvey has an average starting position of 10.6 with his best qualifying efforts being second and third at the track, but his best finish came last year when he finished 13th. 

The most recent team that wasn't one of the three recent Road America winners to finish on the podium here was Dale Coyne Racing when Álex Palou was third in his third career start driving the #55 Honda in 2020. Three years removed from Palou, Coyne has David Malukas and Sting Ray Robb as its drivers. Malukas swept the Pro Mazda races here in 2018 and he won in Indy Lights in 2021. He was 16th last year in his Road America IndyCar debut. Robb never won in 11 Road to Indy starts at this circuit. He was second in the second race of the 2020 Indy Pro 2000 weekend and he was second last year in Indy Lights after starting on pole position. 

Meyer Shank Racing has two top fifteen finishes in six Road America starts in IndyCar. Last year, Simon Pagenaud picked up the MSR's best Road America finish, taking the checkered flag in 12th. Pagenaud has finished outside the top ten in four consecutive Road America races and in six of nine Road America starts. Hélio Castroneves was fifth and third in the two Road America races in 2016 and 2017, but he was 22nd last year. His career average finish at Road America is 12.571.

Callum Ilott was 11th last year at Road America in his first Road America appearance. Juncos Hollinger Racing has won twice at Elkhart Lake in Indy Lights, first with Victor Franzoni in 2018 and then with VeeKay in 2019. Franzoni also won at Road America in 2017 driving for Juncos in Pro Mazda. Artem Petrov and Manuel Sulaimán also won for the team at this track in Indy Pro 2000 in 2020 and 2021. 

Since Road America returned to the schedule in 2016, A.J. Foyt Racing has one top ten finish. Charlie Kimball was tenth in the second race of the 2020 doubleheader. This is Santino Ferrucci's first visit to Road America since 2020. Ferrucci was sixth in both races of that doubleheader. Benjamin Pedersen made three Indy Lights starts at Road America and he finished second, seventh and 11th in those events.

Or Will It Be More of the Same?

While there are seven teams and 16 drivers looking to break the Penske/Ganassi/Andretti hold at Road America, it should be acknowledged that these three teams are quite strong at this place. 

Last year, these three teams were each represented on the podium, as was the case in 2021. In the eight Road America races since 2016, these three teams combine for 21 of the 24 podium finishers and 33 of the 40 top five finishers. 

Chip Ganassi Racing leads the way with four victories in the last eight trips to Wisconsin. Scott Dixon won here in 2017 and the first race in 2020. Dixon's five top five finishes in the last eight Road America races is tied with Will Power for the most. Álex Palou won here two years ago and he had three consecutive top ten finishes at this track before contact with Marcus Ericsson took Palou out of last year's race. Ericsson has four consecutive top ten finishes at this track. 

Along with the three Ganassi veterans, Marcus Armstrong will make his Road America debut this weekend. Armstrong matched his career best finish last race at Detroit when he finished eighth. He has finished in the top fifteen in all five of his starts and he has been the top rookie finisher in every one of his starts. 

Team Penske was one gearbox failure away from having won four of the last eight Road America races. Instead, Penske has won three times, two at the hands of Josef Newgarden, including last year's race and Will Power won in 2016.

Newgarden's 149 laps led are the most at this track since it returned to competition in 2016. It is more than double the next best driver. Newgarden has led 25 laps or more in four of the last six Road America events, winning two of them, but a slow pit stop dropped him from the lead in the first race in 2020 and his gearbox failed him while leading on the restart on the penultimate lap in 2021.

Power has five top five finishes here since 2016, but he was 11th and 19th in two of the last three races here. Power led 46 of the 50 laps on his way to victory seven years ago, but he has only led 14 of the last 330 laps run around this circuit. 

Scott McLaughlin was seventh in last year's race after finishing 14th in his first visit in 2021. 

Andretti Autosport has been close to a second Road America victory. Colton Herta has never finished worse than eighth here and he has four consecutive top five finishes. He has started on the front row in three of his five starts, including picking up his first career pole position in 2019. However, Herta has still yet to lead a lap at this track. 

Romain Grosjean started seventh and finished fifth in his first Road America visit driving for Dale Coyne Racing in 2021. Last year, in his first Road America visit with Andretti Autosport, Grosjean started sixth and finished fourth, leading a lap through the pit cycle. 

After a difficult end to his Indianapolis 500, Kyle Kirkwood responded with an emphatic drive from the back of the field after opening lap contact in Detroit to finish sixth, his second top ten finish of the season. In six Road to Indy starts at Road America, Kirkwood won five times with a mechanical failure in the second race in 2021 ending what likely was going to be a podium finish. 

Devlin DeFrancesco was 18th in last year's Road America race. DeFrancesco has finished in the top fifteen in the last two races, the first time in his IndyCar career he has had consecutive top fifteen results. His 12th in Detroit matched his career best finish. 

Road to Indy

All three Road to Indy series have had at least four different winners in their last four races and all three Road to Indy series will be at Road America this weekend.

Indy Lights has opened with five different winners in the first five races. It is the first time the series has had five different winners to open a season since 2016. Only once in Indy Lights history has a season began with six different winners in the first six races. That was in 1988 when seven different drivers won the first seven events. 

In 2023, Barber winner Christian Rasmussen leads the championship with 178 points. Rasmussen has finished in the top five in four events with his worst result being ninth. Rasmussen won last year at Road America for his first victory in the series.

We nearly had our first repeat winner in Detroit, but a gearbox failure on the final lap while leading kept Nolan Siegel from winning race one. Siegel responded to win race two and paired with two runner-up finishes, Siegel is second in the championship, two points behind Rasmussen.

Hunter McElrea has not won this season, but he is third in the championship with 138 points and three top five results. McElrea is six points clear of St. Petersburg winner Danial Frost. Jacob Abel and Louis Foster also have not won this season, but they round out the top six in the championship. Abel is 50 points behind Rasmussen while Foster is five points behind Abel. Foster has won three pole positions this season. 

Reece Gold won the first Detroit race and he is seventh in the championship on 122 points, but that victory is his only top five finish. Matteo Nannini won on the IMS road course, but that is his only top ten finish this season. Nannini is on 119 points, two ahead of James Roe, Jr. Ernie Francis, Jr. and Enaam Ahmed are tied for tenth in the championship on 113 points. Francis, Jr. was third in the first Detroit race while Ahmed's best finish was fourth at Barber.

Josh Green and Colin Kaminsky are tied on 103 points. Christian Bogle has 99 points while Jagger Jones and Kyffin Simpson are tied on 97 points. Jones was second in the first Detroit race. Jamie Chadwick has 84 points while Rasmus Lindh is on 80 points. Josh Pierson returns after running the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Pierson's best finish in two starts in 16th. 

Indy Lights will race at 11:10 a.m. ET on Sunday June 18. That race is scheduled for 20 laps or 55 minutes.

USF Pro 2000 has had four different winners in the last four races. 

Myles Rowe continues to lead the championship on 165 points with consecutive fifth-place results. Rowe has won three times this season and has six top five results from seven races. Rowe has a 22-point lead in the championship over Joel Granfors, who has finished first and second in the last two races. 

Francesco Pizzi has not won this season, but Pizzi has four top five results and six top ten finishes, giving the Italian 128 points. Salvador de Alba won at Indianapolis Raceway Park and finished second the race before on the IMS road course. These results lifted de Alba up to 124 points and fourth in the championship. Kiko Porto was on the podium in three of the first four races, but he has finished seventh or worse in the last three races. Porto sits on 117 points in fifth. 

Reece Ushijima, Jack William Miller and Jonathan Browne are all tied on 101 points, and none of the three drivers have won this season. Jace Denmark is ninth on 96 points with Lirim Zendeli is on 83 points in tenth after skipping Indianapolis Raceway Park. Michael d'Orlando has finished in the top six in two of the last three events and he is 11th on 81 points, 11 points ahead of Jackson Lee.

The first USF Pro 2000 race of the weekend will be at 3:40 p.m. ET on Saturday June 17 with the second race being at 9:00 a.m. ET on Sunday June 18.

There have been four different winers in the last four U.S. F2000 races as well. 

Lochie Hughes continues to lead the championship with his worst result being sixth in the most recent event at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Hughes has 208 points, four points ahead of Simon Sikes. Sikes has six podium finishes and a fourth but his worst finish was 13th. 

Nikita Johnson has four consecutive top five finishes and he is 38 points behind Hughes. Evagoras Papasavvaas was runner-up at IRP and he is fourth in the championship on 144 points. IRP winner Mac Clark is up to fifth on 140 points. Sam Corry won the first race on the IMS road course and he runs out the top six in the championship on 108 points. 

