IndyCar Harvest GP Preview

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES continues its 2020 season with a doubleheader event Oct. 2-3 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The INDYCAR Harvest GP presented by GMR is the first major auto racing event will take place in October for the first time in the 111-year history of IMS and the third and fourth races of the 2020 season held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Here are five things to watch at this weekend’s event.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Championship Up for Grabs

The championship race for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES will continue to charge down the homestretch at the INDYCAR Harvest GP presented by GMR doubleheader on Oct. 2-3, as Scott Dixon will try to hold off his closest pursuers and either clinch or close in on his sixth series title.

Dixon leads reigning champion Josef Newgarden by 72 points, with Pato O’Ward 128 points behind Dixon in third. There are plenty of opportunities for Dixon to gain or lose ground with two races scheduled on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course.

“We just have to treat it like any other race weekend and try to get maximum points,” Dixon said. “The obvious goal is to go out there and try to win, but unfortunately, there are 23, 24 others that have the same goal. We’ll try to do better than we did at the last doubleheader at Mid-Ohio, where I definitely made a very large mistake that gave away some pretty easy points there.”

There are 54 points maximum available to a driver at each NTT INDYCAR SERIES race outside of the double-points Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. So, with just the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Oct. 25 remaining on the schedule after the INDYCAR Harvest GP, Dixon will clinch the championship with a lead of 55 points or more after this weekend.

The mission is tough but not hopeless for two-time series champion Newgarden. He trimmed 24 points from Dixon’s lead during the Honda Indy 200 doubleheader weekend Sept. 12-13 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

“We’re running second in championship points and have some ground to make up to Scott (Dixon), so every point is really going to count,” Newgarden said. “With this being a doubleheader weekend, the pressure is on to perform at our best in the Hitachi Chevy and really maximize the points that we get. With two opportunities to race this weekend, we still feel we have a good shot at the title since my entire team has been working so hard and have a really great plan put together. Execution will be key, especially since doubleheader weekends can be so intense and anything could happen.”

King of the Road

Scott Dixon won the first NTT INDYCAR SERIES race of 2020 at IMS, the GMR Grand Prix on July 4. It was one of the three straight victories with which he opened the season, as Dixon has never trailed in the championship standings.

Dixon could earn the rare distinction of being the first NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver to win three races in one year at the Racing Capital of the World with a sweep of the INDYCAR Harvest GP presented by GMR doubleheader.

Multiple INDYCAR races only have taken place in the same season at IMS since 2014, when the GMR Grand Prix joined the annual schedule at the world’s most famous racetrack along with the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. Team Penske teammates Will Power and Simon Pagenaud swept the Grand Prix and “500” in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

The schedule shuffle created by the COVID-19 pandemic placed four INDYCAR races at IMS this season, giving Dixon the chance to make history with three wins in the same year at the Brickyard. Takuma Sato won the Indy 500 on Aug. 23, and he also could be the first three-time winner in one season at IMS among NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers with a sweep of the INDYCAR Harvest GP.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES star Colton Herta won all three Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires races in May 2018 at IMS, with two races on the road course and the Freedom 100 on the oval. Indianapolis native Johnny Aitken swept the Harvest Classic on Sept. 9, 1916, a single event comprised of three races. That event inspired the name of the INDYCAR Harvest GP presented by GMR.

Popular Vets Return to Series

Three of the most popular veterans of INDYCAR racing will return to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES at the INDYCAR Harvest GP presented by GMR, as Sebastien Bourdais will drive the fabled No. 14 Chevrolet for AJ Foyt Racing, James Hinchcliffe rejoins Andretti Autosport as the driver of the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda, and three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves stands in for Oliver Askew at Arrow McLaren SP.

Bourdais won four consecutive Champ Car titles from 2004-07 and was a mainstay and race winner in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES after nearly two seasons in Formula One. He will make his first INDYCAR start of 2020 with Foyt’s team in the doubleheader on the IMS road course and will drive for the team in the season-ending Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Oct. 25 in advance of a full season behind the wheel of Foyt’s car in 2021.

Frenchman Bourdais has produced three fourth-place finishes (2014, 2015, 2018) in six career INDYCAR starts on the IMS road course. He also won the inaugural Rolex Sports Car Series race at IMS in 2012, sharing a Riley-Ford Daytona Prototype with Alex Popow.

