All Four Chip Ganassi Racing Hondas to Fight for Indianapolis 500 Pole

All four Chip Ganassi Racing Hondas advanced to fight for the pole by finishing among the top-12 fastest four-lap average speeds at the first day of Qualifying today. CGR is now guaranteed to have all of their cars roll off in the top-12 at the Indianapolis 500 for the third consecutive year. 

Alex Palou registered a four-lap average speed of 233.398 mph, the best among the Ganassi stable and the 3rd-fastest across the field. Scott Dixon (233.375 mph) piloted the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda to the fifth-best position on the day, while Takuma Sato (233.322) ranked seventh and Marcus Ericsson (233.030 mph) finished 10th. 

Scott Dixon will be looking to capture pole position for the third consecutive year, something no driver has ever done in Indianapolis 500 history. With another pole, Dixon would also tie Rick Mears for the most (6) in race history.

Alex Palou, Takuma Sato and Marcus Ericsson will be in search of their first career pole at this historic race. A pole position on Sunday would be the seventh all-time for Chip Ganassi Racing.

Top-12 Qualifying will run from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. ET Sunday, May 21, followed by the Firestone Fast 6 and Last Chance Qualifying from 4:00 p.m. ET. Coverage will once again be available on both NBC and Peacock.

Alex Palou
No. 10 American Legion Honda
“It was a good day. It was tough for the crew, making some changes late to the car. But the speed today was really good. We were a bit worried about the draw that we had. The field is really tight and starting 20th wasn’t ideal. But honestly, it was really good. We qualified third and we’re in the Fast 12. It was the target for today and hopefully we can make a couple of changes and be ready to fight for the Fast 6.”

Scott Dixon
No. 9 PNC Bank Honda“It was an interesting day. The first run was somewhat decent. I made a few mistakes so it was nice to get back out and run again. We made a very good gain then. The car was very nice to drive and we definitely left some on the table still. I really wanted to run that last one. I think we could have seen some big speeds.

Takuma Sato
No. 11 Deloitte Honda
“It was an exciting Qualifying, but a tough one really. It was quite challenging conditions and we slid on the last lap of the very first attempt. We went back and improved, which was great teamwork. All cars are in the top-12, which is the most important thing. We’ll look at the data tonight and we will be challenging tomorrow 100 percent.”

Marcus Ericsson
No. 8 Huski Ice Spritz Honda
“As usual, a pretty stressful day. Our first two attempts were okay, but not perfect and with the competitiveness of the field, you need to be as close to perfect as possible. The 8 car Huski Ice Spritz Honda crew did a really good job to get the car in the window. The last attempt was really solid and I expect the same for tomorrow. It’s a new day tomorrow where all four Ganassi cars will be out there, which is impressive. It shows the strength of this organization.”

Takuma Sato topped the timing sheets again in the No. 11 Deloitte Honda today, as the Chip Ganassi Racing team continued their preparations for Qualifying this weekend.

Sato posted the fastest average speed (234.753 mph) across a single lap, which was the fastest lap in a practice session since 1996. NBC reported that Sato and teammate Marcus Ericsson registered the first and second-best four-lap averages respectively. 

CGR will roll off 6th (Ericsson), 9th (Dixon), 25th (Sato) and 28th (Palou) for the first day of Qualifying on Saturday. Qualifying will take place from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET tomorrow with NBC coverage spanning from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. ET.

Takuma Sato
No. 11 Deloitte Honda
“It’s nice to be this quick, this fast, and working with my team and teammates. We’ve done fantastic preparation and I believe had the fastest practice lap in 26 years. That is entirely impressive with the current package. Our group and HPD is working extremely hard. This was my first time with the boost with Chip Ganassi Racing and my eyeballs went big on that lap in the morning. We’re all working together to find the limit and find consistency with how we drive the tire with the degradation. I love working through the process and thank you to Chip Ganassi Racing for the fantastic opportunity. This is still only a test day, but it’s nice to see the car working so well.”

Marcus Ericsson
No. 8 Huski Ice Spritz Honda
“Pretty happy with today, although I just struggled to get those four laps. The team did a great job to make some changes. We had to analyze a bit of data and video. We then came out here at the end and got a really solid run in. Still a bit of drop-off but we were right up there again.”

Scott Dixon
No. 9 PNC Bank Honda“It was a bit mixed today, to be honest. A couple of unknowns, but we’ll keep working at it for tomorrow.”

