Team Penske Cars Lead Shortened First Day of Barber Open Test

Juan Montoya locks a wheel trying hard

Juan Pablo Montoya's goals for the two-day Verizon IndyCar Series Open Test at Barber Motorsports were simple: learn, discern and apply.

The scheduled seven hours on the 2.38-mile, 17-turn road course were cut in half because of a chill and mist in the morning of day one, but Montoya and teammates Will Power and Helio Castroneves made the most of their combined 154 laps. The test day was especially effective for the newest member of Team Penske.

Montoya, driving the Chevrolet-powered No. 2 Verizon Team Penske car, was .0678 of a second off the front-running Power's best lap of 1 minute, 07.6492 seconds. Castroneves was third on the time chart at 1:07.7214.

"I'm trying to learn how to get more out of the car and we're getting there," said Montoya, the 1999 CART champion and 2000 Indianapolis 500 Mile Race winner who is returning to Indy car racing after stints in Formula One and stock cars. "It was good today, but there's a couple of places that I need to do a little better job and be a little cleaner, but we're getting there."

Twenty-two drivers, including four who will make their first Verizon IndyCar Series start on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., on March 30 (3 p.m. ET, ABC), participated. Testing continues on March 18 with a full-day of testing.

"I think it will be really good," added Montoya, noting the more favorable weather forecast. "We're going to try to get in some long runs and hopefully running in some traffic. I think that is going to be one of the key things (heading into St. Petersburg)."

The Verizon IndyCar Series returns in five weeks for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. Reigning series champion Scott Dixon, who has been the runner-up in each of the four races at Barber, was fourth on the time sheet (1:07.8225). Like Montoya, he favored what could be gained and applied at St. Petersburg and in the future at Barber.

"This early in the season to get miles is the important thing," he said. "Everybody has their first new engine spec of the four for the season so there's a lot to be learned on drivability, there are some brake options that are being circulated that we need to get through, and really it's just about getting ready for that first race that is less than two weeks away. There's a lot to be achieved."

Takuma Sato, entering his second season in the No. 14 ABC Supply car for A.J. Foyt Racing, was fifth quick (1:07.8691), and Ryan Briscoe was sixth (1:07.8834) was sixth in the No. 8 NTT Data Chip Ganassi Racing car.

Five Chevrolet-powered cars and five with the new Honda 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged V6 split the top 10. Every driver but Oriol Servia (No. 16 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) had tested at least once during the offseason. Still, the looming season opener carried weight into these sessions.

"Every mile we do in testing goes a long way," said James Hinchcliffe of Andretti Autosport. "We only have two days left (of testing) until we head to the first race at St. Pete and we'll be making sure all the software and calibrations are as good as we can get them."

DAY 1 NOTEBOOK:

Hydroxycut will be the primary sponsor of the No. 11 KVSH Racing car for seven races of the Verizon IndyCar Series season, including the March 28-30 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, and co-sponsor for the 98th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race.

Sebastien Bourdais, fresh off a podium finish in the 12 Hours of Sebring, drove the Chevrolet-powered car with Hydroxycut livery on the Barber Motorsports Park course during the preseason Open Test. Hydroxycut, the country's No. 1 selling weight loss supplement brand, was the primary sponsor of the 2013 Indianapolis 500-winning car driven by Tony Kanaan.

"Having Hydroxycut, a world class brand that's been chosen by millions, back on board with us long term is the last piece of the puzzle for our assault on the 2014 championship," KVSH Racing partner James "Sulli" Sullivan said.

Mistic Electronic Cigarettes will be the primary sponsor for the other events as well as the co-primary sponsor for the Indianapolis 500.

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Tire degradation is foremost on the minds of Andretti Autosport's Carlos Munoz and James Hinchcliffe when they return for the fifth Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama in late April on the 2.38-mile, 17-turn course that features hard braking and flowing corners and 80 feet of elevation change.

"With the treatment that was done to the track last year with some grinding it improved lap times but it also took a toll on the tires, so you need some sort of compromise," Hinchcliffe said. "The other big compromise at this track is setup-wise the low-speed corners you'll be dealing with a lot of understeer and some of the other corners the rear slides out. So you want a nice, stable rear and a well-connected front.

"We have a good basis to go on, but Firestone has a new tire this year and in testing at other places it's been considerably quicker. I think we'll be testing the limits of arm strength around here."

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The entrant name for No. 77 car driven by Simon Pagenaud has been changed to Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports in recognition of Davey Hamilton rejoining the team for 2014

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Gehl-branded equipment returns as a Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing associate sponsor after a five-year absence.