“It’s time finally to get that 2020 INDYCAR season started for us,” Bourdais said. “It’s been a long time coming but really happy to finally get this show on the road and see what we’ve got. Obviously, there was a lot of anticipation at the beginning of the year, and many months have gone by and many races, so we’re not taking it the easy way by getting in the seat at the tail end of the season. There’s a lot of things to learn for me with the team, the team to validate a few things that they think they need answers on for this season and, more importantly, the next. I’m very much looking forward to the Indy GP. It’s a track that I’ve had good success on and very much enjoyed the layout, but it’s not going to be easy because we’re jumping straight into the thick of it: one practice, then qualify, race, qualify, race. Hopefully, we hit the ground running with a happy setup and can have a good weekend.”

Hinchcliffe, one of nine drivers to start in every INDYCAR road course race at IMS, finished 11th in July’s GMR Grand Prix. He’ll finish the season with Andretti Autosport’s No. 26 car as it evaluates its program for the 2021 season.

Castroneves, who has won the last three races in IMSA’s Daytona Prototype International class, will make his first road course start since the 2019 GMR Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The 30-time INDYCAR race winner will be in unfamiliar ground with Arrow McLaren SP – his first INDYCAR start for a team other than Team Penske since 1999.

“It’s great to be back in a place where I have so many memories,” Castroneves said. “It’s even more exciting this time, coming back with a new team and getting new experiences. Hopefully I can add a little of my experience to a great team and brand. I also want to thank Roger Penske and Tim Cindric for allowing me to race this weekend for a different team. My biggest fear is to not enter the wrong garage after 20 years!”

Fall Classic

History will be made during the INDYCAR Harvest GP presented by GMR event weekend, as a major auto racing event will take place in October for the first time in the 111-year history of IMS.

The Harvest Classic, United States Grand Prix Formula One and Big Machine 400 at the Brickyard races all have taken place in past years during September on the IMS oval or road course. The Red Bull Indianapolis GP MotoGP event also raced in September at IMS.

But among major events, only the Red Bull Air Race World Championship for acrobatic airplanes has competed at the Racing Capital of the World during the cool, crisp, colorful days of October.

Welcome back, fans

Fans will be welcomed to a race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time in 2020 during the INDYCAR Harvest GP presented by GMR event weekend. Up to 10,000 spectators can be in the grandstands each day of racing action Oct. 1-4, per approval from the Marion County Public Health Department.

The massive facility, which holds more than 300,000 people, will provide two spectator zones with up to 5,000 fans in each. The zones will be located in Turns 1 and 4 of the oval, offering strong sightlines of the road course. Strict health and safety rules will be in place, including mandatory face coverings, temperature screenings before gate entry, social distancing in grandstands and other areas, and more.

“I think it’s going to be fantastic to have up to 10,000 fans on each day.” Dixon said. “It’s definitely been a different dynamic, I think, for a lot of us this season, especially the Indianapolis 500 that ran without fans. We welcome the fans greatly. Hopefully, the weather cooperates, and we can have a fantastic weekend.”

Fast facts

Race weekend: Thursday, Oct. 1 – Saturday, Oct. 3

Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course (clockwise)

Race 1 Entry List | Race 2 Entry List

Race distance: 85 laps / 207.35 miles (Race 1); 75 laps / 182.925 miles (Race 2)

Push-to-pass parameters: 200 seconds of total time, with a maximum time of 20 seconds per activation.

Firestone tire allotment: Nine sets primary, five sets alternate (Note: An extra (10th) set of primary tires is available to any car fielding a rookie driver.)

Twitter: @IMS, @IndyCar, #HarvestGP, #IndyCar

Event website: www.ims.com

INDYCAR website: IndyCar.com

2019 race winner: Inaugural event

2019 NTT P1 Award winner: Inaugural event

Qualifying lap record: Will Power, 1:07.7044, 129.687 mph, May 12, 2017 (Set in Round 3 of knockout qualifying)

NBC Sports telecasts: Race 1, 3:30 p.m. ET Friday, USA Network (live); Race 2, 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday, NBC (live). Leigh Diffey will be the play-by-play announcer for NBC Sports’ telecasts of the INDYCAR Harvest GP doubleheader alongside analysts Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy.