Alex Palou
No. 10 American Legion Honda
“The car has felt very good since the beginning of the day with the boost. It’s one of the best feelings that we have in INDYCAR and that’s when the boost is so high. It seems that we have close to the speed that we had last year, so hoping for the same tomorrow for qualifying. It’s going to be tight to get into the Fast 12 for sure, but hopefully we can get all four cars through there.”

Source: Team PR

Palou registered a 16.8006 margin of victory, the 2nd-greatest in track history behind only teammate Scott Dixon (19.9469 seconds in 2020). It was Palou’s fifth career INDYCAR victory, all coming on road courses. He has now recorded a victory in each of his three seasons with Chip Ganassi Racing. 

The 2021 champion put forth the fastest lap of any driver in the race, averaging 123.162 mph (1:11.2912 seconds) on lap 8 while pacing the field. 

Today’s win was the 247th overall for CGR, and the team’s 125th in the INDYCAR SERIES.

Both Scott Dixon and Marcus Ericsson led laps during the race before ultimately scoring solid points in P6 and P8 respectively. Ericsson sits third in the points standings, while Dixon is seventh. 

Marcus Armstrong once again crossed the finish line as the top-finishing rookie. 

Alex Palou
No. 10 American Legion Honda
“Finally, first win of the 2023. I’m super happy, super proud. It was an amazing race and we won by a big margin. A win is a win, but if you have a big margin, it feels even better. It was our first win with The American Legion and that feels super special being here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It fills everybody with energy; all the crews, the engineers and myself for the big race.”

Scott Dixon
No. 9 PNC Bank Honda“It was a pretty rough day, going all the way back to 16th or so after getting caught up with contact in turn one and turn seven, and then turns four and five later on. The car was very fast and we got through the traffic. I think if we had another stint, we could have definitely made it to a podium so it’s just a shame that the No. 9 PNC Bank was so fast but we didn’t quite get what we could today.”

Marcus Ericsson
No. 8 Huski Chocolate Honda
“It was a pretty tough day for us. We had a good start, a good first stint but then we just couldn’t get our red tires to work well. It was another top-10 for the Chip Ganassi Racing Huski Chocolate Honda and we’re okay with that. Now, we’re ready for the big show. Congrats to Alex and the 10 crew; they did a tremendous job today.”

Marcus Armstrong
No. 11 Ridgeline Lubricants Honda
“I don’t think it was an ideal day for us, but nevertheless, we still got some points and some good mileage. Let’s go back, look at everything and come back fighting.”

Source: Team PR

All four Chip Ganassi Racing Hondas advanced through to the second round of qualifying today, with Alex Palou going on to secure a P3 starting position for Saturday’s GMR Grand Prix. Palou has now advanced to the Firestone Fast 6 in three consecutive races. 

Marcus Ericsson just missed out on the Firestone Fast 6, but he will begin the race from his best career starting position (P7) at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. 

Scott Dixon will begin his attack from P9 position, looking to secure a second career victory at the track (2020) in the No. 9 PNC Bank.

For Marcus Armstrong, he recorded a new career best in the INDYCAR SERIES with a P11 qualifying result. 

85 laps will be turned in the race on Saturday with coverage beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.

Alex Palou
No. 10 American Legion Honda
“A bit disappointed that we didn’t get the pole. We were looking strong all day; P3 in Practice 1 and then P1 in Practice 2. We just missed it by a bit, but it’s good to be disappointed when you’re starting P3. The car feels great, just need to find a little bit more during the warm-up and try to get our first win of the season.”

Marcus Ericsson
No. 8 Huski Chocolate Honda
“It was a pretty good day. We had no rain, which we thought we were going to have. P7 for us in the Huski Chocolate Honda, and with the history for us here at the road course, it’s a good performance. We can definitely fight from there in the race tomorrow so it was overall a good day.”

Scott Dixon
No. 9 PNC Bank Honda“Today was okay. Bummed that we ended up ninth, five hundredths would have converted us to Q3. The positive is that it is a very red-dependent race. A lot of the Q3 guys that made runs on their reds are going to feel that tomorrow unless it rains. It could be an interesting day starting ninth. Pretty good day for the team and we made some good gains, but of course you want to be up top.”

Marcus Armstrong
No. 11 Ridgeline Lubricants Honda
“It was an eventful day; A lot of running and a lot of track time. I think ultimately we had more pace, so honestly I’m disappointed. I don’t think I did a very good job in the last run and the car was capable of much more. That’s what it is, but tomorrow we are going to keep our nose clean and push forward in the race.” 

Race Preview: GMR Grand Prix

Chip Ganassi Racing enters the celebrated Month of May as the current points leader and defending Indianapolis 500 winners. 

