The Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course will welcome fans en masse this weekend as NASCAR and IndyCar join forces for the highly-anticipated fourth-ever double-header at the venue.
The blockbuster schedule at the famed brickyard sees NASCAR driver Shane van Gisbergen join IndyCar regulars Scott Dixon, Marcus Armstrong and former Supercars rival Scott McLaughlin in the paddock. At the same time, Hunter McElrea’s Indy NXT adds a further touch of Kiwi flair to an already stacked event.
“This race is always fun to do the doubleheader with NASCAR, especially with some extra friends coming in with Shane van Gisbergen, Brodie Kostecki and Kamui Kobayashi,” said Dixon. “It will be fun to catch up with them. We’re looking to have a good, smooth weekend.”
Australian Supercars driver Kostecki will be competing in the NASCAR Cup Series for Richard Childress Racing and is joined in the field by Toyota Gazoo Racing World Endurance Champion Kobayashi, who is competing in a Toyota for 23XI Racing.
Despite being fierce on-track rivals while competing in Supercars, van Gisbergen and McLaughlin have remained close friends off it, the duo catching up on each of the former’s trips to the United States.
“It would have been cool to have him join. He should have done a wildcard this weekend,” van Gisbergen told the Racing World podcast yesterday.
“Yesterday, he was at the simulator when I was, so they invited me in to sit in on his session. I got to listen for a bit and see how he was driving and how that side of this works. It was really cool to see.
“It’s awesome to be in a similar world to him again. We went for lunch on my last trip, and he was just so encouraging [for me] to come over here again and give it a crack. It’s awesome to be around him again.
“I haven’t seen an IndyCar race since they were in Surfers in 2008, I think it was, so it’ll be awesome to watch him and Scott Dixon race as well.”
It’s the second IndyCar race on the Indianapolis Road Course this year, following the GMR Grand Prix in mid-May. Dixon finished sixth in that race, recovering from 16th having dropped back following opening-lap contact. McLaughlin was also in the Lap 1 chaos in that race, dropping to 23rd and charging to 11th before his tyres faded in the closing stages to finish 16th.
Armstrong, who finished 15th in that race, relishes the opportunity to return to a track he is familiar with in his rookie season.
“Second race for me at the Indy GP, and it will be nice to return to a circuit where I’ve raced before,” he says.
“It looks like it will be a warm weekend, and with everything compacted into two days, Friday will be important to be organized and on the front foot from the get-go. I hope for a clean run on Friday so we can improve on.”
Armstrong currently leads the standings in the Rookie of the Year battle despite not competing on oval circuits.
The weekend is also a special one for Dixon, who breaks Tony Kanaan’s Ironman record for the most consecutive IndyCar race starts. The Kiwi great has competed in 319 consecutive races, dating all the way back to 2004. He has finished on the podium four times at the IMS Road Course during that time.
“We’ve had some good cars, but some mistakes in the past on my behalf and with how strategy has shaken out, but our pace has been good,” he says. “We’ll need to start further up this time, and it should be a lot better. Looking forward to the race, and we’ll go for the win.”
In Indy NXT, McElrea featured strongly in the doubleheader at Indianapolis last year, finishing second in Race 1 and sixth in Race 2.
The Andretti Autosport driver remains in firm championship contention this year, sitting third in the standings, 59 points behind leader Christian Rasmussen.
To see how you can follow this weekend’s action, check out our weekly Motorsport Diary.
