IndyCar

IndyCar DXC Technology 600 at Texas Preview

DXC Technology 600 fast facts

2018 winner Scott Dixon
2018 winner Scott Dixon

Race weekend: Thursday, June 6 – Saturday, June 8

Track: Texas Motor Speedway, a 1.5-mile oval

Race distance: 248 laps / 357.12 miles

Entry List: DXC Technology 600 (PDF)

Firestone tire allotment: Fourteen sets for use through the weekend

Twitter: @TXMotorSpeedway @IndyCar, #DXC600, #IndyCar

Event website: www.TexasMotorSpeedway.com

INDYCAR website: www.IndyCar.com

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]2018 race winner: Scott Dixon (No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)

2018 NTT P1 Award winner: Josef Newgarden (No. 1 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet), 46.9964 seconds, 220.613 mph (two laps)

Qualifying records (based on track distance of 1.44 miles)

One lap: Charlie Kimball, 23.2730, 222.747 mph, June 9, 2017

Two laps: Charlie Kimball, 46.5861 seconds, 222.556 mph, June 9, 2017

NBCSN television telecasts: Qualifying: 6:30 p.m. ET Friday, NBCSN (live); Race: 8 p.m. ET Saturday, NBCSN. Leigh Diffey is the lead announcer for NBC broadcasts alongside analysts Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy. Marty Snider, Kevin Lee, Jon Beekhuis and Robin Miller are the pit reporters.

Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the chief announcer alongside analyst Anders Krohn with Jake Query and Nick Yeoman in the turns. All NTT IndyCar Series races are broadcast live on the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network, Sirius 98, XM 202, IndyCar.com, indycarradio.com and on the INDYCAR Mobile app powered by NTT DATA. Live coverage of NTT IndyCar Series qualifying is available on Sirius 98, XM 209, IndyCar.com, indycarradio.com and the INDYCAR Mobile app.

NBC Sports Gold livestreaming: All NTT IndyCar Series practice sessions and qualifying will stream live on INDYCAR Pass on NBC Sports Gold, NBC Sports' direct-to-consumer livestreaming product.

At-track schedule (all times local):

Thursday, June 6

7 – 9 p.m. – NTT IndyCar Series practice #1, NBC Sports Gold (live)

Friday, June 7

2 – 3 p.m. – NTT IndyCar Series practice #2, NBC Sports Gold (live)

5:45 p.m. – Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (single car/cumulative time of two laps), NBCSN (live); NBC Sports Gold (live)

Saturday, June 8

7:01 p.m. – Driver introductions

7:40 p.m. – Command to start engines

7:45 p.m. – DXC Technology 600 (248 laps/357.12 miles), NBCSN (live)

Race notes:

