Alex Palou Qualifies Third at Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

• Defending race winner, series champion Alex Palou tops NTT INDYCAR SERIES qualifying for Sunday’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
• Alexander Rossi rebounds from morning practice session crash to qualify fifth

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (April 30, 2022) – Alex Palou, the popular winner of last year’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama and eventual 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion, once again led the way for Honda today in qualifying for Sunday’s 90-lap contest at the scenic Barber Motorsports Park.

Palou was one of two Honda drivers to advance to the final round of Firestone “Fast Six” qualifying, and will start his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda from third. Meanwhile, Alexander Rossi and his Andretti Autosport team rebounded from a crash in this morning’s practice session, completing repairs to the #27 Honda in time for Rossi to also advance to the final round, and will start fifth.

Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama Qualifying Results

• 3^rd Alex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
• 5^th Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda
• 8^th Romain Grosjean Andretti Autosport Honda
• 9^th Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
• 10^th Colton Herta Andretti Autosport Honda
• 12^th Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
• 13^th Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
• 14^th Christian Lundegaard-R Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
• 15^th Jack Harvey Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
• 16^th Helio Castroneves Meyer Shank Racing Honda
• 17^th Takuma Sato Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda
• 18^th David Malukas-R Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Honda
• 20^th Devlin DeFrancesco-R Andretti Autosport Honda
• 24^th Simon Pageaud Meyer Shank Racing Honda
• 26^th Jimmie Johnson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

R – Rookie

Quotes

Alex Palou (#10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) will start third, defending race and series champion: “It was a busy session; it was really close. The car was really fast, and we were

improving every session. I’m really happy with the #10 The American Legion Honda and the starting position [third] for tomorrow. Same place we started [the race] in last year, and we won it.”

Alexander Rossi (#27 Andretti Autosport Honda) qualified fifth: “I’m so grateful to everyone at Andretti Autosport. Not just my guys, but guys from all my teammates cars and the Honda engineers. It was a thrash [to complete repairs after a crash in morning practice], so I just appreciate the efforts in getting me back out there. Fifth is fine. You’re always hoping for a little bit more in qualifying, but we’ll go back, look at the data to see where the car’s actually at, and go from there in the race tomorrow.”

Fast Facts

Honda-powered drivers and teams have won the two most recent NTT INDYCAR SERIES races at Barber Motorsports Park. Driving for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Takuma Sato dominated the race in 2019; starting from the pole and leading 74 or the 90-lap contest to score the victory. Honda drivers swept the victory podium that year, with Scott Dixon finishing second, and Sebastien Bourdais third.

The Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama was not run in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic; but opened the 2021 season, with Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou scoring his career-first Indy car win. Palou went on to win the 2021 INDYCAR Drivers’ title as Honda recorded its fourth consecutive INDYCAR Manufacturers’ Championship.

Other Honda-powered winners at Barber Motorsports Park include Helio Castroneves, who won the inaugural INDYCAR race here in 2010; Will Power in 2011; and Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2014.

Where to Watch

Television coverage of Sunday’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama starts at 12:30 p.m. EDT on NBC Peacock, and at 1 p.m. on NBC. Complete, flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on NBC Peacock, the INDYCAR Radio Network, and SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation (Channel 160).

Honda Racing social media content and video links from this weekend’s activities from Barber Motorsports Park can be found on Instagram (www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd), Twitter (twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD). Additional features and long-form videos can be found on the Honda Racing/HPD YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV).

Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, AL
12:30 p.m. EDT Sunday, May 1
NBC and NBC Peacock
IndyCar Radio Network and SiriusXM

Honda at Barber Motorsports Park

• This weekend’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama will be the 12^th INDYCAR race at the scenic, 2.3-mile Barber Motorsports Park circuit; and the 10^th year American Honda has served as title sponsor of the event.

• Honda-powered drivers and teams have won the two most recent NTT INDYCAR SERIES races at Barber Motorsports Park.  Driving for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Takuma Sato dominated the race in 2019; starting from the pole and leading 74 or the 90-lap contest to score the victory. Honda drivers swept the victory podium that year, with Scott Dixon finishing second, and Sebastien Bourdais third.

• The Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama was not run in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic; but opened the 2021 season, with Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou scoring his career-first Indy car win.  Palou went on to win the 2021 INDYCAR Drivers’ title as Honda recorded its fourth consecutive INDYCAR Manufacturers’ Championship.

• Other Honda-powered winners at Barber Motorsports Park include Helio Castroneves, who won the inaugural INDYCAR race here in 2010; Will Power in 2011; and Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2014.

