• Completed in 1909, Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the third oldest permanent race track in the world, attracting many teams, suppliers, and constructors to base their headquarters within blocks of the track.
• The taste of victory here is special considering all of the notable names who have left here triumphant: Patrick Long, Scott Pruett, Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello, just to name a few.
• Yoshihara, Wittmer, and the Montreal Motorsport Group have made the most out of the season’s second half, scoring two podiums and one win in the last three contests.
• The last time Yoshihara raced here, he piloted the #99 Pit+Paddock FK8 Civic Type R TCX in TC America to two race wins and pole position honors.

From the outside, achievement in motorsport must look strange. Three of the top performers loft themselves onto a tiered stage, receive trophies according to their standing, and then dowse each other in champagne. The tradition goes back to the 1960s at LeMans when, allegedly, someone left a bottle in the sun. When Jo Siffert picked up his prize, the cork failed, and champagne burst from the bottle. The next year, Dan Gurney repeated the stunt on purpose, and a tradition was born.

Indianapolis is guilty of two unique traditions of its own: glugging down a refreshing bottle of milk at the 500 and kissing the bricks at the start-finish line. After seizing pole position and two consecutive race wins to end his first and only season in TC America, Dai Yoshihara is more than ready to continue a tradition of his own, this time behind the wheel of the #93 Pit+Paddock Civic Type R TCR. Karl Wittmer and he are the lead Honda Racing combatants in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge championship by a mile and continue their hot pursuit of the Hyundais ahead.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway is one of a few tracks I’ve been lucky enough to drive on the IMSA calendar. The lap opens up on a long straight, your exhaust echoing off of the nearby grandstands as you build speed towards Turn 1. The hard braking zone is your wake-up call that leads into IMS’s technical in-field—a mix of hairpins, esses, sweeping bends, and chicanes—that is relieved by a back-side straightway after Turn 6. The Turn 14 right-hander is highlighted by a transition onto the circuit’s infamous banking before you cross the bricks at the start-finish line.

FROM THE DRIVERS

Yoshihara and Wittmer are still beaming from their valiant win at VIRginia International Raceway, but that hasn’t made either of them take their foot off the gas to prepare for the challenge ahead.

“I’m excited to get back to Indy, especially in the new FL5 platform. The history of the track makes it a very special place to drive and the team, Karl, and I have been looking forward to the next race,” said Yoshihara. Indeed, the Honda marque is one of the most successful at IMS. In addition to Yoshihara’s triumph last year in TC America, Honda has taken 15 victories from 23 races in the Indy 500. The Montreal Motorsport Group (MMG) squad will be looking to add to this tally and, as ever, is keeping its eye on the prize. There are lots of points to play for in the championship.

THE GREEN FLAG

The green flag drops at the two-hour Indianapolis Motor Speedway 120 on Saturday, September 21 at 1:05 PM ET. Practice on Friday and qualifying on Saturday morning precede the penultimate round of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge championship.

Thank you to ARP, ENEOS, Turn 14 Distribution, Mishimoto, Whiteline, and DBA for supporting Pit+Paddock’s inaugural IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge campaign with Montreal Motorsport Group.

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