Tag: Texas Motor Speedway

Racing lines, rubber, and rain on the agenda in Texas

If all goes according to plan, the NTT IndyCar Series will complete its 250-lap PPG 375 race today at Texas Motor Speedway before rain begins to fall. With last year’s event taking two hours and nine minutes to complete and a predicted start to …

If all goes according to plan, the NTT IndyCar Series will complete its 250-lap PPG 375 race today at Texas Motor Speedway before rain begins to fall.

With last year’s event taking two hours and nine minutes to complete and a predicted start to rainfall approximately three hours after the original planned 11:15am Central start – the race start time has since been moved to 11:01 with the NBC broadcast set to begin at 11 – the series will hopefully avoid weather-related dramas.

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Assuming teams will have all 250 laps at their disposal, drivers are expected to make use of the second lanes in Turns 1-2 and 3-4 at some point to create more passing opportunities after the entire field spent time on Saturday working Firestone rubber into the groove above the bottom lane.

“I think it’ll be better than it was last year,” Ed Carpenter told RACER. “I think there still needs to be some level of fall off – of tire deg(radation) – to really make it useful. But it’s definitely more usable if you need it. So that’s good. I think that the aero changes they made were the right call, and they’re still putting a margin in to keep it safe.”

With IndyCar and Dallara developing a revised aerodynamic package for Texas that offers an additional 250 pounds of downforce for those who elect to install all of the optional pieces, A.J. Foyt Racing’s Santino Ferrucci is among the majority who believe the 28 entries will pile on all the downforce they can.

“I think everyone’s gonna be at 100 percent,” said Ferrucci, who starts 14th in the No. 14 Chevy. “I’m gonna take everything I can get.”

Carpenter, who lines up 18th in the No. 33 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevy, agrees with his Bowtie stablemate.”

“I don’t think anyone’s not going to run everything available,” he added.

One factor that will present an early adjustment period is found with the overnight NASCAR Craftsman Trucks race at TMS. Having applied Goodyear rubber over IndyCar’s Firestone rubber, it will take a few laps before optimum grip is available to polesitter Felix Rosenqvist and the rest of his rivals.

“It definitely makes for a different balance,” Carpenter added. “That’s the sad part after the high-line session we just did. It starts over a little bit in the race, but it’ll go away quick.”

The notoriously brave Ferrucci has no concerns about the rubber mismatch to start the race.

“Honestly, I don’t think the Goodyear rubber is going to hurt us at all,” he said. “So I don’t see it hurting us at all, but it won’t be a two-lane race the whole time, by any means. But you can definitely get up there and set up a pass if you have a run.

“I was pretty uncomfortable for most of that final session, but we made a change in the last five minutes and found the race car. So I wasn’t comfortable and wasn’t working the second groove for a while in that final practice, but I’m excited to go back out there in the race and give it a try.”

VIDEO: Saturday IndyCar Texas recap with David Malukas

IndyCar’s silliest driver, Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports’ David Malukas, joins RACER’s Marshall Pruett to discuss qualifying…among many other things…at Texas Motor Speedway. Presented by: Through a steadfast commitment to honesty, unrivaled …

IndyCar’s silliest driver, Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports’ David Malukas, joins RACER’s Marshall Pruett to discuss qualifying…among many other things…at Texas Motor Speedway.

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VIDEO: Texas stints and stops with Mike Hull

Mike Hull, Scott Dixon’s race strategist at Chip Ganassi Racing, breaks down the pit stop strategy, fuel stint lengths, and what we can expect for cautions at the PPG 375 Texas oval race. Presented by: Through a steadfast commitment to honesty, …

Mike Hull, Scott Dixon’s race strategist at Chip Ganassi Racing, breaks down the pit stop strategy, fuel stint lengths, and what we can expect for cautions at the PPG 375 Texas oval race.

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Developing an oval repertoire key to Ilott and JHR

Callum Ilott wasn’t sure about the new form of racing he was having to learn. At this time last year, the lifelong road racer – part of Scuderia Ferrari’s Formula 1 testing and development program prior to joining the Juncos Hollinger Racing team …

Callum Ilott wasn’t sure about the new form of racing he was having to learn.