• Ten race wins in 2021, including a 14^th victory at the Indianapolis 500, brought Honda the company’s 10^th INDYCAR Manufacturers’ Championship and fourth consecutive title.  Honda’s Indy car win total of 262 in 28 years of North American open-wheel racing is unmatched by any other manufacturer in the same period.

• The 14 wins by Honda at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway lead all other major automobile manufacturers.

• Since its founding in 1993, Honda Performance Development (HPD), the racing arm of the American Honda Motor Co., Inc., has grown from just a handful of staffers to more than 150 associates; and from an engine-rebuilding facility, focused on a single racing series, to a complete motorsports Research & Development organization, engaged in programs ranging from the NTT IndyCar Series and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship to grassroots and entry-level categories including karting, Quarter Midgets, club racing, Formula 4 and Formula 3.

Where to Watch

• Television coverage of Sunday’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama starts at 12:30 p.m. EDT on NBC Peacock, and at 1 p.m. on NBC.  Complete, flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on NBC Peacock, the INDYCAR Radio Network, and SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation (Channel 160).

• Honda Racing social media content and video links from this weekend’s activities from Birmingham can be found on Instagram (www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd), Twitter (twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD).  Additional features and long-form videos can be found on the Honda Racing/HPD YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV).

2022 Honda NTT INDYCAR SERIES Lineup

Andretti Autosport                 #26 Colton Herta (W)

#27 Alexander Rossi (W)

                                                #28 Romain Grosjean

                                                #29 Devlin DeFrancesco (R)

Chip Ganassi Racing             #  8 Marcus Ericsson (W)

                                                #  9 Scott Dixon (C) (W)

                                                #10 Alex Palou (C) (W)

                                                #48 Jimmie Johnson

Dale Coyne Racing

    – with HMD Motorsports     #18 David Malukas (R)

    – with Rick Ware Racing    #51 Takuma Sato (W)

Meyer Shank Racing              #60 Simon Pagenaud (C) (W)

                                                #06 Helio Castroneves (W)

Rahal Letterman Lanigan      #15 Graham Rahal (W)

Racing                                    #30 Christian Lundgaard (R)

                                                #45 Jack Harvey

C – IndyCar Series Champion             W – Race Winner                    R – 2022 Series Rookie

Second, third for Honda power at Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach

• Romain Grosjean scores fourth-career NTT INDYCAR SERIES podium
• Alex Palou finishes third for Chip Ganassi Racing to give Honda a double podium
• Four different Honda-powered teams score top 10 finishes

LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 10) – Romain Grosjean and Alex Palou both put their Honda-powered INDYCAR machines on the podium at today’s 47th running of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. 

Though the early stages of the race were dominated by Andretti Autosport’s Colton Herta, the 2021 winner found himself in the third position after the first round of pit stops and unfortunately, later, made contact with the wall to end his race.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Palou would inherit the lead after jumping both Herta and Josef Newgarden on pit road during the first round of pit stops, and would maintain that position through the second stint. But in the second and final pit stop cycle, Palou would drop behind eventual-winner Newgarden. 

For Andretti Autosport #28 driver Romain Grosjean, starting from the sixth position after a crash at the end of Saturday’s qualifying, a combination of tire strategy and gusty on-track passes saw the Formula One veteran move through the field and, eventually, around Palou in the closing laps of the race for second place. 

Palou’s Ganassi teammate Scott Dixon, Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s Graham Rahal, Andretti’s Alexander Rossi and Meyer Shank Racing’s Helio Castroneves also notched top 10 finishes today for Honda.

Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Honda Race Results

• 2^nd Romain Grosjean Andretti Autosport Honda
• 3^rd Alex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
• 6^th Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
• 7^th Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
• 8^th Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda
• 9^th Helio Castroneves Meyer Shank Racing Honda
• 15^th Jack Harvey Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
• 17^th Takuma Sato Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda [did not finish – contact]
• 18^th Christian Lundegaard-R Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda [running]
• 19^th Simon Pageaud Meyer Shank Racing Honda [running]
• 20^th Jimmie Johnson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda [did not finish – contact]
• 21^st David Malukas-R Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Honda [did not finish – contact]
• 22^nd Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda [did not finish – contact]
• 23^rd Colton Herta Andretti Autosport Honda [did not finish – contact]
• 25^th Devlin DeFrancesco-R Andretti Autosport Honda [did not finish – contact]

R – Rookie

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Drivers’ Championship Standings (unofficial, after 3 of 17 rounds)

• 1. Josef Newgarden, Team Penske 118 points
• 2. Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske 113
• 3. Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 103
• 4. Will Power, Team Penske 102
• 5. Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing 83
• 6. Roman Grosjean, Andretti Autosport 75

Quotes

Romain Grosjean (#28 Andretti Autosport Honda) Finished 2^nd: “It was a pretty good day out there! It’s a bummer we didn’t start P2, that would have made my day a lot easier. But, we had the right strategy, good pit stops, and pushed hard. The yellow [caution flag] really brought us back into the game and from there I made a couple of overtakes to get into second. Was just a little bit shy of getting the win today. Next time!” 