Chase Gardner has 103 points in seventh, one point ahead of Jorge Garciarce. Danny Dyszelski sits on 88 points with Max Garcia in tenth on 81 points. 

Both U.S. F2000 races will be on Saturday June 17. The first race will be at 12:10 p.m. ET with the second one schedule for 4:45 p.m. ET. 

Fast Facts

This will be the tenth IndyCar race held on June 18 and the first since A.J. Allmendinger won at Portland in 2006. It was Allmendinger's first career victory in his first start with Forsythe Racing. 

This year's Road America race falls on the 23rd anniversary of Hélio Castroneves' first career victory at Belle Isle.

This June 18 is also the 45th anniversary of Rick Mears' first career victory at Milwaukee.

Eleven drivers entered in this year's Road America race are looking for their first career IndyCar victory. 

Eight drivers have had their first career victory come at Road America. Felix Rosenqvist is the most recent first career winner at Road America (second race of 2020 doubleheader).

For four of the eight first-time winners at Road America, that was their only IndyCar victory (Héctor Rebaque, Uncle Jacques Villeneuve, Alex Tagliani, Rosenqvist).

With eight of 33 Road America races producing first-time winners, that is a percentage of 24.24%.  

The average starting position for a Road America winner is 3.7878 with a median of third. 

Ten Road America races have been won from pole position. Fifteen Road America races have been won from the front row. Twenty-seven of 33 Road America races have been won from a top six starting position (81.818%).

Two of the previous four races have been won from outside the first three races (both races of the 2020 doubleheader, ninth for Scott Dixon in race one and seventh for Rosenqvist in race two). 

The average starting position of the eight first-time winners at Road America is 6.875 with a median of 6.5. 

Five of the six worst starting positions for Road America winners were first-time winners.

Four of the six Road America races won from a starting position outside the top six positions were first-time winners. 

Only one Road America race has been won from outside the top ten. Alex Tagliani won from 13th in 2004. 

The average number of lead changes in a Road America race is 4.484 with a median of four. 

There have been eight lead changes or more in the last three Road America races. Only three of the first 30 Road America races had eight lead changes or more. 

There have been three Road America races without a lead change (1987, 1993, 2003).

The average number of cautions in a Road America race is 2.21875 with a median of two. The average number of caution laps is 6.5625 with a median of 5.5.

Three of the last four Road America races have had three cautions or more. Last year's race had five cautions, the seventh Road America race with at least five caution periods (21.212%). 

The most cautions in a Road America race is six (1995, 1997, 2001, 2006). 

Eleven Road America races have gone caution-free (33.333%). There were consecutive caution-free races in 2018 and 2019. 

Predictions

Josef Newgarden makes it two consecutive Road America victories and Team Penske has multiple podium finishers. Chevrolet has at least four top five finishers. The top Honda finisher will be an Andretti Autosport car. Álex Palou's championship lead will be less than 38 points after this weekend, but he and Marcus Ericsson will not come together this weekend. Patricio O'Ward finishes the race with all four tires still intact. All three Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing drivers will finish better than their starting positions. Ryan Hunter-Reay will finish in the top fifteen and ahead of Rinus VeeKay. Dale Coyne Racing will have at least one top twenty finisher. Sleeper: Marcus Armstrong.

Musings From the Weekend: Conor Daly, Loyalty and Business

Here is a rundown of what got me thinking...

For the first time since 1965, Ferrari is the overall winners of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as the #51 Ferrari 499P of Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi won overall. The #34 Inter Europol Competition Oreca-Gibson of Fabio Scherer, Albert Costa and Jakub Śmiechowski won in LMP2. The #33 Corvette of Ben Keating, Nicky Catsburg and Nicolás Varrone won in GTE-Am. At least, those were all the winners on the road. Let's wait for post-race scrutineering. Ferrari wasn't the only victorious Italian marquee this weekend. The Márquez brothers had themselves a day in Mugello. However, a driver change is on my mind.

Conor Daly, Loyalty and Business

Midseason driver changes are not unfamiliar in IndyCar, but when they occur they draw everyone's attention. Last week, days after the Detroit Grand Prix, Ed Carpenter Racing released a statement saying it had parted ways with Conor Daly. The next day, ECR confirmed Ryan Hunter-Reay would take over the #20 Chevrolet for the remainder of the season.

Daly had driven for ECR since the start of the 2020 season, spending the first two seasons as the road/street course driver in the #20 Chevrolet while running oval events for Carlin. In 2022, Daly became full-time as ECR expanded to an oval-only entry for owner-driver Ed Carpenter. 

This was by far Daly's longest tenure with one team in his IndyCar career. Unfortunately, the results over his 46 starts were woeful at best. With ECR, Daly had one top five finish and three top ten finishes. He had no top ten finishes over the entire 2021 season. His championship finishes over the previous three seasons were 17th, 18th and 17th, and he exits this ride ranked 20th in the championship this season. His average finish with the team was 16.782. 

ECR has struggled in its own right, but Daly has been clinically outperformed for the last four seasons compared to Rinus VeeKay. When VeeKay entered the series, Daly had 50 starts to his name and looked prime to be a competitive driver. VeeKay was a rookie entering a pandemic-altered season with an extensive gap between seat time when he first strapped in for his debut at Texas. 

Daly had been a successful "super sub" in 2019, competing as a one-off for Andretti Autosport, filling in for Carlin at oval races and running with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports when Marcus Ericsson had to fulfill Alfa Romeo responsibilities in Formula One. Sadly, this dream opportunity never clicked for Daly. 

This change caught many around IndyCar circles off guard, but perhaps it shouldn't have. There were many reasons given as to why the move was questionable: ECR's overall form, sponsorship, Daly's personality. You can give all the reasons in the world. It boils down to IndyCar being a sport and a business. Results matter. 

There was no sign of improvement from Daly. This year was off to a bad enough start. Daly had not qualified better than 20th through the first five races. He had finished outside the top fifteen in four of those events. The last two races were better, but eighth in the Indianapolis 500 wasn't enough to salvage his season. 

Many thought the BitNile sponsorship, which Daly was instrumental in bringing to the team, would be enough of a safety blanket, but let's remember, these teams aren't stupid. The driver might bring the sponsor to the party, but that doesn't mean the driver is leaving with it at the end of the night. Any smart team is going to maintain the leverage when signing sponsors, and a team is going to try and persuade a sponsors to its side. Failure isn't always on the team, and if a team has a sponsor's ear, a driver change could be sold as a way to turn fortunes for the better. 

Companies burn millions of dollars on motorsports sponsorships. Every company wants to be at the front. It wants to be competing. It wants to be winning races. That is what matters. BitNile might like Conor Daly, but Conor Daly wasn't providing BitNile with what BitNile needed. Nobody wants to be mired in 18th each race. It is now Ryan Hunter-Reay's turn to see if he can make a company happy. 

It is harsh, but that is sports. Motorsports is different in a regard a sponsor has that much power, but it is no different than if a player isn't performing and he is friends with the coach or general manager, but the front office decides to trade him in hopes of improving the team. The best way to ensure safety is to produce. 

There are 27 full-time IndyCar rides. There are significantly more than 27 interested drivers. With that kind of pressure, consistently poor form will put any driver on the hot seat. Daly wasn't owed a seat in IndyCar. Hunter-Reay is a past champion, a past Indianapolis 500 winner and ranked 25th all-time in victories, and despite that résumé Hunter-Reay didn't have a ride last year. He didn't have a ride at the start of this year. He got a one-off with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing at Indianapolis this year and that was it. 

If Hunter-Reay was on the outside and not in IndyCar, why should anyone believe Daly deserved his spot and why should anyone believe Daly was wronged for being removed? Do you think Roger Penske or Chip Ganassi or Zak Brown would tolerate such results? Hell no!

There should be pressure. A driver shouldn't feel comfortable being 20th in the championship. This is how the series gets better. One driver doesn't perform, another gets a chance. The floor is always rising. That is how sports work. It is cutthroat, and that is the risk of becoming too attached to anyone competing. Feelings will be hurt. 