They’ll look to continue their momentum at the GMR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course on Saturday, May 13. 

Marcus Ericsson and the No. 8 Honda crew sit atop the standings thanks to a win at St. Petersburg, two podium appearances and a top-10 finish across all four races. 

CGR has been formidable yet again to kick off the season, with their No. 10 and No. 8 teams ranking 1-2 respectively in terms of the highest average finishing positions (Palou: 5.25; Ericsson: 5.5) across the paddock.

Scott Dixon is set to reach a significant milestone this weekend and make his 350th career start with Chip Ganassi Racing. That is the most by any driver with a single team in INDYCAR SERIES history. To put that into context across the sports industry, that will be more starts than Tom Brady even made with the New England Patriots, including the playoffs.

The team will tackle the 2.349-mile, 14-turn road course, where they have won once before (Dixon: 2020) and claimed five total podiums. Catch coverage of Saturday’s race on NBC from 3:30 to 6:00 p.m. ET.

Marcus Ericsson No. 8 Huski Chocolate Honda “I’m really excited for the GMR Grand Prix. The Month of May has officially started and to come as the defending Indianapolis 500 champions and the championship leader in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES feels amazing. This road course race is an important one. You’re bringing that momentum to the speedway and we’re feeling good. We had some good stuff that we tried over the winter that should make us stronger at this type of track. I’m really looking forward to it, though the weather might also play a factor from the forecast. Really excited to be back at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and be racing in Indianapolis.” The points leader has earned his keep atop the leaderboard, as he is one of just three drivers to finish on the podium in half (2) of the season races thus far.  Ericsson exhibited fierce driving abilities across the two races at the IMS Road Course last season. He generated a net gain of +28 positions in those races, the most by any driver across the field. In the first race on the calendar, he led 10 laps and produced a P4 result after a starting position of P18. In the second race, he finished P11 after starting in P25.

Alex Palou No. 10 American Legion Honda “I’m very happy with how we started this year. Obviously, there are places you want to improve and things you can do better. But the team has been outstanding and we’ve always been there fighting. It’s the Month of May, the best month for our INDYCAR community. We’re all excited and we’ve been strong at both the Indy road course and the Indianapolis 500. We started second last year at the May race and didn’t have the best result with it being such a crazy race, but this year we’ll be ready for everything and can hopefully have a great start to our May 2023.” The 2021 champion has finished top-five in three of the four races, tied for the most among the field.  Palou has also been among the best qualifiers this season with an average starting position of 5.0, which ranks third among all drivers. He has advanced to the Firestone Fast 6 in each of the past two races.

Scott Dixon No. 9 PNC Bank Honda“Definitely looking forward to the Indy GP. It’s a great way to kick off the Month of May entering a different kind of pressure with the 500. It’s a fun, family-friendly weekend and I’m looking forward to getting on track. We’ve had fast cars all year and hopefully we get a great qualifying, have a great race and get after it.” The six-time champion has found plenty of success at the IMS Road Course, earning one win (2020) and four podiums (3rd-most in track history). He is also one of just two drivers to complete every available lap throughout the 13 INDYCAR races at the track (1,071 laps) and has recorded a top-10 finish in 11 of those 13 races. Dixon has demonstrated superb qualifying pace this season, advancing to the Firestone Fast 6 in three of the four races this season (1 of 3 drivers to do so). His average qualifying result of 5.25 ranks fourth across all INDYCAR drivers.

Marcus Armstrong No. 11 Ridgeline Lubricants Honda “Haven’t driven on the Indianapolis road course yet. It’s a new track for me, but it’s one of those more European-style circuits. The weather is looking quite unpredictable, which will be fun. I haven’t driven one of these cars in the wet before obviously, nor have I driven the Firestone wet tire. But, I feel like I have done quite a bit of wet driving before racing a lot in Italy and the U.K., which is almost always seemingly wet. It’s going to be fun if it does rain, but hoping the visibility will be a bit better than last year. I think that we had a good race at Barber. If we can sort out our qualifying and start further up, we can do some good things and that’s what we’re targeting.” Armstrong leads all rookies with 62 points despite racing in only road and street course races. He recently became the first driver since reunification in 2008 to finish top-11 (or top-12) in each of his first three career INDYCAR SERIES starts (St. Petersburg: P11; Long Beach: P8; Barber: P11). The Kiwi has quickly adapted to the series and boasts the 7th-best average finishing position (10.0) among all drivers.

