XFINITY: Michael Annett eliminated from Playoffs with first last-place run since 2010

PHOTO: NBC Sports

Michael Annett picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Saturday’s DC Solar 300 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway when his #5 Allstate Parts & Service Group Chevrolet was involved in a single-car accident after he completed 5 of 200 laps.

The finish, which occurred in Annett’s 222nd series start, was his first since April 25, 2010 at Talladega, 285 races ago. In the XFINITY Series last-place rankings, it was the 9th for car #5, the 320th from a crash, and the 512th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 32nd for the #5, the 1,163rd from a crash, and the 1,626th for Chevrolet.

In his second full XFINITY Series season since he returned to the division with JR Motorsports, Annett arrived in Las Vegas in a do-or-die situation. Following a vibration that eliminated him at Indianapolis, Annett had to win Vegas’ regular season finale to advance into the Playoffs. Throughout the 2018 season, Annett had failed to finish four times and led just nine laps. He’d also earned just two top-ten finishes, but each had come in the previous four races with a season-best 7th at Bristol and a 10th at Darlington. He arrived in Las Vegas, where he ran 13th in the spring, running a black-and-white Chevrolet with returning sponsor Allstate Parts & Service Group, which not only backed his XFINITY efforts but also his brief Cup Series ride with the now-shuttered HScott Motorsports.

Annett was one of 39 drivers on the preliminary entry list, a field which grew to a full complement of 40 after Motorsports Business Management entered a fourth car, the #72 CrashClaimsR.Us / James Carter Attorney Toyota with Scottish driver John Jackson behind the wheel. Of those 40 cars, Annett ran 19th in the opening practice and 13th in the second. He then improved steadily through qualifying, timing in 18th in Round 1, 11th in Round 2, and made it to 9th in Round 3 with a lap of 175.103mph (30.839 seconds). It was Annett’s best qualifying performance since Talladega, where he rolled off 5th.

Starting last was another MBM entry, the #13 OCR Gaz Bar Toyota. Driving the #13 was Stan Mullis, who was back on the XFINITY tour since running both Iowa races earlier this summer. Mullis was one of seven drivers who didn’t turn a lap in Round 1, all of them relying on Owner Points to fill out the field. Inspection problems plagued Ryan Preece (#18 Rheem Toyota), Daniel Hemric (#21 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet), Brandon Jones (#19 Menards Mastercraft Doors Toyota), Matt Tifft (#2 KCMG Chevrolet) and Ryan Truex (#11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet). Those five started 34th through 38th with 39th going to Garrett Smithley, sent to a backup car in the #0 FAME-USA.com Chevrolet. Smithley slammed the wall entering Turn 3 in practice, and needed a moment to catch his breath after climbing out.

Of the drivers starting in the rear for inspection issues, Matt Tifft incurred the heaviest penalty. Just like Brandon Jones at Darlington, Tifft’s #2 failed inspection four times, meaning the car would have to make a pass-through penalty at the start of the race. Tifft did not fall to the tail end of the grid for the start, but this proved moot when he was posted at the green flag and pulled down pit road on the first lap. One lap down, Tifft came out among the leaders and was tracking down race leader Cole Custer when, just like Jones at Darlington, the caution he needed came out.

On Lap 5, Michael Annett was in a tight battle for position on the inside of a three-wide battle with Ryan Preece to his right and the #39 Big Valley Towing Chevrolet of Ryan Sieg. Coming through the fourth corner, Annett broke loose and slid into Preece. The two locked doors, and Preece turned to the left, sending Annett sideway into the grass. Once the car turned toward the infield, the splitter dug in, destroying the nose of Annett’s car. The driver tried to keep going, but was soon trailing fluid and had to stop at the entrance to Turn 1. Annett climbed out, done for the day – and the Playoffs.

