Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon in the No.9 PNC Bank Honda heads to World Wide Technology Raceway for this weekend’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 off the back of his fantastic victory last time out at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
The Iceman took victory here in 2020 to mark his 50th career NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory, and speaking ahead of the race this weekend, he said:
“St. Louis is a fun track and it is very challenging to get turns one, two, three and four right. Last year’s race was really cool with how the high line came in. I think they focused a fair bit on using that practice session to get it to come in and then for the last couple of restarts that definitely played true. I’m looking forward to it and hope that we can have even better cars this year.”
Alex Palou in the No.10 The American Legion Honda heads into the race this weekend leading the championship by 101 points from Scott Dixon and needs to leave World Wide Technology Raceway leading the standings by 108 points r more to be crowned champion for the second time in three years.
Speaking ahead of the race this weekend, the Spaniard commented saying:
“We had a very strong race at Gateway last year and had three cars qualify in the top-six. We expect to have a strong performance again this year. We have the opportunity to win the PeopleReady Force for Good $1 million dollar challenge. It will be tough, but getting the win would be amazing for The American Legion and would help save veteran lives. It would also be my first win on an oval and could perhaps clinch the championship, as well. We’re focused on continuing the form that we’ve had so far, as the No. 10 team has had two podiums on ovals this year with Texas and Iowa. I saw that this is the only track on the calendar where we haven’t had a podium, so this will be a good opportunity ahead of us.”
Marcus Ericsson in the No.8 Huski Iced Spritz Honda, enters his final oval race with Chip Ganassi Racing, having announced earlier this week that he will join Andretti Autosport for the 2024 season and beyond.
Looking ahead to the race this weekend, the Swede commented saying:
“Last oval on the year and I am really looking forward to it. We had a strong car and a strong performance at Gateway last year even though the result in the end wasn’t as good as I think we deserved. We qualified on the front row and overall, I have good memories at the track. I really enjoy driving it and it’s a fun atmosphere with plenty of fans.”
Takuma Sato in the No.11 Deloitte Honda returns to Chip Ganassi Racing this weekend for his final race of the season and will be looking to end his season on a high.
Speaking ahead of the race this weekend, Sato said:
“The time has passed so quickly and it’s already my final race of the season. But once again, I am really excited to drive No. 11 Deloitte Honda of Chip Ganassi Racing. Gateway is such a unique short oval with two very different characteristics between the north and south turns. Turns one and two feature high banking but with a tight radius that you need to use your brakes even in qualifying. Turns three and four are more flat with much less banking but longer radius and almost flat in qualifying, so the car feels quite different and it’s very challenging. Minimizing the balance shift between those two is key for this short oval. The CGR team has been strong here and I have great memories, too, so it’s kind of a special track for me. The weather will be really hot until Saturday where it looks like it will cool off a bit on Sunday. Hopefully, it will be more comfortable for fans and the drivers on race day. I’m looking forward to having an exciting and strong weekend.”