IndyCar Saturday morning update from Texas (2nd Update)

UPDATE Here are the specifics of how we are going to resume the race today bullet-point style:

  • A car must re-start the race in the same aerodynamic configuration that they were in when the race was red-flagged. The only thing that the teams will be allowed to adjust is the front wing angle. That means that no teams will be able to add or remove aero-kit pieces that were on the car when the race was stopped in June.
  • The cars will be immediately impounded after the practice session and INDYCAR officials will confirm that the teams are running the exact same aero configuration at the stoppage for the race in June.
  • Each team will receive one new set of Firestone Firehawks for the 10 minute warm-up/practice which will happen today at 4:35 and 4:50 pm. The cars will be split into two groups by the order the cars were in when the race was red flagged in June.
  • The teams will each receive six sets of new tires for the race. Where possible, the tires will be the exact same ones that teams had the first time they visited Texas Motor Speedway. If a team did not have six sticker sets of tires left, they will be given new sets.
  • Each team will receive 70 gallons of fuel to finish the remaining 177 laps.
  • Here is the running order:
Restart Position June 12th Start Driver Laps Laps Led
1 10 James Hinchcliffe 71 31
2 11 Ryan Hunter-Reay 71 1
3 16 Mikhail Aleshin 71 0
4 7 Will Power 71 0
5 14 Ed Carpenter 71 0
6 22 Gabby Chaves 71 0
7 3 Helio Castroneves 71 0
8 15 Charlie Kimball 71 0
9 1 Carlos Munoz 71 37
10 17 Juan Montoya 71 0
11 18 Sebastien Bourdais 71 0
12 13 Graham Rahal 71 0
13 9 Alexander Rossi 71 0
14 2 Scott Dixon 71 0
15 6 Simon Pagenaud 71 0
16 8 Tony Kanaan 71 0
17 4 Takuma Sato 70 0
18 12 Marco Andretti 70 0
19 19 Max Chilton 70 0
20 20 Jack Hawksworth 69 0
21 21 Conor Daly 42 0
22 5 Josef Newgarden 41 2

As for the tires, I spoke with Dale Harrigle, chief engineer and manager of race tire development for Firestone. “We decided to go back the exact sets for number of reasons all in an effort to make life easier for the teams," said Harrigle. “The first is, we did not want to remove any of the team markings, so all of the tires are still marked by team’s specific set numbers, position and so on. The second reason is, on the ovals, teams meticulously measure every tire and build their sets based on exact tire measurements. By giving them the exact same sets back, they do not have to go through this process a second time."

"I think the biggest challenge will be getting your car right for much different conditions than when we started the race," explained Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon. “That short practice session before we restart the race is going to be crucial, I think."

Lucille Dust reporting from Ft Worth Texas

08/27/16 A reader writes, I think a lot of folks are forgetting about the CART race in Nazareth that was postponed to do…SNOW, and run several months later. Rob Wall

08/27/16 Good morning from sunny Ft. Worth. This is the most unique race I have ever been to. In all my years of working within the IndyCar series, I do not ever remember a race starting and being finished 2 months later! This has many questions to be answered like do all the cars start with a full tank of fuel. More later…. Lucille Dust reporting for AutoRacing1.com