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Roger Griffiths resigned late last week as Honda Performance Development's technical director.

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Scott Dixon couldn't repeat after winning Verizon IndyCar Series championships in 2003 or 2008, but is hoping for better luck in 2013, even if means he wears a bull's eye on his chest, literally and figuratively.

"I think it's obviously a good problem to have," Dixon said. "I've been in this situation a couple of times before and we actually haven't defended it that well. In '09 we had a close shot and nearly won another championship. We will just have to sort of see how it goes. For us in the past when we have come close to another three championships I think it's always been the start of the year that has kind of hindered us. I think we need to focus on making a good start in the first three or four races."

Dixon could help his case with a strong run in the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park next month. Dixon has finished second at the 2.38-mile road course every time he's raced there.

"Barber has always been – I think I've finished second here every year I have come here. It would be nice to improve on that maybe. "

DAY 1 QUOTEBOOK:

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): "We've had to try different things, so it's a good day for that. Obviously the track conditions are exceptional, a lot of grip because it's so cold, you gain a little bit of downforce. You're always learning, there's no use in belting around there not learning anything. We found some more good stuff, crossed off things that don't work and I think we're in a good place." (About Juan Pablo Montoya): "Montoya brings some good ideas, he's very quick so it's only help for us. Obviously he becomes a competitor, but it's up to me to do the job on the track. We found some good stuff over the winter, worked hard. It looks like everyone is, once again, so close, running the same set-ups, it's just ridiculously competitive. It's up to me, like I said. Collectively as a team we try to improve the car and learn from each other, but when it comes to racing, the better guy is going to be winning. It's competition; it's just how it is. This series, he could win the first race quite easily. I expect him to definitely drive to the front everywhere, so if you're at the front knocking on the door, eventually you're going to get a win."

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA (No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): "Just trying to get better and figure out new tires a little bit. I'm trying to learn how to get more out of the car and we're getting there. It was good today, but there's a couple of places that I need to do a little better job and be a little cleaner, but we're getting there." (About having a full day of testing on Tuesday): "I think it will be really good. We're going to try to get in some long runs tomorrow and hopefully running in some traffic. I think that is going to be one of the key things (heading into St. Petersburg)." (About the conditions): "When it's this cold, it's so fast. The car is working pretty good and we did a lot of work over the winter, the car is good, so I'm pretty happy."

SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 77 Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports Honda): "The Open Test at Barber is like going back for the first day of school. We've got a brand new bright blue livery on the No. 77 car, and I really love how it stands out from all of the other cars on track. The SPM crew has done a great job preparing the car because we're already very fast. Honda's engine seems to be very powerful and we were right at the top of the time sheet for the whole day at Barber. This car gives me plenty of confidence going into the fast corners, and I think it's honestly the best we've ever been on tracks like this. We still have some work to do with testing several things tomorrow. The weather didn't help us today keeping us off of the track with cold rain, but we were fast. I'm really looking forward to the start of the season at St. Pete in two weeks – it can't come fast enough." (About Barber): ""Barber is a really fast track. There are a lot of up and down corners as well as blind corners, and we're very fast in fifth gear here. It's a very important compromise between where you want to place your car on the race line and how late you want to brake or be on the power. This track is extremely technical but I'm getting to the point where I'm understanding the track much more than previous years and the car is suiting me more."

MIKHAIL ALESHIN (No. 7 SMP Racing Honda): "Today felt like a proper test with a full field of cars here at Barber. I'm used to that from testing in Europe, so we got a lot of great practice in today. Obviously I will learn more about my fellow drivers here in (the Verizon) IndyCar (Series) as I go throughout the season, but I've been watching a lot of video of previous races to help prepare myself. Each driver is different and you need to learn how they think and drive. I think Barber is a great track. It has a European style with ups and downs and long and fast corners. We made some positive changes on the car and worked very hard. We had a technical issue at the end of the day and I had to stop running. We'll be back tomorrow though for a full day with a lot of new things to try."

MIKE CONWAY (No. 20 Fuzzy's Vodka/Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet): "We started out pretty well today and the car felt good. I think we were top four. We tried a variety of things later in the afternoon and didn't improve. The other guys found some things and were quicker. We were able to work through some of the list of things we had planned. We just need to work in a few more areas with the car. It is scheduled to be warmer on Tuesday so I feel that will help the car too. The low 50s is very cold for these tires. Actually, it felt good to get back in the Fuzzy's car. I have been testing the sports car in recent weeks. It doesn't take long to get acclimated to these cars again, just a few laps. I'm looking forward to another day of testing on Tuesday."

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