Alex Palou (#10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Finished 3^rd: “It was an exciting race! Started third, finished third, but a lot of things happened in that race. I think we did an amazing job with strategy on that first [pit] stop. We had to overtake Herta and Newgarden somehow, and we didn’t want to be at risk of any yellows, so we pitted early, really went for it and led some laps—that was amazing. But on the second stop, Josef got us there. It was a nice battle on track and another podium for us, so I’m feeling really confident for what’s ahead.” 

Kelvin Fu (Vice President, Honda Performance Development) on today’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach: “The weekend started off really well with Colton getting pole. Today, it was a really tight race throughout and very exciting for the fans here at the track. We definitely have pace on street courses. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t put it all together for a win, but it was still a good result for Romain and for Alex. Thanks to everyone who came out to watch. It was a great crowd, there was a lot of excitement and we’re sorry we couldn’t deliver a victory in front of our home crowd!” 

Fast Facts

Honda-powered drivers and teams have won the Grand Prix of Long Beach 15 times in 22 appearances. This includes victories in eight of the last 13 races; and a seven-year victory streak from 1996-2002.

Launched in 1986 as the first Japanese luxury automotive brand, Acura is a leading nameplate that delivers Precision Crafted Performance – a commitment to expressive styling, high performance and innovative engineering, all built on a foundation of quality and reliability. Both Acura and its American Honda parent have their U.S. headquarters in Torrance, California.

Next

The NTT IndyCar Series next heads to scenic Barber Motorsports Park, just outside of Birmingham, Alabama, for the May 1 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.

Honda Racing social media content and video links from the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach can be found on Instagram (www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd), Twitter (twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD).

Additional features and long-form videos can be found on the Honda Racing/HPD YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV).

Herta, Honda Claim the Pole for Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach

• Defending race winner Colton Herta tops NTT INDYCAR SERIES qualifying on the streets of Long Beach
• Defending series champion Alex Palou qualifies third in 26-car field
• Alexander Rossi to start fifth, Romain Grosjean sixth as Honda drivers claim four of the “Fast Six” final qualifying positions

LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 9, 2022) – Colton Herta, the popular hometown winner of last year’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, headed the time sheets in today’s qualifying action and will lead a 26-car field to the green flag in his Andretti Autosport Honda for Sunday’s third round of the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

Herta was the quickest of four Honda drivers to advance to the “Fast Six” final qualifying round on the streets of Long Beach, with defending series champion Alex Palou ending the session third in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Two other Andretti Autosport Hondas, driven by two-time Long Beach winner Alexander Rossi and Formula One veteran Romain Grosjean will start fifth and sixth, respectively.

Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Honda Qualifying Results

• 1^st Colton Herta Andretti Autosport Honda
• 3^rd Alex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
• 5^th Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda
• 6^th Romain Grosjean Andretti Autosport Honda
• 8^th Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
• 10^th Simon Pageaud Meyer Shank Racing Honda
• 13^th Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
• 14^th Helio Castroneves Meyer Shank Racing Honda
• 16^th Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
• 17^th Devlin DeFrancesco-R Andretti Autosport Honda
• 19^th David Malukas-R Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Honda
• 20^th Christian Lundegaard-R Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
• 21^st Jack Harvey Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
• 23^rd Takuma Sato Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda
• 25^th Jimmie Johnson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

R – Rookie

Quotes

Colton Herta (#26 Andretti Autosport Honda) pole qualifier, his first pole of 2022 and first pole at Long Beach, eighth career INDYCAR pole; defending race winner: “I’m super-happy with how qualifying went. The car is really good, Honda was spectacular and we’re starting from the best spot tomorrow. I’m thrilled to finally get a pole here. The reason I became an Indy car driver was because of this race. To get a win here last year was amazing, and we checked another box off today with the pole. It feels incredible.”