Source: Team PR

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou finished P5 today in the Alabama Indy Grand Prix. The driver of the No. 10 Ridgeline Lubricants Honda vaulted up the IndyCar championship standings to P3 while Marcus Ericsson maintained his championship lead in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Honda thanks to a P10 finish. 

Scott Dixon followed up a strong qualifying performance with a P7 finish for the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda while rookie Marcus Armstrong impressed in the No. 11 American Legion Honda throughout the race, making up 15 positions to claim P11, making him the day’s biggest mover.

Next up for the team is the GMR Grand Prix on Saturday, May 13, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 

Alex Palou
No. 10 Ridgeline Lubricants Honda
“Finished P5 which is not a bad result. It wasn’t a perfect day. Had to save a lot of fuel and we went on a two-stop strategy. It wasn’t the best but we tried because it’s what we thought was the best heading into the race. The No.10 Ridgeline Lubricants car has been amazing all weekend. The crew did an amazing job on the pit stops. It’s awesome to be back here in Alabama and I cannot wait for the month of May.”

Scott Dixon
No. 9 PNC Bank Honda“Today was an okay day. We were at the back of the two-stoppers so we were getting hammered and attacked by the other two-stoppers all day so we ended up using a lot of overtake and a lot of fuel at the same time. Just a frustrating day where we didn’t really make up anything, we lost a couple positions and ended up seventh. Not where we want to be that’s for sure.”

Marcus Ericsson
No. 8 Huski Chocolate Honda
“It was a tough race I would say. We tried to go for the two-stopper and worked on our fuel mileage for most of the race. I think the Honda fuel mileage was really good. It was tough with the caution that came at a bad time for us so that sort of reset everything and then we lost some positions there. In the end, we got the chance to push a bit more and we could put in some good lap times and catch some guys and overtake some people. 10th was not what we wanted but it was still a solid day for us and still in the points lead going into the month of May which feels great so I’m looking forward to that.”

Marcus Armstrong
No. 11 American Legion Honda
“Race was great, car was great, we made our way forward. I enjoyed it. The car was really good. We didn’t have to adjust much throughout the race. We took a gamble with the reds on the last stint and it paid off.”

Dixon, Ericsson, Palou Start Barber Weekend with Top-10s in Practice 1

Chip Ganassi Racing began race weekend number four of the NTT INDYCAR Series in impressive fashion, placing three drivers in the top-10 on Practice 1. Scott Dixon and the No. 9 PNC Bank car claimed P4 with a lap time of 1:06:9345, current championship series leader Marcus Ericsson was P5, 2021 Barber race winner Alex Palou finished P10 and series rookie Marcus Armstrong crossed the line in 17th. Less than six tenths of a second separated all four Chip Ganassi Racing Hondas.

CGR will return to the track for a second practice session tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. ET before Saturday’s qualifying round from 3:00 – 4:15 p.m. ET. Coverage is available on Peacock for both Saturday sessions.

Scott Dixon
No. 9 PNC Bank Honda“The second run was pretty good, we got caught up in some red flags, so we didn’t get a clean run on the first one, but second run we went to the top of the charts on the black tires which was really good. I think we were 1, 2, 3, for the team which was pretty good and then we had some cautions, a couple of changes, and then went out with the reds with literally 3 or 4 minutes to go. The car has great speed so hopefully we can continue that through the weekend.”

Marcus Ericsson
No. 8 Huski Chocolate Honda
“The car feels good. I think we’re all off strong again, the Ganassi cars and the team have done a good job. We went through some setup changes that we wanted to complete and then we got on the reds there at the end, which is always fun. We’re in the mix.”

Alex Palou
No. 10 Ridgeline Lubricants Honda
“Barber is such a good place – I love driving an Indycar around here. It was good – it was really productive, tested a lot of stuff but still lots of work to do tomorrow in practice 2, getting it ready for qualifying. Things looking good so far.”

Marcus Armstrong
No. 11 American Legion Honda
“The session was good at the beginning – towards the end it was the old classic traffic jam but it was okay. I guess we just circulated, we got through some test items and practice makes perfect doesn’t it? So just trying to get those laps in, hopefully tomorrow is a bit cleaner.”

Source: Team PR

Chip Ganassi Racing secured a podium finish for the 5th consecutive INDYCAR SERIES race at Long Beach today with Marcus Ericsson‘s P3 finish.

With the result, Ericsson and the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Honda team sit atop the points leaderboard (+15 advantage) through the first three races of the season. Ericsson registered his ninth career INDYCAR SERIES podium with five of those now coming on street course circuits. 