This opportunity aside, Daly has gone through one of the tougher journeys to 104 IndyCar starts. It was jumping into vacant seats for injured drivers before Dale Coyne Racing had a full-time opening, and Daly did tremendous with that chance. It might have been the worst thing to ever happen to him, because it led to a paying seat at A.J. Foyt Racing when Foyt had ABC Supply Co. funding two cars. However, the 2017 season was the year Foyt switched to Chevrolet in what was a lame-duck season for the manufacturer-specific aero kits. Daly matched his Coyne results at Foyt despite the team experiencing a learning curve, but Foyt punted on him once Tony Kanaan was available for 2018. 

From Foyt, it was back to piecing together rides when opportunities opened. Daly again had good results over two seasons as a part-timer and substitute. He rightfully earned his chance with ECR. It just didn't work out. That might be the most painful thing to accept. This was Daly's break. Not every break goes in your favor.

Where does Daly go from here? Four years ago, it was worth a flier on Daly. He was at 50 starts, but never had stability over those 50 starts. After nearly three-and-a-half seasons with an organization and never really sniffing the podium, I have a feeling the fish are not going to be biting, at least not immediately. Daly can be a serviceable substitute, and he has the ability to raise funding to run Indianapolis each May, but any future full-time shot must come from his own fundraising efforts. Any future full-time endeavor might be outside of IndyCar. 

Daly is a good guy. He is honest and isn't afraid to be different. He is open in his Speed Street podcast when it comes to what happens on track and he does an excellent job explaining things. Many are upset that such a vocal supporter of IndyCar has lost his ride, but ambassadorship only gets you so far. 

Winners From the Weekend

You know about Le Mans, but did you know...

Francesco Bagnaia won the Italian Grand Prix from Mugello as well as the sprint race. Pedro Acosta won the Moto2 race, his third victory of the season. Daniel Holgado won the Moto3 race, his second consecutive victory and his third victory of the season. Andrea Mantovani and Eric Granado split the MotoE races.

Martin Truex, Jr. won the NASCAR Cup race from Sonoma, his second victory of the season. Aric Almirola won the Grand National Series race.

Coming Up This Weekend

IndyCar is at Road America.

Formula One will be in Montreal.

MotoGP heads north to the Sachsenring.

Supercars will be in Darwin.

Super Formula is at Sportsland SUGO.

GT World Challenge America makes it to Virginia International Raceway.

2023 24 Hours of Le Mans GTE Am Preview

There are 21 GTE Am cars entered for this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans, the final Le Mans will the GTE specifications. The class moniker dates back to the 2011 season, but the actual set of regulations date back to 1999, first known as Group GT before becoming GT2 in 2005. Starting in 2024, GT3 specifications will be used for the GT participants at Le Mans and in the FIA World Endurance Championship.  

This year's race will see four manufacturers compete, all past winners of this race. This year's race also features something different, a Garage 56 entrant that is more an invitation than an innovation, but one that still is turning heads. 

#16 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR-19

Drivers: Ryan Hardwick (1st) Jan Heylen (2nd), Zacharie Robichon (2nd)

About This Team: Hardwick and Heylen were second in the IMSA GTD championship last year with a victory in the 24 Hours of Daytona. They were also co-drivers in Michelin Pilot Challenge in 2021. Heylen won the championship while Hardwick missed a few races due to injury. Together they sell won two races. Robichon was the 2021 IMSA GTD champion and he was 16th in class last year in his Le Mans debut. Hardwick and Robichon won the European Le Mans Series season opener at Barcelona in April.

Test Day: 18th

Qualifying: 17th

#21 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo

Drivers: Simon Mann (2nd), Ulysse de Pauw (1st), Julien Piguet (2nd)

About This Team: Mann and de Pauw have finished fourth and fifth in the last two WEC races. Piguet is a a stunt driver, but he won the FFSA GT Pro-Am championship last year. Piguet competed in the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans with Team Project 1, the final classified car completing 313 laps.

Test Day: 8th

Qualifying: 7th

#25 ORT by TF Aston Martin Vantage AMR

Drivers: Ahmad Al Harthy (1st), Michael Dinan (1st), Charlie Eastwood (4th)

About This Team: The #25 Aston Martin was third in the most recent WEC race at Spa-Francorchamps. Al Harthy is a double GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Pro-Am champion, and he won the 2019 title with Eastwood. Eastwood won in his most recent Le Mans appearance, 2020 in GTE Am with TF Sport. Dinan won twice in class in GT World Challenge America last year

Test Day: 9th

Qualifying: 4th

#33 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C8.R

Drivers: Nicky Catsburg (5th), Ben Keating (9th), Nicolás Varrone (2nd)

About This Team: Corvette leads the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGTE Am drivers after two victories and a second in the first three races. Keating is the defending class champion and he won in this class last year with TF Sport. This is Castsburg's third Le Mans with Corvette. He was second in GTE Pro in 2021. Varrone was 17th in this class year with Iron Lynx. He won in the LMP3 at the 24 Hours of Daytona in January. 

Test Day: 15th

Qualifying: 3rd

#54 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo

Drivers: Francesco Castellacci (8th), Thomas Flohr (7th), Davide Rigon (9th)

About This Team: This is the seventh consecutive year Castellacci and Flohr have run together at Le Mans. Their best class finish was second in 2018 with Giancarlo Fisichella. Rigon had run exclusively in GTE Pro prior to this year. Rigon's best class finish was second in 2015, and he was third in GTE Pro last year. 

Test Day: 2nd

Qualifying: 2nd

#55 GMB Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR

Drivers: Gustav Birch (1st), Jens Reno Møller (3rd), Marco Sørensen (9th)

About This Team: Sørensen won this race last year with TF Sport and his co-drivers Ben Cheating and Henrique Chaves, as the American-Danish-Portuguese trio took the WEC championship as well. Møller is making his first Le Mans appearance since 2006 when he drove a Lister Storm LMP Hybrid in LMP1. Birch and Møller are competing full-time in ELMS this year. Birch competed the last two seasons in the TCR Denmark Touring Car Series. 

Test Day: 21st

Qualifying: 6th

#56 Project 1 – AO Porsche 911 RSR-19

Drivers: Matteo Cairoli (7th), P.J. Hyett (1st), Gunnar Jeannette (9th)

About This Team: Hyett and Jeannette are competing full-time in WEC and IMSA this year. A practice accident forced a withdrawal from the Spa-Francorchamps round. Hyett and Jeannette were second at Bahrain last year. This is Jeannette's first Le Mans appearance since 2012. He was second in GT in 2001 driving with Romain Dumas and Philippe Haezebrouck. He was third in LMP900 in 2023 driving a Panoz LMP01 Evo-Élan with Olivier Beretta and Max Papis. Cairoli has retired from four of his six Le Mans appearances. 

Test Day: 16th

Qualifying: 15th

#57 Kessel Racing Ferrari 488 GTE Evo

Drivers: Scott Huffaker (1st), Takeshi Kimura (5th), Daniel Serra (7th)

About This Team: The #57 Ferrari was third at Sebring in March. Huffaker has found great success in IMSA's LMP2 class with five victories in 13 starts, all coming in endurance races, three of which have been the 12 Hours of Sebring. Serra has two class victories and two class runner-up finishes at Le Mans. Kimura's best class finish was fifth in 2019.  

Test Day: 3rd

Qualifying: 5th

#60 Iron Lynx Porsche 911 RSR-19

Drivers: Matteo Cressoni (6th), Alessio Picariello (3rd), Claudio Schiavoni (5th)

About This Team: The #60 Ferrari has only one top ten finish this season in WEC, sixth at Sebring. Cressoni was third in this class in 2021. Schiavoni was fourth that year. Picariello's best Le Mans class finish was seventh in 2021.

Test Day: 11th

Qualifying: 13th

#66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari 488 GTE Evo

Drivers: Thomas Neubauer (2nd), Giacomo Petrobelli (1st), Louis Prette (3rd)

About This Team: Neuabuer won the Dubai 24 Hour last year and he was the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Silver Cup champion last year. Petrobelli was out of motorsports from 2014 to 2020 but returned in the British GT Championship. Last year, he was full-time in ELMS' GTE class, where his best finish was third in Barcelona. Prette has spent the last two seasons competing in the Asian Le Mans Series.

Test Day: 1st

Qualifying: 19th

#72 TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage AMR

Drivers: Valentin Hasse-Clot (1st), Arnold Robin (2nd), Maxime Robin (2nd)

About This Team: This is a full-time ELMS entry. The Robins competed together in 2021 driving an LMP2 car and finishing 14th in class. Hasse-Clot competed primarily in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup. He competed in the Asian Le Mans Series earlier this year. 

