Concerns about the prospect of a single-lane procession at World Wide Technology Raceway were quickly dispelled during Saturday night’s NTT IndyCar Series race, which featured regular passing all the way through the field as drivers exploited the unexpected grip available in the second lane.
The viability of the high line first became apparent during the special “high line” session prior to second practice on Friday, when cars went out in two groups with the specific mission of spending as much time high up the track as possible. The proliferation of overtaking during the race itself proved the point, but the other major ingredient behind the quality of the racing was the aero and tire package.
“I think I was one of the ones [expecting a procession] going into this race,” said Chip Ganassi Racing’s Linus Lundqvist, who finished third. “I wasn’t overly optimistic about how this was going to play out. I think firstly, IndyCar did a good job with the sweeping. That makes a tremendous amount of difference for us in the starts and restarts, just having the confidence to go high. You saw guys staying high for 10, 20, maybe 30 laps into a stint. I think that makes all the difference when it comes to IndyCar racing on ovals. I was happy to see that.
“I was happy to see there was a bit of tire deg. Not so much tire deg, but a difference in tire performance, new versus old. I think that’s a reason why we were able to get past Alex [Palou] and Colton [Herta] at the end — we had a tire advantage.”
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Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, who finished second after being leapfrogged by teammate Josef Newgarden in the final pit stop, said the race was the product of a technical package that matched the conditions.
“I think it was a package thing; what we brought here with more downforce, because you’re that confident, especially as the tires get older, to get up there,” he said. “The tires aren’t completely screwed at the end of it.
“IndyCar has been working really hard to try to find a package. It’s early days with the hybrid. You’re going to have the races where we might not have the spectacle that we had [here]. I mean, I had a blast out there. Hopefully it looked good on TV.
“It’s just all about bringing the right package. I think they did that. We’ll continue to keep learning with the weight of the car, the hybrid, whatnot.”