TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE

NTT INDYCAR SERIES

HARVEST GP

INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY ROAD COURSE

OCTOBER 1-3, 2020

RACE #12 & 13 OF 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERIES:
New event, but a very familiar venue! The inaugural Harvest GP will be the final doubleheader event of the 2020 NTT INDYCAR Series season and will run October 1-3 on the very familiar Road Course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The first race at the track inside “The Track” was May, 2014. A Chevrolet 2.2liter V6 powered driver has won five of the seven races run on the 2.439-mile/14 turn road course.
This is the second and third time INDYCAR has raced on the IMS Road Course, the first this year was the historic race in conjunction with the NASCAR Xfinity Series in July.

FAN VIEWING AND LISTENING

NBC Sports Gold livestreaming: Thursday’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice session and qualifying session for Race 1 will stream live on INDYCAR Pass on NBC Sports Gold, NBC Sports’ direct-to-consumer livestreaming product.Pennzoil INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: All NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice, qualifying and races are broadcast live on Pennzoil INDYCAR Radio Network affiliates, Sirius 211, XM 205, IndyCar.com and on the INDYCAR Mobile app powered by NTT DATA.

AT-TRACK SCHEDULE (ALL TIMES LOCAL)

Thursday, October 1

2:25 p.m.-noon: NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice, NBC Sports Gold (live) and INDYCAR Radio

6:20  p.m.: Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award – Race 1 (Two groups), NBC Sports Gold (live) INDYCAR Radio

Friday, October 2

3:30 p.m:. Race One Harvest GP– 85-laps Live on USA TV  Network, INDYCAR Radio Network 

Saturday, October 3

10:20 a.m.: Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award – Race 2 (Two groups), NBC Sports Gold (Live) and INDYCAR Radio Network

2:15 p.m.: Race Two Harvest GP—75 laps — Live on NBC and INDYCAR Radio Network 

BOWTIE BULLETS:

•  Chevrolet has won five of seven races held at the IMS Road Course
• Josef Newgarden is second in points, 72 points behind leader; Pato O’Ward is third in points, 118 points behind leader; Will Power is fifth in the standings and Simon Pagenaud is eighth in the standings
• Helio Castroneves will take the wheel of the No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet while Oliver Askew recovers; Sebastien Bourdais will be in the No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet, and Sage Karam will return to competition in the No. 24 Dryer and Reinbold Chevrolet
• Power is the second all-time INDYCAR pole winner with 60 (behind only Mario Andretti with 67).\
• Since returning to INDYCAR manufacturer competition in 2012, Chevrolet has amassed 86 wins in 146 races along with six Manufacturer Championships and six driver championships. Bowtie drivers have earned 96 poles and started in the No. 1 position on the INDYCAR grid 101 times

 QUOTABLE QUOTES: 

ROB BUCKNER, CHEVROLET RACING ENGINEERING PROGRAM MANAGER FOR THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES:  “The Road Course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been an exceptional track for our Team Chevy drivers. Will Power and Simon Pagenaud have led the Chevy charge at the Indy Road Course, but as we have seen on other road courses this year, our young guns are making their way toward the front of the field. With Oliver Askew sidelined with an injury, Arrow McLaren SP is bringing in perennial INDYCAR favorite Helio Castroneves to drive the No. 7 Chevrolet, multi-time champion Sebastien Bourdais on the No. 14 Chevy from AJ Foyt Racing, and we are looking forward to having Sage Karam back to the Chevy INDYCAR contingent. With only three races left title contenders Josef Newgarden and Pato O’Ward are looking to score maximum points at Indy. We are looking forward to the final doubleheader weekend of the season in Indy with fans!.”

FROM THE COCKPIT: JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 1 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET: “It’s a really important weekend for us at Indianapolis. We’re running second in championship points and have some ground to make up to Scott (Dixon), so every point is really going to count. With this being a doubleheader weekend, the pressure is on to perform at our best in the Hitachi Chevy and really maximize the points that we get. With two opportunities to race this weekend, we still feel we have a good shot at the title since my entire team has been working so hard and have a really great plan put together. Execution will be key, especially since doubleheader weekends can be so intense and anything could happen. As a sport, we are probably most excited to have fans there this weekend. That’s going to be great, so we want to put on a good show and give them a good battle up until the end.” 

CHARLIE KIMBALL, NO. 4 TRESIBA AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET: “Any time you get to race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it’s a good time. And getting both a doubleheader on the Indianapolis road course plus the fall weather that has descended on Indy means that it will live up to its Harvest Grand Prix name. Partnering with both Dalton Kellett and Sebastien Bourdais means we’re all focused on a great result for AJ Foyt Racing this weekend.”

PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET: “It’s crazy to think that the year is almost over. The entire team and I know that if there’s a time to push, it’s now, so we are all very motivated to build on what we have accomplished so far this season and keep racking up championship points. We are in the fight so that’s what we will be pushing for. I know that the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet will be good, so if we execute, we will have a couple of good races.”

HELIO CASTRONEVES,  NO. 7 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET: “First and foremost, we want to make sure that Oliver gets better. He’s a young man with a bright future ahead of him.
”For me, I’m coming off of a big win at Mid-Ohio in IMSA and carrying momentum into this weekend at Indianapolis. It’s great to be back in a place where I have so many memories. It’s even more exciting this time, coming back with a new team and getting new experiences. I already have a taste of the great group of people at Arrow McLaren SP and I’m looking forward to this weekend. Hopefully I can add a little bit of my experience to a great team and brand.
 ”I also want to thank Roger Penske and Tim Cindric for allowing me to race this weekend for a different team. My biggest fear is to not enter the wrong garage after 20 years! I’m looking forward to a good race.”