Finishing 39th was Jeff Green, now a seven-time LASTCAR XFINITY Series champion, who exited with a vibration on the ensuing green-flag run. 38th fell to John Jackson’s MBM entry, out 12 laps after Green. Mullis finished 37th, the third car in a row to retire citing a vibration. Timmy Hill held 36th for a time after turning 55 laps, threatening to put three of the four MBM cars in the Bottom Five, but returned late in Stage 3 to climb out of the spot. Dropping to 36th in Hill’s place was Matt Tifft, whose #2 was collected in a grinding Turn 4 wreck with Ryan Reed.

Taking the checkers was Ross Chastain, who after he was denied victory at Darlington, recovered in his very next start for Chip Ganassi. Chastain led 180 of 200 laps, winning both stages, and gapping Justin Allgaier by 1.629 seconds. It was Chastain’s 132nd series start and came in his fifth season on the tour.

Adrian Fernandez at Texas, 2005
PHOTO: motorsport.com

LASTCAR STATISTICS 
*This marked the first last-place finish for the #5 in an XFINITY Series race since November 5, 2005, when open-wheel star Adrian Fernandez took a turn with Hendrick Motorsports and scored his first last-place run in the O’Reilly Challenge at Texas, where he crashed out after 15 laps. That race was also the last time a Hendrick car finished last in an XFINITY Series race.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #5-Michael Annett / 5 laps / crash
39) #93-Jeff Green / 18 laps / vibration
38) #72-John Jackson / 30 laps / vibration
37) #13-Stan Mullis / 51 laps / vibration
36) #2-Matt Tifft / 63 laps / crash

2018 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) RSS Racing (13)
2nd) JP Motorsports (3)
3rd) B.J. McLeod Motorsports, Roush-Fenway Racing (2)
4th) Fury Race Cars LLC, Jeremy Clements Racing, JGL Racing, JR Motorsports, Mike Harmon Racing, SS-Green Light Racing (1)

2018 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (18)
2nd) Ford, Toyota (4)

2018 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

TRUCKS: Tanner Thorson’s strong qualifying run at his home track ends with early crash

PHOTO: FS1, screenshot by @mjackson918

Tanner Thorson picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Friday’s World of Westgate 200 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway when his #20 Go Share Chevrolet was involved in a single-truck accident after he completed 2 of the race’s 144 laps. The finish occurred in Thorson’s 6th series start.

In the Truck Series last-place rankings, it was the 7th for truck #20, the 146th from a crash, and the 361st for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 46th for the #20, the 1,162nd from a crash, and the 1,625th for Chevrolet.

The 22-year-old driver from Minden, Nevada (which is closer to Reno than to Las Vegas), has already been racing for 18 years. He moved from outlaw karts to national midget racing, earning Rookie of the Year honors in the latter in 2013. 2016 was his biggest year yet. That season, he claimed the USAC National Midget Championship, the Top Gun award, and his second of three consecutive National Midget Driver of the Year awards. He also made his ARCA Racing Series debut at the Illinois State Fairgrounds track, finishing 12th for Venturini Motorsports, and finished 3rd and 5th in a pair of CARS Super Late Model Tour races with David Gilliland.

This year, Thorson has made the jump to NASCAR, sharing a ride in Randy Young’s #20 Chevrolet with Scott Lagasse, Jr., Austin Dillon, Michel Disdier, Ried Wilson, Bubba Wallace, Daniel Hemric, Tyler Young, Tate Fogleman, and Max Tullman. Las Vegas would mark Thorson’s fifth start in 18 races this year, a schedule that began with a 16th-place run at Dover. He improved with a 13th-place run at Iowa, and through his most recent start at Bristol had yet to finish worse than a 19th at Eldora. Go Share, which backed Thorson at Dover and Iowa, would return as sponsor.

Thorson was one of 38 drivers entered for the 32-truck field, an impressive list that dwindled gradually through the week. By Wednesday, Beaver Motorsports had withdrawn the #50 VIPRacingExperience.com Chevrolet for 2003 series champion Travis Kvapil, and Mike Harmon had pulled his own #74 Chevrolet. Then, by Friday, Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing pulled their second truck, the #0 Driven2Honor.org Chevrolet to be raced by Camden Murphy. Cobb herself impressed in qualifying with a 27th-place run in the #10 Waldo’s Painting Company Chevrolet, her best since she started 27th in this same race last year.

