NHR Completes Second Test at Sebring with Hinchcliffe

Newman/Haas Racing (NHR) completed a two-day test at the 1.65-mile Sebring International Raceway road course today with Canadian rookie James Hinchcliffe. Rain prevented the team from running until approx. 2 p.m. ET today but they were able to complete the remaining number of miles they allocated for the test once the track dried.

“We woke up this morning to a bunch of rain," said Hinchcliffe, 24, who added 33 laps to the 97 he completed yesterday. “I wanted to take the car out and get it wet for the first time but the powers that be decided it was better to wait for dry conditions to use up the rest of our test miles. We ran the majority of our allotted test miles yesterday because we knew the weather was going to be better than today. That meant we had to sit around and wait a lot today to make sure the track was at its best before we went out so as to not waste the miles. Sitting at a race track and not driving is a lot like sitting in a movie theater and them not turning on the movie; it was a little tough to sit and wait."

“Yesterday we did a lot of development work and today was more about race setup and long runs," added Hinchcliffe, who ran a best lap time of 54.65 today. “I got my first chance to do my first full-fuel run in an Indy car. It was another day dedicated to continuing my learning process and another great test with Newman/Haas Racing which makes me that much more anxious and eager to get a deal done."