Postcards from the Paddock - Road America

Another trip to Road America has come and gone and this one will likely be remembered as much for the events that took place off track as it will for the racing itself. I was not scheduled to work for IndyCar Radio until Saturday which meant I was on my way north from Indianapolis when the news that Nolan Siegel had jumped from his Indy NXT car in the middle of Friday's practice and was set to replace Agustin Canapino at Juncos Holinger Racing for the weekend.

Credit to IndyCar Radio's Michael Young, who was covering the pits for us at the time, for noticing something out of the ordinary occurring and following up to get the story. My experience in similar moments has been an initial shock of seeing something so unexpected occur, followed by the exhilaration of chasing a story as it develops. Covering Friday practice sessions is usually very formulaic: note the conditions off the top, update a storyline or two that carried over from the last event, and then give the sporadic report on what adjustments teams are working in with the occasional interview sprinkled in. That's why it's so jarring when something out of the ordinary occurs and totally overturns expectations!

By the time I arrived at the track Saturday morning, the focus turned to the trickle-down effects of Friday's news. My first session was Indy NXT practice which suddenly had a new player taking part as Kiko Porto had been tabbed to step into Siegel's now vacant seat with HMD Motorsports. Porto was on site doing some driver coaching and had made three previous Indy NXT starts last year which made him a strong candidate to jump in. The only problem: he didn't have his gear with him! Fortunately he was able to borrow a suit from USF 2000 driver Jorge Garciarce, a helmet from 2017 Indy NXT champion Matheus Leist, and secured his seat insert from the Cape Motorsports team that he drove those three races for last year. Incredibly the team had already put a “KIKO” decal on the rear wing of the car in time for practice. In a piece of clever problem solving, they realized that they had “K” and “O” stickers already from one of their other drivers Niels Koolen, and they had an “I” sticker for Josh Pierson. Race teams are a resourceful bunch!

Rain impacted the rest of the day Saturday but fortunately conditions improved enough for both the IndyCar and Indy NXT qualifying sessions to take place and both produced incredible stories. Chip Ganassi Racing's Linus Lundqvist excelled in wet-but-drying conditions to score a surprise pole, the first of his IndyCar career. The result was all the more remarkable because he had qualified no better than 17th all season! It was a big moment for him after a slow start to his first full-time season and, judging by the number of his rivals that came by to congratulate him afterwards, it was a popular result as well.

Linus Lundqvist secures his first career pole

Indy NXT qualifying saw three-time W Series champion Jamie Chadwick take her first career pole in the series. Jamie's results up to Road America did not reflect the pace she has shown throughout her sophomore season but those who had been paying attention surely were not surprised to see her at the front. That carried over to race day on Sunday too as she held off Louis Foster and Jacob Abel, the top two drivers in the points standings, to back up that pole with her first career win. It was a special moment to be a part of. My lasting memory of the weekend will probably be the crowd's reaction as I welcomed Jamie to the podium while emceeing the trophy presentation. It was as popular a win as I can remember seeing this year.

Jamie Chadwick, first female to win Indy NXT race on road or street course!

The IndyCar race lacked some of the drama of the past few races but Will Power's victory at the front of a Team Penske 1-2-3 was an emotional one. After suffering through a winless season last year, his first such season since 2006, and coming tantalizingly close to wins and poles in the first six races of the season, this win felt long overdo. The win, his 42nd, also moved Power into a tie with Michael Andretti for fourth-most all-time. All the sweeter for Will was the fact that his wife was back at his side for the win after a significant health scare last year.

The trip was a short one and so too is this blog post. I didn't have much time away from the track to explore so I have far less to report on outside of the racing as compared to a usual entry but the good news is I still have two trips to Road America to come this summer! This coming weekend, however, I head to VIR for the next Porsche Sprint Challenge North America weekend, my first with them since the season-opener at Sebring back in early March. I'm excited to catch up with my friends in that paddock this weekend before my first trip to IMSA's Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen the following week as well as a return to the Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa the week after. As always, thanks to everyone who tuned in to our radio coverage from Road America. Until next time!