At this time last year, the lifelong road racer — part of Scuderia Ferrari’s Formula 1 testing and development program prior to joining the Juncos Hollinger Racing team for his rookie IndyCar campaign — was preparing to venture out onto the steep banking at Texas Motor Speedway and wind his No. 77 Chevy up to 220mph with 27 other crazies.

Among the shocks to the Briton’s system was the sheer speed at TMS; laps around the 1.5-mile oval were being completed every 23 to 24 seconds—relentless whipping around the oval—while jockeying for position entering and exiting the corners in a flash.

Despite being no stranger to high speeds and high-commitment turns during his distinguished junior open-wheel career and his F1 testing days, American oval racing threw Ilott for a loop at TMS and once more as he struggled during his first Indianapolis 500. With five oval races completed by the end of the season, the 24-year-old gained enough knowledge and experience to enter his sophomore year with JHR holding a different outlook on ovals.

IndyCar’s first oval of the year is always Texas Motor Speedway – throwing oval rookies to the wolves. By the time Callum Ilott made it to Iowa Speedway in 2022, he was gaining confidence and seemed much happier. Jake Galstad/Motorsport Images

A strong weekend on the 0.875-mile Iowa bullring is where Ilott found his oval groove, finishing 12th in the first race of the doubleheader event and 11th the next day in the No. 77 Chevy. Coming off a strong start to the new season where he crossed the St. Petersburg finish line in fifth, Ilott will need to demonstrate his new oval skills on Sunday during the 250-lap PPG 375 at TMS if he wants to remain at the sharp end of the championship standings.

Compared to 12 months ago, it’s a challenge that seems reasonable for Ilott to meet.

“From my side of it, I’m a lot happier to go to Texas than I was last year because I know a lot more about what to expect,” Ilott told RACER. “I think also with the little downforce changes and the options to run more than we had last year, that’s hopefully going to make it a bit more comfortable as well to drive in the race.

“I don’t like going into the unknown, so last year it was all very unknown, even with the rookie test day. I thought the test went really well, and then I come to the race weekend with 27 other cars on the track and I’m like, ‘Oh my god, what’s this?’ I just couldn’t get my head around it. It was really crazy.”

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Given the chance to reorder the sequence of ovals on the IndyCar calendar as a rookie, Ilott has ideas on the perfect educational order.

“If I could shape the series to the best way possible for me last year, it would have been to do Iowa first, do Gateway, then Texas, then the Indy 500,” he said. “I’d build it up like that so you don’t get thrown into Texas, which is the steepest banking probably and most aggressive oval, to start.”

Ilott will start 17th on Sunday and is thankful for the newfound confidence he’ll rely upon as he battles wheel-to-wheel throughout the afternoon.

“It really came up at Iowa,” he said. “That was where I started to understand completely what you need to be doing and how you can work the car and work the track to get the best out of your car. Last year at Texas, I spent a good half of the race doing all the wrong things, all the wrong ways with setting up passes, not understanding why it wasn’t working until I kept repeating the mistakes and then realized what I was doing to myself.

“Going 220 miles an hour and contemplating why the things you’re doing are not working is quite tough. And we had a downforce issue with our front wing in the race that was unfortunate, so this is going to be a different style of racing to what I had last year, because I wasn’t competitive at all. But then on the other side, knowing the progress that we made as a team in the winter with all the important stuff like strategy, pitstops, all those things, will make a massive difference, even if your car’s not the quickest. I think we should be in a much better place and my life will be a lot easier by the end of this year’s race.”

Rosenqvist soars to Texas IndyCar pole

Arrow McLaren’s Felix Rosenqvist captured his second consecutive pole at Texas Motor Speedway in qualifying for the PPG 375 NTT IndyCar series race and will have plenty his teammates close by when the green flag waves on Sunday at 12:15pm ET. The …

Arrow McLaren’s Felix Rosenqvist captured his second consecutive pole at Texas Motor Speedway in qualifying for the PPG 375 NTT IndyCar series race and will have plenty his teammates close by when the green flag waves on Sunday at 12:15pm ET.