Alex Palou raced near the front of the pack throughout the majority of the day and secured a P5 finish. The fastest lap laid down by any driver today belonged to Palou, who averaged 104.270 mph on lap 70 of 85. 

Palou has recorded a top-5 finish in each of his three career races at Long Beach. The 2021 champion has also claimed a top-5 result 17 of his 36 (47%) career races with Chip Ganassi Racing. 

In just his second career NTT INDYCAR SERIES race, Marcus Armstrong produced a P8 finish in impressive fashion. He advanced within the top-10 of the field on lap 27 and ran with that company for the remainder of the race. 

Scott Dixon retired from the race after completing 37 laps due to complications from preceding contact with the No. 5 car. Dixon and the No. 9 PNC Bank team depart Long Beach holding the sixth-most points in the series standings. 

Marcus Ericsson
No. 8 Huski Chocolate Honda
“It was a really good weekend. We were fast all the way through. It was a hectic race. We were running very well and then on that restart in the middle, we dropped back a bit and lost some positions. But the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 8 Huski Chocolate Honda was so fast out there and we made up the ground and finished on the podium. I’m really happy with that and now we have got the championship lead. Bring on the rest of the season.”

Alex Palou
No. 10 Ridgeline Lubricants Honda
“It’s a bit of a sour day. I think our car was one of the strongest and was running very well at the beginning of the race. Unfortunately, I got caught up with an incident and had to wait until he (No. 5) was able to get back on track. We lost a lot of positions there, but happy that we recovered from 12th or 13th back to fifth. We got a top-5 finish, and then the podium for Marcus, so a solid effort by the team. We had strong cars and I can’t wait for Barber in just a matter of days now.”

Marcus Armstrong
No. 11 American Legion Honda
“I think it was a great day. It was a genuine pleasure to drive the Ganassi car, as it was very well-balanced from start to finish, especially on the primary tires. The performance was there; It was just about finding that clear air.”

Scott Dixon
No. 9 PNC Bank Honda“I haven’t seen a proper replay, but that seemed extremely late and it starts way before that. We’re already committed to the corner. I understand that there is tire degradation, but I would not have chosen to do that … Disappointed with that. We passed the No. 60 but then just lost drive after that and got back to the pits. Frustrating day.”

Source: Team PR

Ericsson Seizes Front Row Start in Long Beach; All 4 CGR Cars Qualify Top-12

All four Chip Ganassi Racing Hondas advanced to the second stage of qualifying today at the Grand Prix of Long Beach, with three also moving on to the Fast 6.

Marcus Ericsson notched a career best qualifying result on a street course and will start tomorrow’s race from P2 position. He exhibited superb pace and was just 0.0375 seconds behind the pole sitter. 

Alex Palou qualified P4 in the No. 10 Ridgeline Lubricants Honda. In 2022, Palou secured a podium finish after starting the race in P3.

Scott Dixon claimed a P5 starting position after advancing through to Fast 6 competition. Dixon has secured 4 podium finishes at Long Beach before, including a win in 2015 (2021: P3; 2019: P3; 2016: P2).

Marcus Armstrong pushed through to the second round of qualifying before unfortunately making contact with the tires in turn nine. He will lead the No. 11 American Legion Honda into the race from P12 position. 

Marcus Ericsson
No. 8 Huski Chocolate Honda
“It was a great result for the whole team. Four cars in the top-12 and three in the Fast 6. P2 for us in the Huski Chocolate Honda, which is tied for the best qualifying in my INDYCAR career. I’m really happy about that. It was a really good qualifying and the car was amazing all the way through.”

Alex Palou
No. 10 Ridgeline Lubricants Honda
“I’m quite happy. We made it with three cars into the Fast 6, so it was a huge day for the team. Unfortunately, we missed out by just a bit on pole. But starting P4 and it is going to be a great day tomorrow. We’ll see if we can get to victory lane.

Scott Dixon
No. 9 PNC Bank Honda“A bit of an up-and-down session. Q2 was a little strange with the red and trying to figure out what to do on tires. A little disappointed with Q3. We had a pretty big shift from set to set which made it tough to read, and maybe didn’t press hard enough on that first lap. It’s good to see three Ganassi cars in there, but we definitely could have done more.”

Marcus Armstrong
No. 11 American Legion Honda
“Disappointing end to a promising day. We were off to a great start and found solid pace to get through to the final 12. Unfortunately, we found an issue with the car that ended the day for us, but I know we can race from where we are and I’m looking forward to getting after it with the team tomorrow.”