Alex Palou (#10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) will start third, defending series champion: ” “Qualifying was a good start to the weekend for us. We were working on the car all day today, changing [the car] a lot with the [changing weather] conditions. We were lacking a bit more with the cooler temperatures [today], but we made it happen. The ‘Fast Six’ was the target, so starting on the second row is really good for the No. 10 NTT DATA Honda car.”

Fast Facts

This weekend’s return of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES to Southern California marks the third year of Acura title sponsorship of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, and the 47^th running of North America’s oldest and most successful street circuit event.

Honda-powered drivers and teams have won the Grand Prix of Long Beach 15 times in 21 appearances. This includes victories in eight of the last 12 races; and a seven-year victory streak in Championship Auto Racing Teams competition, against multi-manufacturer competition, from 1996-2002.

Honda’s most recent Long Beach success was recorded last year by today’s pole qualifier, Colton Herta, a native of nearby Valencia, California.

Other Honda-powered winners at Long Beach include Jimmy Vasser (1996), Alex Zanardi (1997-98), Juan Pablo Montoya (1999), Paul Tracy (2000), Helio Castroneves (2001), Michael Andretti (his final Indy car victory, in 2002), Dario Franchitti (2009), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2010), Mike Conway (2011), Takuma Sato (2013), James Hinchcliffe (2017), and Alexander Rossi, who scored back-to-back Long Beach victories in 2018 and ’19.

Where to Watch the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach

Television coverage of Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach starts at 3 p.m. EDT on NBC. Complete, flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on NBC Peacock, the INDYCAR Radio Network, and SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation (Channel 160).

Honda Racing social media content and video links from this weekend’s activities in Long Beach can be found on Instagram (www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd), Twitter (twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD). Additional features and long-form videos can be found on the Honda Racing/HPD YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV).

Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach
Long Beach, California
3 p.m. EDT Sunday, April 10
NBC and NBC Peacock
IndyCar Radio Network and SiriusXM

Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach

• This weekend’s return of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES to Southern California marks the third year of Acura title sponsorship of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, and the 47^th running of North America’s oldest and most successful street circuit event.
• Launched in 1986 as the first Japanese luxury automotive brand, Acura is a leading nameplate that delivers Precision Crafted Performance – a commitment to expressive styling, high performance and innovative engineering, all built on a foundation of quality and reliability. Both Acura and its American Honda parent have their U.S. headquarters in Torrance, California.
• In addition to the featured Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach NTT INDYCAR SERIES race on Sunday, Acura also will be featured in Saturday’s IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship race. Meyer Shank Racing and Wayne Taylor Racing will each field an Acura ARX-05 prototype, and a pair of Acura NSX GT3 Evo22s will be run by Gradient Racing and Rick Ware Racing, respectively.

Honda at Long Beach

• Honda-powered drivers and teams have won the Grand Prix of Long Beach 15 times in 21 appearances. This includes victories in eight of the last 12 races; and a seven-year victory streak in Championship Auto Racing Teams competition, against multi-manufacturer competition, from 1996-2002.
• Honda’s most recent Long Beach success was recorded last year by rising star Colton Herta. The native of nearby Valencia, California returns with his Andretti Autosport team seeking to repeat that success in 2022.
• Other Honda-powered winners at Long Beach include Jimmy Vasser (1996), Alex Zanardi (1997-98), Juan Pablo Montoya (1999), Paul Tracy (2000), Helio Castroneves (2001), Michael Andretti (his final Indy car victory, in 2002), Dario Franchitti (2009), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2010), Mike Conway (2011), Takuma Sato (2013), James Hinchcliffe (2017), and Alexander Rossi, who scored back-to-back Long Beach victories in 2018 and ’19.
• Since its founding in 1993, Honda Performance Development (HPD), the racing arm of the American Honda Motor Co., Inc., has grown from just a handful of staffers to more than 150 associates; and from an engine-rebuilding facility, focused on a single racing series, to a complete motorsports Research & Development organization, engaged in programs ranging from the NTT IndyCar Series and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship to grassroots and entry-level categories including karting, Quarter Midgets, club racing, Formula 4 and Formula 3. HPD is headquartered in Santa Clarita, 60 miles from Long Beach.

Where to Watch

• Television coverage of Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach starts at 3 p.m. EDT on NBC. Complete, flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on NBC Peacock, the INDYCAR Radio Network, and SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation (Channel 160).
• Honda Racing social media content and video links from this weekend’s activities in Long Beach can be found on Instagram (www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd), Twitter (twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD). Additional features and long-form videos can be found on the Honda Racing/HPD YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV).