The Swede’s two-lap average of 220.264mph edged Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, who produced a 219.972mph in the No. 9 Honda. McLaren’s Alexander Rossi will line up third in the No. 7 Chevy and have another member of the Bowtie family — Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden in the No. 2 entry — alongside in fourth.

McLaren’s Pato O’Ward was fifth fastest in the No. 5 Chevy, giving the team a P1-3-5 qualifying performance and all three cars in a straight line as they approach the start.

Complementing Dixon in second, new CGR driver Takuma Sato secured sixth on his debut in the No. 11 Honda.

“Arrow McLaren gave us weapons again,” Rosenqvist said. “We’ll take it. We’ve always been good here, but it’s an all-new confidence level this year.”

Elsewhere, Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports’ David Malukas impressed with a run to ninth, one position ahead of Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport’s fastest driver.

Like Malukas, the A.J. Foyt Racing duo of Benjamin Pedersen and Santino Ferrucci were high achievers in qualifying, locking in 13th and 14th, respectively, and of the remaining drivers who had a reason to be happy with their results, oval rookie Agustin Canapino qualified 19th for Juncos Hollinger Racing, ahead of Andretti’s Kyle Kirkwood, Meyer Shank Racing’s Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud, Ed Carpenter Racing’s Conor Daly and Rinus VeeKay, and the entire Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team.

“We’re disappointed,” Rahal said. “I just think aerodynamically, we’re missing something big. The car just doesn’t accelerate. I just think the cars are draggy and slow. It’s not acceptable.”

UP NEXT: Final Practice, 2:30pm ET

RESULTS

VIDEO: Texas Walk and Talk with Pato O’Ward

Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward takes a stroll down pit lane at Texas Motor Speedway with RACER’s Marshall Pruett to discuss his dual upbringing in Mexico and Texas, his rise up the junior open-wheel ladder and the difficulties he experienced, the …

Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward takes a stroll down pit lane at Texas Motor Speedway with RACER’s Marshall Pruett to discuss his dual upbringing in Mexico and Texas, his rise up the junior open-wheel ladder and the difficulties he experienced, the detour he took in IMSA, failing to qualify for the Indy 500, rebounding with the No. 5 Chevy, and more.

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Hocevar dodges carnage en route to first Truck victory at Texas

Nick Sanchez led an absolutely dominant 168 of 172 laps in Saturday’s SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas Motor Speedway, but the 21-year old rookie and reigning NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Zane Smith collided at the front of the field after …

Nick Sanchez led an absolutely dominant 168 of 172 laps in Saturday’s SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas Motor Speedway, but the 21-year old rookie and reigning NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Zane Smith collided at the front of the field after taking the white flag and Carson Hocevar instead drove through to take his first career victory in double overtime.

The 20-year old Hocevar led only that last overtime lap in the No. 42 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet to claim his first win by 1.628s over Kyle Busch Motorsports driver Chase Purdy – career best finishes for both drivers.

After slight contact with Smith racing door-to-door for the win, Sanchez got loose and had to regain control of the truck heading to the white flag. Video replays show that as he steadied his truck, he was hit from behind by Hocevar, whose truck was carrying the momentum as Sanchez was recovering from his slight miscue. The contact from behind was just enough to spin Sanchez back across the track and collect Smith’s truck, while Hocevar drove forward to the finish line and waited for official word of the win.

“I didn’t mean to get into him, I just meant to give him a push and he got sideways the second I hit him. I apologize to them; I’ll take the fall for it, I wrecked a Chevy and I’ll go talk to him about it — he deserved to win for sure,’’ Hocevar said of the contact with Sanchez.

“But all the times we were the fastest car and I don’t win…and this team deserves to win more than anything, I can stop getting the same question asked all the time now,’’ said Hocevar, who has four career runner-up finishes.