Three drivers missed the show after qualifying. Norm Benning turned the slowest lap overall in the #6 H&H Transport Chevrolet. The second was J.J. Yeley, who was swapped in for team owner Josh Reaume in the #33, which itself was switched from a Chevrolet to a Toyota. The fastest truck to miss was the third Young’s Motorsports truck with Tate Fogleman and the #12 Solid Rock Carriers Chevrolet.

Thorson ran 22nd in the opening practice, jumped to 13th in Happy Hour, then did even better in qualifying, turning the 11th-fastest lap in Round 1 and matching it in Round 2 with a speed of 174.933mph (30.869 seconds), equaling his season-best start at Pocono. Austin Hill, driving the only other Randy Young truck in the field, qualified 16th.

Starting 32nd and last was popular driver Jordan Anderson, whose #3 Commercial Property Services Chevrolet turned the second-slowest lap in time trials, but made it in on Owner Points. He was joined at the back by two drivers sent to the rear for unapproved adjustments: Playoff contenders Ben Rhodes in the #41 The Carolina Nut Co. Ford and ThorSport Racing teammate Matt Crafton in the #88 Ideal Door / Menards Ford. While Rhodes had qualified a solid 18th, Crafton, who leased a Roush-Yates Racing motor, had to fall back on Owner Points in 29th.

With one lap to green, Jennifer Jo Cobb surrendered her 27th starting spot and fell to the rear along with Joe Nemechek, lined up 22nd in the #87 Harrah’s Chevrolet. Nemechek held last at the start with Cobb in 31st. Both were still running in those spots, Nemechek 6.8 seconds back of the lead, when the last-place battle ended abruptly.

Coming to the end of Lap 2, Thorson was in a tight battle running the high lane in Turns 3 and 4. While running on the outside of Myatt Snider’s #13 Century Container Ford. In the exchange, Thorson’s #20 slid up the track and bashed the outside wall in Turn 4. Thorson kept rolling, but more and more smoke poured from the right side of his machine, forcing him to pull to a stop on the apron of Turns 3 and 4. Fire rolled out from behind the right-front wheel as he climbed from the truck, done for the night. A long caution period was needed to clean up fluid that trailed to where the truck stopped.

Thorson then turned his attention back to dirt, where he was running the Calistoga Speedway’s season finale in California. On Saturday, Thorson had driven his way to the transfer spot in his Last Chance Qualifier when, on the final lap, his car started blowing smoke in Turn 1. He was passed entering the backstretch, eliminating his white #3C from the main.

For more on Tanner Thorson, check out his website here.

Finishing 31st was Joe Nemechek in the #87 Harrah’s Chevrolet. Nemechek qualified 22nd in his second NEMCO Motorsports entry and pulled off the track to reprise his role helping his son John Hunter on pit lane. The rest of the Bottom Five was filled by the multiple accidents that slowed the night’s frantic action. 30th went to Bo LeMastus in the second DGR-Crosley truck, his #17 Crosley Brands Toyota out when he wrecked in Turn 3 on Lap 46, followed by 29th-place Riley Herbst in Kyle Busch Motorsports’ #46 Advance Auto Parts Toyota and Wendell Chavous, swapped at the last minute from Premium Motorsports’ #15 back to his familiar #49 Sobriety Nation Chevrolet. Ross Chastain, swapped into the unsponsored #15 in Chavous’ place, finished a strong 7th, his best finish since he ran 7th at Martinsville last year for Bolen Motorsports.

There were other surprising runs by underdog drivers and teams.

Austin Theriault drove at Las Vegas for the first time since injuring his back in a serious crash here in 2015. Driving for On Point Motorsports, which finished next-to-last in its series debut at Bristol, Theriault made his first Truck Series start in nearly two years count, finishing 8th.