  • There have been six different winners in eight NTT IndyCar Series races in 2019. Josef Newgarden (Streets of St. Petersburg and Raceway at Belle Isle Park-1), Colton Herta (Circuit of The Americas), Takuma Sato (Barber Motorsports Park), Alexander Rossi (Streets of Long Beach), Simon Pagenaud (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course and Indianapolis Motor Speedway) and Scott Dixon (Raceway at Belle Isle Park-2) have won races in 2019. The record for most different winners in a season is 11 in 2000, 2001 and 2014.
  • There have been seven different winners in the last 10 NTT IndyCar Series races (Takuma Sato, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Josef Newgarden, Colton Herta, Alexander Rossi, Simon Pagenaud and Scott Dixon) The only repeat winners in that stretch Sato (2 wins – Portland 2018 and Barber 2019), Pagenaud (INDYCAR Grand Prix and Indianapolis 500 in 2019) and Newgarden (St. Petersburg and Belle Isle-1 in 2019).
  • There have been six different NTT P1 Award winners in 2019. Will Power (Streets of St. Petersburg and Circuit of The Americas), Takuma Sato (Barber Motorsports Park), Alexander Rossi (Streets of Long Beach, Raceway at Belle Isle Park-1), Felix Rosenqvist (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course) Simon Pagenaud (Indianapolis Motor Speedway) and Josef Newgarden (Raceway at Belle Isle Park-2) have won poles in 2019. The record for most pole winners in a season is 12 set in the 1999 CART season.
  • The DXC Technology 600 is the second of five oval races on the 2019 NTT IndyCar Series schedule. Team Penske has won the two most recent oval races: Will Power at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in 2018 and Simon Pagenaud winning the Indianapolis 500 on May 26.
  • Helio Castroneves has won four times at Texas Motor Speedway (2004 Race 2, 2006, 2009 and 2013), the most wins by an Indy car driver at the track. Five past TMS winners are entered in this year's race: Tony Kanaan (2004 Race 1), Scott Dixon (2008, 2015 and 2018), Will Power (2011 Race 2 and 2017), Ed Carpenter (2014) and Graham Rahal (2016).
  • Will Power has won the pole for three of the past six Texas Motor Speedway races (2013, 2014 and 2015). Other past pole winners entered this year are Scott Dixon (2008), Charlie Kimball (2017) and Josef Newgarden (2018). Tony Kanaan won a draw to start first for the second of the 2011 doubleheader races but has never won the pole at Texas.
  • Six drivers have won the Texas race from the pole: Sam Hornish Jr. (2001 Race 2), Gil de Ferran (2003 Race 2), Helio Castroneves (2004 Race 2), Tomas Scheckter (2005), Scott Dixon (2008) and Ryan Briscoe (2010).
  • Drivers who have won at Texas have gone on to win the NTT IndyCar Series championship seven times: Sam Hornish Jr. (2001 Race 2 and 2002 Race 2), Tony Kanaan (2004 Race 1), Scott Dixon (2008, 2015 and 2018) and Dario Franchitti (2011 Race 1).
  • Eighteen drivers entered this weekend have competed in past NTT IndyCar Series events at Texas Motor Speedway. Tony Kanaan and Scott Dixon have competed in 19 events, most of any driver. Twelve drivers have led laps at the track: Dixon 484, Will Power 432, Kanaan 372, James Hinchcliffe 196, Ed Carpenter 92, Simon Pagenaud 85, Marco Andretti 84, Josef Newgarden 67, Ryan Hunter-Reay 46, Graham Rahal 33, Charlie Kimball 27 and Alexander Rossi 7.
  • Rookies Marcus Ericsson, Santino Ferrucci, Colton Herta and Felix Rosenqvist will race an NTT IndyCar Series car at Texas Motor Speedway for the first time this weekend.
  • Tony Kanaan seeks to start his 309th consecutive races this weekend, which would extend his Indy car record streak that began in June 2001 at Portland. Kanaan can tie his team owner A.J. Foyt for second all-time in career starts should he make his 369th start at Texas on Saturday.
  • Scott Dixon has made 249 consecutive starts heading into the weekend, which is the second-longest streak in Indy car racing. Marco Andretti has made 225 consecutive starts, which is the third-longest streak in Indy car racing.
  • Scott Dixon, the longest-tenured driver for Chip Ganassi Racing, is third on the all-time Indy car victory list with 45 wins. Sebastien Bourdais is sixth on the all-time list with 37 wins and Will Power is tied with Bobby Unser for seventh on the all-time list with 35 wins.

DXC TECHNOLOGY 600 PRE-EVENT QUOTES:

JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 2 Fitzgerald USA Team Penske Chevrolet, NTT IndyCar Series points leader): "We had a pretty good weekend at Detroit, picking up a win and a pole in the process. Unfortunately, things didn't go our way on Sunday, so I'm ready to get back in the car at Texas and put that behind us. Thankfully, we still came out of there with the points lead, making Texas a really important race for us. I've had some up and down moments, but all the Team Penske cars – especially my Fitzgerald USA Chevrolet – always have run well there. So I'm ready to wrap up what's been a pretty busy last 30 days with a solid run this weekend."

MATHEUS LEIST (No. 4 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet): "I'm very excited for the Texas race because I actually didn't get to race there last year. We had problems in the third lap (car caught fire) and I didn't get to complete the race. The track is very fast and intimidating when you get there, but when you get going and get used to it and you're comfortable, it's really fun. We will have to deal with the tire degradation in the race which was a big thing there last year. I'm looking forward to it because I think we're going to have good fun. We'll have a lot of people supporting us from the team – it's our home race so I'm looking forward to having a good finish."