2022 Honda NTT INDYCAR SERIES Lineup

Andretti Autosport

• #26 Colton Herta (W)
• #27 Alexander Rossi (W)
• #28 Romain Grosjean
• #29 Devlin DeFrancesco (R)

Chip Ganassi Racing

• # 8 Marcus Ericsson (W)
• # 9 Scott Dixon (C) (W)
• #10 Alex Palou (C) (W)
• #48 Jimmie Johnson

Dale Coyne Racing

• with HMD Motorsports #18 David Malukas (R)
• with Rick Ware Racing #51 Takuma Sato (W)

Meyer Shank Racing

• #60 Simon Pagenaud (C) (W)
• #06 Helio Castroneves (W)

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

• #15 Graham Rahal (W)
• #30 Christian Lundgaard (R)
• #45 Jack Harvey

C – IndyCar Series Champion W – Race Winner R – 2022 Series Rookie

Honda Performance Development today completed it’s initial test of the 2.4-liter Internal Combustion Engine, which will be part of the Hybrid IndyCar power plant to be introduced for the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

The quote below is from David Salters, HPD President and Technical Director:

“A big shout out to the inspiring Honda men and women at HPD back in California, where the Honda Indy car engine is designed, simulated, manufactured, assembled and dyno-tested.  The engine ran well throughout the three days, and we completed all planned test items, thanks to Chip Ganassi racing and Scott Dixon. The car ran flawlessly with great collaboration and feedback and we learnt a lot.  It’s great to get our new powerplant on track, we set ourselves these challenges to develop our people and technology here at HPD.  Very proud of the amazing team at HPD and our Honda “challenging spirit”.  It’s great to see all this hard work roaring round the legendary Indy track, very special and certainly emotional for all of us.” 

“Props to the extremely well informed fans out there in social media land who noticed a deeper gnarly tone from our new HPD Indycar racing engine.  It is an entirely new design from HPD and it certainly grabs your attention, not bad for a bio-fueled, super-efficient racing engine.  Well done to those HPD racing magicians.”

“Fun fact – our Californian designed and made racing engine braved the freezing conditions at Indy, we are proud of you, it even ventured out in the rain! ‘The Power of Dreams’ realized on the race track.”

“We had a great test at Indy these past three days.  Despite the chilly temperatures our HPD racing engine is warm and ready for its hybrid friend to join the party.  We can’t wait to integrate the hybrid technology, boost the powertrain performance and further enhance the great racing that is INDYCAR.”

• Initial test of 2.4-liter internal combustion engine takes place on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course
• The first of multiple tests planned for next-generation hybrid
• Full electrified power unit scheduled to debut in 2024

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRyA-yaTduM&authuser=0

TORRANCE, Calif. (March 28, 2022) – Honda gave the 2.4-liter internal combustion component of the next-generation NTT INDYCAR SERIES hybrid power unit its on-track debut today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

With six-time INDYCAR SERIES champion Scott Dixon at the controls of the Honda test chassis operated by Chip Ganassi Racing, the new internal combustion engine (ICE) was put through its paces on a modified version of the 13-turn, 2.6-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course layout that hosts two races each year on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule.

“This is an important step for HPD, Honda and INDYCAR as the series moves into the electrified era, and it was a successful day,” said David Salters, HPD president and technical director, “but there are many more steps to take before the full, hybrid power unit debuts in 2024. The all new 2.4-liter E85 bio-fueled engine has been designed, simulated, developed, dyno-tested, manufactured and assembled by the inspiring Honda men and women at HPD in California. We set ourselves these challenges to develop our people and technology here at HPD. We are very proud of the amazing team at HPD and our Honda “challenging spirit”. There is still a very, very long list of things to be accomplished before the power unit is tested in competition, but this is certainly a major milestone for everyone at Honda Performance Development”

Although low temperatures in the morning delayed the start of the test, Dixon and the Ganassi team completed the full list of opening-day test items prepared by HPD engineers without any issues. A second day of running is planned for tomorrow (Tuesday), with slightly warmer temperatures in the forecast for Indianapolis.

Twenty-five years after winning its first Indy car Manufacturers’ Championship, Honda clinched its 10^th overall, and fourth consecutive, NTT INDYCAR SERIES Manufacturers’ Championship in 2021, including a dramatic record-tying fourth Indianapolis 500 triumph for Helio Castroneves in May.

