2021 Intel 500

The **2021 Intel 500** was a 500 mile (800 kilometer) motor race held on 14 November 2021 as the final race of the 2021 AT&T Champ Car World Series season. The race was also the final leg of the 2021 Firestone Triple Crown, following the 108th Indianapolis 500 and the 2021 Pepsi 500 at Pocono Raceway. The race was held at Auto Club Speedway, a 2 mile superspeedway located in Fontana, California, just outside of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area. Auto Club Speedway has hosted every Indycar World Championship season finale since 2000, with the venue also hosting the finale of the Indycar National Championship as far back as 1996. Two practice sessions and initial qualifying was held on Friday, the 12th of November, while both of the Intel Qualifying Duel races were held on Saturday, the 13th of November.

Hazel Lacasse entered the race with a 33 point lead for the Indycar World Driver's Championship, and went on to seal her first world title in the race, in just her first full season in Champ Car. Artyom Kozlov, after replacing Sakura Ishibashi due to injury for the last two races of the season, would continue to make history by becoming the first non-binary driver to win an Indycar World Championship race, in only their second race start. By winning the race, Kozlov also became the quickest driver to win a race after their debut, with the win coming 7 days after the previous event at Denver.

## Race Background

Coming into the race weekend, Hazel Lacasse held a 33 point lead in the Indycar World Driver's Championship standings over Andrew Draco. To clinch the championship, Lacasse simply needed to finish 10th or better if Draco won the race and scored all of the available bonus points in the race. After the previous race in Denver, David Wessel was mathematically eliminated from contention.

### Driver Changes

Following the race at Denver, Patrick Marcelli abruptly called his retirement from the series, leaving the #82 for Eastern Atlantic Motorsports without a driver. Marcelli was already planned on being out of the series after the race in Fontana due to the team's transformation into Dragon Motorsports, but the team was in a desperate fight for 10th in the World Team's Championship, which is the last prize paying position in the standings. Eastern Atlantic managed a deal with Rockstar Phantom Motors to procure the efforts of David Wessel for the event before he moved to Swift Autosport in 2022.

Gatlin Greene would make his Champ Car debut for Swift Knight Autosport. Greene would be the first Irish driver since Adrian Ragus to make an Indycar World Championship start, and he would be driving the #9 that was driven by Kaylee Zappa before she went on maternity leave.

### Passing of Jean-Claude Gabriel

On the morning of Thursday, 11 November, news broke that Rockstar Phantom Motors team owner, Jean-Claude Gabriel, had passed away following a prolonged battle with stage 4 metastasized cancer. CRC Network confirmed the news at 10:00 a.m. local time, with the team collectively not showing up to the track to compete for the weekend. With the team unload deadline at 9:00 p.m. local time that evening, the team was ruled out of the event, giving Hazel Lacasse her first world championship. As the weekend unfolded, it was made known that the team were aware before Denver that they would likely be without their team owner, and the decision was made in advance to withdraw if Gabriel passed away before the race began. Wessel, who had been loaned to Eastern Atlantic Motorsports, had requested the move prior to Gabriel's passing, with it being granted the day before.

## Entry List

34 car and driver combinations were entered into the event, representing 14 teams. Escuderia Aguila, and Rockstar Phantom Motors were not present in any capacity for the event, despite taking part in the other two legs of the 2021 Firestone Triple Crown at Indianapolis, and Pocono. One driver would be sent home from the Intel Qualifying Duels on Saturday, 12 November.

## Practice

Free Practice took place on Friday, 12 November, with Free Practice 1 taking place from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. local time, and Free Practice 2 taking place from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. local time. The day was shared by the Nissan Atlantic Championship, who had practice and qualifying on Friday as well.

## Qualifying

Qualifying took place the morning of Saturday, 13 November, from 9:00 to 11:30 a.m. local time. All entries had a single four lap run to set their fastest lap times. Drivers who qualified in odd numbered positions were assigned to the first Intel Qualifying Duel, while even numbered qualifiers were assigned to Intel Qualifying Duel 2.

## Post Race Effects

Artyom Kozlov made history, both in the Indycar World Championship, and in North America as a whole. A non-binary driver had never won a premier level event in history prior to this event, with global media covering the achievement for a week after the race took place. Kozlov's win would prompt Team Impulse to promote them to the Microsoft IndyCar Series in 2022, with the team bringing in Korina Amara to fill their seat in the Nissan Atlantic Championship.

Hazel Lacasse became the first ever driver from New Zealand to win the Indycar World Driver's Championship. Jamie Ngaire-Jardine came close in 2018 and 2019, but never achieved the feat. Lacasse also broke Ngaire-Jardine's season wins record, with Lacasse winning five races in the year. Ngaire-Jardine was on hand at the track to personally congratulate Lacasse on the championship, and Lacasse's historic success prompted brief conversations between the series' organizers and the New Zealand race track of Ruapuna Motorsports Park regarding a potential event in the nation. which was ultimately shelved.

Black Rose Racing would depart open wheel racing following this event, with the team selling its open wheel assets to another Cincinnati-based team in Atomic Autosport. Black Rose Racing, as a team, would move to focus on endurance racing, competing in the International Endurance Championship, and North American Sports Car Championship in GTE Class with the Ferrari 488, as well as entering into the All Japan GT Championship in the GT1 Class with Toyota, which is the top class of the series. Evangeline Porter, Black Rose Racing's team owner, would continue to compete full time in the GTPlanet Fandom Series, moving from KANS Autosport to Team Kate Upton, before announcing she would race for Atomic Autosport for the 109th Indianapolis 500.

Stephanie Porter-Kelley and Andrew Draco would both retire from open wheel racing following this event. Draco, who withdrew from the race due to the death of Jean-Claude Gabriel, had confirmed he would not be racing beyond 2021 after it was announced Phantom Motors was to be bought by Velocity Autosport. Porter-Kelley confirmed she would be retiring during pre-season media tours, putting an end to a 19 year top-flight career. Porter-Kelley will remain present in the Champ Car paddock, as the team owner of Striker Motorsports, as well as the founder of the Champ Car Driver's Association.

It was revealed in December of 2021 that Rachel Koivuniemi had failed a drug test the morning of the race, with both FICA and Horizon Corporation issuing four month competition suspensions to Koivuniemi. Koivuniemi's A and B tests both came back positive for cocaine. NAMRA, alternatively, issued only a 24 month probationary period, permitted Koivuniemi to compete in the Microsoft IndyCar Series in 2022. As Koivuniemi was no longer able to compete the full 2022 Champ Car season, Simona Leroux was brought back into the team to pair alongside Nicole Liechti.