Austin Wayne Self finished a season-best 9th, his first top-ten run of the year and first since joining Al Niece’s operation. It’s his best finish since last year at Mosport, where he ran 9th for his family’s AM Racing team.

After her strong qualifying run, and despite falling to the rear for the start, Jennifer Jo Cobb finished 12th. It’s not only her best finish of the season, but the second-best of her career, trailing only a 6th-place run in the 2011 opener at Daytona. According to David PeQueen, this finish came at a perfect time, as it vaulted her #10 team ahead of two teams in Owner Points – the #33 of Reaume Brothers Racing and Norm Benning’s #6 – which both failed to qualify.

Korbin Forrister tied the second-best finish of his career earned with the All Out Motorsports team earlier this year at Kentucky with a 13th-place showing. His career-best in the series remains a 12th in the 2015 Daytona opener, when he was driving for Christopher Long.

Finally, just weeks after missing their first race of the year by not entering the race in Mosport, D.J. Copp’s team returned to action with Bayley Currey running double-duty with the XFINITY Series. Currey brought the unsponsored #83 home in the 16th spot. It’s Currey’s best finish in the series this year, and the team’s third-best behind Nick Hoffman’s 10th-place run in Eldora and Scott Stenzel’s 15th-place showing in Daytona.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the first last-place finish for the #20 in a Truck Series race since July 7, 2011, when Johanna Long’s #20 Panhandle Grading & Paving Toyota crashed after 5 laps of the UNOH 225 at Kentucky. Long also had the only previous last-place run for the number at Las Vegas, when the transmission let go on the opening lap on September 25, 2010.
*This was the first last-place run for Young’s Motorsports since August 2, 2014, when team owner Randy Young fielded a truck for Mike Mittler’s #63 MB Motorsports team with Justin Jennings behind the wheel. Jennings pulled in after 2 laps of the Pocono Mountains 150.
*Thorson’s 11th-place starting spot makes him the highest-qualified last-placer in the series since July 19, 2017, when Caleb Holman started 9th at Eldora before transmission issues.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
32) #20-Tanner Thorson / 2 laps / crash
31) #87-Joe Nemechek / 27 laps / vibration
30) #17-Bo LeMastus / 45 laps / crash
29) #46-Riley Herbst / 56 laps / crash
28) #49-Wendell Chavous / 86 laps / crash

2018 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) MB Motorsports (6)
2nd) Beaver Motorsports, Copp Motorsports (3)
3rd) NEMCO Motorsports (2)
4th) Mike Harmon Racing, Norm Benning Racing, TJL Racing, Young’s Motorsports (1)

2018 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (18)

2018 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

INDYCAR: Takuma Sato experiences highest of highs and lowest of lows in back-to-back races

Sato's #30 pushed behind the wall after early mechanical issues.
PHOTO: Brock Beard

Takuma Sato picked up the 10th last-place finish of his Verizon IndyCar Series career in Sunday’s Grand Prix of Sonoma at the Sonoma Raceway when his #30 Mi-Jack / Panasonic Honda fell out with mechanical issues after he completed 15 of 85 laps.

The finish, which came in Sato’s 152nd series start, was his first of the season and first since August 22, 2016 at Pocono, 37 races ago.

Winner of the 2017 Indianapolis 500, Sato rejoined Bobby Rahal’s team this year, the team he very nearly took to the 500 win in 2012. The result has been a rollercoaster year with three crashes, but strong runs on both ovals and road courses. He finished 8th in Alabama, 5th in the first round of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, then enjoyed a stretch where he finished 7th at Texas, 4th at Road America, and finally his first podium of the year, a 3rd at Iowa. A late-summer slide dropped him to 13th in the point standings, a streak he snapped with a 9th at Gateway, then a thrilling victory in the series return to Portland. For 21 laps, Sato held off a charging Ryan Hunter-Reay to earn his third career victory, his first since Indy.

