INDYCAR
PALOU DOMINATES THE GMR GRAND PRIX AT INDIANAPOLIS AND TAKES THE CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD!
INDIANAPOLIS (Saturday, May 13, 2023) – Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi Racing flexed a potent combination of speed and strategy to win the GMR Grand Prix on Saturday on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, the Spaniard’s first victory of the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.
2021 series champion Palou, who started third, drove his No. 10 The American Legion Honda to a 16.8006-second victory over runner-up Pato O’Ward in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner Alexander Rossi finished third in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, his first podium result with the team he joined this season after seven years at Andretti Autosport.
“We honestly knew we had a fast car since P1 (first practice) yesterday,” Palou said. “The car has been amazing all weekend. Once we knew we were starting on reds (Firestone alternate tires), I think we knew we were going to fight for the win.
“Amazing work by these guys. I just had to execute.”
Palou’s last victory came in the season-ending Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey last September at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
NANNINI BANKS HIS FIRST VICTORY AT INDIANAPOLIS!
INDIANAPOLIS (Saturday, May 13, 2023) – Matteo Nannini drove to his first career INDY NXT by Firestone victory, holding off fellow series rookie Louis Foster in a compelling duel Saturday on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
Nannini, from Italy, drove his No. 75 Juncos Hollinger Racing car from the pole to the victory by .3909 of a second over the No. 26 Copart/USF Pro Championship car of Foster, fielded by Andretti Autosport. Nannini led all 35 laps of the INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix despite unyielding pressure from Foster over the last quarter of the race.
“I really wanted this win, mainly for the team,” Nannini said. “We didn’t start the championship where we really wanted, but I know we have the car to do it, the crew to do it. So, I would have been really pissed if I would not have been the winner of this race.”
Kyffin Simpson finished a lonely third in the No. 21 HMD Motorsports with CGR machine, 9.8065 seconds behind winner Nannini on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course.
This was the first INDY NXT by Firestone victory for Juncos Hollinger Racing since September 2019, when current NTT INDYCAR SERIES standout Rinus VeeKay swept the season-ending doubleheader at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. That also was the last INDY NXT by Firestone win for a team other than HMD Motorsports or Andretti Autosport.
Nannini jumped from 17th to fourth in the standings for INDYCAR’s development series with the win.