Hurt feelings, hot tempers, intense drama and an exhilarating finish led to the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline delivering one of the best races of the season.
The 676 on-track passes in the 260-lap race was the most since the NTT INDYCAR SERIES returned to World Wide Technology Raceway in 2017. Among those passes, 254 were for position with 115 in the top 10 and 44 in the top five.
The 21 lead changes were also the most in 16 races on the 1.25-mile track.
“It was good,” said sixth-place finisher Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda) said of the action. “I think everyone was kind of shocked how good the racing was. The mix where not everyone was doing the fuel save made a split which created a lot of overtaking opportunities. I was impressed with the show we put on. The hybrid was fun to play with. I think it helped me to pass a lot of cars.”
Rookie Marcus Armstrong thought his No. 11 American Legion Chip Ganassi Racing Honda could pass in the second lane all night.
“It was freaking cool,” he said. “When you can run the high line, it’s awesome. Restarts, all the grip in the world up there which is fun. Tonight was much better than expected. I thought the Firestone Racing Tire was very good.”
Colton Herta said part of the reason his No. 26 Gainbridge Honda was able to carve through the field from his 25th-place start to finish fourth before being penalized for blocking and moved back to fifth, was because the tire wear was minimal.
“I think it just shows that this whole conspiracy of having huge degradation on race cars will make the racing better, and it can I guess, but we just proved it today,” he said. There was absolutely zero deg and we had amazing battles all up and down the field. We had two lanes working for some guys and it was really more up to if you could maneuver your car in the right way and if your car was better you could get high. That’s the way it should be. It’s such skill and you still work at getting past people. It was awesome and a lot of fun. It was definitely the best one or two oval races for me in my career.”
Malukas Races With Penskes, Day Ends In Disappointment
Two years ago at WWTR, David Malukas quipped, “Oh my God, they’re Penskes. I’m going behind Penskes right now. This is crazy.”
Malukas finished second to Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden that year and in front of another Penske driver, Scott McLaughlin.
Two years later, Malukas mixed it up all race with the three Team Penske drivers. Malukas started second alongside McLaughlin, the NTT P1 Award winner, and passed his No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet for the lead on Lap 15.
Malukas battled wheel-to-wheel with Newgarden’s No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet and Will Power’s No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet for most of the race.
Unfortunately, the awe and allure of racing with the Penske drivers ended in disappointment. Malukas and Power made contact in Turn 1 on Lap 240 battling for what possibly could have been the race win.
Leader McLaughlin and second-place Newgarden were low on fuel and likely going to have to pit one more time for a splash of Shell 100% Renewable Race Fuel.
Power and Malukas had already pit and were in an intense fight for what could have been among the top positions if the cars in front did pit.
Malukas lost control after contact between the two shipping his No. 66 AutoNation Arctic Wolf Honda for Meyer Shank Racing into the Turn 1 SAFER barrier.
“I went down the inside,” Malukas said of the incident. “We were side-by-side. He just didn’t give me enough room. He tapped me. I mean there’s no room. I’m right on the white line.”
Power continued on but was eliminated from contention following a crash on the ensuing restart. He drove by the infield care center and shouted out his displeasures with Malukas about the incident.
“He’s calling me an idiot I mean dude, I’m down on the inside,” Malukas said. “You have a second lane. I don’t understand how I’m an idiot if you’re pushing me down. I wouldn’t have changed anything differently. It was a good move. I had the run timed.”
Malukas said he knows Power well and has generally got along with him. He said he will talk to him when he cools off and try to understand the incident better.
Siegel Has New Engineer
Brian Campe replaced Robert Gue as the race strategist and engineer for rookie driver Nolan Siegel. The move was announced in advance of the race with Gue leaving his position with Arrow McLaren to “explore other options.”
The move paid off with Siegel finishing a career-best seventh in his No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Siegel had high praise for Campe for helping him charge 13 spots in the race.
Campe won the 2015 Indianapolis 500 as engineer for Juan Pablo Montoya with Team Penske. Campe remained with the No. 2 Chevrolet when Newgarden came to the team in 2017. Newgarden won the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship that first season with Campe.
Campe later transitioned to NASCAR and joined Hendrick Motorsports in 2022. When HMS driver Kyle Larson attempted the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 double in May, Campe came with him to become his race strategist.
With an opening, Campe decided to leave HMS and rejoin Arrow McLaren with Siegel for the final five races of the 2024 season.
Armstrong On Maiden WWTR Visit
“Every lap I’m learning around here,” said Armstrong after qualifying his No. 11 American Legion Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 10th for Saturday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Valvoline and Axalta.
While Armstrong won Rookie of the Year honors last season, he only contested on the road and street circuits. Ovals like World Wide Technology Raceway were new to him this season. The New Zealand native doesn’t boast a circle track background with the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge being his maiden oval start.
That race lasted all of six laps with a mechanical failure ending his race prematurely. The only other oval experience was the Iowa Speedway doubleheader on July 13-14 when he finished 10th and 19th, respectively.
To do what he did on the 1.25-mile track this weekend with an eighth-place result is nothing short of amazing.
“I’m doing something different, trying to figure out how to do it,” he said. “You just got to do what you think the car can do. You don’t know until you try it sort of thing around these ovals. Even the way the car moves is not particularly normal to what I’m used to.”
Odds and Ends
· Alex Zanardi (1998), Josef Newgarden (2017) and Scott Dixon (2020 Race 1), are the only World Wide Technology Raceway winners to win the INDYCAR SERIES championship in the same season. Newgarden likely will not win this year’s title.
· McLaughlin’s runner-up finish Saturday night was Team Penske’s first runner-up finisher at this track since Helio Castroneves in 2002.
· Saturday’s Fastest Seat in Sports rider, Mikala McGhee is the daughter of Doug McGhee, a Missouri Tigers football teammate of NTT INDYCAR SERIES President Jay Frye.
· Next year’s WWTR race moves to a new date: June 15.