My first day at Frontstretch was Sept. 3, 2021, and the first NASCAR weekend I covered for the site was at Circuit of the Americas in March 2022. That was the first of seven (and counting) weekends where I’ve been on-site for a race in the last year.
NASCAR has always been my first priority in watching motorsports, but it’s not my lone interest. I also try and watch the NTT IndyCar Series when I can, and I was able to attend IndyCar races at Texas Motor Speedway in 2016 and 2017 before saving enough money to make a trek up to Indiana for the 2018 Indianapolis 500.
The second race weekend I covered for NASCAR was at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in July 2022, and that weekend featured an IndyCar race the Saturday before Cup. I had credentials to be in the garage area for the IndyCar race, but it turns out that I did not have the credentials to be on pit road after its conclusion. So, while I was at the race, I wasn’t able to cover it.
Reporting for an IndyCar race finally became a reality in 2023, as a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race was paired with an IndyCar weekend at Texas for the first time since the pandemic began. I was going to be at Texas Truck race due to its proximity, and I got the green light to have my first go at IndyCar. Why not?
After all, it was a weekend where I had two of my Frontstretch colleagues in Phil Allaway and Mike Knapp at my side. If I ever had a question, I had two experienced IndyCar reporters to turn to.
The weekend of March 31 and April 1 was a two-day show, so that Saturday featured Truck practice, qualifying and the race as well as IndyCar practice and qualifying. Quite a day.
When the cars hit the track for practice, it wasn’t the first time that I had seen them up close. But after not attending an IndyCar event for nearly five years, it’s easy to forget just how fast they go.
The stock cars average about 180 miles per hour per lap at Texas, which is fast in its own right, but it’s a snail’s pace when compared to the open wheelers roaring down the frontstretch and backstretch at over 220.
Stock cars have been restricted to go over 200 mph at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, yet that speed is well eclipsed at the track one mile shorter in length. But the intensity – and risk – of IndyCar at Texas is still there; just one mistake has the potential to turn into a disaster at those speeds.
And given the show that the field…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at …