FORT WORTH, Texas – A very busy day at Texas Motor Speedway included an extra IndyCar practice session to help add grip to a slippery part of the 1.5-mile, high-banked oval.
In an effort to widen the groove on the slick upper lanes at Texas Motor Speedway, seven NTT IndyCar Series drivers participated in a 30-minute session Saturday afternoon with the intent of running in the high groove.
It was IndyCar’s version of a “high-wire act” and none of the drivers wanted to become one of the “Flying Wallendas.”
For those who don’t understand, or are too young to get the reference, the “Flying Wallendas” were the famed, and fateful, acrobatic family whose career was filled equal amounts of triumph and tragedy.
Prior to the final one-hour practice session, the seven-drivers turned 294 laps in 30 minutes. There were no incidents, and some of the drivers were surprised to find extra grip in Turns 3 and 4.
Those seven drivers included Helio Castroneves in a Honda, Will Power in a Chevrolet, pole-sitter Felix Rosenqvist in a Chevrolet, Takuma Sato in a Honda, Graham Rahal in a Honda, Ed Carpenter in a Chevrolet, and Pato O’Ward in a Chevy. They ran 10 sets of tires that were 2021 Firestone left-side tires to help “rubber in” the slippery area where PJ1 and Resin have been added to the turns to help improve traction for the heavier NASCAR Cup Series cars.
Castroneves had the best speed at 216.842 mph in the highwire session. A few drivers, such as O’Ward, mentioned when their cars got “wiggly” but there were no incidents.
“It was a good learning session, but we needed more cars out there to get all of that off,” Power said. “There is definitely less grip up there, but it’s good we are trying. We want to put on the best show possible. The problem is the cars have so much downforce that they are on the bottom. After running a half-stint on the bottom, it’s too hard to get to the top because of the marbles.
“If you get up there during the race and get out of the racing line, you’ll be in the marbles. It’s like ice and it accumulates dust and marbles.
“All we need is a half another lane and we’re all good. It would be a different race. It’s a different track with a different surface. We would have needed the whole field out there.”
Power was asked if he was disappointed that so many drivers in the 27-car field decided not to participate in the extra session.
“Nobody should be allowed to complain about not having a second groove if they didn’t go out there for that session,” Power said. “If you have a chance to change something you should do it.”
Afterwards, the full-field session began around the 1.5-mile oval and most of the drivers continued to stick to the low line that featured most of the grip while several drifted up higher than before the extra session.
With 22 minutes left in the session, Jack Harvey’s No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda crashed in the wall between Turns 1 and 2 with a very hard hit. Harvey was uninjured, but the car was badly damaged.
Harvey’s car came out of the exit to Turn 2 high, it wiggled into the wall and then shot across the track and slammed hard into the inside retaining wall.
“I went into Turn 2 too high, hit the wall and shot across to the wall,” Harvey said. “I got too high and a bit loose. It didn’t look like there was much grip there. The first hit wasn’t too terrible, but the second hit was hard.
“I clearly didn’t find any grip then. Not a great way to end the day.”
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing was unloading the No. 45 backup Honda for Sunday’s race before the practice resumed.
An extra 10 minutes was added to the final practice to make up for the time lost during the cleanup following Harvey’s crash.
Josef Newgarden’s No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet was the fastest of the session at 223.108 miles per hour.
“I learned a lot,” Newgarden said. “I was glad we got more time there after the caution in the middle. Everybody needed it. It’s going to be tough because the tires are getting older. You’re going to be chasing the balance of it from the beginning to the end. You will have to be good on your restarts.”
Six-time Texas Motor Speedway winner Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing was second at 222.726 mph in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda.
Pole-sitter Felix Rosenqvist was third in the No. 7 Vuse Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren SP Racing at 222.682 mph. Rookie Christian Lundgaard was fourth at 221.794 mph in the No. 30 for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda.
Colton Herta of Andretti Autosport rounded out the top five at 221.751 mph in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda.
Prior to the special practice, drivers gave their opinions on the value of whether the extra laps would add grip to the slippery part of the race course.
“I looked at it (the second line) and almost crashed and it looked back and was like, ‘Stay away, Bitch,’” Andretti Autosport driver Alexander Rossi said. “I think Firestone and IndyCar are doing all the right things. I think the tires are great. I think more downforce is what was necessary.
“I think having this session is smart. I don’t think it will be enough though.
“It’s 20% less grip. I don’t know if there is anything you can do. But they are making the right steps.”
Rossi said the track surface through 2019 was great for IndyCar racing. But when PJ1 was added to the track for the NASCAR Cup race later that year and IndyCar returned in 2020, the track surface was completely screwed up for Indy cars. The area that had the PJ1 was so treacherous, if an Indy car attempted to run up there, it would crash.
That left IndyCar with a one-groove, follow-the-leader race course.
Saturday’s final practice, though, was very intense and gave an indication of what to expect in Sunday’s race.
Perhaps the most telling statistic was from the “No Tow Speeds.” Rinus VeeKay of Ed Carpenter Racing was the fastest in that group in the No. 21 Chevrolet at 216.182 miles per hour. Rookie Callum Ilott was second at 214.786 in the No. 77 Chevrolet.
Third?
Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson at 212.652 mph in the No. 48 Carvana/American Legion Honda.
Keyword: Newgarden Tops Final IndyCar Practice At Texas