sports 32 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY september 7-13, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com One thing is known, but there is still a lot of uncertainty ahead of the 2023 Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey. What has been decided is the season championship—an accomplishment in and of itself. For 17 consecutive years, the NTT IndyCar crown had been decided at the final race. But Alex Palou made the streak past tense last Sunday, Sept. 3, when he won the Grand Prix of Portland to secure the title. It was the Chip Ganassi Racing driver’s fifth victory in a season in which he never finished outside the top 10. “They’re in a different stratosphere,” says Graham Rahal, veteran driver for the Rahal Letterman Lanigan team. But with the championship sewn up, he anticipates close racing as teams vie to close the 2023 schedule with a win. For many drivers, there is no need to protect points. “Frankly, a lot of guys don’t need to hold back,” Rahal adds. “My focus is on the win.” Yet even drivers well versed in the capricious whims of WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca are facing the unknown this weekend. Will Power first tested at the track in 2007. A year ago, the Team Penske pilot took the pole and finished third on his way to the IndyCar season championship. Considering the 2023 edition of the Grand Prix of Monterey, however, he says: “It’s like learning a new track.” The sense of uncertainty is evident throughout the field. Even Arrow McLaren’s Felix Rosenqvist, who took part in a July tire test at Laguna Seca, hedges on the possibilities. “It’s hard to tell,” he observes. After the track was repaved in June for the first time since 2007, IndyCar teams are confronted with a different beast. For over a decade the winding road course has been notorious for chewing tires, offering drivers little grip in famed corners like the Corkscrew. So the information gathered since the series returned to Laguna Seca in 2019 may be tossed aside. “All we know is how much faster it is,” Power points out. “I think we will be carrying a lot of speed into the corners. Some corners will be wide open.” The teams will know a lot more after a two-hour test session scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 7 to help them acclimate to the smooth ribbon of asphalt. But there is already talk that the track’s official lap record is in peril. In 2000, Helio Castroneves recorded a blistering lap of 1:07.7 around the 11 turns of the 2.2-mile circuit. There have been quicker times, but they were not under race conditions and remain unofficial. Last year, Power’s qualifying pace of 1:11.6 claimed the pole. But during a tire test held by Firestone on July 26, Rosenqvist reported lap times four seconds faster, comparing the session to a video game experience. “It was a lot better than I expected,” Palou noted at the time. “It’s completely different—a lot faster.” Tire degradation has always been a factor at Laguna Seca. With little grip on the old track surface, cars tended to slide. It rewarded drivers adept at managing the tires as they continued to lose adhesion, and made for some dramatic racing. With the improved surface, the assumption is that degradation will not be as pronounced. “Sometimes you get a reverse deg,” Power says of new asphalt. If tires don’t wear away and the surface holds enough grip, “you keep going faster.” According to Rahal and Power, that lap times will improve dramatically is the only information that has filtered to the other teams from the July test. Only Ganassi and McLaren took part. “They will have a leg up,” Rahal observes. Power is not as certain that the two teams will realize an advantage from the test. Temperatures were different, for one, and that affects the performance of race cars. The addition of a Thursday session, as well as the usual practice runs on Friday and Saturday, will also even the field. “That’s way more time than we normally get on a race weekend,” Power explains. “We’ll get a lot of information. It should be interesting.” The 2022 series champion did groan, however, when reminded of Palou’s participation in the July test. Last year at Laguna Seca, the Spanish driver crushed the field, winning by a full 30 seconds over Josef Newgarden. Power held onto third, gaining enough points to fend off Newgarden for the season championship. This season belongs to Palou. While other teams have been through ups and downs, the Ganassi driver has been consistently strong. Even backto-back wins by teammate Scott Dixon could only extend the points race to Portland. “That championship should be celebrated,” Power observes. “With this field—it’s an exceptional season.” On Sunday, Sept. 10, the cars fire up in anger for the last time in 2023. It will be all about the track. “The new surface is awesome,” Rosenqvist says. Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey takes place Friday-Sunday, Sept. 8-10. WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, 1021 Highway 68, Salinas. Featuring IndyCar, Indy NXT, Porsche Sprint Challenge and Radical Cup North America. Tickets $10 (Friday)-$300 (three-day package). 242-8200, weathertechraceway.com Fast Track Laguna Seca’s new surface promises speed—perhaps a new record—as the IndyCar season wraps. By Dave Faries “It’s like learning a new track.” Cars race toward the hairpin at the start of the 2021 Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey. Resurfaced for the first time in 15 years, expectations are for lightning quick lap times at Laguna Seca. Bob Heathcote 2023 IndyCar Winners March 5 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg: Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing April 2 PPG 375, Texas Motor Speedway: Josef Newgarden, Team Penske April 16 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach: Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Autosport April 30 Children’s of Alabama, Barber Motorsports Park: Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske May 13 GMR Grand Prix, Indianapolis: Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing May 28 Indianapolis 500: Josef Newgarden, Team Penske June 4 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix: Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing June 18 Sonsio Grand Prix, Road America: Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing July 2 Honda Indy 200, Mid-Ohio: Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing July 16 Honda Indy Toronto: Christian Lundgaard, Rahal Letterman Lanigan July 22 Hy-Vee Homefront 250, Iowa: Josef Newgarden, Team Penske July 23 Hy-Vee One Step 250, Iowa: Josef Newgarden, Team Penske Aug. 6 Big Machine Music City Grand Prix, Nashville: Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Autosport Aug. 12 Gallagher Grand Prix, Indianapolis: Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing Aug. 27 Bommarito Automotive Group 500, St. Louis: Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing Sept. 3 BitNile.com Grand Prix of Portland: Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing
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