Breaking news
IndyCar Indy 500
No conclusion yet on the aeroscreen’s effect on drafting at IMS
Neither today’s Indy 500 practice pacesetter James Hinchcliffe nor 2008 IMS winner Scott Dixon believe any firm verdict can yet be reached on how the aeroscreen will affect the racing at Indy – except that the leader of any given pack will remain a “sitting duck”.
David Malsher-Lopez
Published: Aug 13, 2020, 1:02 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Hinchcliffe in the Andretti Autosport-Honda and Dixon in the Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda both broke into the 224mph zone, but spent much of their day running raceday setups and practicing running in dirty air.
Dixon said his initial impression was that the draft effect had been “much better at Texas [Motor Speedway, which hosted the much delayed season-opener in June]. But I think it's hard on days like this, too, because there are a lot of people kind of in mixed configurations.
“You do see occasionally someone out front that's running quite quick, but they've got a smaller wicker or you can see they're trimmed out a little further on the rear wing. We did see quite a few different aero configurations.
“I think definitely for the first three cars you feel that a little more. Again, I think as you move further through the pack, it just depletes [the draft effect] a little bit more. I think it is there… The car out front is pretty much a sitting duck right now.”
He later added: “The Aeroscreen when we first tested it seemed like it kind of affected the car a little different aerodynamically. I’d say today actually felt more normal. No real difference, and the vision is good.”
Hinchcliffe, who will be making his third and – for the moment, at least – final start in a sixth Andretti Autosport car sponsored by Genesys, said: “To mimic what [Dixon] was saying there, there were a couple times I felt like … that draft effect was a little bit stronger than what we've had in the last couple years. That is one of the complaints we have had, that you get a good run off the corner, really close to a guy, and just not quite pull up all the way.
“Had a few runs today that felt like we were pretty decent. Unfortunately the guy ahead was also in a four-car draft so I wasn't able to get around him! But it was nice to at least get that feeling.
“Like Scott said, the guy up front is always going to be the slowest car on track compared to the next couple behind him.”
The Canadian, who earned pole here in 2016 but has otherwise endured a star-crossed relationship with the iconic venue, said that the aeroscreen had not caused any major differences to the car’s behavior, even if the sensory experience from inside the cockpit was different.
“It felt fairly normal,” he said. “You're still getting used to the lack of wind noise, the difference in where the air sort of hits you, how you feel it. In terms of the car, the handling in traffic, it was pretty similar. It didn't do anything kind of unpredictable or freaky.
“It was kind of a pleasant – I don't want to say surprise. But I'm glad we didn't get surprised, have something weird jump in.
“As far as the quality of the racing, it's still early days. Like Scott said, once you're kind of fourth, fifth back in line, it starts getting a lot trickier. The track got a decent amount hotter this afternoon when everybody was out there doing a group run.
“[But] it's still Day 1. We still have a lot of rubber to lay down before we get to the race. Hopefully that will help. If we have a nice cool, cloudy day on race day, no reason we can't have a great show.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Indy 500 Practice: Hinchcliffe heads strong day for Andretti
Next article Former Indy 500 Rookie of the Year Edmunds dies aged 89
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
David Malsher-Lopez
Alex Zanardi: The man whose name is a synonym for “hero”
IndyCar
IndyCar
Alex Zanardi: The man whose name is a synonym for “hero”
Remembering Michele Alboreto: F1 ace, Le Mans winner and a good man
Formula 1
Formula 1
Remembering Michele Alboreto: F1 ace, Le Mans winner and a good man
IMSA Laguna Seca: Ganassi Cadillac holds off Porsche for victory
IMSA
IMSA
Laguna Seca
IMSA Laguna Seca: Ganassi Cadillac holds off Porsche for victory
More from
Scott Dixon
Arrow McLaren signs multi-year engine extension with Chevrolet
IndyCar
IndyCar
Arrow McLaren signs multi-year engine extension with Chevrolet
Ganassi on Lundgaard signing: “When is the last time a guy who finished third was available"
IndyCar
IndyCar
Ganassi on Lundgaard signing: “When is the last time a guy who finished third was available"
McLaren Racing and Edward Jones join forces in multi-year F1 and IndyCar partnership
IndyCar
IndyCar
McLaren Racing and Edward Jones join forces in multi-year F1 and IndyCar partnership
Latest news
Spy shots of 2027 NASCAR Ford Mustang testing at Charlotte, but what's different?
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
2 h
Spy shots of 2027 NASCAR Ford Mustang testing at Charlotte, but what's different?
Five key takeaways from F1's big African Grand Prix reveal in Rwanda
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 3 h
Five key takeaways from F1's big African Grand Prix reveal in Rwanda
Niels Koolen makes switch to Abel Motorsports ahead of 2027 Indy NXT campaign
Indy NXT
IndL Indy NXT 5 h
Niels Koolen makes switch to Abel Motorsports ahead of 2027 Indy NXT campaign
GT World Challenge Portimao: All you need to know about season finale featuring Max Verstappen
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
WCEE GT World Challenge Europe Endurance 5 h
GT World Challenge Portimao: All you need to know about season finale featuring Max Verstappen
Feature
Discover prime content
Inside AJ Foyt Racing’s transition: Hauger’s arrival, Ferrucci’s future, and the Pierson waiting game
Feature
IndyCar
Feature
IndyCar
By Joey Barnes
Inside AJ Foyt Racing’s transition: Hauger’s arrival, Ferrucci’s future, and the Pierson waiting game
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
IndyCar
By Joey Barnes
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe