21 drivers to test at TMS Wednesday

All 21 full-season cars plus the Indianapolis 500 entry for Gabby Chaves are scheduled to participate in the daylong test on the 1.455-mile oval in Fort Worth, site of the Rainguard Water Sealers 600 in June. The track has undergone major renovations since last year’s race.

The primary objective for the test is to establish the best aerodynamic configuration for the Indy cars when the series returns for the June 9-10 race weekend. Bill Pappas, INDYCAR’s vice president of competition, engineering, explained that the test will be split into two three-hour sessions. In the first session, from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. ET, teams will be permitted time to set up their cars individually before a full-field run will be completed.

During the break between sessions, data will be evaluated and driver feedback obtained by INDYCAR officials. If aero configuration alterations are necessary, they will be made and another full-field run will take place in the second session that runs from 4-7 p.m. ET.

“Because it’s a new configuration of the racetrack – geometry and resurfacing – we want to make sure that we get the aero configuration right to have a good, close, safe race," Pappas said. “We’ll basically give the guys some time to sort their cars out, then we want to run a group run with the field. Get them out there and say, ‘Is this enough downforce, is this not enough downforce?’

“Then we’ll stop, get a debrief from the drivers and determine if we need to make an adjustment for an afternoon run. And if we need to, do it again."

Participants in test