“We didn’t deserve to win today but we were in the right spot at the right time.”

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Certainly, Sanchez got plenty of practice in mastering re-starts with six of the 12 cautions coming in the final 40 laps of the race. He drove his No. 2 Rev Racing Chevrolet to the front each time, having to duel side-by-side with Smith late in the race.

“Obviously coming to the last lap, me and the No. 38 (Zane Smith) were playing an aggressive side-drafting game and I got a little too aggressive on him, got loose, went through the grass and saved it,’’ Sanchez said. “Just got hit by the No. 42 (Hocevar). I don’t know what else to say about that. It is what it is; that’s racing.

“This is what we’ve been working hard to do,’’ continued Sanchez, who swept both stage wins. “We don’t want to just win, we want to dominate. Today we dominated, but we didn’t win so just got to go back and see what I can do better. Try to build on strengths. I guess the positive is we got stage points; that’s something to fall back on, but I want to win. That’s my goal.’’

Veteran Stewart Friesen finished third with Ty Majeski and Jake Garcia rounding out the top five; Garcia the highest finishing rookie. Hailie Deegan equaled her career-best finish with a sixth-place run. Corey Heim, Ryan Vargas, Jack Wood and Ben Rhodes rounded out the top 10.

Smith was scored 14th and Sanchez was scored 16th. The race leaves Majeski with a three-point edge over Smith atop the championship standings.

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series returns to action next week in Saturday’s Weather Guard Truck Race on Dirt at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt track (8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RESULTS

McLaughlin tops first Texas IndyCar practice

Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin was the fastest of 28 NTT IndyCar Series drivers in attendance for Sunday’s PPG 375 at Texas Motor Speedway. The New Zealander turned a lap of 223.747mph in the No. 3 Chevy and had Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward close …

Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin was the fastest of 28 NTT IndyCar Series drivers in attendance for Sunday’s PPG 375 at Texas Motor Speedway.

The New Zealander turned a lap of 223.747mph in the No. 3 Chevy and had Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward close behind in the No. 5 Chevy (223.518mph) and McLaren’s Alexander Rossi in tow with the No. 7 Chevy (223.468mph) to give the Bowtie a 1-2-3 for the session. Andretti Autosport’s Colton Herta was the first Honda-powered driver in fourth with the No. 26 entry (223.318mph).

Teams worked through all manner of aerodynamic setup changes during the cool 8-9am outing which began with ambient temperatures just over 50 degrees.

“We’ll get a better feel for the additional downforce in the second practice,” McLaughlin told RACER after the caution-free session. “We tried different things, and you got an idea for things, but it will be better later in the day when it’s warmer to tell what all we have.”

With Team Penske, Arrow McLaren, and Andretti Autosport drivers positioned at the top of the speed chart, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing got off to a slow start as all three of its entries finished practice holding the three slowest laps.

UP NEXT: Qualifying, 12:15 ET

RESULTS

VIDEO: Measuring surface grip at Texas Motor Speedway

The turns at Texas Motor Speedway have varying levels of grip to offer IndyCar drivers, and with the help of Firestone’s Dan Bishop and a device they call “Mr. T,” RACER’s Marshall Pruett learns about how the low lane and the darker high lane pose …

The turns at Texas Motor Speedway have varying levels of grip to offer IndyCar drivers, and with the help of Firestone’s Dan Bishop and a device they call “Mr. T,” RACER’s Marshall Pruett learns about how the low lane and the darker high lane pose different challenges to the drivers.

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VIDEO: IndyCar Texas 2023 aero options

The second stop on the NTT IndyCar Series tour at Texas Motor Speedway features a number of new and optional aero configurations for teams to use. RACER’s Marshall Pruett takes a look at the various pieces found on the cars. Presented by: Through a …

The second stop on the NTT IndyCar Series tour at Texas Motor Speedway features a number of new and optional aero configurations for teams to use. RACER’s Marshall Pruett takes a look at the various pieces found on the cars.

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