IndyCar looking for 220 mph at Indy this week

The Izod IndyCar Series goal is 220 mph in testing Wednesday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Faster laps will be a bonus.

Technical chief Will Phillips wants to see laps in that bracket because if the new DW12 can do that in race trim, as teams generally test in, then it can go 225 mph in qualifying trim.

Phillips said 225 mph was the speed he asked Dallara to be able to reach when production began last fall.

“That was the target," he said.

Nine veteran drivers, including two former 500 winners, will participate this week. They include:

Chevrolet: Helio Castroneves (Team Penske), Ed Carpenter (Ed Carpenter Racing), Marco Andretti (Andretti Autosport), Tony Kanaan (KV Racing Technology), JR Hildebrand (Panther Racing).

Honda: Takuma Sato (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing), Scott Dixon (Ganassi Racing), Justin Wilson (Dale Coyne Racing), Mike Conway (A.J. Foyt Racing).

If teams can't go 220 mph, Phillips said he will move toward the next step in the process. He did not say what that would be. AutoWeek