INDYCAR News for the Month of November 2021

McLaren Racing to complete majority ownership acquisition in AMSP – “McLaren Racing confirms today that it has completed the agreement to acquire the majority shareholding in the Arrow McLaren SP IndyCar team by the end of the year. The conclusion of the agreement means that McLaren Racing will become the majority shareholder in the team with a controlling 75% stake, with Arrow McLaren SP to formally be part of the McLaren Racing organisation. The team will be governed by a five-person board, comprising three McLaren Racing appointees, Sam Schmidt and Ric Peterson and will be chaired by McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown. Taylor Kiel, President of Arrow McLaren SP, will be accountable to Brown and the board for the overall operations and performance of the team.” Full release at the link. – Arrow McLaren SP – (11/29/2021)

Andretti adds Askew to Formula E lineup – “Avalanche Andretti Formula E has announced that Oliver Askew will return to the Michael Andretti-led stable to pilot the No. 28 BMW iFE.021 in Season 8 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. Askew becomes the first American driver named to Season 8 as well as the first American to compete full time in Formula E. He joins already announced Avalanche Andretti driver Jake Dennis to complete an Anglo-American lineup.” Full release at the link. – Andretti Autosport – (11/24/2021)

O’Ward and Rosenqvist to drive together at Gulf 12 Hours – “United Autosports are delighted to confirm that they will be making their return to the Gulf 12 Hours in January, with McLaren IndyCar drivers Pato O’Ward and Felix Rosenqvist joining team owners Zak Brown and Richard Dean behind the wheel of the #23 McLaren 570S. Following on from a highly successful return to GT racing this year, where the team won the GT4 European Series Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships, Zak, Richard, Pato and Felix are setting their sights on the 2022 Gulf 12 Hours, which will take place at the Yas Marina Circuit, in Abu Dhabi on 6-8 January.” Full release at the link. – United Autosports – (11/24/2021)

Trackside podcast 11/23/2021 – 107.5 The Fan’s Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee radio show from 11/23/2021 is a great listen as always. – 107.5 The Fan – (11/24/2021)

Detroit GP reveals more details about new downtown course – “When the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear returns to its original home on the streets of Downtown Detroit in 2023, the event will connect with the neighborhoods and businesses in the Motor City like never before. The Grand Prix will celebrate one more action-packed weekend at Belle Isle Park, June 3-5, 2022. Organizers confirmed on Tuesday that a new era of the Detroit Grand Prix will begin June 2-4, 2023 when the event will bring a dynamic street-festival atmosphere to the Motor City. The new home of the Grand Prix will feature three full days of activities on some of Detroit’s most popular and active Downtown areas, including racing on a new 1.7-mile,10-turn street circuit along Jefferson Avenue, Bates Street, Atwater Street, St. Antoine, Franklin Street and Rivard.” Full release at the link. – Detroit GP – (11/23/2021)

Rossi earns class win at Baja 1000 – Alexander Rossi was part of class-winning team in the Baja 1000 off-road race on Friday in an entry for the Honda Off-Road Racing Team. Full story from INDYCAR at the link. – INDYCAR – (11/22/2021)

Helio to serve as endurance driver for MSR IMSA program – “Four-time Indianapolis 500 Champion Helio Castroneves will be Meyer Shank Racing’s endurance driver for the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. Castroneves will contest in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Rounds paired with full-season drivers Oliver Jarvis and Tom Blomqvist in the No. 60 MSR Acura ARX-05. Castroneves first joined Meyer Shank Racing’s NTT INDYCAR Series program in 2021, competing in six events. The Brazilian scored his record-tying fourth Indianapolis 500 win in May – also the first INDYCAR win for MSR. Castroneves will be competing in the the full 2022 INDYCAR season with MSR.” Full release at the link. – Meyer Shank Racing – (11/22/2021)

Frost confirmed as first HMD Lights driver for ’22 – “Returning for his second season in the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Championship, Danial Frost has joined HMD Motorsports for the upcoming 2022 season. Piloting the #79 Den-Jet Dallara IL-15, Frost is the first confirmed driver for HMD Motorsports for the fast-approaching 2022 season.” Full release at the link. – HMD Motorsports – (11/18/2021)

Vandoorne to test with AMSP at Sebring in December – “Former McLaren Racing driver, Stoffel Vandoorne, will conduct an INDYCAR evaluation test with the team on December 6 at Sebring Raceway.” Full release at the link. – Arrow McLaren SP – (11/18/2021)

USAF will not renew sponsorship of ECR No. 20 next year – RACER’s Marshall Pruett reports the United States Air Force will not renew their sponsorship of the Ed Carpenter Racing No. 20 for the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. Full story, which has been confirmed by Conor Daly, at the link. – RACER – (11/18/2021)

MSR to test de Vries at Sebring in December – “2020-2021 Formula E Champion, Nyck de Vries is set to test a Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) Indy Car during a one-day Sebring test on December 6th. The IndyCar test will be the first for the young and accomplished Dutch racing driver. In addition to his success in open-wheel competition, de Vries got his first taste of sports car racing in 2018 competing in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) in the LMP2 category. de Vries went on to compete in his first of three 24 Hours of Le Mans the following year in 2019.” Full release at the link. – Meyer Shank Racing – (11/18/2021)

