Rolex 24: Can Fernando Alonso do at Daytona what he didn’t at Indianapolis? Namely, win?

By Jan 25, 2018, 9:00 AM EST
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Fernando Alonso is going through a phase – and that’s meant in a good way.

He’s trying things he’s never done before and taking in the enjoyment and newness of it all.

Last year, it was Alonso taking part in and doing well for much of his first Indianapolis 500. He led 27 laps early in the Greatest Spectacle of Racing and appeared headed to a potential upset win before a blown motor with just over 20 laps ended his day and winning hopes prematurely.

Tuesday, the 36-year-old Spaniard was in Charlotte for a stop at NASCAR Media Day and waxed whimsically about how he might want to try NASCAR some day – but not some day soon, though.

And this weekend, Alonso will enjoy another career first, competing in his first Rolex 24 endurance race this Saturday and Sunday at Daytona International Speedway.

The two-time Formula One world champion is casting a large presence in Daytona, but nowhere near as large as last year at Indianapolis.

Still, his name has drawing power that should help the overall crowd for the 24 Hours, and much like at Indy last May, he is in a car – the United Autosports No. 23 Ligier LMP2 – that could surprise with a strong run.

Even though this will be his first endurance race in a sports car, Alonso already has a feel for what’s in store this weekend, having taken part in the three-day Roar Before the 24 three weeks ago at Daytona.

He got a good handle on the difference between a sports car and an open wheel Formula One chassis. He also got a good handle on the Daytona road course layout.

And much like he did in Indianapolis, don’t be surprised if Alonso surprises with a strong outing in the Rolex 24.

“You feel the compression in the body, you feel the visibility change because when in a normal car on the circuit, your view in the car is longer ahead,” told IMSA Wire at the conclusion of the Roar. “When you are in the corner with banking you see only the next 200 meters of the track.

“But it was good fun, a good feeling after missing track time. So far, so good.’’

IMSA President Scott Atherton has quickly become an Alonso fan, both personally and also for what his inclusion in the race will do for the race series.

“I don’t remember a time in my tenure in sports car racing which goes back a long time that we’ve had an active F1 driver on the grid,” Atherton said to IMSA Wire, adding, “and to have an active F1 driver of Alonso’s credentials … is nothing short of remarkable.

“Of course, his debut at Indy last year cannot be overstated in terms of the impact it had. It created a groundswell of interest in the United States and overseas.

“It will be significant and certainly with what this race represents and uniqueness of him competing in a multi-class race over 24 hours. The dynamics of that … we all saw remarkable embrace of his ability to compete in highest level at the Indy 500 and I think we will see the same here.”

While it’s unlikely Alonso will have a repeat performance at Indy this May due to his F1 obligations, this weekend will allow him to check off Daytona from his bucket list, much like he did with Indy last year.

“You smell motor racing here,” Alonso said. “That’s a good feeling for any driver. The speedway is amazing. The size of everything is just huge. I imagine this grandstand full of people for the NASCAR race would be an amazing thing to experience.”

Alonso still has one other race to check off his bucket list, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but it’s unclear when that may reach fruition.

Much like location, location, location is key in selling real estate and buying a house, scheduling, scheduling, scheduling is the biggest obstacle for the perennial busy Alonso to overcome if he is to race at Le Mans, in NASCAR or even making a return visit to the Indy 500.

But for now, he was able to fit the Rolex 24 into his schedule and is looking forward to what he’ll experience this weekend.

“This is first time for me in an endurance race,” he told IMSA Wire. “First time for me in a prototype car. First time driving at night. First time driving with GTs around. Many new things will come. Step by step.

“That’s quite a big challenge but I’m ready to join. And as it happened in Indianapolis, if you feel great opportunity and you feel competitive, you go for it.”

Strong rebounds for Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi amid some disappointments in the Indy 500

By May 28, 2023, 10:00 PM EDT
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INDIANAPOLIS – Alex Palou had not turned a wheel wrong the entire Month of May at the Indy 500 until Rinus VeeKay turned a wheel into the Chip Ganassi Racing pole-sitter leaving pit road on Lap 94.

“There is nothing I could have done there,” Palou told NBC Sports. “It’s OK, when it is my fault or the team’s fault because everybody makes mistakes. But when there is nothing, you could have done differently there, it feels bad and feels bad for the team.”

Marcus Ericsson was a master at utilizing the “Tail of the Dragon” move that breaks the draft of the car behind him in the closing laps to win last year’s Indianapolis 500. On Sunday, however, the last of three red flags in the final 16 laps of the race had the popular driver from Sweden breathing fire after Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden beat him at his own game on the final lap to win the Indianapolis 500.

Despite the two disappointments, team owner Chip Ganassi was seen on pit road fist-bumping a member on his four-car team in this year’s Indianapolis 500 after his drivers finished second, fourth, sixth and seventh in the tightly contested race.

Those are pretty good results, but at the Indianapolis 500, there is just one winner and 32 losers.

“There is only one winner, but it was a hell of a show,” three-time Indianapolis 500 winner and Chip Ganassi Racing consultant Dario Franchitti told NBC Sports. “Alex was very fast, and he got absolutely caught out in somebody else’s wreck. There was nothing he could have done, but he and the 10 car, great recovery.