NBC Sports Gold livestreaming: Thursday’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice session (2:25 p.m. ET Thursday) and NTT P1 Award qualifying (Race 1, 6:20 p.m. ET Thursday; Race 2, 10:20 a.m. ET Saturday) will stream live on INDYCAR Pass on NBC Sports Gold, NBC Sports’ direct-to-consumer live streaming product.

INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the chief announcer alongside analyst Davey Hamilton. The INDYCAR Harvest GP doubleheader airs live on network affiliates, Sirius 211, XM 205, IndyCar.com and the INDYCAR Mobile app powered by NTT DATA. All NTT INDYCAR SERIES practices and qualifying are available on IndyCar.com and the INDYCAR Mobile app.

At-track schedule (all times local):
Thursday, Oct. 1

2:25-3:40 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice, NBC Sports Gold

6:20 p.m. – Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (two groups/12 minutes each), NBC Sports Gold (Live)

Friday, Oct. 2

3:30 p.m. – USA Network on air

3:53 p.m. – “Drivers, start your engines”

4 p.m. – INDYCAR Harvest GP Race 1 (85 laps / 207.35 miles), USA Network (Live)

Saturday, Oct. 3

10:20 a.m. – Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (two groups/12 minutes each), NBC Sports Gold (Live)

2:24 p.m. – “Drivers, start your engines”

2:30 p.m. – NBC Sports on air

2:31 p.m. – INDYCAR Harvest GP Race 2 (75 laps / 182.925 miles), NBC (Live)

Race Notes:

Scott Dixon leads the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship with three races to go for the third time since 2008. He also led the championship with three to go when he won the title in 2008 and 2018. Dixon has led the championship after every round this season. Since 2008, the driver who has led the championship with three races to go has won the championship seven times –Dixon in 2008 and 2018, Dario Franchitti in 2011, Will Power in 2014, Simon Pagenaud in 2016, and Josef Newgarden in 2017 and 2019.

CHAMPIONSHIP WITH 3 TO GO (2008-2020)

YEAR	LEADER	SECOND	LEAD	CHAMPION
2008	Scott Dixon	Helio Castroneves	78	Scott Dixon
2009	Ryan Briscoe	Dario Franchitti	4	Dario Franchitti
2010	Will Power	Dario Franchitti	23	Dario Franchitti
2011	Dario Franchitti	Will Power	26	Dario Franchitti
2012	Will Power	Ryan Hunter-Reay	5	Ryan Hunter-Reay
2013	Helio Castroneves	Scott Dixon	49	Scott Dixon
2014	Will Power	Helio Castroneves	4	Will Power
2015	Juan Pablo Montoya	Graham Rahal	42	Scott Dixon
2016	Simon Pagenaud	Will Power	27	Simon Pagenaud
2017	Josef Newgarden	Scott Dixon	18	Josef Newgarden
2018	Scott Dixon	Alexander Rossi	29	Scott Dixon
2019	Josef Newgarden	Alexander Rossi	35	Josef Newgarden
2020	Scott Dixon	Josef Newgarden	72	???

There are seven drivers still mathematically eligible for the 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship: Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden, Pato O’Ward, Colton Herta, Will Power, Graham Rahal and Takuma Sato. Any driver who trails the points leader by 108 points or more following this event will be eliminated from contention.
The INDYCAR Harvest GP will be the second and third NTT INDYCAR SERIES races conducted on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course this year and the eighth and ninth races, overall. Scott Dixon, Simon Pagenaud and Will Power are the only drivers to win on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Pagenaud won the inaugural race in 2014, 2016 and 2019, Power won the race in 2015, 2017 and 2018. Dixon won the GMR Grand Prix earlier this season.
Simon Pagenaud, Will Power, Felix Rosenqvist and Sebastian Saavedra are the only drivers to have won the pole position on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Saavedra claimed the pole in 2014, Power in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2020, Pagenaud in 2016 and Rosenqvist in 2019.
Nine drivers have competed in every NTT INDYCAR SERIES race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course – Marco Andretti, Scott Dixon, James Hinchcliffe, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Josef Newgarden, Simon Pagenaud, Will Power, Graham Rahal and Takuma Sato. All are entered this weekend.
Four NTT P1 Award winners have won the race from the pole: Will Power in 2015, 2017 and 2018 and Simon Pagenaud in 2016.
Every driver entered in the event have competed in INDYCAR races on the IMS road course. Eleven entered drivers have led laps: Will Power 210, Simon Pagenaud 68, Scott Dixon 66, Graham Rahal 36, Josef Newgarden 25, Ryan Hunter-Reay 18, Felix Rosenqvist 15, James Hinchcliffe 4, Alexander Rossi 2, Marcus Ericsson 1 and Jack Harvey

