Photo Credit: IndyCar
On June 29 most of the Verizon IndyCar Series drivers headed to Iowa Speedway for a test session prior to the Iowa Corn 250 next weekend. The session was delayed due to rain in the morning but teams were able to get some valuable laps in the afternoon.
Notably, Andretti Autosport is the team to beat when it comes to racing at Iowa. They have won the last six Iowa races so everyone is looking to copy what they are doing to find success at the track.
Ryan Hunter-Reay, driver of the No 28 DHL Honda, a three-time previous winner at Iowa, hopes to find his way back into Victory Lane at the track for his first victory of the 2016 season. He said the test was away for them to figure out different things they need to do to the car to get it ready for the test.
“Coming back now, we’re working on team items like dampers, spring rates, roll centers, geometries,” Hunter-Reay stated. “Things that can really help the car in qualifying and in traffic. A long list of items to get through, but with four cars at Andretti Autosport we’ll start picking through that.”
James Hinchcliffe, driver of the No. 5 Arrow Electronics Honda, is also a previous winner, winning the race in 2013. Last year Hinch missed the race due to injuries he suffered in May. So being back at the track with a new car and new aero kit he had to work to get the car set up correctly, and a lot of new stuff he had to learn. Being a past winner, he says he knows what a good car feels like, but he needs to find the right balance.
“The big thing we’re looking for is anything Andretti Autosport does,” Hinch quoted. “They seem to have a pretty exemplary record here and I think they should be banned from testing. I don’t think that should be allowed, I don’t think it’s fair, but no one asked me for my opinion, so here they are.”
Sebastien Bourdais, driver of the No. 11 Hydroxycut Chevrolet, has never won at Iowa and only has one top-10 finish there. He said he hopes this test helps him and his team find something for the race next weekend.
“The (to-do) list got longer after the first couple of runs (before the rain) and the time available got shorter, so we’re going to have to pick the list of priorities and see what really matters the most,” Bourdais said. “We’re not going to get through all of the items we were hoping to go through. It is what it is.”
Helio Castroneves, driver of the No. 3 Hitatchi Chevrolet, has never won at the track either but has seven top-10 finishes there. He likes racing at the track and hopes the test helps them prepare for the race next weekend.
“It’s a small track but it’s fast,” Castroneves added. “Even though we don’t reach 230 mph like Indianapolis, it feels more like that – more than that – when you’re going around this short track. When you’re going around 17 seconds (a lap), and on the (race) weekend, we might be breaking into the 16s, it’s super-fast and it’s fun at the same time because you do have some challenges.”
During the afternoon part of the session Andretti Autosport driver, Alexander Rossi spun going into turn two and made contact with the wall; however, there were no injuries.