About Honda Performance Development

Honda Performance Development, Inc. (HPD), has a rich heritage creating, manufacturing, and supporting Honda Racing and Acura Motorsports customers since 1993.  From pinnacle racing in INDYCAR and IMSA Sports Cars to commercial racing programs, HPD powers the dreams of professional and amateur racers from age 4 to 40+. HPD is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. and leads all of Honda and Acura’s high-performance racing programs in North America. HPD specializes in the design and development of powertrain, chassis, electronics and performance parts, as well as technical and race support. HPD offers parts and race support to Honda and Acura amateur and professional motorsports racers, and is continually expanding its palette of racing programs that make Honda racing products available to all racing styles, from karting and Quarter Midgets to the highest levels of pro racing.

Ericsson Runs Third as Ganassi Leads Honda Effort in Texas

• Marcus Ericsson battles to a third-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway
• Jimmie Johnson has career-best INDYCAR result with sixth-place finish
• Scott Dixon runs fifth, and defending series champion Alex Palou seventh as Chip Ganassi Racing places all four Honda entries in the top seven

FORT WORTH, Texas (March 20, 2022) – Chip Ganassi Racing led the way for Honda today in the XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway, with Marcus Ericsson fighting his was from 14^th on the starting grid to a third-place finish, with his three teammates also all finishing in the top seven.

Scott Dixon, a five-time previous winner at Texas, finished fifth today, passing fellow Ganassi Honda driver Jimmie Johnson in the final laps. Meanwhile former seven-time NASCAR champion Johnson’s sixth place is his career-best NTT INDYCAR result. Defending series champion Alex Palou rounded out the Ganassi quartet, finishing seventh.

Contact ended strong runs for Takuma Sato, Graham Rahal and Helio Castroneves, while Simon Pagenaud faded to eighth in the closing laps as his handling deteriorated late in the race.

XPEL 375 Honda Race Results

• 3^rd Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
• 5^th Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
• 6^th Jimmie Johnson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
• 7^th Alex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
• 8^th Simon Pageaud Meyer Shank Racing Honda
• 9^th Santino Ferrucci Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
• 11^th David Malukas-R Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Honda
• 12^th Colton Herta Andretti Autosport Honda
• 19^th Christian Lundegaard-R Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda [did not finish – contact]
• 20^th Takuma Sato Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda [did not finish – contact]
• 22^nd Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda [did not finish – contact]
• 23^rd Helio Castroneves Meyer Shank Racing Honda [did not finish – contact]
• 24^th Devlin DeFrancesco-R Andretti Autosport Honda [did not finish – contact]
• 26^th Romain Grosjean Andretti Autosport Honda [did not finish – mechanical]
• 27^th Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda [did not finish – mechanical’
• R – Rookie

• NTT INDYCAR SERIES Drivers’ Championship Standings (unofficial, after 2 of 17 rounds)
• 1. Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske 97 points
• 2. Will Power, Team Penske 69
• 3. Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 67
• 4. Josef Newgarden, Team Penske 65
• 5. Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing 58
• 6. Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing 55
• 7. Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport Honda 50
• 8. Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing 50
• 9. Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing 39
• 10. Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport Honda 35

Quotes

Marcus Ericsson (#8 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Started 14^th, finished third, his career-best oval track finish and first oval podium: “It was a really good day for us. We had good pace at times, but car could become quite tricky to drive and we really had to stay on top of it. It was fun out there, the track was a lot better than in recent years, so thanks to INDYCAR for making it a lot more race-able. There were some fun wheel-to-wheel battles out there. So to get my first oval podium feels really, really good. I spent a lot of the off-season working on my oval performance, so to start off with a third is very good for us.”

Jimmie Johnson (#48 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Started 18^th, finished sixth his career-best INDYCAR result: “I really felt like, once I started running the ovals, I’d be able to prove my competitiveness. I took my time in the race, and as the race developed I grew more confident in the car, with traffic, with my [adjustment] tools, all the little pieces that you need to do well. This equipment at Chip Ganassi Racing is ‘spot-on’, it was just me trying to figure it out. About mid-race today, I finally felt connected to the car and what to do with the adjustments and traffic, and off I went.”

David Salters (President and Technical Director, Honda Performance Development) on today’s race: “Racing can be pretty brutal. We all work hard to get to the top step. But today, we didn’t quite do that. I guess it’s a good sign to be a little disappointed with a podium finish. It shows the progress we’ve made and the standards we have set as a team over the past few years. However, this game is pretty straightforward, we re-group, look to progress and move forward. On to the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.”