Test Day: 19th

Qualifying: 14th

#74 Kessel Racing Ferrari 488 GTE Evo

Drivers: Kei Cozzolino (3rd), Yorikatsu Tsujiko (1st), Naoki Yokomizo (1st)

About This Team: Cozzolino was fifth in class in 2019 and this is his first Le Mans start since 2020. Yokomizo has competed in Super GT's GT300 class since 2007. He was the 2012 champion with Kyosuke Mineo. Tsujiko is the CEO of PONOS, a video game company based in Japan. He currently drives in GT World Challenge Asia and he won a race last season in that series.

Test Day: 10th

Qualifying: 8th

#77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR-19

Drivers: Julien Andlauer (6th), Christian Ried (14th), Mikkel O. Pedersen (2nd)

About This Team: Andlauer won on his Le Mans debut in 2018 with Ried as one of his co-drivers, and Andlauer was second in class last year. Ried was second in GTE Am in 2020. Pedersen retired from last year's race but he picked up his first WEC victory in last year's finale in Bahrain.

Test Day: 6th

Qualifying: 9th

#83 Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo

Drivers: Luis Pérez Companc (8th), Alessio Rovera (3rd), Lilou Wadoux (2nd)

About This Team: The #83 Ferrari won the most recent WEC race at Spa-Francorchamps. Rovera won in GTE Am in 2021. Last year, he competed in LMP2, as did Wadoux. Pérez Companc makes his first Le Mans appearance since 2019. His best class finish is third, in LMP2 in 2012 and in GTE Am in 2014. 

Test Day: 12th

Qualifying: 1st

#85 Iron Dames Porsche 911 RSR-19

Drivers: Sarah Bovy (3rd), Rahel Frey (6th), Michelle Gatting (5th)

About This Team: This is the third consecutive year this trio is competing together at Le Mans. They were ninth in 2021 and seventh in 2022. They were third in the ELMS GTE championship last year with a victory in Portimão. They were third at Portimão in the WEC race in April.

Test Day: 20th

Qualifying: 12th

#86 GR Racing Porsche 911 RSR-19

Drivers: Ben Barker (8th), Riccardo Pera (3rd), Michael Wainwright (8th)

About This Team: This trio was fourth last year, the best finish for Barker and Wainwright, who have been co-drivers in all seven of their prior appearances. Pera was second in GTE Am on debut in 2020. Barker and Wainwright have never won in WEC competition despite competing full-time since 2016. They have started 46 races. 

Test Day: 4th

Qualifying: 10th

#88 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR-19

Drivers: Jonas Ried (1st), Harry Tincknell (10th), Don Yount (1st)

About This Team: Ried is the son of Christian Ried, meaning father will compete against son for the class victory. Jonas Ried has spent the previous two years competing in Formula 4, but he made his ELMS in April driving an LMP2 car was sixth amongst the pro-am teams. Tincknell was Christian Ried's co-driver last year. A two-time Le Mans class winner, Tincknell won in LMP2 in 2014 and GTE Pro in 2020. Yount makes his Le Mans debut having not won in IMSA competition since Watkins Glen 2018.

Test Day: 5th

Qualifying: 20th

#98 NorthWest AMR Aston Martin Vantage AMR

Drivers: Ian James (3rd), Daniel Mancinelli (1st), Alex Riberas (1st)

About This Team: James, Mancinelli and Riberas took over this entry after Paul Dalla Lana abruptly retired from competition in April. Riberas has four IMSA victories, including two last year at Long Beach and Watkins Glen. James returns to Le Mans for the first time since 2006 when he was third in LMP2 driving a Courage C65-AER LMP2 entry with Andy Lally and John Macaluso on Kumho Tires. James won in the GTD class at the 24 Hours of Daytona this January. Mancinelli was a race winner in Pirelli World Challenge and has spent recent years competing in the Italian GT Endurance Championship.

Test Day: 17th

Qualifying: 18th

#100 Walkenhorst Motorsport Ferrari 488 GTE Evo

Drivers: Andrew Haryanto (3rd), Chandler Hull (1st), Jeff Segal (6th)

About This Team: Haryanto has finished seventh and 11th in his two Le Mans appearances. Segal won in GTE Am in 2016. He has three class podium finishes at Le Mans, but did not finish in his last trip to Le Mans in 2020. Hull won the Asian Le Mans Series GT championship this year with Walkenhorst.

Test Day: 13th

Qualifying: 11th

#777 D'Station Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR

Drivers: Tomonobu Fuji (3rd), Satoshi Hoshino (4th), Casper Stevenson (1st)

About This Team: This team's best finish this season is tenth at Sebring and Spa-Francorchamps. Fuji and Hoshino's best finish was sixth in class in 2021. Stevenson spent last season competing in the GT World Challenge Europe series, competing in the Silver class. 

Test Day: 7th

Qualifying: 21st

#911 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR-19

Drivers: Michael Fassbender (2nd), Richard Lietz (17th), Martin Rump (2nd)

About This Team: Lietz picked up his fourth Le Mans class victory last year in GTE Pro. It was his first class victory since 2013. Rump was 11th on his Le Mans debut last year and Fassbender was 16th. Lietz and Fassbender were co-drivers in ELMS last year as well as being co-drivers again this year.

Test Day: 14th

Qualifying: 16th

Garage 56

#24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Drivers: Jenson Button (2nd), Jimmie Johnson (1st), Mike Rockenfeller (11th)

About This Team: The invitational entry to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in partnership with NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports, a modified NASCAR Cup Series car is included in this year's race. It features Johnson, a seven-time Cup Series champion, with 2009 World Drivers' Champion Button and 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans overall winner Rockenfeller. The entry is unclassified and will start at the rear of the field regardless of its qualifying time. 

This is not the first time NASCAR entries have participated in Le Mans. In 1976, two entries were in the race. a Dodge Charger with Hershel and Doug McGriff completed only two laps while a Ford Torino with Dick Brooks, Dick Hutcherson and Marcel Mignot completed 104 laps but retired after 11 hours. 

Test Day: 41st overall, ahead of the fastest GTE Am entry.

Qualifying: 37th overall

Wednesday Recap

The first official practice day for the 91st 24 Hours of Le Mans set the participants for the Hyperpole session in each class. 

Ferrari went 1-2 with the #50 Ferrari 499P topping the charts with a lap at 3:25.213, 0.199 seconds quicker than the #51 Ferrari. Toyota took the next two spots on the timesheet. The #7 Toyota was third, 0.272 seconds off the #50 Ferrari with the #8 Toyota 0.536 seconds slower.

The #5 Porsche was sixth, just over 6/10th of a seconds back with the #3 Cadillac and #2 Cadillac each making it through. The #75 Porsche took the eighth and final Hyperpole spot, 1.376 seconds off the #50 Ferrari, but over 3/10th of a second quicker than the #6 Porsche in ninth.

The rest of the grid is set in class. Peugeot has its #93 entry starting tenth and the #94 Peugeot in 11th. Glickenhaus had its #708 entry take 12th on the grid ahead of the #311 Action Express Racing Cadillac with the #709 Glickenhaus in 14th. The #4 Vanwall will occupy 15th. The #38 Team Jota Porsche was not able to participate in qualifying due to a hybrid issue. 

The good news for Jota is its #28 Oreca topped the LMP2 session at 3:34.751, 0.002 seconds faster than the #41 Team WRT Oreca with the #63 Prema Racing Oreca 0.042 seconds back. There was tie for the fourth-fastest time between the #10 Vector Sport Oreca and the #48 IDEC Sport Oreca. Both cars had a time of 3:34.985. Both cars advance to Hyperpole but for technical purposes, the #10 Vector Sport entry is classified in fourth. 

Cool Racing had its #47 Oreca advance, 0.354 seconds slower than Jota's top time. Prema had its #9 Oreca advance as well while the #14 Nielsen Racing Oreca took eighth, 0.702 seconds off Jota but 0.125 seconds quicker than the #45 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca. 

United Autosport could not get either of its cars through to Hyperpole. The #22 Oreca will start 10th while the #23 Oreca will start 14th. 

The #13 Tower Motorsports Oreca was unable to participate in qualifying after Steven Thomas ran into the stationary #777 D'Station Racing Aston Martin of Casper Stevenson in the opening practice. Both drivers were fine after the incident. The #777 Aston Martin was also unable to participate in GTE Am qualifying. 

The #83 Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari led the session at 3:51.877 with the #54 AF Corse Ferrari second, 0.037 seconds off. The #33 Corvette suffered a practice-ending accident early in the team but the team repaired the car in time for qualifying and wound up third, 0.351 seconds off the #83 Ferrari. 

