New curbs on track draw frowns from IndyCar drivers

Add another new element to the new cars and new engine manufacturers for Sunday's Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg: curbs.

Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay said Friday morning that he and other racers were concerned about new, raised curbs at Turns 2, 4 and 9. Turn 4 is the intersection of Second Avenue S and First Street SE, Turn 9 the intersection of Central Avenue and Bay Shore Drive NE.

Hunter-Reay compared the previous curbs to loaves of bread: bumps small enough for the cars to drive over while keeping speeds up. The new curbs are bigger, like tabletops, he said, so drivers must maneuver around them.

"Our concern is it is going to lower the cornering speeds a little bit," Hunter-Reay said. "We need these things to look as fast as possible on TV. Now we may have to tiptoe around them."

After practice, Helio Castroneves said, "I did not have an issue, but it is an issue. I didn't run behind anybody. Sometimes you are so close to somebody's rear wing that it might catch you by surprise."