Linus Lundqvist Achieves Second Career Podium In St. Louis INDYCAR Event

Published: Tuesday, August 20, 2024, 4:03 [IST]

Linus Lundqvist secured third place in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway. This marks his second podium finish in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. Lundqvist, driving for Chip Ganassi Racing, made strategic moves during the final restart to climb from fifth to third.

Championship leader Alex Palou finished fourth after starting 16th on the grid. He was promoted from fifth due to a post-race penalty for Colton Herta. Palou's fourth-place finish keeps him ahead in the championship standings with an unofficial lead of 59 points and four races left.

Colton Herta, who started at the back following a qualifying crash, initially crossed the line fourth but was demoted to fifth due to a late-race penalty. Despite this, Herta moved up to second in the championship standings with 386 points, trailing Palou's 445 points.

Scott Dixon faced challenges with caution flags affecting his pit strategy and finished 11th. However, he remains third in the championship standings as he aims for his seventh title. Meyer Shank Racing's Felix Rosenqvist showed strong performance throughout the weekend, securing sixth place after setting the second-fastest qualifying time.

David Malukas from Meyer Shank Racing started on the front row and led for 11 laps before a late-race collision with Will Power ended his race prematurely. The race results for Honda drivers are as follows:

{TABLE_1}

The current NTT INDYCAR SERIES Drivers' Championship standings are:

{TABLE_2}

Quotes from Key Drivers

Linus Lundqvist expressed his satisfaction with his performance: "Mega race. Kind of had a bit of everything. Early on we were on a fuel save strategy. But there was a stint in the middle where we pushed to the max, absolutely flat out. And then towards the end, we had five of six laps to kind of let everything happen. I'm extremely happy to walk away with a podium here."

Alex Palou reflected on his race: "I mean, we survived a very long day, and into the night! We knew that it was going to be a long, long race with lots happening. So goal #1 was to survive. We did that, and then some. We got some good championship points. Could have been a little bit better. Obviously, you always want to win, but glad everything worked out for the 10 car here."

Colton Herta shared his thoughts: "I can't be that mad, but I am disappointed I got knocked off the podium. It would've been awesome to finish in the top three after starting at the back of the field. But tonight was some of the best INDYCAR racing we've had all year. Passing was plentiful. You could get around guys when you had a better car, but you still had to work at it. I'm pretty happy. The Gainbridge Honda was super fast, as we showed all night. So yeah, ready for more ovals – and Portland."

Insights from Honda Racing Corporation USA

Mark Crawford from Honda Racing Corporation USA commented on their performance: "Not the result we were seeking, obviously, but encouraging to see a definite improvement in our short oval performance over the course of the weekend. It was good to see multiple Honda-powered cars in contention tonight, and we leave with three drivers at the top of the championship."

The next event in INDYCAR's schedule is at Portland International Raceway from August 23-25 for the Bitnile.com Grand Prix of Portland.