The season finale awaited, to be held at the Sonoma Raceway. In eight previous starts, Sato’s best finish was a 4th in 2014, the same year he led his only lap at the track driving for A.J. Foyt.

Foyt’s team currently consists of popular veteran Tony Kanaan and rookie Matheus “Matt” Leist. Leist came to Sonoma as the leader in the 2018 LASTindyCAR Series Championship with three finishes. Leist was assured the title if his closest contender, Max Chilton, didn’t trail the 25-car field on Sunday.

Chilton arrived in Sonoma with the opposite challenge of Leist: not a new driver, but a new team. The 2018 season marked the realization of Englishman Trevor Carlin’s longtime dream to bring his junior division operation into IndyCar. Teamed with fellow former Ganassi driver Charlie Kimball, Chilton commented on his new team after Friday’s second practice session:

HOW WAS IT OUT THERE?
Chilton: “It’s good to be back. I love this part of the world. It’s a challenging circuit, especially with reduced downforce here, and the tires which are sort of not holding on very well. It’s making an exciting package. And there’s 25 drivers here this weekend, so yeah – it’s good, but we’re not where we want to be. I think we’re a little better than what we showed we were. But we haven’t got the package we want at the moment. So we’ll keep working hard.”

WHAT KIND OF ADJUSTMENTS ARE YOU LOOKING TO MAKE FOR SATURDAY?
Chilton: “Just more grip. It’s just a grip thing. The balance is there, it’s just the grip.”

COMMENT ON HOW 2018 HAS GONE IN CARLIN RACING’S FIRST YEAR IN INDYCAR.
Chilton: “We’re working on lots of things. It’s hard for a new team to come in, but as I said, we’re not where we want to be. Carlin’s a world-leading Junior Formula and can be an IndyCar-level team, but it’s hard to learn that straight away. So, we’re gonna keep working until we’re happy with where we are at.”

After a pair of testing sessions, Sato ran 14th in Friday’s opening practice, 13th in the second, and climbed to 8th in Saturday’s third practice. He went out in Group 1 in qualifying and worked his way into the second round before settling into the 12th spot with a lap of 110.088mph (1:17.9919). Sato would elect the primary Firestone black tires for Sunday’s race, a decision shared only by the two Ed Carpenter Racing cars of 17th-place Spencer Pigot and last-place starter Jordan King.

While King secured the 25th and final starting spot in qualifying, team owner Ed Carpenter welcomed NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne into his pit box. As reported here on Saturday, Carpenter and Kahne are longtime friends, and Kahne was in town while his World of Outlaws team was racing Friday and Saturday night at the nearby Calistoga Speedway. The British-born King was closing out his rookie season with six consecutive top-twenty finishes, including a season-best 11th at Toronto.

On Sunday, King held the lead at the start, but problems broke out up front. Alexander Rossi, 2nd in the points after Scott Dixon’s miraculous recovery in Portland, had started 6th, but rear-ended 4th-place runner Marco Andretti as the field accelerated into Turn 1. The contact caused damage to the right-front wing on his #27 NAPA Honda, forcing a pit stop on the very first lap. As King worked Charlie Kimball over for the 24th spot, the battle changed to 23rd as Rossi took last. Rossi returned to action some 18 seconds ahead of the leader, managing to stay on the lead lap despite the misfortune.

Rossi remained in the last spot, running virtually by himself, until Chilton became the first driver to pit on Lap 10. Chilton returned to action near Rossi, who dropped Chilton’s #59 Gallagher Chevrolet to 25th by Lap 13. Soon after, officials announced that Chilton would be incurred a post-race monetary penalty for hitting pit equipment.

