2024 Sonsio Grand Prix

Race Notes

• The 2024 Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was 85 laps on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course totaling 207.32 miles.
• The pit road speed limit was 45 mph and the race started the third time past the flag stand. Pole sitter Alex Palou gridded drivers' right.
• All cars but those of Alex Palou, Josef Newgarden, Alexander Rossi, Marcus Armstrong, Graham Rahal, Pietro Fittipaldi, Rinus VeeKay, Scott McLaughlin, Christian Rasmussen, Marcus Ericsson and Romain Grosjean started the race on Firestone Firehawk primary black tires. Each car was required to use one set of new alternate red tires and once set of primary black tires during the race.
• At 3:30 p.m. EDT, the ambient temperature was 70 degrees with mostly cloudy skies. The track temperature was 107 degrees according to Firestone engineers.
• At 3:39 p.m., Sonsio CEO David Jones gave the command, "Drivers, start your engines." All engines fired and all cars rolled off the grid.
• On Lap 1, the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of Palou led the field out of Turn 14. After the green flag, several cars went off course in Turn 1. In Turn 7, the No. 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda of Christian Lundgaard took the lead. Lundgaard went on to lead opening laps of the race until his first pit stop on Lap 19.
• Following the first round of green-flag pit stops, Lundgaard reassumed the race lead on Lap 23 where he remained until his second pit stop on Lap 40.
• After the second round of pit stops, Palou emerged as the race leader on Lap 45. The driver of the No. 10 Honda went on to dominate the second half of the race, leading a total of 39 laps to secure two additional bonus points. By Lap 60, Palou had a 4.3583-second lead over Lundgaard.
• Palou pitted for the third and final time on Lap 62, but regained the race lead on Lap 65 just as the race's first and only full-course caution period began.
• The No. 51 Dale Coyne Racing Honda of Luca Ghiotto stopped off course in Turn 10 and required assistance. Leaders at the time of the caution were Palou, McLaughlin, Will Power, Lundgaard and Scott Dixon.
• The race restarted at the end of Lap 68 with Palou leading Power by 1.2311 seconds on Lap 70.
• Palou went on to take the white flag with a 5.5030-second lead over Power.
• Palou crossed the finish line with a 6.6106-second margin of victory over Power, earning his first points-paying victory of 2024 and the 10th win of his NTT IndyCar Series career. His last win was the non-points $1 Million Challenge at the Thermal Club. His last points-paying win was at Portland in 2023.
• The result marked Palou's second consecutive win at the May road course race at Indianapolis. Chip Ganassi Racing has won the last three races at the IMS road course.
• Will Power finished second, his third runner-up finish in four point-paying races in 2024. He also finished second at St. Petersburg and Barber Motorsports Park. It was Power's 31st career second-place finish, tying him with Al Unser for sixth all time.
• Unofficial points after the Sonsio Grand Prix:
  1. Palou 152
  2. Power 140 (-12)
  3. Dixon 127 (-25)
  4. Herta 127 (-25)
  5. Rosenqvist 107 (-45)
  6. McLaughlin 88 (-64)
  7. O'Ward 88 (-64)
  8. Kirkwood 86 (-66)
  9. Lundgaard 84 (-68)
  10. Rossi 78 (-74)
      

Session Notes

• Warm-up for the 2024 Sonsio Grand Prix began on time at 11:15 a.m. EDT. The session was 30 minutes in duration and served as the final on-track activity for the NTT IndyCar Series prior to the 85-lap race.
• Free of incidents during its run, the session ended three minutes early when the red and checkered flags were displayed for the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet of Pato O'Ward, which stopped in Turn 10 with smoke trailing.
• At the conclusion of warm-up, the No. 11 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of Marcus Armstrong was fastest with a lap time of 1:09.8485.
  

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 4:20 p.m. EDT just before the start of qualifying, the ambient temperature was 68 degrees and the track temperature was 108 degrees according to Firestone engineers.
• The entirety of qualifying was green with no red flags. No penalties were issued.
• Will Power, Christian Lundgaard, Alex Palou, Pato O'Ward, Josef Newgarden and Scott Dixon advanced to the Firestone Fast Six.
• At the conclusion of Round 3, Alex Palou's 1:09.0004 earned the Chip Ganassi Racing Driver his fourth career NTT IndyCar Series pole.
  

Session Notes

• Practice 2 for the 2024 Sonsio Grand Prix began on time at 1:10 p.m. EDT. The session was 45 minutes of track time in a one-hour window.
• The session clock stopped for three minutes when the No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda of Jack Harvey stopped off course after a spin on course.
• At the conclusion of Practice 2, the No. 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda of Christian Lundgaard was fastest with a lap time of 1:09.5588.
  

Session Notes

• Practice 1 for the 2024 Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway began on time at 9:30 a.m. EDT. The session was 75 minutes in duration.
• Three red flags stopped the action:
  • At 9:46 a.m., the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet of Josef Newgarden stopped on track in Turn 14 after a spin. The red flag lasted for three minutes.
  • At 9:54 a.m., the No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda of Graham Rahal stopped on course at pit exit. The resulting red flag was six minutes in duration.
  • At 10:02 a.m, the No. 11 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of Marcus Armstrong stopped on pit lane with smoke trailing. The red flag was six minutes long.
• At the conclusion of Practice 1, the No. 26 Andretti Global Honda of Colton Herta was fastest with a lap time of 1:09.2863.