Andretti compares the heat of two series
Sunday, however, Bobby Labonte will be competing during the day in the Pocono 500 at the Pocono Raceway. Temperatures are expected to reach near 90 degrees in what is one of the longest events on the circuit.
Andretti explains the difference of how heat affects both types of cars while Labonte, a three-time winner at Pocono, comments on conditioning for 500 miles at Pocono.
“The cockpit is open on the Indy car, so when you're running, there are no air ducts to pull the air because you have fresh air coming at you. There are no helmet hoses because the air hits your helmet, so you run a totally different helmet that channels air into the helmet. There are no cool boxes, but there isn't a need for them. In a stock car everything is confined and the idea is to keep the air out of the car. They do duct some air in, but being all metal, and I sit in an aluminum seat in a stock car whereas I sit in a beaded seat in IndyCar, a lot of heat comes through that seat. For sure, the stock cars are a lot hotter.
“The dehydration level is higher in NASCAR, not just because of the heat, but also because the duration of the race. Stock car races are quite a bit longer than IndyCar races, so there are some different challenges for sure. I think that the biggest contributor to the heat is all the metal that's around you in the stock car, and when it gets hot outside, it becomes an oven on the inside.
“The heat still affects racing conditions for Indy cars, too. When we go to Indianapolis (Motor Speedway) we're begging for cloud cover because it gives grip. It's not so much the temperature as it is the sun. When it beams down on the race track, it makes it slick. It does for an IndyCar just like it does for a stock car and you feel it the same."