The #25 ORT by TF Aston Martin was fourth, 0.554 seconds off the top, but 0.028 seconds ahead of the #57 Kessel Racing Ferrari. The #55 GMB Motorsport Aston Martin was only 0.025 seconds behind the #57 Ferrari. The #21 AF Corse Ferrari and the #75 Kessel Racing Ferrari rounded out the top eighth. 

Porsche will not have any participants in the GTE Am Hyperpole session. The top Porsche was in ninth, the #77 Dempsey-Proton Racing entry was 0.218 seconds off advancing. The #86 GR Racing Porsche rounds out the top ten. 

The Garage 56 entry, the #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ran an impressive 3:47.976 lap in qualifying. It was 37th fastest overall, but 3.901 seconds faster than the #83 Ferrari's top time in GTE Am. 

Thursday begins with a three-hour practice at 9:00 a.m. ET. Hyperpole qualifying will take place at 2:00 p.m. ET before a one-hour night practice at 4:00 p.m. ET. 

There will be a 15-minute warm-up at 6:00 a.m. ET on Saturday June 10 with the 91st 24 Hours of Le Mans beginning at 10:00 a.m. ET.

2023 24 Hours of Le Mans LMP2 Preview

While Hypercar is rightfully garnering attention, the largest class on the grid for the 91st 24 Hours of Le Mans will be LMP2. Twenty-four cars are entered in the pro-am prototype category with many notable drivers, from IMSA and DTM champions, past overall Le Mans winners, an Indianapolis 500 winner champion, a grand prix winner and plenty of other top tier drivers combined with some hopeful amateurs filling out the field. 

A dozen debutants are in the 72-driver LMP2 pool while nine drivers will be in double figures for Le Mans appearances in this class. 

#9 Prema Racing Oreca-Gibson

Drivers: Juan Manuel Correa (1st), Filip Ugran (1st), Bent Viscaal (2nd)

About This Team: Correa is splitting 2023 between Formula Two and LMP2 in WEC. He won the 2022 European Le Mans Series season finale at Portimão with Prema. Ugran is in his first year in sports cars. Viscaal spent last year in ELMS with Algarve Pro Racing and drove at Le Mans in LMP2 with ARC Bratislava. 

Test Day: 7th

#10 Vector Sport Oreca-Gibson

Drivers: Gabriel Aubry (6th), Ryan Cullen (5th), Matthias Kaiser (1st)

About This Team: Bottom in WEC's LMP2 championship, Vector Sport's best result was ninth at Sebring. Aubry has not finished the last two years at Le Mans. Cullen's best class finish is 14th. Kaiser spent the previous two years competing in ELMS where his best finish was third on two occasions. 

Test Day: 9th

#13 Tower Motorsports Oreca-Gibson

Drivers: René Rast (5th), Ricky Taylor (9th), Steven Thomas (2nd)

About This Team: Tower Motorsports earned this spot after John Farano won IMSA's LMP2 championship. Unfortunately, Farano is missing this race after suffering an accident at Laguna Seca last month. Replace Farano is Thomas, who was in the top LMP2 pro-am entry last year. Taylor's best Le Mans result was fifth in class on debut in 2013 driving in GTE Am. Rast was second in LMP2 in 2016 with G-Drive Racing. Rast won two races last year in WEC driving for Team WRT.  

Test Day: 11th

#14 Nielsen Racing Oreca-Gibson

Drivers: Mathias Beche (9th), Ben Hanley (7th), Rodrigo Sales (2nd)

About This Team: Beche was third overall in 2018 and lost a third overall finish in 2017 after his Rebellion Racing entry was disqualified for illegally modified bodywork. Hanley and Sales drove together at Le Mans last year and were 16th in class. This trio is full-time in ELMS. 

Test Day: 20th

#22 United Autosports Oreca-Gibson

Drivers: Filipe Albuquerque (10th), Philip Hanson (7th)), Frederick Lubin (1st)

About This Team: The LMP2 championship leaders, the #22 United Autosport entry won at Sebring and was second at Portimão. Albuquerque and Hanson won at Le Mans in LMP2 in 2020. Lubin is in his first sports car season. 

Test Day: 18th

#23 United Autosports Oreca-Gibson

Drivers: Tom Blomqvist (3rd), Oliver Jarvis (12th), Josh Pierson (2nd)

About This Team: Portimão winners, Jarvis and Pierson are fourth in the championship and they were second at Spa-Francorchamps and started on pole position in two of the three races. They were sixth in class last year. Blomqvist won the 24 Hours of Daytona for the second consecutive year this January, though his Meyer Shank Racing was guilty of manipulating tire pressure sensors.

Test Day: 6th

#28 Jota Sport Oreca-Gibson

Drivers: Pietro Fittipaldi (2nd), David Heinemeier Hansson (10th), Oliver Rasmussen (2nd)

About This Team: Fittipaldi made his Le Mans debut last year with Heinemeier Hansson as one of his co-drivers. Rasmussen was third in class last year on debut. Jota Sport has three Le Mans class victory, including last year. 

Test Day: 1st

#30 Duqueine Team Oreca-Gibson

Drivers: René Binder (5th), Neel Jani (13th), Nico Pino (1st)

About This Team: Duqueine leads the ELMS LMP2 championship. Jani won Le Mans overall in 2016 with Porsche. Binder's best class finish was eighth in 2019. Pino was runner-up in the ELMS LMP3 championship last year. He won three of six races. 

Test Day: 14th

#31 Team WRT Oreca-Gibson

Drivers: Robin Frijns (3rd), Sean Gelael (3rd), Ferdinand Habsburg (4th)

About This Team: This team has finished sixth in all three races this WEC season after having won three times in WEC last season. Frijns and Habsburg won at Le Mans in LMP2 in 2021 on their way to the class championship. Habsburg was ELMS champion last year. Gelael was second in LMP2 at Le Mans in 2021 to Frijns and Habsburg. 

Test Day: 2nd

#32 Inter Europol Competition Oreca-Gibson

Drivers: Anders Fjordbach (4th), Mark Kvamme (2nd), Jan Magnussen (25th)

About This Team: Fjordbach spent last year competing in IMSA full-time and had one podium finish. Kvamme made his Le Mans debut last year in a GTE Am entry. Magnussen returns after missing the 2022 race. He and Fjordbach were co-drivers in 2021 in LMP2 and were 17th in class. Magnussen has four class victories at Le Mans, the most recent in 2009.

Test Day: 24th

#34 Inter Europol Competition Oreca-Gibson    

Drivers: Albert Costa (1st), Fabio Scherer (4th), Jakub Śmiechowski (5th)

About This Team: With two third-place finishes this season, the #34 Oreca is sixth in the championship. This is Costa's first year in prototypes after success in GT racing. Scherer has not won since 2021. Šmiechowski has not won in LMP2 competition, a class he has regularly competed in since 2019. 

Test Day: 17th

#35 Alpine Elf Team Oreca-Gibson

Drivers: Olli Caldwell (1st), André Negrão (7th), Memos Rojas (8th)

About This Team: Negrão has four class podium finishes in six Le Mans appearances, including third overall in 2021. His worst class finish is fifth. Rojas' best class finish is fifth. This team's best finish in WEC competition this season was eighth at Spa-Francorchamps. 

Test Day: 4th

#36 Alpine Elf Team Oreca-Gibson

Drivers: Julien Canal (14th), Charles Milesi (4th), Matthieu Vaxivière (7th)

About This Team: Canal won in class his first three years at Le Mans. He hasn't won since but he has three more class podium finishes, including third in 2020 with Vaxivière in LMP2. Milesi won in LMP2 in 2021 with Team WRT. 

Test Day: 5th

#37 Cool Racing Oreca-Gibson

Drivers: Alexandre Coigny (2nd), Malthe Jakobsen (1st), Nicolas Lapierre (16th)

About This Team: Jakobsen won the ELMS LMP3 championship last year with Cool Racing. Lapierre has four class victories at Le Mans, all in LMP2. Lapierre drove for Cool Racing in 2020 with Coigny as one of his co-drivers. They were eighth in class. 

Test Day: 13th

#39 Graff Racing Oreca-Gibson

Drivers: Giedo van der Garde (6th), Roberto Lacorte (6th), Patrick Pilet (15th)

About This Team: Van der Garde won at Portimão with United Autosports filling in for Blomqvist who had IMSA responsibilities. Van der Garde has never finished better than seventh in class at Le Mans. This is Lacorte's first Le Mans appearance without Giorgio Sernagiotto as one of his co-drivers, and Lacorte has also never finished better than seventh in class at Le Mans. This is Pilet's fourth Le Mans start in LMP2. Pilet has two class podiums at Le Mans but he has yet to win on Circuit de la Sarthe.