Fast Facts

Following Jack Harvey’s crash Saturday in practice at Texas Motor Speedway, he was not medically cleared to take part in today’s race. Former Rahal Letterman Lanigan driver Santino Ferrucci stepped in to drive the teams #45 HyVee Honda, finishing ninth.

This weekend’s EXPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway was the first of five oval races in the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. The next oval on the schedule will be the 106^th running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 29^th.

Next

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES now moves to Southern California for one of the signature events on the 2022 calendar, the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, on Sunday, April 10.

Honda Racing social media content and video links from Texas can be found on Instagram (www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd), Twitter (twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD). Additional features and long-form videos can be found on the Honda Racing/HPD YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV).

• Takuma Sato qualifies third in his Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda
• Five-time Texas race winner Scott Dixon to start fifth
• First oval race of the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season

FORT WORTH, Texas (March 19, 2022) – Takuma Sato led the Honda effort in qualifying today at Texas Motor Speedway and will start third in the first oval race of the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES. Sato took his #51 Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda around the high-banked 1.5-mile Texas oval for a two-lap average speed of 221.094 mph, just 0.026 mph slower than the average of 221.110 by pole qualifier Felix Rosenqvist.

Scott Dixon, a Texas winner five previous times, will start fifth in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda; 2021 Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves in sixth; with Colton Herta ninth for Andretti Autosport in the 27-car field.

Of the Honda drivers making their Texas debuts this weekend, Formula One veteran Romain Grosjean qualified 13^th; rookie Devlin DeFrancesco will start 17^th; and seven-time NASCAR Cup champion Jimmie Johnson qualified 18^th.

XPEL 375 Honda Qualifying Results

• 3^rd Takuma Sato Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda
• 5^th Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
• 6^th Helio Castroneves Meyer Shank Racing Honda
• 9^th Colton Herta Andretti Autosport Honda
• 11^th Alex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
• 12^th Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda
• 13^th Romain Grosjean Andretti Autosport Honda
• 14^th Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
• 15^th Simon Pageaud Meyer Shank Racing Honda
• 17^th Devlin DeFrancesco-R Andretti Autosport Honda
• 18^th Jimmie Johnson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
• 19^th David Malukas-R Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Honda
• 24^th Jack Harvey Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
• 25^th Christian Lundegaard-R Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
• 27^th Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda

R – Rookie

Quotes

Takuma Sato (#51 Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda) qualified third: “For me, it’s all new this year: a new ‘house’ [team], new boys [mechanics] and new engineers, but I like it. The car was solid in qualifying, very comfortable. We haven’t really run in traffic yet, that will come this afternoon [in final practice]. If our car is competitive [in traffic], we should be in for a strong performance on Sunday.”

Scott Dixon (#9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) will start fifth, a five-time winner in Texas: “Unless you’re P1, you always feel like you could’ve done a little bit better, right? But the car felt good. We probably missed a little bit on the gearing, and maybe a bit on the downforce level, but this field is tight, man. It’s really hard trying to figure out where you need to be on downforce settings. Hopefully, we’ll get some large groups running together in the final practice session, and get that second ‘groove’ going for tomorrow.”

Fast Facts

This weekend’s EXPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway will be the first oval race of the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, held on the 1.5-mile super speedway where Honda’s Scott Dixon won the opening round of a double-header INDYCAR weekend in 2021.

Honda-powered drivers have won 13 times at Texas in Indy car competition, starting in 2004 with a 1-2 finish for Andretti Green Racing [now Andretti Autosport] teammates Tony Kanaan and Dario Franchitti.

Last year, Dixon dominated for his fifth career victory at TMS, and second consecutive Texas Motor Speedway win, leading a race-high 206 laps. Honda drivers led every lap of the 212-lap event last year, with Dixon’s Chip Ganassi teammate, Palou, leading the other six laps. Dixon’s other Honda-powered wins at TMS came in 2008, 2018 and 2020. 

Other Honda-powered winners at TMS include Helio Castroneves (2006, 2009), Sam Hornish, Jr. (2007), Ryan Briscoe (2010), Dario Franchitti (2011, Race 1) and Will Power (2011, Race 2). The late Justin Wilson scored his final Indy car victory here in 2012, while Graham Rahal claimed victory in 2016’s weather-delayed event.

Where to Watch Sunday’s XPEL 375

Television coverage of Sunday’s 248-lap XPEL 375 starts at 12:30 p.m. EDT on NBC. Complete, flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on NBC Peacock, the INDYCAR Radio Network, and SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation (Channel 160).