INDYCAR HARVEST GP PRE-EVENT QUOTES:

JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 1 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet): “It’s a really important weekend for us at Indianapolis. We’re running second in championship points and have some ground to make up to Scott (Dixon), so every point is really going to count. With this being a doubleheader weekend, the pressure is on to perform at our best in the Hitachi Chevy and really maximize the points that we get. With two opportunities to race this weekend, we still feel we have a good shot at the title since my entire team has been working so hard and have a really great plan put together. Execution will be key, especially since doubleheader weekends can be so intense and anything could happen. As a sport, we are probably most excited to have fans there this weekend. That’s going to be great, so we want to put on a good show and give them a good battle up until the end.”

CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 4 Tresiba / AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet): “Any time you get to race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it’s a good time. And getting both a doubleheader on the Indianapolis road course plus the fall weather that has descended on Indy means that it will live up to its Harvest Grand Prix name. Partnering with both Dalton Kellett and Sebastien Bourdais means we’re all focused on a great result for AJ Foyt Racing this weekend.”

PATO O’WARD (No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet): “It’s crazy to think that the year is almost over. The entire team and I know that if there’s a time to push, it’s now, so we are all very motivated to build on what we have accomplished so far this season and keep racking up championship points. We are in the fight, so that’s what we will be pushing for. I know that the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet will be good, so if we execute, we will have a couple of good races.”

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet): “First and foremost, we want to make sure that Oliver (Askew) gets better. He’s a young man with a bright future ahead of him. For me, I’m coming off of a big win at Mid-Ohio in IMSA and carrying momentum into this weekend at Indianapolis. It’s great to be back in a place where I have so many memories. It’s even more exciting this time, coming back with a new team and getting new experiences. I already have a taste of the great group of people at Arrow McLaren SP, and I’m looking forward to this weekend. Hopefully I can add a little bit of my experience to a great team and brand. I also want to thank Roger Penske and Tim Cindric for allowing me to race this weekend for a different team. My biggest fear is to not enter the wrong garage after 20 years! I’m looking forward to a good race.”

MARCUS ERICSSON (No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda): “I’m looking forward to getting back to the Indy road course. I think we had a good weekend there at the Indy GP earlier this season with Scott winning, and I finished sixth and had really good pace during the race. I think we’re going to have a good car there. I have a good feeling in the car at the moment. We had a strong run at Mid-Ohio, our last time out, with a fifth-place finish there. It’s something to build on, and I’m still looking for my first podium of the year. We have two chances for that this weekend, and I’m excited. Weather will play a huge part in the results this weekend, and it’s going to be a big difference between the hot and warm temperatures we had earlier in the year for the GP. Let’s see what that does for the balance of the cars. I’m confident, and I’m looking forward to the race.”

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, NTT INDYCAR SERIES points leader): “I think for the No. 9 PNC Bank team, we just have to treat it like any other race weekend and try to get maximum points. The obvious goal is to go out there and try to win, but unfortunately, there are 23, 24 others that have the same goal. We’ll try to do better than we did at the last doubleheader at Mid-Ohio, where I definitely made a very large mistake that gave away some pretty easy points there. I’m really looking forward to it. I think it’s going to be fantastic to have up to 10,000 fans on each day. It’s definitely been a different dynamic, I think, for a lot of us this season, especially the Indianapolis 500 that ran without fans. We welcome the fans greatly. Hopefully, the weather cooperates and we can have a fantastic weekend.”

FELIX ROSENQVIST (No. 10 NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing Honda): “I think the Harvest GP will be a really tough race. It’s a track we have all been to, and it’s the second time this year. It’s all going to be in the details. However, I think Chip Ganassi Racing has always been strong there, especially in recent years. Scott won the Indy GP this year, and I had the pole there last year. It’s a good place for us, for sure. The cold temperatures may throw things around a little, but it actually may be to our benefit. I’m really pumped for the chance to get up on the top spot before the season ends.”

