Kyle Kirkwood came into the 2022 season with a lot of promise as he’s the only driver to win all three championships on the Road to Indy ladder system in consecutive years. We chatted with him prior to the 2022 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach about his preparation for this year’s event, the Indy 500 and how he’s been able to learn from veteran Sebastien Bourdais who was in this seat last year. Driving for the four-time Indy 500 winner, A.J. Foyt, Kirkwood talks about the dream coming true to finally race at the Indy 500. Enjoy!

NOTE: Kirkwood had his best finish of the year at Long Beach with a 10th place. It was announced at the end of the season that he would be moving to Andretti Autosport to compete for a championship there in 2023. Kirkwood also raced with the Vasser Sullivan Lexus team for the endurance rounds in IMSA. He and his co-drivers won the season finale at the 2022 Petit Le Mans (Road Atlanta). Kirkwood also was at the top or near the top in the Thermal Club Spring Training IndyCar test in early February 2023.

By Larry Mason

Copyright © 2022 Larry Mason

Conor Daly has enjoyed racing success on the Road to Indy and has exhibited a tough determination to find his place in the NTT IndyCar Series. After multiple seasons of driving for multiple teams, Daly found a full-time home in 2022 with Ed Carpenter Racing (ECR). He spoke with us about that, his simulator set-up at home and how it has changed, and how he’s looking forward to working with the same engineer and crew for the entire season. Enjoy!

By Larry Mason

Copyright © 2022 Larry Mason

Sebastien Bourdais captured four straight championships in an Indy car and has won in numerous other classes too. Going into the 2022 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach would be the first time he’s been to the event not racing an Indy car. He spent time with us at the pre-race media luncheon to talk about the Cadillac DPi car and the differences with Indy cars, LMP2 cars and World Endurance Championship (WEC) LMDH Hypercars. He also explains how different types of tracks in the IMSA WeatherTech series suit his Cadillac better than the competitor’s cars and vice versa. A wealth of knowledge and skill – Sebastien Bourdais. Enjoy!

NOTE: Sebastien Bourdais would go on to earn the pole position at Long Beach and lead the first six laps before a slight miscue with a backmarker in the hairpin would drop him to last in class. In one of the best comeback drives ever, he put his head down and made it back to the lead, handed off to his teammate who brought it home to win the race! In 2023, he continues to drive for the Chip Ganassi Cadillac GTP team and was the fastest Cadillac qualifier for the season-opening Rolex 24hrs at Daytona.

By Larry Mason

Copyright © 2022 Larry Mason

Madison Snow is no stranger to Victory Lane. In fact he enjoyed spending some time at the top step of the podium at the 2021 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. That was then when he was racing a Lamborghini. A late switch to the BMW M4 GT3 GTD car in 2022 caused his Paul Miller Racing Team to miss the opening race of the season at the Rolex 24hrs of Daytona. However, the team got the car in time for the Sebring 12hrs and promptly put it on pole! After a fifth place finish there, he came to Long Beach and put his M4 on pole again and won the race! We caught up with him just after the post-qualifying press conference and he tells us about his racing history and the challenges on the streets of Long Beach. Enjoy!

NOTE: Madison Snow and his teammate Bryan Sellers finished the 2022 season as the IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Cup champions.

By Larry Mason

Copyright © 2022 Larry Mason

Alex Lynn spent his early racing career on the road to Formula One. A mid-career switch to sports cars and Formula E continued to prove his driving worth to teams as wins and good results followed. He made the switch to Chip Ganassi’s IMSA WeatherTech DPi Cadillac program for 2022 and scored a victory in the grueling 12 Hours of Sebring. Coming into the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend, we got the opportunity to chat with Alex about his previous racing exploits and how that will benefit the CGR Cadillac team going into 2023 with the rules switch to hybrid powerplants. He also talks about his preparation for Long Beach specifically. Enjoy!

NOTE: Lynn was named to Ganassi’s World Endurance Championship (WEC) team for 2023. He will also contest the 24hrs of Daytona on January 28-29, 2023.