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 5 Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda): "I think everyone at Arrow SPM is excited to get to Texas. It's a track we've been strong at the in past, and coming off a strong race, even if not a strong result at Detroit, we want to keep the momentum up and cap off a busy stretch with a strong result."

MARCUS ERICSSON (No. 7 Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda): "A new race, just a few days after Detroit, obviously bringing a lot of good feelings and confidence from that second-place finish in Race 2. It was a great race and a great breakthrough for us – the first podium of the year for Arrow SPM. Texas will be my second oval race. I have a lot of good experiences from last month in Indy, and even though the result was disappointing then, there were a lot of positives to bring from that. We're going to build on that now for Texas and aim to have a strong weekend and a good result."

Will Dixon shoot the guns again in 2019?
Will Dixon shoot the guns again in 2019?

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, 2018 Texas race winner): For me, Texas is another iconic event on the NTT IndyCar Series schedule. This is the only track anywhere that I know of where you get to shoot guns in victory lane after a win. We were fortunate enough to do that now a few times with (TMS president) Eddie (Gossage) and his team. We had a really strong PNC Bank car there last year and managed to win the race. Hopefully, some of that momentum along with Detroit Sunday can help us get back in the championship fight as we approach the middle stretch of the season."

FELIX ROSENQVIST (No. 10 NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing Honda): "I actually did my very first INDYCAR oval test at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this year, so it's one of the tracks I do know. And it's right in NTT DATA's backyard in Plano, Texas – so a home race for them. Adding the full month of May experience at Indianapolis, I have a much better feeling for the ovals now, so it will be interesting to see how that reflects out on track this weekend. Having said that, I think we can expect a very different kind of race to what we had in Indy. Texas normally seems to produce closer pack racing with lots of overtaking, and I hear the tires can go off massively around there. Strategy, and making it through traffic, should be key factors for success this weekend. I can't wait to take it on in the NTT DATA car!"

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): "It was great to finally get some momentum back on our side on Sunday in Detroit, so I'm ready for Texas. I've really grown to like ovals the last few years and Texas is a place I'd love to pick up another win. Our Verizon Chevrolet has been fast all year long, we just haven't had the luck. But you make your own luck on ovals these days. I know we will have a fast car, it's just a matter of going out there and executing. If we can do that, we can pick up win number three at Texas, and that's what we are gunning for."

TONY KANAAN (No. 14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet): "Texas is a good track for us, it's one of my higher average finishes of all the tracks (nine podiums in 19 starts). We had a decent car there last year. We didn't finish the race, but we started sixth. I ran as high as fourth in the race. So I'm really looking forward to it. I really think our speedway car is decent so I'm banking on another good oval result for us."

GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 15 Fleet Cost & Care Honda): "I'm excited about going to Texas. We've won there before so that makes you look forward to the race more. We struggled there a little bit last year, but we were in the hunt at the end of the race. My hope is that we can be a little bit stronger this year. We have the oval maestro Allen (McDonald; race engineer) on the stand and after Indianapolis, where our race car was great, it will be good to go to Texas and see how much of that carries over there. If we can take a couple of things that we learned at Indy to Texas and they work out there too, I think we'll be just fine. It looks like it's going to be a scorcher."

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS (No. 18 SealMaster Honda): "Some of our sponsors are based in or operate in Texas, so the race means a lot to them, their guests and the team. The SealMaster Honda No. 18 car had good pace at Indy (qualified seventh), the only oval we had have run this year. At Texas Motor Speedway the weather and track conditions will be, as always, a big factor. We just have to hope we unload off the truck with a good baseline and then work from there to fine tune the car as the track changes and give everyone the result we need."

SANTINO FERRUCCI (No. 19 Cly-Del Manufacturing Honda): "I think coming off of Indy, I feel really comfortable on an oval. We tested at Texas Motor Speedway last fall, which was my first taste of an oval, and we were quick. I'd like to have another solid top-10 finish and have a little bit more fun. I'm looking forward to it very much."