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): “Everything about Indianapolis is so special, and the road course is no different. My Verizon Chevy team and I have had some success there, so we’re trying to pull from our experience to perform well. We didn’t run as well as we wanted to there back in July, but we feel we have a strong plan going into this race weekend. We’re pretty much out of contention for the championship, so we’re really racing for wins. With it being a doubleheader, it’s great to have two chances to win, but it won’t be easy. I’m happy we’ll have fans back at Indianapolis with us. I can’t wait to see them back in the grandstands there because they bring such a great energy. It’s going to be an exciting weekend.”

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS (No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet): “It’s time finally to get that 2020 INDYCAR season started for us. It’s been a long time coming but really happy to finally get this show on the road and see what we’ve got. Obviously, there was a lot of anticipation at the beginning of the year, and many months have gone by and many races, so we’re not taking it the easy way by getting in the seat at the tail end of the season. There’s a lot of things to learn for me with the team, the team to validate a few things that they think they need answers on for this season and, more importantly, the next. I’m very much looking forward to the Indy GP. It’s a track that I’ve had good success on and very much enjoyed the layout, but it’s not going to be easy because we’re jumping straight into the thick of it: one practice, then qualify, race, qualify, race. Hopefully, we hit the ground running with a happy setup and can have a good weekend. If that’s not the case, we’ll dig deep and learn a few things and see what we get results-wise.”

GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 15 United Rentals Honda): “The team has done a great job so far in improvements for the road courses over 2019. Our package has been extremely strong. Allen (McDonald; race engineer), Eddie (Jones, Takuma’s engineer) and all the guys did a great job coming up with some setups for this year that have worked. And we feel that it will work again at IMS this weekend. I thought we were phenomenal in Race 1 (GMR Grand Prix at IMS), and I think that Race 2 and 3 (INDYCAR Harvest GP) will be just as good for us. It’s just that people learned from the strategy and other things we did in the first race, and it will be interesting to see how we all respond this time around. It will be different this time because you’ve got 85 laps in the first race, which is longer than we did in July, and 75 laps is obviously shorter so the Saturday race will be a little different. Seventy-five laps is a pretty easy two-stop race based on what we did before. And 85 laps is a whole different ballgame. It will be interesting to see how it works out for everybody, but we definitely hope to put the United Rentals Honda up front. I would still like to get into third place (in the championship), and I think we can. I feel that we have had a tremendous season. On average, I feel like we have had the second-best, or third-best season of anybody. The problem is that we had two really poor races. Obviously, we missed points at Texas and Race 2 at Road America and St. Louis was not good for us, but I do expect us to be pretty strong to finish this off.”

SANTINO FERRUCCI (No. 18 SealMaster Honda): “Super excited to get back on track in the No. 18 SealMaster Honda and be racing on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course again. Obviously, there is some history to be made with the first-ever Harvest GP in the fall at IMS. It will be nice to have another doubleheader weekend. I think we have made a lot of progress since Mid-Ohio working on our cold-weather race car on the simulator, but it will be fun working with the crew again. I am confident we have a lot of good things to come and am looking forward to ending the season on a high note.”

CONOR DALY (No. 20 U.S. Air Force Chevrolet): “We had a great qualifying performance last time we were at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. I am really excited about being back for the Harvest GP since we already have experience together as a team at this track. We can look back on what we learned in July, build on that and progress from there. Hopefully, we will qualify again very strong and have an even better race this time.”

RINUS VEEKAY (No. 21 SONAX Chevrolet): “I am very excited to get going again after a few weeks off. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course was great for me earlier this year. Having two more races here makes me twice as happy. And fans this time for the Harvest Grand Prix will make it even better.”

SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 22 DXC Technology Team Penske Chevrolet): “Indianapolis is such a special place to me. It’s meant so much for my career between the road course and Indy 500 success we’ve had there. We are going to approach the end of the season aiming to race hard for more wins. I will proudly represent DXC Technology and Chevy in the usual black/white/chrome paint scheme. We will be facing a very demanding race weekend that’s a doubleheader. It will be very physical, and this format also requires a different approach on the technical decisions. The 22 team is up for the challenge. I look forward to seeing race fans back in Indianapolis, the heart of INDYCAR racing!”