Podium Performance for Palou, Honda Power in St. Pete

• Reigning series champion Alex Palou notches second-place finish in 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
• Honda drivers, teams claim three of top five finishing positions
• Uncharacteristically trouble-free race on the city streets

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (February 27, 2022) – Defending series champion Alex Palou got his title defense off to a good start in 2022, taking second place in the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in his #10 Honda-powered Chip Ganassi Racing machine.

Finishing just half a second behind race winner Scott McLaughlin, Palou’s pivotal moment came during the first round of pit stops. Starting tenth following a practice crash, the #10 crew pitted under caution—due to a crash by rookie David Malukas—and Palou’s crew was able to jump several cars and get the champ out in a net-podium position. The incident would end up being the only caution during the typically-chaotic street race.

Honda also powered Andretti Autosport drivers Colton Herta—the 2021 St. Pete race winner—and Romain Grosjean to top five finishes to kick off the 2022 season, and claimed 11 of the top 15 finishing positions in the field.

Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Honda Qualifying Results

• 2^nd Alex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
• 4^th Colton Herta Andretti Autosport Honda
• 5^th Romain Grosjean Andretti Autosport Honda
• 7^th Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
• 8^th Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
• 9^th Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
• 10^th Takuma Sato Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda
• 11^th Christian Lundgaard-R Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
• 13^th Jack Harvey Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
• 14^th Helio Castroneves Meyer Shank Racing Honda
• 15^th Simon Pagenaud Meyer Shank Racing Honda
• 20^th Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda
• 22^nd Devlin DeFrancesco-R Andretti Autosport Honda
• 23^rd Jimmie Johnson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
• 26^th David Malukas-R Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Honda

R – Rookie

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Manufacturers’ Championship (unofficial, after 1 of 17 rounds)

Chevrolet 91 points

Honda 72 points

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Drivers’ Championship Standings (unofficial, after 1 of 17 rounds)

1. Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske 54 points

2. Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 41

3. Will Power, Team Penske 36

4. Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport Honda 32

5. Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport Honda 30

Quotes

Alex Palou (#10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Started 10^th, finished second: “First of all, Scott [McLaughlin, race winner] did an amazing job. Congratulations to him on his first win. Super happy with the #10 NTT Data Honda car, it was really good today. If you look at how the result we got today, compared to how [poorly] we started the weekend, I think the entire Chip Ganassi team did an incredible job in coming back and scoring our first podium [finish] of the year. We came up a little short there at the end, but we were close, we were very close. If this is one of our worst races this year, I will be really, really pleased.”

Colton Herta (#26 Andretti Autosport Honda) Started third, finished fourth: “We had a good car and a clean race, and that’s how we wanted to start off the year. We passed [Rinus] VeeKay there at the end to finish fourth, so I’m happy about how the day went. For sure we had a small problem early on [the car failed to take a full load of fuel at the first pit stop] that later prevented us from finishing higher up, but overall, happy with our performance throughout the weekend and with the power from our Honda engine.”

David Salters (President and Technical Director, Honda Performance Development) on today’s race: “It was great to see such a huge crowd on hand to open the 2022 INDYCAR season, and hats off to Alex [Palou] and Chip Ganassi Racing. That was a champions’ drive to bring the car through the field as they did. Unfortunately, we came up a little short at the end, but that’s racing and we know what we need to do. On to Texas.”

Fast Facts

• Honda-powered drivers have won 10 of the 18 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races at St. Petersburg since the event was revived for the 2005 season. The late Dan Wheldon led a Honda and Andretti Green Racing sweep of the top four positions in the inaugural 2005 event; while Colton Herta dominated in 2021 for Honda and Andretti Autosport.
• Other Honda winners on the streets of St. Petersburg include local resident Sebastian Bourdais in 2017-18; Helio Castroneves in 2006 and ’07; Graham Rahal in 2008; Team Penske’s Ryan Briscoe and Will Power in 2009 and ’10, respectively; and Dario Franchitti in 2011.
• Ten race wins in 2021 brought Honda the company’s 10^th INDYCAR Manufacturers’ Championship, and fourth consecutive title, a record for the company. Honda-powered Alex Palou scored three of those wins to claim his first INDYCAR Drivers’ Championship.

Next

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES next heads to the high banks of Texas Motor Speedway for the first oval race of 2022, the EXPEL 375, Sunday, March 20, in Fort Worth, Texas.

Honda Racing social media content and video links from the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg can be found on Instagram (www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd), Twitter (twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD). Additional features and long-form videos can be found on the Honda Racing/HPD YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV).