The driving talents of IndyCar regulars and rookies will be tested in the coming weeks during three of the series’ most challenging circuits. Its two shortest ovals and a road-course race could start or end championship bids.
“They’re going to be challenging,” Danica Patrick, sixth in the Indy Racing League points standings, says of the next races on three successive weekends. “They are a little bit more exciting. To do well on these kinds of circuits is fulfilling. We as drivers always want to go out there and (win) on tracks that are considered more driver tracks. … I’ll be working very hard for sure.”
Preparation has started for the two oval races as she and Andretti Green Racing teammate Hideki Mutoh tested at Richmond International Raceway in advance of the June 28 race here. The test at the three-quarter-mile track also helps the two for Sunday’s race at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa, a track about a tenth of a mile longer. After Iowa and Richmond, teams head to Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International, a 3.4-mile road course.
“The steering is really tough, and you get dizzy after maybe 30 laps,” Mutoh says. “It’s really tough to drive the small tracks. So I can’t imagine” a race.
Mutoh says short ovals share many characteristics with road courses, which he is familiar driving from the Japanese open-wheel ranks. Tight corners make chassis setup critical and short straightaways allow no rest for the driver.
KV Racing Technology’s Will Power, who won the Champ Car finale and is the second-highest Champ Car driver in the standings at 11th, expects a top-10 performance on the short ovals. He believes IndyCar teams have a top-speed advantage that won’t be a factor for the next three races.
“It’s more about the car balance, and that’s the reason that we can run up front on short ovals,” Power says.
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