This Week in IndyCar: Alonso’s IndyCar test and the tribulations of an unsung Team Penske

Nick Smiley
Sep 6, 2018 · 3 min read
Will Power triumphant at Gateway

There’s only one race remaining in this IndyCar season, and with the Grand Prix of Portland having so recently come and gone not much has happened in the intervening time. But there’s always interesting things happening in the motorsport world, and despite a relative lack of news since our last post we still have a few interesting topics to share, including a highly-anticipated test drive’s recent running and a

Alonso tests IndyCar at Barber Motorsports Park Wednesday, continues to contemplate full-time 2019 IndyCar commitment

Fernando Alonso, looking to continue his racing career after his recent departure from Formula 1, completed a test drive Wednesday at Barber Motorsports Park, his first real experience with an IndyCar since his appearance in the 2017 Indianapolis 500. Alonso, while he would not technically be considered a “rookie” in the traditional sense of the word should he decide to come to IndyCar given his limited previous experience, would nonetheless be one of the most anticipated newcomers to the sport in a long, long time.

Andretti Autosport provided the vehicle used by Alonso on Wednesday. This is the same racing outfit that partnered with McLaren — the outfit that Alonso was signed to during his last few seasons in Formula 1 — to supply him with the IndyCar vehicle he drove during his lone other appearance in IndyCar during the 2017 Indy 500. It is widely believed that if Alonso decides to go ahead and follow through with his ambition to compete in the 2019 IndyCar season, it will be with Andretti, a team who has a long and notable close relationship with McLaren.

These new ambitions to make the crossover from Formula 1 to IndyCar extend beyond entering IndyCar, however. Alonso is in search of completing the Triple Crown of motorsport, which consists of winning the Monaco Grand Prix, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Indianapolis 500. If his showing at the 2017 Indianapolis 500 is any indication — a race in which he led for 27 laps despite it being his first ever showing in an IndyCar event — he may be well on his way to capturing that accolade.

Team Penske: So close and yet so far away from the 2018 Championship

Will Power and Josef Newgarden sit and #3 and #4 in the IndyCar points standings. That’s very, very good.

But neither of them have a real chance, short of a sincere miracle at Sonoma, of capturing a championship this season for Team Penske.

They both sit at 511 points, 49 points ahead of fifth-place man Ryan Hunter-Reay, but would need both Alexander Rossi and Scott Dixon to utterly collapse at Sonoma and have one or both of them finish in the top 2 to bring home the championship this season. That probaby isn’t going to happen, but it would be distasteful to not spend a moment and reflect on what these two Penske teammate have accomplished this season.

They’ve both won 3 races this season: Newgarden at the Phoenix Grand Prix, the Grand Prix of Alabama, and Road America, and Power at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, the Indianapolis 500, and the Bommarito Automotive Group 500. Both have had outstanding seasons and need to be commended, as the feat of two racing teammates each winning 3 races in a single season is a spectacular achievement and is extremely difficult for other drivers to eclipse; the problem, of course, is that Alexander Rossi and Scott Dixon are having positively tremendous seasons, and have left Newgarden and Rossi on the outside looking in only through consistent and almost uninterrupted showings of dominance on the racetrack. If things proceed as they currently look like they will at Sonoma, neither Newgarden nor Power will be at the top of the victor’s podium when the dust settles and the checkered flag is waved. But for their outstanding, if uncelebrated, seasons, they deserve what little commendation a blog post such as this one can confer.

Connect.Racing is a community of passionate IndyCar fans organizing a crowdfunded entry into the 2020 Indianapolis 500. If you’re interested in helping out or learning more, follow us on Twitter (@ConnectRacing2), subscribe to our weekly newsletter on our website, or send us an email at hello@connect.racing.

Connect.Racing

We are crowdfunding an IndyCar into the 2020 Indy500! We'll be posting community updates, relevant IndyCar news, and other content on this publication

Nick Smiley

Written by

Connect.Racing

We are crowdfunding an IndyCar into the 2020 Indy500! We'll be posting community updates, relevant IndyCar news, and other content on this publication

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