2023 Gallagher Grand Prix

Race Notes

• The 2023 Gallagher Grand Prix was 85 laps on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course totaling 207.315 miles. The pit road speed was 45 mph and the pit window was 25–32 laps under green-flag conditions.
• Pole winner Graham Rahal gridded drivers' right and the green flag that started the race was shown the third time by the start-finish line.
• All cars but those of Rahal, Christian Lundgaard, Alexander Rossi, Alex Palou, Scott McLaughlin, Colton Herta, Linus Lundqvist, Marcus Ericsson, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Sting Ray Robb and Josef Newgarden started the race on Firestone Firehawk primary black tires. Each car was required to use one set of alternate red tires and one set of primary black tires during the race.
• At 2:15 p.m. EDT, 15 minutes before the scheduled green-flag time, the ambient temperature in Speedway, Indiana was 88 degrees with 59% relative humidity and partly cloudy skies. The track temperature was 120 degrees according to Firestone engineers.
• Eight minutes later, Gallagher Area Vice President Robert Petcove gave the command, "Drivers, start your engines." All 27 cars but the No. 27 Andretti Autosport Honda of Kyle Kirkwood started and rolled off the grid. Kirkwood's car stalled twice trying to leave but eventually joined the field.
• Rahal led the field to the green flag and into Turn 1. The No. 29 Andretti Autosport Honda of Devlin DeFrancesco swept around the outside of Turn 1 and into the lead on the first lap.
• The race's first and only full-course caution period began on Lap 1 for a multi-car incident in Turn 7. The No. 11 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of Marcus Armstrong was spun by the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of Palou. The No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of Scott Dixon spun in avoidance. Both the No. 28 Andretti Autosport Honda of Romain Grosjean and the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet of Newgarden were collected in the incident. The No. 26 Andretti Autosport Honda of Herta hit pit road with a flat rear tire.
• The pits opened on Lap 5 during the caution period. Dixon, David Malukas, Herta, Newgarden and Armstrong elected to pit under caution.
• Before the race restarted, both Herta and Newgarden were sent to the back of the field for taking emergency service in a closed pit.
• DeFrancesco led the field on the Lap 7 restart but was passed by Rahal in Turn 1 on Lap 9.
• Race Control issued two drive-through penalties to Armstrong and Newgarden for taking full service in a closed pit.
• Rahal led until his first pit stop on Lap 24. He was 1.2 seconds ahead of Rossi on Lap 20 until Rossi pitted one lap later.
• Following green-flag pit stops, Dixon assumed the race lead on Lap 27 and led Rahal by nine seconds on Lap 30.
• Dixon pitted from the lead on Lap 32, returning the race lead to Rahal. Rahal continued at the front of the field until Lap 48 when he made his second pit stop. After a few laps led for Lundgaard, Dixon took over the race lead on Lap 52.
• After leading Rahal by 6.7 seconds on Lap 55, a final pit stop for Dixon on Lap 58 returned the race lead to Rahal. Rahal remained in the first position until his own final stop on Lap 63.
• Dixon returned to the race lead on Lap 64 and had a 6.7-second lead over Rahal on Lap 65. By Lap 75, the lead was down to 2.9 seconds and by Lap 83, Dixon had a 0.3-second advantage over Rahal.
• Dixon took the white flag 0.8639 seconds ahead of Rahal and crossed the finish line to earn his 54th career NTT IndyCar Series victory with a margin of 0.4779 seconds. It was the closest finish ever on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
• In addition to being Dixon's first win of 2023, the victory marked the driver's 19th consecutive season and 21st season overall with at least one victory. Both are extensions of IndyCar records already held by Dixon. The effort also marked Dixon's 200th top-five finish.
• Rahal finished second, his first podium finish of 2023 and the 33rd podium of his IndyCar career.
• Pato O'Ward finished third, his sixth podium finish of 2023 and the 19h podium of his IndyCar career.
• Unofficial points after the Gallagher Grand Prix:
  1. Palou 539
  2. Dixon 438 (-101)
  3. Newgarden 434 (-105)
  4. McLaughlin 395 (-144)
  5. O'Ward 388 (-151)
  6. Ericsson 377 (-162)
  7. Power 365 (-174)
  8. Lundgaard 330 (-209)
  9. Kirkwood 312 (-227)
  10. Rossi 306 (-233)
      

Session Notes

• Final practice for the Gallagher Grand Prix started on time at 4 p.m. EDT and was 30 minutes in duration.
• While the session had no on-track incidents, four drive-through penalties were issued for improper pit entry or exit. Callum Ilott, Scott McLaughlin, Scott Dixon and Linus Lundqvist received the penalties.
• At the end of final practice, Dixon's 1:10.9851 in the No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda was fastest.
  

Qualifying Notes

• Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award consists of three segments. In the first round, each group receives 10 minutes of track time with the clock starting when the first car hits the alternate start-finish line. The fastest six cars from each group advance to Round 2 while the remaining cars are assigned positions 13 to 27. Group 1 drivers will occupy the odd-numbered positions while Group 2 drivers will occupy the even-numbered positions based on their fastest lap times. During Round 2, the 12 advancing cars receive 10 minutes of track time with the fastest six cars advancing to the Firestone Fast Six while the remaining cars are ranked in positions seven through 12 based on their fastest laps. During the Firestone Fast Six, the six cars receive six minutes of guaranteed green-flag time. At the end of session, cars are ranked one through six based on their fastest laps.
• At 12:20 p.m. EDT, 10 minutes before the start of the session, the ambient temperature was 82 degrees with 70% relative humidity and cloudy skies. The track temperature was 102 degrees according to Firestone engineers.
• All three rounds of qualifying ran without incident.
• Graham Rahal, Christian Lundgaard, Alexander Rossi, Romain Grosjean, Pato O'Ward and Devlin DeFrancesco advanced to the Firestone Fast Six.
• Graham Rahal secured the NTT P1 Award for the 2023 Gallagher Grand Prix with a lap time of 1:10.1132. It marked his first pole of 2023 and the fourth of his NTT IndyCar Series career. Rahal's last pole came in 2017 for the first race of the 2017 Chevrolet Dual in Detroit at the Raceway at Belle Isle Park. Rahal's two most recent poles are 105 starts apart.
• Lundgaard's qualifying effort locked out the front row for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. The last time RLL swept a front row was at Barber Motorsports Park in 2019 when Takuma Sato and Rahal started first and second.
  

Session Notes

• Practice 1 for the 2023 Gallagher Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course started on time at 9 a.m. EDT. It was 90 minutes in duration.
• After 46 minutes of green-flag practice, the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet of Pato O'Ward stopped off course in Turn 13 after a spin. O'Ward was penalized five minutes of practice time for causing a red flag. Practice resumed five minutes later with 38 minutes remaining on the session clock.
• One additional penalty was issued during the Practice 1. The No. 11 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of Marcus Armstrong received a drive-through penalty for improper pit entry or exit.
• At the conclusion of practice, Graham Rahal's 1:09.8421 in the No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda was the fastest lap of the session.