By Larry Mason

Copyright © 2022 Larry Mason

Connor De Phillippi raced a BMW M4 for Rahal Letterman Lanigan in the GTD Pro category in 2022. This was the first year for that class as he had been competing in the IMSA GTLM category before that class was phased out. In this interview taken on the Thursday before the 2022 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, he talks about his early open-wheel career versus GT racing, how GTD differs from GTLM and his preparation for the race weekend. After a penalty in qualifying relegated his team to start last, De Phillippi carved his way through the field to the lead before another penalty during a pit stop dropped them down the order again. De Phillipi is a talented driver who’s always looking forward to improving his craft and going after wins. Enjoy!

NOTE: De Phillippi has been chosen as one of the drivers to hit the track in 2023 in the all-new BMW GTP car. After some testing towards the end of 2022, the new season kicks off with the 24hrs of Daytona on January 28-29, 2023.

By Larry Mason

Copyright © 2022 Larry Mason

Simon Pagenaud has won the Indianapolis 500 and an NTT IndyCar Series Championship. He’s also been a champion in the ALMS Series and Champ Car Atlantics. He started 2022 off in Victory Lane at the Rolex 24 hour race at Daytona in an IMSA prototype. We caught up with him in the paddock at the 2022 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach and what started off with a bit of small talk morphed into a fascinating lesson about the preparation, strategy and other intricacies of practice, qualifying and racing at the Indy 500. A true gentleman and badass racer, Simon Pagenaud has an engineering mindset that serves him well. Enjoy!

By Larry Mason

Copyright © 2022 Larry Mason

Chuck Lessick is a chaplain with IndyCar Ministry and travels to almost every race of the year. This is his seventh year doing this and he is truly passionate about what he does. As this ministry has evolved over the years, they found that it’s more conducive to attract people to them on race weekends by cutting down their length of service. Lessick calls it a “Pit Stop Devotional” and about 30 people typically show up for the abbreviated sessions. I attended a session at the 2022 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach and then spoke with him afterwards. It’s interesting to learn how he manages his time as a small business owner along with his traveling schedule with the NTT IndyCar Series. He has a positive message to share with us and this interview has been saved to be posted right before Christmas. Enjoy!

NOTE: For more information, to donate to IndyCar Ministry, or contact Lessick, please visit: www.indycarministry.org

By Larry Mason

Copyright © 2022 Larry Mason

Frank Rico is an expert in auto racing simulators. His company Ricmotech Racing Simulators has supplied sim units to drivers in the NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR and many other professional racing series. In Part 1, we learned about how Rico got started in the industry, the basics of sim systems, how it benefits drivers and how it’s evolved over the years. Here in Part 2, we’ll take a deeper dive into data acquisition, driver coaching and how multiple race team members can benefit. There’s also a video of his top of the line system in action. We’ll see the ground-breaking SlipSense and gSense motion feedback systems in operation. Enjoy!

NOTE: For more information on Ricmotech, please visit them online at: www.ricmotech.com

By Larry Mason

Copyright © 2022 Larry Mason

It goes without saying that racing is expensive. It’s also clear that there’s no substitute for seat time – or is there? The use of racing simulators has been increasing over the last few years and really exploded when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The beauty of using a racing simulator is that you’re still able to get “seat time” but at a substantially lower cost than actually hitting the track. Not only do you save time and money, but the results can be astounding. Drivers have learned race tracks to such an extent that the very first time they visit; they come home in Victory Lane!

Frank Rico is an expert in auto racing simulators. His company Ricmotech Racing Simulators has supplied sim units to drivers in the NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR and many other professional racing series. Amateur racers and gamers alike have also used his racing equipment to improve their skills behind the wheel. In Part 1, we learn how Rico got started in the industry and he gives valuable insights into how it’s evolved over the years. He shares his experience with the hardware, software and how best to use it to your advantage. Enjoy!

NOTE: In Part 2, Rico explains how data acquisition is also part of today’s simulator experience and how driver coaches work with their drivers to improve their craft. We’ll also have video of his top of the line simulator that’s available for racers to rent or purchase.

By Larry Mason

Copyright © 2022 Larry Mason