Photo Credit: Ashley McCubbin
Scott Dixon, driver of the No. 9 Target Chevrolet, was fastest overall in the combined practices held on Thursday, May 12, 2016 and Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Angies List Grand Prix of Indianapolis on May 14.
“It was really good that the rain held off,” Dixon said. “That was definitely a bonus. I think a lot of us around lunchtime didn’t think we were going to have anything more to do in the afternoon. We rolled off not too bad. We did the usual thing where we try a few different things and circle back to where we started. That’s how the afternoon at least ended.
“I don’t think you get a really good gist on speeds until tomorrow on most of the field. The car felt decent. We ran (indiscernible) kind of late. Maybe a slight advantage there. I don’t know what the other guys did. We’ll take what we learned today, and hopefully tomorrow should be strong. It’s definitely going to be very tight, kind of like Will was talking about. Right now the competition is fierce at this track. I don’t know why. Just the times are so close.”
It is the month of May, which means the Indianapolis 500 and this year the race is a big one considering it is the 100th running. But first the drivers have to focus on the GP of Indy before they can even think of the Indy 500. Dixon state that because it’s a unique track and with both races being different, it is easy for the drivers to put the GP of Indy first in their minds.
“Yeah, just taking it day by day,” Dixon said. “We have so many things to focus on just in one day. You’re constantly learning, especially with the big differences that we have here with road course and then the fastest speedway that we come to. Trust me, there’s going to be loads of pressure no matter what weekend it is. Just take it day by day.”
Notably, the road course at IMS is one of the smoothest road courses on the IndyCar Series schedule.
“But, yeah, it is nice to come to a facility like this, the care and all the work they put into this place,” Dixie stated. “Going into Turn 7 is a little bit bumpier now, the approach on braking, which makes it more interesting than what it was. But it’s great to be at a facility like this.”
With the addition of Road America to the 2016 schedule, the IMS road course is now the second longest road course that the IndyCar series will race on this season. The length of a road course can possibly factor into how a driver does during the race.
“Yeah, I don’t know, here it’s different because you’re so trimmed out,” he added. “I think we’re 20 miles an hour faster than most road courses we go to on the front straight. The cars are trimmed out. I don’t know. When you mess up your first corner or second corner, you’ve got a long ways to get around before you can start a lap again.”