On Lap 16, Sato was still running near the Top 10 when smoke erupted from the back of his #30 exiting Turn 10. The car turned left onto the entrance of pit road, at which point a giant plume of white followed his car around. Sato pitted, where the crew brought fire extinguishers to the scene, and despite speculations of oil, officials did not through the caution flag. By the time I arrived at Sato’s stall, just beyond the break between the two garage buildings, Sato was out of his car, and the crew was loading the Firestone reds on the back of a waiting cart. The #30 was pushed back to the garage seconds later. I caught up to Sato as he walked to the garage after he finished his interview with NBC.

WAS THERE ANY WARNING BEFORE IT WENT?
Sato: “No. It was just such a sudden thing after the hairpin, so. I don’t know – we haven’t looked at it yet, but obviously power down.”

NOT THE WAY YOU WANTED TO END IT, BUT HOW WOULD YOU RATE YOUR SEASON?
Sato: “I think it was a fantastic year. I mean, normal up and downs. We wish we had a more competitive package, but I think we had some good results. Very positive. We’re always improving. Today, personally a good day as I renewed my contract, of course. Now, I think Graham’s looking very strong. We were on the same strategy. He can have a good result this afternoon.”

The finish handed Matheus Leist the 2018 LASTindyCAR Championship. Leist finished 19th while his challenger Chilton ran 21st, the last car in the Bottom Five. The 24th spot went to Spencer Pigot, who was originally listed with a mechanical issue on the #21 Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolet but returned when it was revealed to be a battery issue. Pigot then fell out again with only 17 laps turned. Graham Rahal, Sato’s teammate, finished 23rd after running off-course in the Carousel, finishing 19 laps down and moving out of the way of faster traffic. Filling out the group in 22nd was Charlie Kimball, nine laps down in the Carlin #23.

LASTINDYCAR STATISTICS
*This marked Sato’s first last-place run in an IndyCar race at Sonma since August 26, 2012, which also ended with engine trouble on his #15 Bigge Honda fielded by Rahal Letterman Lanigan.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
25) #30-Takuma Sato / 15 laps / mechanical
24) #21-Spencer Pigot / 17 laps / mechanical
23) #15-Graham Rahal / 66 laps / running
22) #23-Charlie Kimball / 76 laps / running
21) #59-Max Chilton / 84 laps / running

2018 LASTINDYCAR OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP - FINAL
1st) A.J. Foyt Enterprises, Carlin Racing (3)
2nd) Dale Coyne Racing, Ed Carpenter Racing, Penske Racing, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (2)
3rd) AHA with Curb-Agajanian, Dale Coyne w/Vasser-Sullivan, Foyt-Byrd-Hollinger-Belardi (1)

2018 LASTINDYCAR MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP - FINAL
1st) Chevrolet (13)
2nd) Honda (4)

2018 LASTINDYCAR DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP - FINAL

INTERVIEW: Kasey Kahne makes surprise visit to IndyCar finale at Sonoma

Kahne in the Ed Carpenter pits at Sonoma
PHOTO: Brock Beard

Kasey Kahne surprised many when he arrived at the Sonoma Raceway on Saturday and stood in Ed Carpenter’s pit, fueling speculation that he may be looking into open-wheel competition following his retirement from full-time Cup Series competition at the end of 2018.

However, when I asked Ed Carpenter about this on pit road just before IndyCar series qualifying, he gave a simple “No.” Kahne, Carpenter said, is a longtime friend, and was already in the area supporting his sprint car team, which was competing at nearby Calistoga Speedway, an hour's drive north of the Sonoma Raceway.

Kahne spent some time in Carpenter’s hauler before qualifying, then was showed the safety features of Jordan King’s #20 by members of the crew. As he did, I came up and joked with Kahne, saying “A last-minute driver change?” to which the driver smiled and shook his head. After the end of qualifying, I was able to ask him a couple questions:

WHAT’S THE LATEST ON YOUR RECOVERY FROM DARLINGTON?
Kahne: “Just a couple more weeks off, and be ready to go hopefully for Dover.”

I HEAR YOU’RE HERE FOR YOUR SPRINT CAR TEAM THIS WEEKEND?
Kahne: “Yeah. Daryn Pittman won last night and tonight’s the final night at Calistoga, so we go back over there tonight and it’s great hanging out here with Ed and his team today. It was a lot of fun.”

