PREMA Racing’s debut NTT INDYCAR Series season comes to a close as the team secured its sixth top ten finish after Callum Ilott finished ninth at the Nashville Superspeedway. After crossing the line in 14th, rookie Robert Shwartzman narrowly missed out on the Rookie of the Year title after a tight battle with Louis Foster.
Shwartzman and Ilott started the 225-lap race from 17th and 18th respectively on the black-sidewalled Primary tires.
Both drivers kept out of trouble at the start of the race, with Shwartzman moving up to 16th and Ilott dropping to 19th before a caution came out before the end of the opening lap.
The first restart on lap 9 saw both make moves up the field, with Shwartzman gaining three places to 13th and Ilott up two to 17th.
Both circulated into the top ten as other drivers began making their first stops on lap 60. The PREMA Racing duo entered the pits a lap later, where Shwartzman switched to the red-sidewalled Alternate tires and Ilott put another set of Primary tires on. They emerged in 13th and 19th.
A second lengthy caution came on lap 83 with both Shwartzman and Ilott taking advantage of pitting under the yellow for their second stops on lap 87 and 97 respectively for red-sidewalled Alternate tires.
The third caution of the race was called on lap 128, the duo took the opportunity to make their third stop on lap 131. Shwartzman swapped back onto the black-sidewalled Primary tires, while Ilott put his second set of Alternate tires on. Ilott made up places in the stop, emerging 13th, while Shwartzman rejoined in 18th.
Both made up further places on the restart and as the race progressed into the final quarter, Shwartzman and Ilott were running in 12th and 13th.
Ilott’s fourth pit stop came on lap 183, switching to the Primary tire. Shwartzman once again circulated into the top ten before making his final stop on lap 189. While it was a long stop, crucially he stayed ahead of Louis Foster in the battle for Rookie of the Year.
After a late caution was called, Ilott made a fifth stop on lap 208 to put a fresh set of red-sidewalled Alternate tires on. The pair had a strong restart, both moving into the top 10, however Shwartzman received a drive-through penalty for blocking Santino Ferrucci on the restart and dropped back to 14th.
Ilott crossed the line in ninth, his fourth top ten finish of the year, while Shwartzman remained 14th. The result meant he narrowly missed out on securing the Rookie of the Year title.
#83 ROBERT SHWARTZMAN
"That’s the final round finished. I don’t really have much to say after we lost the Rookie of the Year battle in the final few laps after my drive through penalty. I was defending for my position on the restart and got the penalty, so we lost out on the title and on a top ten finish as I was running eighth at the time. It’s a shame because the car was really fast and I was having a lot of fun, so I’m sure we could’ve finished in the top ten even though I did make a mistake in the final pit stop. Thanks to the team for the great car, it felt really good all weekend, it’s just a shame with the final result."
#90 CALLUM ILOTT
"It was a good race. We stabilised in the mid pack throughout the middle of the race, and we decided that the Alternate was good towards the end of the race. I did have a bit of vibration during one of the stints which was a bit scary. However, we were able to move forwards after the last stop with the newer tires and made some decent moves. The crew did a good job in the pits and Chevrolet did a great job with the engine, so overall a positive way to end the season."