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET: “Everything about Indianapolis is so special and the road course is no different. My Verizon Chevy team and I have had some success there, so we’re trying to pull from our experience to perform well. We didn’t run as well as we wanted to there back in July but we feel we have a strong plan going into this race weekend. We’re pretty much out of contention for the championship, so we’re really racing for wins. With it being a doubleheader it’s great to have two chances to win but it won’t be easy. I’m happy we’ll have fans back at Indianapolis with us. I can’t wait to see them back in the grandstands there because they bring such a great energy. It’s going to be an exciting weekend.” 

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 14 AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET: “It’s time finally to get that 2020 INDYCAR season started for us. It’s been a long time coming but really happy to finally get this show on the road and see what we’ve got. Obviously, there was a lot of anticipation at the beginning of the year, and many months have gone by and many races, so we’re not taking it the easy way by getting in the seat at the tail end of the season. There’s a lot of things to learn for me with the team, the team to validate a few things that they think they need answers on for this season and, more importantly, the next. I’m very much looking forward to the Indy GP. It’s a track that I’ve had good success on and very much enjoyed the layout, but it’s not going to be easy because we’re jumping straight into the thick of it: one practice, then qualify, race, qualify, race. Hopefully, we hit the ground running with a happy setup and can have a good weekend. If that’s not the case, we’ll dig deep and learn a few things and see what we get results-wise.” 

CONOR DALY, NO. 20 U.S. AIR FORCE ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET: “We had a great qualifying performance last time we were at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. I am really excited about being back for the Harvest GP since we already have experience together as a team at this track. We can look back on what we learned in July, build on that and progress from there. Hopefully, we will qualify again very strong and have an even better race this time!”

RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 SONAX ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET:“I am very excited to get going again after a few weeks off! The Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course was great for me earlier this year. Having two more races here makes me twice as happy! And fans this time for the Harvest Grand Prix will make it even better!” 

SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 DXC TECHNOLOGY TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET: “Indianapolis is such a special place to me. It’s meant so much for my career between the road course and Indy 500 success we’ve had there. We are going to approach the end of the season aiming to race hard for more wins. I will proudly represent DXC Technology and Chevy in the usual black/white/ chrome paint scheme. We will be facing a very demanding race weekend that’s a doubleheader. It will be very physical and these format requires a different approach on the technical decisions also. The 22 team is up for the challenge. I look forward to seeing race fans back in Indianapolis the heart of INDYCAR racing!”

SAGE KAMAM, NO. 24 DREYER & REINBOLD RACING OIL2SOIL CHEVROLET: “This weekend at the Harvest GP will be special since we get to return to the greatest race track in the world. Usually we are only there in May. In this strange 2020, we will be at IMS in July, August and October. So that is quite a treat for all of the drivers and teams. For DRR, we are anxious to get back to the IMS road course too. In July, it was the team’s first road race in seven years. So we had a lot to learn in trying to catch up with the other teams. Plus the heat was a factor. That won’t be the case this weekend. We did get our setups going in the right direction. We were sixth in warmup and I think we had a top-ten race lap too. Now, we have a good starting point when we hit the track this Thursday. We don’t have much time on track, so we want to be ready to go.”

DALTON KELLETT, NO.41 K-LINE USA AJ FOYT CHEVROLET: “It’s come down to the last race of the season (for me anyway)! This first year in INDYCAR has been fast-paced and full of unknowns, so I am looking forward to returning to a track that I have experience at. Compared to the heat of July, the cooler temps this weekend will be refreshing. Who knows? It might even get a little chilly in the car! We made good strides at Mid-Ohio, and the car had better pace than our results showed. If we continue on that path and put everything together, we will have a good shot at a solid finish for the #41 K-Line Insulators USA Chevy. That’s the approach to this event. I’m also looking forward to the chance to work with Sebastien (Bourdais). His experience and insight will be a great asset to the program.” 

MAX CHILTON, NO. 59 GALLAGHER CARLIN CHEVROLET: “I’m excited to get back on track this weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the No. 59 Gallagher Carlin Chevrolet especially for a new event like the Harvest Grand Prix. There’s nowhere like the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, so the fact that we get to go back now for our third race weekend of the season at IMS is great. We had a strong qualifying on the IMS road course back at the beginning of the season in early July, so I’m hoping we can build on that momentum and start and finish even stronger this weekend.”

Chevrolet INDYCAR Series Statistics

• Chevrolet has recorded six NTT IndyCar Series Manufacturer Championships since returning to manufacturer competition in 2012.
• Chevrolet earned six consecutive CART Manufacturers’ Cup championships from 1988-93.
• Chevrolet has recorded 12 driver championships, including four in the past five years and six total since returning to INDYCAR competition in 2012 with the2.2 liter V6 twin turbocharged direct injected engine
• Chevrolet has recorded 196 wins in Indy-style racing, including USAC, CART, Indy Racing League and IndyCar Series since 1965.
• Chevrolet’s initial win, under USAC sanction, was by Al Unser in the Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb on July 4, 1965.
• Chevrolet has 86 wins in 146 in IndyCar Series races since returning to manufacturer competition in 2012.