Bryan Herta Autosport Firestone 600 Preview

Gabby Chaves

Indianapolis –After a wet and cool weekend in Detroit, the Verizon IndyCar Series will head to the hot and dry Texas Motor Speedway for the Firestone 600(k) on Saturday night. BHA won the pole there in 2012, but this will be the first visit to the 1.5mile D-shaped high-banked oval for Gabby Chaves.

Texas has been on the Indycar schedule since 1997 and provided some of the closest and most exciting races on the schedule. Since the introduction of the Dallara DW12 in 2012, the field has spread out somewhat due to aerodynamics changes. 2015 will be the first time the teams of Indycar contest Texas with the manufacturer developed "aero-kits".

Texas is also unique because it begins as the sun is setting and ends totally under the lights. Keys to the race not only include setting up the car for the drastic change in track temperatures, but managing the tires to last a whole fuel run. Tire degradation is a major problem on the high banked "cheese grater" surface track…

This will the first visit the 1.5mile track for the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year. Chaves had the Bowers & Wilkins Honda in the top ten at the 500, and is very much looking forward to returning to the oval tracks and challenging for the win.

Gabby Chaves on his first race at Texas Motor Speedway:

"I'm very excited to go to Texas, especially after our best result of the year so far (9th in Detroit 2). We're hoping to continue with the momentum. Being my first time on a 1.5 mile high bank oval in the big car, I'm excited for that. We had a strong car at the Indy 500, so we feel confident the Bowers & Wilkins car will be good in Texas as well. I'm also looking forward to racing under the lights for the first time and to keep making progress as we've done every race weekend this year so far."

About Bryan Herta Autosport:

Co-Founded by veteran driver Bryan Herta, Bryan Herta Autosport (BHA) has been a race-winning team in Indy Lights competition since 2009 and won the 2011 Indianapolis 500 with driver Dan Wheldon in only its second Verizon IndyCar Series start. BHA currently fields entries in the Verizon IndyCar Series and in the Red Bull Global Rallycross Series as Bryan Herta Rallysport. Since 2012, BHA has partnered with Bowen Motorsports of Toronto, Ontario. For more information, visit www.bryanhertaautosport.com.

Bryan Herta Autosport