Through it all, Kahne appeared awake and alert, and the cool, windy weather at the track was surely helping. He was also staying hydrated, grabbing a bottled water before we spoke.

Regan Smith remains in the #95 for this Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas, where he will roll off 25th.

INTERVIEWS: IndyCar's Patricio O'Ward and Petro Fittipaldi

Pietro Fittipaldi after second practice.
PHOTO: Brock Beard

Friday after the second practice session, I caught up with Patricio O'Ward and Petro Fittipaldi, who are both making their first-ever starts at the Sonoma Raceway in this Sunday's Grand Prix of Sonoma. 

For O'Ward, this year's Indy Lights Champion, it's his first start in the series. After teammate Colton Herta drove his #8 Harding Group Chevrolet off the track in Thursday testing, damaging the suspension, O'Ward was the slowest driver in Friday's first practice. He then surprised mid-way through the second session with the fastest lap overall, holding the spot for at least ten minutes of the one-hour session. O'Ward ended up 3rd, trailing only defending champion Josef Newgarden and current point leader Scott Dixon.

HOW WAS PRACTICE? AT ONE POINT YOU HAD SIX-TENTHS UP ON THE FIELD.
O’Ward: “We’ve been working on the car to have a strong one on reds and I think we have it. I think there’s still some in me. It was my first time in reds, so so far I’m pretty happy and we’re just gonna continue with the setup for the race. I think we’re getting to the point for qualifying where it’s pretty sweet. But there’s still some long way for the race. . .”

HOW DIFFERENT WAS THE TRACK FROM TESTING?
O’Ward: “There’s just a lot more rubber down. Today, in the morning, the track was really fast. But I was getting back into rhythm, and I was getting blocked – I didn’t get any clean laps. But I’m happy I got some clean laps in this session and I’ve got a good idea where I’m at.”

WHAT’S YOUR GOAL FOR THE RACE?
O’Ward: “I just want to learn as much as I can. I don’t want to put so much pressure on me -  obviously, as a driver, you want to do well. Obviously, a Fast Six would be nice and a top-ten finish, top-five finish, but I don’t really want to put that on my mind. I think if I do my job, the results are gonna come by themselves.”

ANY PLANS SET TO RUN FULL-TIME INDYCAR IN 2019?
O’Ward: “Right now, I’m just focused on this weekend. But hopefully something materializes for the coming years. I hope I’m in IndyCar.”

Just down pit road, Pietro Fittipaldi debriefed with the Dale Coyne Racing team after a strong 9th-place rank in the second practice, second among the rookies behind O'Ward. Fittipaldi arrives in Sonoma for his sixth start of the year, and comes off a career-best 9th-place run two weeks ago in Portland.

HOW WAS IT OUT THERE?
Fittipaldi: “It was good. The track’s really slippery, especially now in this afternoon session. Not in the morning, but now in the afternoon, the hotter conditions just sliding a lot, rears locking under braking – it’s like that for everyone. So, it’s difficult to get a lap together, but our #19 Dale Coyne Paysafe car was good today, and just try to put it together for qualifying, that’s the important one for tomorrow.”

IS THIS YOUR FIRST TIME RACING AT SONOMA?
Fittipaldi: “Yeah, first time racing here.”

DID ANYONE IN YOUR FAMILY HAVE ADVICE FOR RUNNING THIS TRACK?
Fittipaldi: “I don’t think my granddad (Emerson Fittipaldi) has raced here, but Max (Papis), my uncle raced here also with the Cup cars in NASCAR, Christian (Fittipaldi) raced here. It’s a tough track, very technical, a lot of elevation change. They said the same thing I’m experiencing: you’re sliding around a lot here, and it’s tough to get to used to that. And then the race is gonna be very difficult because you have to make the tires last for 25 laps. So, I’m looking forward to the challenge and trying to get another top-ten finish.”