Test Day: 23rd

#41 Team WRT Oreca-Gibson

Drivers: Rui Andrade (3rd), Louis Delétraz (4th), Robert Kubica (3rd)

About This Team: The most recent WEC winners in LMP2, Team WRT is second in the championship. Delétraz has won the ELMS championship the previous two years and won this year's ELMS season opener overall at Barcelona. He and Kubica were runner-up in this class last year at Le Mans with Prema Racing. 

Test Day: 16th

#43 DKR Engineering Oreca-Gibson

Drivers: Maxime Martin (8th), Tom van Rompuy (1st), Ugo de Wilde (1st)

About This Team: Martin is making his first LMP2 appearance since 2013. He won in 2020 in GTE Pro with Aston Martin. That is his only top five class finish at Le Mans. De Wilde spent 2022 racing in LMP2 in ELMS. Van Rompuy spent much of the last two seasons competing in ELMS' LMP3 class.

Test Day: 22nd

#45 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca-Gibson

Drivers: James Allen (6th), Colin Braun (2nd), George Kurtz (1st)

About This Team: Sixteen years after making his Le Mans debut, Braun is back for his sophomore appearance. Braun was second in GT2 that year driving with Tracy Krohn and Niclas Jönsson. He was only 18 years old. Braun and Kurtz have been co-drivers in IMSA LMP3 competition and in GT World Challenge America. Allen won the 24 Hours of Daytona in LMP2 this past January with Proton Competition, defeating Kurtz's team in a photo finish. 

Test Day: 19th

#47 Cool Racing Oreca-Gibson

Drivers: Reshad de Gerus (2nd), Vladislav Lomko (1st), Simon Pagenaud (5th)

About This Team: De Gerus and Lomko compete with Toyota's José María López in ELMS competition. They were fourth in the Barcelona season opener. Pagenaud is making his first Le Mans appearance since he was second overall in 2011 driving for Peugeot with Sébastien Bourdais and Pedro Lamy as his co-drivers. 

Test Day: 3rd

#48 IDEC Sport Oreca-Gibson

Drivers: Paul-Loup Chatin (9th), Laurents Hörr (2nd), Paul Lafargue (7th)

About This Team: This is the sixth consecutive year Chatin and Lafargue are co-drivers at Le Mans. They have finished fifth, sixth, sixth and eighth in class the last four years. They won at Monza last year in ELMS. Hörr made his Le Mans debut last year but he raced primarily in LMP3 competition until the start of this season.

Test Day: 12th

#63 Prema Racing Oreca-Gibson

Drivers: Mirko Bortolotti (2nd), Daniil Kvyat (1st), Doriane Pin (1st)

About This Team: Runner-up at Sebring, the #63 Oreca is fifth in the championship. After making his Le Mans debut last year, Bortolotti is full-time in LMP2 this year in companionship with his Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters role. Kvyat is full-time in sports cars after sampling NASCAR last year. Pin ended 2022 as a GTE class winner in ELMS and has quickly adapted to LMP2 racing. 

Test Day: 21st

#65 Panis Racing Oreca-Gibson

Drivers: Tijmen van der Helm (2nd), Manuel Maldonado (2nd), Job van Uitert (5th)

About This Team: The Panis Racing entry was runner-up in LMP2 at the ELMS season opener at Barcelona. Van der Helm made his IMSA GTP debut at Laguna Seca last month with the JDC-Miller Motorsports Porsche. Maldonado returns to prototypes after racing in LMP2 in 2021. he spent last year in GT3 competition. Van Uitert was sixth in class on his Le Mans debut in 2019, still his best finish in the race. 

Test Day: 15th

#80 AF Corse Oreca-Gibson

Drivers: Ben Barnicoat (3rd), Norman Nato (6th), François Perrodo (11th)

About This Team: Barnicoat spent the previous two years racing in GTE Am at Le Mans. Prior to 2023, his only LMP2 experience was the 2019-20 Asian Le Mans Series season driving for Carlin. Nato was second overall in 2020. His best finish in LMP2 is tenth. Perrodo won the GTE Am class in 2021. Last year, he was 19th in class in his third LMP2 start in the race. 

Test Day: 10th

#923 Racing Team Turkey Oreca-Gibson

Drivers: Tom Gamble (2nd), Dries Vanthoor (4th), Salih Yoluç (5th)

About This Team: The winners of the 2023 ELMS season opener at Barcelona, Yoluç is the only carry over from that entry. Yoluç's most recent Le Mans appearance was 2020 when he won in GTE Am. He also won the Asian Le Mans Series championship earlier this year. Gamble's only time at Le Mans was 2021 in GTE Am with GR Racing. Vanthoor won on debut in 2017 in GTE Am, and he is a three-time defending GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup champion.

Test Day: 8th

Practice for the 24 Hours of Le Mans opens today at 8:00 a.m. ET and will last for three hours. Qualifying practice will be for one-hour at 1:00 p.m. ET with night practice lasting two hours and beginning at 4:00 p.m. ET. 

Thursday begins with a three-hour practice at 9:00 a.m. ET. Hyperpole qualifying will take place at 2:00 p.m. ET before a one-hour night practice at 4:00 p.m. ET. 

There will be a 15-minute warm-up at 6:00 a.m. ET on Saturday June 10 with the 91st 24 Hours of Le Mans beginning at 10:00 a.m. ET.

2023 24 Hours of Le Mans Hypercar Preview

This is a historic year for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Not only is it the centennial anniversary for the historic endurance race, this year sees 62 entries, 16 in the premier class with seven different manufacturers represented on the grid. Each class would be a strong race on its own and due to the breakdown of the classes, this year for Le Mans we will look at each class individually. 

In Hypercar, Toyota has won the first two editions at Le Mans with this class and Toyota has won five consecutive years. This year will be Toyota's toughest test since 2017 when Porsche won a chaotic race. Porsche is back and is aiming for its 20th overall Le Mans victory. Ferrari is back, and the Maranello outfit is looking for its first overall victory since 1965. Cadillac returns for the first time since 2002 and could become the first American manufacturer to win overall since 1969. Peugeot returns after a soft-launch in the second half of the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship seaosn, as the French brand chases its fourth Le Mans triumph.

While the new manufacturers received all the attention, Vanwall and Glickenhaus round out the Hypercars grid. 

Of the 48 drivers in Hypercar, only one is a Le Mans debutant, and the other 47 drivers have a combined 300 Le Mans appearances. 

#2 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R

Drivers: Earl Bamber (7th), Alex Lynn (7th), Richard Westbrook (13th)

About This Team: Bamber is a two-time Le Mans winner and has won the only two times he has competed in the premier class. This is Lynn's first time in the top class and he won the GTE Pro class at Le Mans in 2020. Westbrook was third overall last year with Glickenhaus. Westbrook has four class podiums at Le Mans, all of them are third-place finishes. The #2 Cadillac has been fourth, fourth and fifth through the first three races of the 2023 WEC season. 

Test Day: 8th

#3 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R

Drivers: Sébastien Bourdais (16th), Scott Dixon (5th), Renger van der Zande (6th)

About This Team: Bourdais is competing in Le Mans' top class for the first time since 2012. He is a three-time runner-up, but won in GTE Pro in 2016 with the Ford GT program. This is Dixon's first time competing in the top class at Le Mans. Van der Zande retired from the 2018 and 2019 races driving for DragonSpeed. Bourdais and van der Zande won the most recent IMSA race at Laguna Seca. 

Test Day: 14th

#4 Floyd Vanwall Racing Team Vanwall Vandervell 680

Drivers: Tom Dillmann (4th), Esteban Guerrieri (1st), Tristan Vautier (2nd)

About This Team: Dillmann has run three times at Le Mans, all with the ByKolles/Floyd Vanwall Racing Team. All three races ended in retirement. Guerrieri spent the better part of the last six years competing in touring cars. Vautier replaced Jacques Villeneueve in this entry. Vautier's only Le Mans start was last year in LMP2. Vanwall has retired from the last two races.

Test Day: 12th

#5 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963

Drivers: Dane Cameron (2nd), Michael Christensen (9th), Frédéric Makowiecki (13th)

About This Team: Cameron was fifth in LMP2 last year in his Le Mans debut. Cameron could become the first American overall winner since Davy Jones in 1996. Christensen won in GTE Pro in 2018. Makowiecki scored his first Le Mans class victory last year in GTE Pro. The #5 Porsche was fourth at Spa-Francorchamps, the most recent WEC round. 