SAGE KARAM (No. 24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet): “This weekend at the Harvest GP will be special since we get to return to the greatest racetrack in the world. Usually, we are only there in May. In this strange 2020, we will be at IMS in July, August and October. So that is quite a treat for all of the drivers and teams. For DRR, we are anxious to get back to the IMS road course, too. In July, it was the team’s first road race in seven years. So we had a lot to learn in trying to catch up with the other teams. Plus the heat was a factor. That won’t be the case this weekend. We did get our setups going in the right direction. We were sixth in warmup, and I think we had a top-10 race lap, too. Now, we have a good starting point when we hit the track this Thursday. We don’t have much time on track, so we want to be ready to go.”

TAKUMA SATO (No. 30 ABeam Consulting (Race 1)/Keihin (Race 2) Honda): “I think our road course setup has been very competitive as a team, but we had a couple of issues, too, so hopefully I will have a trouble-free weekend and get back on a good pace. Mid-Ohio was a tough one for us. Little things made a significant difference, and strategy-wise we weren’t able to do much, so we couldn’t recover well in the race, but I hope we will turn that around at IMS. I think everyone will have beneficial data from July. The field will be even more tight. However, we studied hard, and the preparation will boost us more, so I will expect a competitive weekend for us. The cooler temperatures will make a difference and usually make the car faster by itself as there is more downforce and consistent mechanical grips from the tires. The setup won’t be dramatically different from that, but we will need some adjustments. We have had both cold – and I mean even winter-jacket cold – and warm races at the Indy GP historically, so we should able to respond well. We want to finish as high at the end of the season as everyone else does. We just need to do the best possible job for the rest of season, too, and see where we will land.”

DALTON KELLETT (No. 41 K-Line USA / AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet): “It’s come down to the last race of the season (for me anyway)! This first year in INDYCAR has been fast-paced and full of unknowns, so I am looking forward to returning to a track that I have experience at. Compared to the heat of July, the cooler temps this weekend will be refreshing. Who knows? It might even get a little chilly in the car! We made good strides at Mid-Ohio, and the car had better pace than our results showed. If we continue on that path and put everything together, we will have a good shot at a solid finish for the #41 K-Line Insulators USA Chevy. That’s the approach to this event. I’m also looking forward to the chance to work with Sebastien (Bourdais). His experience and insight will be a great asset to the program.”

ALEX PALOU (No. 55 Guaranteed Rate Honda): “I’m super excited for the Harvest GP at Indy, especially after coming from a difficult weekend at Mid-Ohio. We had good pace, which was good for us, to show that we have a good car and to show what we can do, but unfortunately we had some bad luck and were not able to get the results we should have. Looking forward to Indy. We’ve been there earlier this year, but it will be very different mainly because of the temperature difference from July. I think that will make it a bit easier because tire degradation will be less, and when the temperature is lower, every car handles better. I also think that it won’t be as tough physically just because it won’t be so hot. It’s our last doubleheader weekend and our last road course for the season, so hopefully we can have a couple of good races with our Guaranteed Rate Honda.”

MAX CHILTON (No. 59 Gallagher Carlin Chevrolet): “I’m excited to get back on track this weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the No. 59 Gallagher Carlin Chevrolet, especially for a new event like the Harvest GP. There’s nowhere like the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, so the fact that we get to go back now for our third race weekend of the season at IMS is great. We had a strong qualifying on the IMS road course back at the beginning of the season in early July, so I’m hoping we can build on that momentum and start and finish even stronger this weekend.”

JACK HARVEY (No. 60 AutoNation/Sirius XM Honda): “I think it’s really cool that INDYCAR is bringing back a race with some history to it. IMS is of course such a special track that we get to race at, and this year we are lucky to be here three times in one year. We’ve had a good record on the road course in the past. Unfortunately, earlier this year we had a strong run, but a yellow flag once again put us back in the field. Going into the weekend knowing that we have the speed is confidence-inspiring, so myself and the guys are ready to get a good result.”

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 98 AutoNation / Curb Honda): “We need to close the year on a strong note, and we have two chances at it this weekend. I’m excited to welcome and represent AutoNation this weekend and ‘Drive Pink’ to help kick off Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We had pace in the 98 machine at the Indy GP earlier this year before dealing with other issues, so hoping to capitalize on that speed.”