Trackside podcast 11/16/2021 – 107.5 The Fan’s Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee radio show from 11/16/2021 is a great listen as always. – 107.5 The Fan – (11/17/2021)

St. Pete adds RP Funding as presenting sponsor – “RP Funding has joined as the newest partner of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The Florida-based company is the event’s very first presenting sponsor which will take place Feb. 25-27, 2022, on the picturesque, waterfront street circuit in downtown St. Petersburg. The event will now be titled as the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding. An updated event logo has been developed recognizing the addition of this new presenting sponsor. Along with a strong on site brand presence through various trackside and spectator signage placements, RP Funding will have access to a number of experiential activities during the event.” Full release at the link. – GP of St. Pete – (11/10/2021)

Andretti announces McElrea for No. 27 Lights entry in ’22 – “Andretti Autosport announced today that New Zealander Hunter McElrea will make the step up to the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Championship for the 2022 season. McElrea joins the championship-winning team following a third-place finish in the 2021 Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires.” Full release at the link. – Andretti Autosport – (11/10/2021)

Foyt announces Kirkwood for No. 14 in ’22 – “There is a buzz around the No. 14 Chevrolet fielded by A.J. Foyt — and it is not killer bees. AJ Foyt Racing has hired 2021 Indy Lights Champion Kyle Kirkwood to drive the No. 14 Chevrolet in the NTT INDYCAR Series next year…Kirkwood, 23, is the only driver to win championships in all three divisions of the Road to Indy (RTI) presented by Cooper Tires ladder system, and he did it in consecutive seasons: USF2000 in 2018, Indy Pro 2000 in 2019 and Indy Lights this year (the 2020 Indy Lights season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).” Full release at the link. – AJ Foyt Racing – (11/10/2021)

Trackside podcast 11/9/2021 – 107.5 The Fan’s Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee radio show from 11/9/2021 is a great listen as always. – 107.5 The Fan – (11/10/2021)

Andretti confirms DeFrancesco for No. 29 in ’22 – “Graduating from the Road to Indy ladder, Devlin DeFrancesco has been confirmed to pilot Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport’s No. 29 Honda for the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. The Italian-Canadian driver made his first outings behind the wheel of an Indy car at two recent test days with Andretti Autosport and will make his first official race start on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida in February.” Full release at the link. – Andretti Autosport – (11/4/2021)

Detroit GP announces intention to return downtown for ’23 – “Today, the Detroit City Council granted its approval for the relocation of the Detroit Grand Prix from Belle Isle back to the streets of Downtown Detroit, beginning in 2023. Over the last five weeks, Grand Prix representatives have participated in numerous listening sessions and information sharing meetings with Detroit residents, business leaders, community groups and individual district representatives on the idea of
returning the race to its roots on the streets of Detroit. The positive reaction and the excitement that we have seen from the community about the Grand Prix coming back Downtown reinforces our belief that this relocation will provide a significant benefit to the City, its residents and our local businesses for the future.” Full release at the link. – Detroit GP – (11/3/2021)

Trackside podcast 11/2/2021 – 107.5 The Fan’s Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee radio show from 11/2/2021 is a great listen as always. – 107.5 The Fan – (11/3/2021)

13 Lights entries for Chris Griffis test – “After crowning its 2021 champions earlier this month, the Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires will be back in action this week for its traditional Chris Griffis Memorial Open Test at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway on October 30/31. All three levels of the ladder system – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship – will take part in six 45-minute sessions over the course of the two days on the 2.75-mile “Inner Loop” road course.” Full release at the link. View the entry list here. – Indy Lights – (10/28/2021)

Andretti announces Robb for No. 2 Lights entry in ’22 – “After his rookie season in Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, Sting Ray Robb has been named to join Andretti Autosport’s 2022 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Championship lineup. A veteran of the Road to Indy ladder series, Robb joined the Indy Pro 2000 Presented by Cooper Tires series in 2017 and was crowned the 2020 Indy Pro 2000 Champion – awarding the Idaho-native a scholarship to compete in Indy Lights in 2021.” Full release at the link. – Andretti Autosport – (10/28/2021)

HMD Motorsports names five-driver lineup for upcoming Lights test – HMD Motorsports will test five drivers in their Indy Lights cars at the upcoming Chris Griffis Memorial Test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Those drivers are Christian Bogle, Ernie Francis, Jr., Danial Frost, Benjamin Pedersen, and Manuel Sulaiman. Full release at the link. – HMD Motorsports – (10/27/2021)

Juncos Hollinger Racing and Carlin considering partnership – RACER’s Marshall Pruett reports Juncos Hollinger Racing and Carlin are considering a partnership for the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. Full story at the link. – RACER – (10/27/2021)

Carpenter acknowledges three drivers in the frame for No. 20 seat – Motorsport.com’s David Malsher-Lopez has an excellent story with quotes from Ed Carpenter acknowledging three drivers are being looked at to drive the non-ovals in the Ed Carpenter Racing No. 20 in 2022. Those drivers are Oliver Askew, Conor Daly, and Ryan Hunter-Reay. Full story at the link. – Motorsport.com – (10/27/2021)

INDYCAR News From Last Month