Test Day: 6th

#6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963

Drivers: Kévin Estre (9th), André Lotterer (12th), Laurens Vanthoor (8th)

About This Team: Estre and Vanthoor won in GTE Pro in 2018 with Christensen. Estre and Vanthoor have been co-drivers at Le Mans five times previously, including in their debuts in 2015 with Chris Cumming in an LMP2 entry for OAK Racing. Lotterer is a three-time overall Le Mans winner and makes his return for the first time since 2019.

Test Day: 2nd

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 Hybrid

Drivers: Mike Conway (10th), Kamui Kobayashi (9th), José María López (7th)

About This Team: The #7 Toyota has finished on the podium the last five years at Le Mans and in six of the last seven years. This entry has won two of the first three races this season in WEC, the 1000 Miles of Sebring and Spa-Francorchamps. The 2021 overall Le Mans winners were also twice world champions in the 2019-20 and the 2021 seasons. 

Test Day: 3rd

#8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 Hybrid

Drivers: Sébastien Buemi (12th), Brendon Hartley (10th), Ryō Hirakawa (4th)

About This Team: Buemi has won at Le Mans four of the last five years, the last two of his victories were shared with Hartley, who also won in 2017 with Porsche. Hirakawa won in his premier class debut last year. The defending world championship, the #8 Toyota won at Portimão in April and currently lead the world championship. Buemi could become the sixth driver with at least five Le Mans overall victories. 

Test Day: 9th

#38 Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963

Drivers: António Félix da Costa (6th), Will Stevens (8th), Ye Yifei (3rd)

About This Team: Da Costa and Stevens won in LMP2 last year at Le Mans as they also won the LMP2 championship with Jota Sport. The team received delivery of its Porsche just ahead of the Spa-Francorchamps round and the #38 Porsche was sixth overall in that race. Stevens also won in the GTE Am class at Le Mans in 2017. Yifei had his Team WRT Oreca breakdown on the final lap in the 2021 race while leading in LMP2.

Test Day: 11th

#50 Ferrari - AF Corse Ferrari 499P

Drivers: Antonio Fuoco (3rd), Miguel Molina (7th), Nicklas Nielsen (4th)

About This Team: The #50 Ferrari won pole position at Sebring and was third in that race. Fuoco and Molina were third in GTE Pro last year at Le Mans. It is Molina's only class podium at Le Mans. Nielsen won in GTE Am in 2021 and he was in LMP2 last year. 

Test Day: 4th

#51 Ferrari - AF Corse Ferrari 499P

Drivers: James Calado (9th), Antonio Giovinazzi (2nd), Alessandro Pier Guidi (8th)

About This Team: Calado and Pier Guidi have been co-drivers for seven consecutive years at Le Mans, all in GTE Pro. Their finishing positions the last four years were first, second, first and second. They won the last two World Endurance GT Drivers' championships. Giovinazzi's lone Le Mans appearance was in 2018 sharing a Ferrari with Toni Vilander and Pipo Derani. They were fifth in GTE Pro. There has not been an Italian to win overall at Le Mans since Rinaldo Capello in 2008.

Test Day: 1st

#75 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963

Drivers: Mathieu Jaminet (2nd), Felipe Nasr (4th), Nick Tandy (11th)

About This Team: Jaminet's only Le Mans appearance was in 2019 with GTE Pro. He and Nasr won in GTD Pro at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2022 and Jaminet and Matt Campbell won the GTD Pro championship that year. Jaminet and Tandy currently lead the IMSA GTP championship after finishing on the podium in the last three races and winning at Long Beach. Tandy won overall with Porsche in 2015. All three of Nasr's previous Le Mans starts were in LMP2. Nasr could become the first Brazilian to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans overall. 

Test Day: 5th

#93 Peugeot TotalEnergies Peugeot 9X8

Drivers: Paul di Resta (5th), Mikkel Jensen (4th), Jean-Éric Vergne (5th)

About This Team: Di Resta won in the LMP2 class at Le Mans in 2020 with United Autosports. Jensen spent the previous two years competing in GTE Am. This is Vergne's first Le Mans appearance since 2020. He was first on the road in 2018 with G-Drive Racing, but his entry was disqualified after it was found the team used illegally modified re-fueling equipment. 

Test Day: 7th

#94 Peugeot TotalEnergies Peugeot 9X8

Drivers: Loïc Duval (11th), Gustavo Menezes (6th), Nico Müller (2nd)

About This Team: Duval was the overall winner in 2013 with Audi and he won the world championship that year with Allan McNish and Tom Kristensen. Menezes was second overall in his most recent Le Mans appearance in 2020. He was third overall in 2018 and won in LMP2 in 2016. Müller was 22nd in LMP2 last year. 

Test Day: 10th

#311 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R

Drivers: Jack Aitken (2nd), Pipo Derani (8th), Alexander Sims (5th)

About This Team: Action Express Racing won the 12 Hours of Sebring in March. Derani has won the 24 Hours of Daytona once and the 12 Hours of Sebring four times. Derani spent the last two years competing for Glickenhaus Racing in the Hypercar class. Derani was second in GTE Pro with the Ford GT program. Aitken was 20th in LMP2 last year. Like Nasr, Derani could become the first Brazilian overall winner. Sims has failed to finish in three of his four Le Mans appearances.

Test Day: 16th

#708 Glickenhaus Racing Glickenhaus 007 LMH

Drivers: Ryan Briscoe (9th), Romain Dumas (23rd), Olivier Pla (16th)

About This Team: Dumas is the most experienced Le Mans driver in Hypercar and he has won twice overall with an additional class victory. Briscoe and Dumas were co-drivers in 2021 and Pla and Dumas were co-drivers in 2022. Briscoe was third overall last year. Pla was fourth overall the last two years and his only class podium was second in LMP2 in 2013. 

Test Day: 13th

#709 Glickenhaus Racing Glickenhaus 007 LMH

Drivers: Nathanaël Berthon (8th), Esteban Gutiérrez (2nd), Franck Mailleux (9th)

About This Team: Berthon drove for Rebellion Racing in LMP1 in 2019 and 2020 with his best result being fourth in 2020. Gutiérrez was 13th last year in LMP2. Mailleux was third overall last year.

Test Day: 15th

Practice for the 24 Hours of Le Mans will begin at 8:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday June 7 and last for three hours. Qualifying practice will be for one-hour at 1:00 p.m. ET with night practice lasting two hours and beginning at 4:00 p.m. ET. 

Thursday begins with a three-hour practice at 9:00 a.m. ET. Hyperpole qualifying will take place at 2:00 p.m. ET before a one-hour night practice at 4:00 p.m. ET. 

There will be a 15-minute warm-up at 6:00 a.m. ET on Saturday June 10 with the 91st 24 Hours of Le Mans beginning at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Musings From the Weekend: Still Thinking About Indianapolis

Here is a rundown of what got me thinking...

NASCAR cannot escape Mother Nature. Mercedes put some cars on the podium. Barcelona reverted to a previous layout. World Superbike is just as predictable as Formula One at the moment. The Le Mans test day was held, and Ferrari was on top. There was an overwhelming protest in Japan that led to a changed winner. Formula E did well in Jakarta. Detroit showcased a new street course. There was heartbreak but immediate redemption. Álex Palou is clearly the man to beat in IndyCar this season, but my mind is stuck in the month of May.

Still Thinking About Indianapolis

It isn't fair to Detroit, but the past week was busy and I didn't really get a chance to sit and write more about the Indianapolis 500. This was the open time I had. In a perfect world, this would have been handled Tuesday or Wednesday, but here we are over a week later and with another race already in the books talking about Indianapolis. 

I will put the ending and race procedures aside. We will have plenty of time to talk about those, but the race itself, the results, what we saw and what it meant is what we will focus on here. Indianapolis isn't just another race with 50 points on the line for victory. It defines a team and a driver's season and legacy for better or for worse. This isn't quite second impressions but it will look at a few drivers and what they accomplished. Naturally, we start with the race winner. 

Again, I don't think Josef Newgarden's wait was as excruciating as it has been described. Waiting 12 Indianapolis 500s to win his first, either the second-longest or the longest wait depending on when you decided to revise the history book (we will talk about that later), is difficult. Newgarden has been one of the best IndyCar drivers since he entered the series and for all that he has accomplished the Indianapolis 500 was a glaring omission to his résumé while Alexander Rossi won on his Indianapolis 500 debut, Takuma Sato won it twice and Marcus Ericsson won it unexpectedly.

