Felipe Nasr continues to push for a chance to get a seat within the IndyCar Collection.
The 33-year-old Brazilian has been a reliable luxurious insurance coverage coverage for Crew Penske, persistently on energetic standby as Josef Newgarden has been nursing a lingering foot harm sustained throughout his dramatic crash on the Indianapolis 500 in Might. Nasr was on the pit wall and able to leap into the cockpit throughout opening apply in Detroit, and remained prepared all through the current race weekend at Street America.
With restoration the focus for Newgarden, Crew Penske opted to lean on Nasr for final week’s multi-team take a look at at Mid-Ohio Sports activities Automobile Course. Taking the wheel of the #2 Chevrolet, Nasr navigated the 13-turn, 2.258-mile pure terrain highway course and was on tempo alongside teammates David Malukas and Scott McLaughlin. He ended up eleventh out of 16 drivers, however completed a microscopic 0.0554 seconds behind Malukas and simply over a tenth of a second again from McLaughlin.
“That take a look at got here alongside after seeing what is going on to be the scenario for Josef, what’s greatest for him,” Nasr advised Motorsport.com. “And as soon as they mentioned he was going to skip the take a look at for restoration issues, you already know, I used to be there; first choice. And I advised them, ‘That is nice,’ as a result of to me, it is at all times unbelievable once I can have extra mileage in that automotive. It isn’t one thing that I drive every single day. So, it was nice.”
Josef Newgarden, Crew Penske
Picture by: Penske Leisure
It marked the primary time since final October Nasr had stepped into an Indy automotive, and he emphasised the challenges of getting reacclimated with the equipment.
“The take a look at, for me, in my view, from my perspective, was very productive,” mentioned Nasr, who additionally made 39 begins in System 1 (2015-16). “And I base it off, these guys have been all out from a recent race weekend in Street America, after which they jumped in a take a look at in Mid-Ohio; I have not pushed the automotive since October.
“Yeah, so the entire modifications and the whole lot that I needed to get used to once more. To me, to have the ability to have matched my Penske teammates, I feel that tells me it was a really productive take a look at, in my view. So, that was actually good.”
Since becoming a member of Porsche Penske Motorsport in 2023 as the driving force of the #7 Porsche 963 within the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, he has turned the sports activities automotive world into his private playground. Nasr has collected eight wins, together with a unprecedented run of the final three consecutive victories on the prestigious Rolex 24 At Daytona, two triumphs on the Twelve Hours of Sebring, and the general IMSA championship crown in 2024.
Nasr has received just about the whole lot there’s to win in sports activities vehicles underneath the Penske banner. Now, the one query left is whether or not “The Captain,” group proprietor Roger Penske, will give him a everlasting shot at open-wheel glory.
When pressed on what extra he probably has to point out the group proprietor to lastly earn a full-time IndyCar seat, Nasr merely smiled.
“Oh, ask him,” Nasr mentioned. “It’s best to ask him.”
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