“Great recovery by all four cars because at half distance, we were not looking very good.”

After 92 laps, the first caution flew for Sting Ray Robb of Dale Coyne Racing hitting the Turn 1 wall.

During pit stops on Lap 94, Palou had left his stall when the second-place car driven by VeeKay ran into him, putting Palou’s Honda into the wall. The car sustained a damaged front wing, but the Chip Ganassi crew was able to get him back in the race on the lead lap but in 28th position.

Palou ultimately would fight his way to a fourth-place finish in a race the popular Spaniard could have won. His displeasure with VeeKay, whom he sarcastically called “a legend” on his team radio after the incident, was evident.

“The benefit of being on pole is you can drive straight and avoid crashes, and he was able to crash us on the side on pit lane, which is pretty tough to do, but he managed it,” Palou told NBC Sports. “Hopefully next year we are not beside him. Hopefully, next year we have a little better luck.”

Palou started on the pole and led 36 laps, just three fewer than race leader Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren Racing.

“We started really well, was managing the fuel as we wanted, our car was pretty good,” Palou said. “Our car wasn’t great, we dropped to P4 or P5, but we still had some good stuff.

“On the pit stop, the 21 (VeeKay) managed to clip us. Nothing we could have done there. It was not my team’s fault or my fault.

“We had to drop to the end. I’m happy we made it back to P4. We needed 50 more laps to make it happen, but it could have been a lot worse after that contact.

“I learned a lot, running up front at the beginning and in mid-pack and then the back. I learned a lot.

“It feels amazing when you win it and not so good when things go wrong. We were a bit lucky with so many restarts at the end to make it back to P4 so I’m happy with that.”

Palou said the front wing had to be changed and the toe-in was a bit off, but he still had a fast car.

In fact, his Honda was the best car at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway all month. His pole-winning four lap average speed of 234.217 miles per hour around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway was a record for this fabled race.

Palou looked good throughout the race, before he had to scratch and claw and race his way back to the top-five after he restarted 28th.

In the Indianapolis 500, however, the best car doesn’t always win.

“It’s two years in a row that we were leading the race at the beginning and had to drop to last,” Palou said. “Maybe next year, we will start in the middle of the field and go on to win the race.

“I know he didn’t do it on purpose. It’s better to let that pass someday.”

Palou said the wild racing at the end was because the downforce package used in Sunday’s race means the drivers have to be aggressive. The front two cars can battle for the victory, but cars back in fourth or fifth place can’t help determine the outcome of the race.

That is when the “Tail of the Dragon” comes into the play.

Franchitti helped celebrate Ericsson’s win in 2022 with his “Tail of the Dragon” zigzag move – something he never had to do in any of his three Indianapolis 500 victories because they all finished under caution.

In 2023, however, IndyCar Race Control wants to make every attempt to finish the race under green, without going past the scheduled distance like NASCAR’s overtime rule.

Instead of extra laps, they stop the race with a red flag, to create a potential green-flag finish condition.

“You do what you have to do to win within the rules, and it’s within the rules, so you do it,” Franchitti said. “The race is 200 laps and there is a balance.

“Marcus did a great job on that restart and so did Josef. It was just the timing of who was where and that was it.

“If you knew it was going to go red, you would have hung back on the lap before.

“Brilliant job by the whole Ganassi organization because it wasn’t looking very good at half-distance.

“Full marks to Josef Newgarden and Team Penske.”

Franchitti is highly impressed by how well Ericsson works with CGR engineer Brad Goldberg and how close this combination came to winning the Indianapolis 500 two-years-in-a-row.

It would have been the first back-to-back Indy 500 winner since Helio Castroneves in 2001 and 2002.

“Oh, he’s a badass,” Franchitti said Ericsson. “He proved it last year. He is so calm all day. What more do you need? As a driver, he’s fast and so calm.”

Ericsson is typically in good spirits and jovial.

He was stern and direct on pit road after the race.

“I did everything right, I did an awesome restart, caught Josef off-guard and pulled away,” Ericsson said on pit lane. “It’s hard to pull away a full lap and he got me back.

“I’m mostly disappointed with the way he ended. I don’t think it was fair and safe to do that restart straight out of the pits on cold tires for everyone.

“To me, it was not a good way to end that race.

“Congrats to Josef. He didn’t do anything wrong. He is a worthy champion, but it shouldn’t have ended like that.”

Palou also didn’t understand the last restart, which was a one-start showdown.

“I know that we want to finish under green,” Palou said. “Maybe the last restart I did, I didn’t understand. It didn’t benefit the CGR team.

“I’m not very supportive of the last one, but anyway.”

Dixon called the red flags “a bit sketchy.”

“The red flags have become a theme to the end of the race, but sometimes they can catch you out,” Dixon said. “I know Marcus is frustrated with it.

“All we ask for is consistency. I think they will do better next time.

“It’s a tough race. People will do anything they can to win it and with how these reds fall, you have to be in the right place at the right time. The problem is when they throw a Red or don’t throw a Red dictates how the race will end.

“It’s a bloody hard race to win. Congrats to Josef Newgarden and to Team Penske.”

Follow Bruce Martin on Twitter at @BruceMartin_500