However, Newgarden never had one get away from him. 

His previous best finish was third in 2016, the race Rossi coasted to victory. It was a tough loss for Newgarden, but third was flattering. That was the year Townsend Bell and Ryan Hunter-Reay collided in the pit lane and took two Andretti cars out of contention. Carlos Muñoz was second and had run better than Newgarden all race. James Hinchcliffe and Hélio Castroneves led more laps. Newgarden deserved a good finish, but he wasn't the guy that had fuel mileage take 2016 away from him. If anything, Newgarden benefitted from the fuel mileage nature of that finish.

With his five laps led in 2023, Newgarden has only led 43 laps in his Indianapolis 500 career out of 2,294 laps completed. This was only the fourth time he led the Indianapolis 500. There are the 14 laps led in 2016, three led in 2018 and 21 led in 2019. He was fourth in the 2019 race and that is probably where he should have finished. Simon Pagenaud and Alexander Rossi were the top two drivers that race and they finished 1-2. 

Newgarden entered this year without that moment of heartbreak many drivers have experienced at Indianapolis. Newgarden's anguish paled in comparison to Michael Andretti or Scott Goodyear. Newgarden didn't have a "1989" moment like Al Unser, Jr. had hanging over his head when Unser Jr. won in 1992. He didn't have the close calls like Tony Kanaan. Eddie Sachs and Lloyd Ruby would like to have a word with Newgarden about heartbreak. 

Newgarden is a one-time winner but doesn't have the ones that got away from him like Scott Dixon does. For a man who waited 12 years to win this race, Newgarden didn't have many, if any, demons haunting him. 

But the waiting is the hardest part and sometimes the thing that kills you is wondering if things will ever align for you to succeed. That is likely what ate at Newgarden, especially since joining Team Penske in 2017. In his first year, Castroneves was second in the "500." In 2018, Will Power won and was at the front the entire race. Simon Pagenaud dominated the following year. In his first three years at Penske, Newgarden saw two teammates win and one come darn close, and Newgarden's finishes those years were 19th, eighth and fourth. Moving in the right direct but lightyears from glory. 

Two IndyCar championships and regular race victories in that timeframe kept Newgarden employed at Penske, but Newgarden knows Indianapolis is the ultimate feather in a Penske's driver cap. The dread of being the one Penske driver not to win this race while his teammate around him had won it would crush any driver. As strong as Newgarden is, he likely knew how painful it would be never to win especially with the opportunity given. 

Newgarden can breathe now. The elephant is off his chest. He has one. He wants a second but the first provides more relief than joy and the relief is the most rewarding. 

Five laps is all Newgarden led. It is the third-fewest for an Indianapolis 500 winner... kind of. It is technically fifth-fewest. L.L. Corum and Floyd Davis neither led a lap in the years they won as a part of co-driver teams. To make it better, neither driver ever led in their Indianapolis 500 careers. But if we go by entry, Corum's #15 Duesenberg led 24 laps with Joe Boyer behind the wheel. Davis' #16 Wetteroth-Offenhauser led 39 laps with Mauri Rose in control.

Dan Wheldon led the fewest laps in a winning entry, one in car #98 in 2011. Joe Dawson only led the final two laps in the #8 National in the 1912 race. 

Newgarden's 43 Indianapolis 500 career laps led is equal with Marcus Ericsson. Newgarden has still led fewer laps at Indianapolis than Conor Daly (47), Rinus VeeKay (57) and Felix Rosenqvist (61). 

As for Ericsson, how hard done should he feel about that finish? 

He was less than two miles from a second consecutive Indianapolis 500 victory. A fortunate series of events put him in the lead that late. Credit to Ericsson because he matched his 2022 performance, never prominently in the picture until he had to be, always in the background. It would have been fluky for him to have won this race because he had a better restart and the field never even made it back to the start/finish line on what turned out to be the penultimate restart. I think it would have been a hollow victory, a rather underwhelming way to win consecutive Indianapolis 500s. However, Ericsson was there and to lose it on an unprecedented circumstance is difficult to accept especially when Ericsson did everything right all race. 

As for the others, Santino Ferrucci has something special at Indianapolis. Of every driver to have started at least five "500s," Ferrucci has the fourth best average finish behind only Bill Holland, Ted Horn and Jimmy Murphy. Ferrucci has done it without driving for a standout team, making the most the opportunities given. If he hasn't had a moment yet in the race there is a chance he never will. He might have a special touch around that place. 

We are at an odd inflection point for the Indianapolis 500. There were nine past winners in this year's race and before the green flag waved I think we could all agree there were another nine or ten drivers that we think could someday win this race. 

Newgarden crossed his name off that list when the 500 miles were complete, but Patricio O'Ward remains, as does Álex Palou. Colton Herta has yet to have a brilliant "500," but you would think one of these years it will click for Andretti Autosport and Herta will be there. Rinus VeeKay has shown all the pace in the world but hasn't put together a complete 200 laps around the Speedway. It is his greatest flaw at the moment. As long as Scott McLaughlin is at Team Penske, McLaughlin will have chance. 

There is also Ferrucci. If Callum Ilott ends up with a top team he will be a serious threat. It is still early for Kyle Kirkwood, but he looked impressive in his sophomore year and popped up at the right time before being caught in the Felix Rosenqvist accident. Speaking of Rosenqvist, he has been there the last two years and has come into his own at the Speedway. 

For all of the Indianapolis 500 winners in the field, majority were one-time winners. A few might be stuck on one. Tony Kanaan is leaving with one. A second looks unlikely for Ryan Hunter-Reay. But with Scott Dixon leading the way, there is also Will Power, Alexander Rossi, Simon Pagenaud, Ericsson and now Newgarden looking for two. The only multi-time "500" winner in the DW12-era is Takuma Sato. That will likely change. 

Between those nine zero-time winners and half-dozen one-time winners with a realistic shot at a second, plus throw in Hélio Castroneves and Sato for good measure, there are 17 strong candidates on the grid. This isn't even mentioning the likes of Ed Carpenter, Conor Daly, Graham Rahal, Romain Grosjean and Marco Andretti who just don't seem to have the pieces falling in place to ever win this race. There will also be more drivers coming into the series and showing up at Indianapolis who likely will have a say on how history is written. Kyle Larson makes his first attempt in 2024. 

More drivers than not never win Indianapolis. 

For every A.J. Foyt, there is an Eddie Sachs, Lloyd Ruby and Wally Dallenbach. For every Al Unser, there is a Pancho Carter, Danny Ongais and Roberto Guerrero. For every Rick Mears, there is a Kevin Cogan, Scott Goodyear and Michael Andretti. For Hélio Castroneves, I think we can add Paul Tracy, Carpenter and another Andretti that list. 

Those "oh so close" names will exist for this generation. A good number will win it, but not all. There will be plenty to celebrate. There will be more to sympathize. 

Winners From the Weekend

You know about Álex Palou, but did you know...

Max Verstappen won the Spanish Grand Prix, his fifth career victory. 

Frederik Vesti and Oliver Bearman split the Formula Two races from Barcelona. Zak O'Sullivan and Pepe Martí split the Formula Three races.

Reece Gold and Nolan Siegel split the Indy Lights races from Detroit.

Kyle Busch won the NASCAR Cup race from Gateway, his third victory of the season. Cole Custer won the Grand National Series race from Portland. Grant Enfinger won the Truck race from Gateway.

Pascal Wehrlein and Maximilian Günther split the Jakarta ePrix. 

Álvaro Bautista swept the World Superbike races from Misano. Nicolò Bulega and Stefano Manzi split the World Supersport races.

The #19 TGR Team WedsSport Bandoh Toyota of Yuji Kunimoto and Sena Sakaguchi won the Super GT race from Suzuka after the #3 NDDP Racing Nissan was handed a 60-second penalty for not completing two refueling pit stops in a red flag shortened race. The #7 BMW Team Studie x CRS BMW of Seiji Ara and Masataka Yanagida won in GT300.

The #88 AKKodis ASP Team Mercedes-AMG of Raffaele Marciello, Jules Gounon and Timur Boguslavskiy won the Circuit Paul Ricard 1000 km.

Thierry Neuville won Rally Italia Sardegna. 

Coming Up This Weekend

The centennial anniversary 24 Hours of Le Mans.

MotoGP will be at Mugello.

NASCAR has one final race weekend at Sonoma before its off week.