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WEB Firestone GP of Monterey Friday Day 1 recap with Siegel and VeeKay
A Great start to the weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
First Practice
Action at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca kicked off this morning with a 40-minute opening NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice for the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey. After running the first few laps on Firestone primary tires, the No. 12 Shield/Sig Sauer Andretti Autosport Dallara/Honda of Kyle Kirkwood came in and switched to Firestone alternate tires. Kirkwood jumped to the top of the time charts, posting a lap of 1:11.0051 just before the 20-minute mark. As the session wore down, the Penske drivers began to rise up the time charts, with Newgarden setting a time of 1:10.8546, which stood as the fastest lap of the session by more than three tenths of a second. Kirkwood’s lap ended up second fastest, followed by the No. 2 DHL Team Penske Chevrolet of Josef Newgarden in third, the No. 3 DHL Team Penske Chevrolet of Scott McLaughlin in fourth, and the No. 26 Andretti Autosport Dallara/Honda of Romain Grosjean in fifth.
Second Practice
The sun was out for the second NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice of the day, a 60-minute session before qualifying later this afternoon. Early in the session, the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet of Pato O’Ward led the field, followed by the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of Scott Dixon. As most teams focused on race runs, lap times slowed, and at one point, 21 drivers were covered by less than one second. Eight minutes into the session, O’Ward pitted from the lead and switched to Firestone alternate tires. He returned and immediately shot to the top of the charts with a lap of 1:10.6613, over two tenths faster than the then-second place time of Romain Grosjean. The times continued to drop as drivers switched to reds, and at the session’s end, O’Ward’s lap stood as the fastest, followed by the No. 12 Shield/Sig Sauer Andretti Autosport Dallara/Honda of Kyle Kirkwood in second and the No. 27 Andretti Autosport Dallara/Honda of Alexander Rossi in third.
Quotes
Kyle Kirkwood (No. 12 Shield/Sig Sauer Andretti Autosport Dallara/Honda): “The Shield/Sig Sauer Andretti Autosport guys gave me a really good car today. We’ve made some improvements from what we learned at Mid-Ohio, and the car was fast right out of the truck. I’m really pleased with the car, and the guys have been working really hard. I think we have a good base setup now for the weekend, so I’m excited to qualify and see what we can do for the race.”
Romain Grosjean (No. 26 Andretti Autosport Dallara/Honda): “It was an interesting day. First practice was quite slow, and we found ourselves P5. I think the conditions were quite tough, and I really struggled with grip and front end understeer. We basically changed the car from the ground up for the second practice, and it was a lot better. The car was really good on the reds, and I found a bit more grip. We’re still a bit behind to be honest, but I think we have some margin to improve. I think we’ll be OK.”
Conclusion
Day 1 of the Firestone GP of Monterey is in the books, and so far, it’s been a great weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES paddock is packed, and the fans are out in full force. We’re looking forward to a great weekend of racing, and we can’t wait to see who comes out on top in tomorrow’s Firestone GP of Monterey.
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