Rookie Mikhail Aleshin a potential surprise driver to watch for SPM

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Although Russian rookie Mikhail Aleshin is new to IndyCar, the 26-year-old Russian is not new to racing.

From go-karts, to small formula, to his 2010 World Series by Renault title, Aleshin has been one of only a few drivers from Russia who’s been able to really establish a career, as it’s a country where racing is only beginning to gain a worldwide foothold.

The last three years has seen him in a variety of machinery, from GP2 cars back to Formula 3, and also GT cars in the Blancpain Endurance Series.

As an SMP Racing-supported driver, Aleshin had an intriguing choice to consider in the middle of 2013 when he wondered his next career move.

“Basically in the middle of last year, the middle of the World Series season, we were speaking about my future, what are the solutions,” he said during IndyCar media day in Orlando. “That’s how we came to the same idea basically that we need to try to do IndyCar.

“I’ve been racing more or less every open-wheel in Europe. But I think IndyCar is definitely a very important part of the open-wheel racing in the world. I’m really big fan of open-wheel racing, so that’s one of the reasons I’m here.”

Aleshin will be the first Russian to fly the flag in IndyCar; countryman Vitaly Petrov had that honor in Formula One.

“The other thing is it’s a big challenge for me to be here because I’m the first Russian driver to compete in IndyCar,” he said. “For sure, yeah, it’s a big challenge. Obviously most of the drivers, they came out from Indy Lights, Mazda, any American category. Most of them know most of the tracks, so there will be some difficulties for me because I don’t know any.

“Every time I going to come to the track, every time I going to learn just in the practice and go straight to qualifying.  Sounds like fun!”

Indeed Aleshin will be unlike the previous rookie in Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ second car, Tristan Vautier, in that he’ll be thrown in the deep end at each circuit. Vautier had past experience at most circuits from either Indy Lights or Pro Mazda.

Also unlike Vautier, Aleshin has deeper experience in formula cars with similar horsepower and downforce levels, and that should help him.

The rookie is probably most excited about running on ovals; he got his oval baptism at Homestead-Miami Speedway earlier this winter.

“The most probably interesting part for me will be races on ovals because that’s what I haven’t done at all in my life,” he said. “I just did one test day in Homestead for my rookie test. It’s hard to expect something from something what you have never done, but actually it was much better than any of my expectations in the end, the feeling of racing on ovals.”

Aleshin expanded on the SMP Racing program, which supports more than 30 drivers worldwide throughout various GT and open-wheel championships.

It could be confusing – perhaps tongue-tying in fact – to remember Aleshin will drive the No. 7 SMP Racing Honda for SPM.

But while he’s largely unknown to the American audience, he could surprise. It depends on how well he gels with engineer Allen McDonald, who has been retained as engineer of the second car, and with teammate Simon Pagenaud, a renowned development ace who could well contend for this year’s IndyCar title.

Aleshin already feels comfortable with both, and that’s a good sign.

“Allen McDonald, my engineer, he’s a really experienced man,” he said. “He spent many years in Formula One, many years in IndyCar, last like maybe 15 years. I’m really happy to work with him. I think we found, yeah, basically one language I would say.

“Yes, Simon, I need to admit that he actually help me a lot with getting into the stuff fast, especially when I had my test at Homestead on the oval.  He just helped me to develop the car and to understand what I need to feel on the track, because obviously oval racing is completely opposite than what I used to do and I don’t know how the car need to behave.

“Normally I like aggressive car. On ovals, this is not best way. This is just one of the simple things I have learned there.”

Aleshin also has past experience at Sonoma; like Rubens Barrichello a couple years ago, that could be the place to pinpoint where he could deliver a “big” result.

Expectations are modest, and that could perhaps work to Aleshin’s favor. He’ll be up against two younger rookies in Carlos Munoz and Jack Hawksworth, who both have an edge on U.S. track experience.

But Aleshin could be a surprise driver this season. Realistically, this entry could achieve a top-15 finish in points with one or two top-fives, and maybe a podium. Anything more would be a bonus.

Roger Penske discusses flying tire at Indy 500 with Dallara executives: ‘We’ve got to fix that’

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INDIANAPOLIS – Roger Penske spoke with Dallara executives Monday morning about the loose tire that went flying over the Indianapolis Motor Speedway catchfence and into a Turn 2 parking lot.

The left-rear wheel from Kyle Kirkwood’s No. 27 Dallara-Honda was sheared off in a collision at speed as Kirkwood tried to avoid the skidding No. 6 Dallara-Chevrolet of Felix Rosenqvist on Lap 183 of the 107th Indianapolis 500.

No one seriously was hurt in the incident (including Kirkwood, whose car went upside down and slid for several hundred feet), though an Indianapolis woman’s Chevy Cruze was struck by the tire. The Indy Star reported a fan was seen and released from the care center after sustaining minor injuries from flying debris in the crash.

During a photo shoot Monday morning with Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden at the IMS Yard of Bricks, Penske met with Dallara founder and owner Gian Paolo Dallara and Dallara USA CEO Stefano dePonti. The Italian company has been the exclusive supplier of the current DW12 chassis to the NTT IndyCar series for 11 years.

“The good news is we didn’t have real trouble with that tire going out (of the track),” Penske, who bought Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2020, told a few reporters shortly afterward. “I saw it hit. When it went out, I saw we were OK. I talked to the Dallara guys today. We’re going to look at that, but I guess the shear (force) from when (Rosenqvist’s) car was sitting, (Kirkwood’s car) went over and just that shear force tore that tether. Because we have tethers on there, and I’ve never seen a wheel come off.

“That to me was probably the scariest thing. We’ve got to fix that. We’ve got to fix that so that doesn’t happen again.”

Asked by NBC Sports if IndyCar would be able to address it before Sunday’s Detroit Grand Prix or before the next oval race at Iowa Speedway, Penske said, “The technical guys should look at it. I think the speed here, a couple of hundred (mph) when you hit it vs. 80 or 90 or whatever it might be, but that was a pinch point on the race.”

In a statement released Monday to WTHR and other media outlets, IndyCar said that it was “in possession of the tire in Sunday’s incident and found that the tether did not fail. This is an isolated incident, and the series is reviewing to make sure it does not happen again. IndyCar takes the safety of the drivers and fans very seriously. We are pleased and thankful that no one was hurt.”

IndyCar provided no further explanation for how the wheel was separated from the car without the tether failing.

IndyCar began mandating wheel suspension tethers using high-performance Zylon material after a flying tire killed three fans at Charlotte Motor Speedway during a May 1, 1999 race. Three fans also were struck and killed by a tire at Michigan International Speedway during a July 26, 1998 race.

The IndyCar tethers can withstand a force of more than 22,000 pounds, and the rear wheel tethers were strengthened before the 2023 season.