While most of the city is focused on the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500 later this month, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and INDY NXT by Firestone are focused on the GMR Grand Prix taking place this weekend, May 12-13. With drivers in both series, HMD Motorsports will have a busy on-track weekend over the short two-day event.
In just two years as an established team, HMD Motorsports has found impressive success on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. Over the past two seasons, INDY NXT by Firestone ran doubleheader weekends with HMD Motorsports taking home all four pole positions and winning every single race. After claiming his first INDY NXT by Firestone win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with HMD last season, Danial Frost will be looking to duplicate his results this upcoming weekend. Christian Bogle finished the Grand Prix weekend at IMS last season with a best finish of seventh and improved at the next event in Detroit with a P4 result.
In the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, David Malukas found his stride in the series with Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports at IMS last season as he made up 12 positions in the rain to finish in 12th.
This weekend, HMD Motorsports will be running eight cars in their INDY NXT program. Christian Rasmussen (#6), Christian Bogle (#7), Kyffin Simpson (#21), Nolan Siegel (#39), Danial Frost (#68) and Josh Green (#3) all return in their full-season entries while Josh Pierson will return to his #14 entry after missing the last race while he was competing in the World Endurance Championship. Reece Gold will make his debut with the team in the #10 entry this weekend as a new full-time entry.
While not with HMD Motorsports, Christian Rasmussen, Ernie Francis, Jr., and Kyffin Simpson saw their fair share of success at IMS last year. Rasmussen left the weekend with a second and fourth-place finish in the pair of races, Ernie Francis, Jr. claimed a pair of top-ten finishes and Kyffin Simpson earned a best finish of eighth. Unfortunately, Francis was forced to withdraw for this weekend’s action due to a fractured wrist.
All rookies this year, Reece Gold, Josh Pierson, and Nolan Siegel have been successful on the 14-turn road course in the junior categories. Last season, USF Pro 2000 hosted a triple-header weekend where Reece Gold claimed one win and Nolan Siegel claimed a third-place finish. In 2021, Josh Pierson earned two podiums in USF2000.
While the season is still barely underway, with only two of 14 rounds complete, HMD Motorsports started the year with a strong lead. In the opening two rounds, HMD has won both races with Danial Frost taking the win and Nolan Siegel finishing second in St. Petersburg. Two weeks ago, at Barber Motorsports Park, HMD swept the podium as Christian Rasmussen led Nolan Siegel and Toby Sowery across the finish line. Entering the third round, HMD leads the championship with Rasmussen, Siegel, and Frost holding the top-three positions.
As a development series for young drivers, INDY NXT by Firestone shares the track all weekend with the NTT INDYCAR SERIES with practice and qualifying taking place on Friday for both series and back-to-back races on Saturday afternoon.
David Malukas will also be representing HMD Motorsports in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES throughout the Month of May at the GMR Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500. For more information on David Malukas and Dale Coyne Racing, visit DaleCoyneRacing.com.
Weekend Schedule – Indianapolis Motor Speedway *All times ET
Friday, May 12
9:30 AM – 10:45 AM | Practice 1 | NTT INDYCAR SERIES
11:00 AM – 11:50 AM | Practice | INDY NXT
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM | Practice 2 | NTT INDYCAR SERIES
2:20 PM – 2:40 PM | Qualifying | INDY NXT
4:00 PM – 5:15 PM | Qualifying | NTT INDYCAR SERIES
Saturday, May 13
11:15 AM – 11:45 AM | Warm-Up | NTT INDYCAR SERIES
1:00 PM – 2:15 PM | Race | INDY NXT
3:30 PM – 6:00 PM | Race | NTT INDYCAR SERIES
Please be sure to follow HMD Motorsports on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching @HMDMotorsports. For more information on HMD Motorsports visit HMDMotorsports.com or email info@hmdmotorsports.com.
Photo: Penske Entertainment