The verdict is in from the top drivers of the IndyCar Series: Texas Motor Speedway really can stage a modern IndyCar Series race that isn’t a cure for insomnia.
“It was fun, I have to say,” remarked McLaren Indy driver Pato O’Ward, a past winner around the oft-maligned 1.5-mile superspeedway oval. “It’s got to be the best Texas race in the last four, five years. It was freaking awesome.”
Last year’s Texas 375 produced a wild finish as Josef Newgarden’s last-corner pass around the outside of Scott McLaughlin brought him the victory, but outside of that moment and a few brief scrambles after Safety Car restarts, it was still difficult to run the higher grooves around the corners and race wheel-to-wheel for sustained periods.
Many factors contributed to a more invigorating race at Texas this time. IndyCar’s decision to stage practice sessions specifically to lay rubber on the outer grooves has helped, along with Texas Motor Speedway using a new resin to treat the surface instead of the problematic PJ1 traction compound applied previously.
“This year you could run the second lane,” remarked 2021 series champion Alex Palou. “Last year it was like one-and-a-half.”
IndyCar teams also had the option to fit special barge board pieces, sidewalls, and Gurney flap infills to either increase or decrease the amount of downforce to their liking, similar to the pick-and-mix aero options available for the Indianapolis 500.
Trust between drivers also went a long way in the quest towards a race which was thrilling but didn’t tip over the edge of being needlessly dangerous as past Texas races have. “That’s how it has to be,” added O’Ward. “There’s really no other way to do it.
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“We’re going way too fast to mess around at those speeds. We’re going wheel-to-wheel at 226 miles an hour or something. A little wiggle from somebody can be really big. So hats off to everybody.”
Josef Newgarden, who got his third win at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, is one of those who feels like the Texas 375 got the balance right: It was a genuinely fun race, but one that didn’t cross the line into a nerve-wracking pack race where one brush of wings could trigger a catastrophic multi-car pile-up and risk serious injury, if not worse.
“I really think today was a good mix,”…
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