ED CARPENTER (No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet): "Texas is always a race that I am very excited for. The NTT IndyCar Series has such a long history racing at TMS and, as a former winner, it is always one of my favorite races. On top of that, it is my first chance to move on from the Indy 500 and work to get back to victory lane!"

SPENCER PIGOT (No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet): "I'm looking forward to getting back on an oval this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. It's a unique track to our schedule and one that Ed Carpenter Racing has had success on in the past. Hopefully, we can repeat that this weekend. I enjoyed my first race at Texas last season, the high speeds and high banking really making it a lot of fun to drive!"

SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 22 DXC Technology Team Penske Chevrolet): "Texas couldn't come at a better time for so many reasons. It's been a whirlwind last two weeks after winning the Indianapolis 500, so it will be nice to finish this stretch and get a little breather. Plus, our team is running very strong right now. I think our oval program is one of the best in the paddock, and honestly, we have a really good platform for Texas. On top of that all, this is the DXC Technology 600. It's such a huge race for one of our biggest partners on the No. 22 team, so I want to go out there and win this race. We got a couple of huge wins for Menards, so I can't think of a better race to win for DXC Technology."

CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 23 Fiasp Carlin Chevrolet): "I'm excited to get back into the No. 23 Fiasp Carlin Chevrolet at Texas Motor Speedway because I feel like the team and I have unfinished business from the Indianapolis 500. After being on pole (at Texas) a couple of years ago and having a strong race last year, I know we will be competitive from the first session onwards."

ZACH VEACH (No. 26 Gainbridge Honda): "I love Texas. If we can accomplish what we did last year and I don't make a mistake, that's going to be my race. I really like Texas Motor Speedway and it's just so much fun. I think a lot of people have mixed feelings about Texas just because of the size and the speed but for me, I absolutely love it and I can't wait to get back there this weekend."

Can Rossi beat Pagenaud this time around?
Can Rossi beat Pagenaud this time around?

ALEXANDER ROSSI (No. 27 GESS / Capstone Honda): "I think based on Indianapolis, we're happy with our superspeedway car, so going to Texas I hope that we can get in victory circle. Texas is always a challenging race with the heat and fast speeds, but we finished third last year and hopefully, we can build on that."

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 DHL Honda): "Hopefully, we have a good car for Texas. We would like to capitalize on some of the momentum we have rolling right now and bring home a good result for the DHL team. I hope we'll be wearing cowboy hats and I'll be shooting some pistols when the checkered flag waves."

TAKUMA SATO (No. 30 ABeam Consulting Honda): "I'm very excited to see ABeam Consulting as primary sponsor again at Texas. It will be a beautiful blue car. Since we had a strong finish at the Indy 500, I believe we have a strong car for the superspeedway and I'm looking forward to that and going back to Texas Motor Speedway. Hopefully, we will be strong and can continue to make ground in the title fight. We were able to close a little on the leader in Detroit and want to continue to do that. Texas is always an exciting race."

CONOR DALY (No. 59 Gallagher Carlin Chevrolet): "I want to thank everyone at Carlin and Gallagher for the opportunity to get back in a race car this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. I thoroughly enjoyed working with Carlin back in 2011 as I started my European racing journey, and to now drive for them in the NTT IndyCar Series in the No. 59 Gallagher Carlin Chevrolet is pretty special. I've always enjoyed racing at Texas. I became a fan of Texas when I was really young – the side-by-side racing under the lights was always an incredible sight to see. I can't wait to get back there. I haven't been there with this new generation car yet, but I'm looking forward to the challenge. I'm ready to contribute to the team as best I can and hopefully come away with a good result."

COLTON HERTA (No. 88 GESS Capstone Honda): "I'm excited to get back on an oval again at Texas Motor Speedway. We tested there in April and the No. 88 GESS Capstone Honda car was great. We're coming off another strong weekend after the Detroit Grand Prix, so the boys and I hope to use that momentum to build more confidence to bring home a strong result.

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 98 U.S. Concrete / Curb Honda): "My engineer (Mark Bryant) gave me a great car last weekend and hopefully we'll have another great car in Texas. We have some good momentum rolling from Race 2, so hopefully, we'll be able to bring home a good result for U.S. Concrete at their home event."