THE TEAM
The AutoNation machine of Kyle Kirkwood suffered contact on Lap 1 as a result of a multi-car incident in Turn 2. The No. 27 was taken to the paddock for suspension repairs, returning to the race on Lap 31, 30 laps down.
Colton Herta maintained a strong pace in the beginning of the race moving his way up to P2 before being ordered to the back of the field on Lap 34 for emergency service in a closed pit. Herta carved his way through the field to the front, even leading one lap, before contact on Lap 77 forced the Gainbridge Honda behind the wall for repairs. He rejoined the field on Lap 83 before ultimately retiring early from the race with a few laps to go.
Successfully avoiding the multi-car incident in the opening laps of the race, Devlin DeFrancesco gained 13 spots on Lap 1 running as high as third before gear issues from earlier contact would ultimately end the No. 29’s day four laps down in 22nd.
The highest-finishing Andretti driver, No. 28 driver Romain Grosjean, made his way into the top five during the opening stint and was able to maintain a top-three position at the race’s mid-way point. The DHL Honda ran as high as P1, but an untimely yellow hampered the team’s strategy call that put Grosjean into the lead. The No. 28 finished just outside the top 10 in 11th.
THE RACE
The Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey brought the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season to a close with Alex Palou taking the Championship title.
In today’s caution-filled, 95-lap race, the field saw 35 laps of yellow-flag racing with more than 70 minutes spent behind the pace car. In addition to an abundance of caution laps, numerous penalties were issued throughout the day with 17 being issued to 12 different drivers.
Right before the race began, the ambient temperature was 72 degrees with 62 percent humidity. Skies were fair and the track temperature was 116 degrees.
START–12th
FINISH–23rd
CHAMPIONSHIP–10th (356 pts)
“That was not how we wanted to end the season at all. We had a podium-worthy car today and we showed it with how quick we were able to work our way into the top five from the back of the field. Unfortunately, we went quite a few laps down with damage after we were hit and we just couldn’t recover.”
START–16th
FINISH–25th
CHAMPIONSHIP–11th (352 pts)
“Today wasn’t the happiest of days. We went out of the race on Lap 1 on the first corner just after the green flag, and I got hit from behind. Although, we still had a fast race car when we went back out there. We were super fast and I think my teammates showed that as well. Now, we’ll just look forward to next year knowing that we had some fast race cars this season. It was just an unfortunate day for the 27 crew because we thought we’d be better than that. There were just a lot of things that were out of our control today.”
START–8th
FINISH–11th
CHAMPIONSHIP–13th (296 pts)
“The theme of today was that things looked good until they didn’t anymore. There were just too many yellows and we didn’t have the best space out there. We did a good job and we were on a good strategy, but that sequence of four or five yellows gave others opportunities that they should’ve never had. Overall, I would’ve liked to see better results today but I’m thankful to the No. 28 crew and the team for their work this season.”
START–26th
FINISH–22nd
CHAMPIONSHIP– 22th (177 pts)
“We were looking great today and had great pace. My engineer, Ron, gave me a great race car and I honestly think we were on track for a top-five finish. It was a shame to get hit on the restart and end with a gearbox failure.”
“The last race of the year reflected the way the season has gone for us – there were some good moments, and some disappointment. We had speed with all the cars, Romain and Devlin were quick. Colton was running up there. Unfortunately, Kyle got caught up early on and wasn’t able to show his speed. At the end of the day, the results weren’t there when the checkered flag fell and that’s sort of the story of our year. We’ll be looking to regroup and come back stronger next year.”
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
