IndyCars - Texas: The nighthawks come out to feast

[MarkyS]

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It’s time once again for the IndyCars to race in the night on the big oval in Fort Worth, Texas as we do …
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The DXC Technology 600

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The venue is the Texas Motor Speedway, just north of Fort Worth. Repaved and redesigned in 2017, the 1.5-mile oval features 20 degrees of banking in Turns 1 and 2 and 24 degrees of banking in Turns 3 and 4 and a wide racing surface, with a minimum of 60 feet to play with. Top speeds are expected and necessary and passing on more than one groove happens a lot, typically. To make 600 kilometers they will go 248 laps for 372 miles.

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This weekend is short and sweet, as there will only be two races - One for the NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck series on Friday night and the IndyCars will race on Saturday night. Everything else will just be exhibitions for the fans.
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The NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck series is the largest truck racing series that uses production pick-up trucks as a basis. This used to be called the Camping World Truck series. There are no IndyCar guys here, so we will wish them safe and happy racing and concentrate on the IndyCars, instead.

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NASCAR Gander trucks

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The first action is tonight, as the IndyCars will try for a night practice, if the weather cooperates…

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[MarkyS]

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Thursday night at Fort Worth - The IndyCars hold their first practice…

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Practice is that time when the driver and his engineer work together to adjust the car to get the best out of the car for the track configuration, the track conditions and the expected weather for the race weekend,. It is essential for maximizing the car’s chance to WIN.

EVEN though this is an oval, the weather is still important to plan for, as hot and cold conditions can greatly affect the speeds and grip of the car. And this being a night race, it is also important to practice in the night, to more closely duplicate race conditions.

The weather ended up compromising this practice, as rain stopped it short, but the drivers did get in about half the session, with 1 hour of running.

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Here was the order of speed for the IndyCar P-1 practice session, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie; time is 1 lap

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1 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:23.6380s for a speed of 219.308mph

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2 - Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan - time of 00:23.6429s for a speed of 219.262mph

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3 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan - time of 00:23.7459s for a speed of 218.311mph

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4 - Charlie Kimball, Carlin - time of 00:23.8342s for a speed of 217.503mph

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5 - Will Power, Team Penske - time of 00:23.8678s for a speed of 217.196mph

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6 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport
7 - Colton Herta [R], Harding Steinbrenner Racing
8 - Zach Veach, Andretti Autosport
9 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport
10 - Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing

11 - Sebastien Bourdais, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser Sullivan
12 - James Hinchcliffe, Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
13 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
14 - Tony Kanaan, A.J. Foyt Enterprises
15 - Spencer Pigot, Ed Carpenter Racing
16 - Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske
17 - Santino Ferrucci [R], Dale Coyne Racing
18 - Marcus Ericsson [R], Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
19 - Matheus Leist, A.J. Foyt Enterprises
20 - Felix Rosenqvist [R], Chip Ganassi Racing

21 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport
22 - Conor Daly, Carlin

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Notable:

• There’s just no surprise in this TOP FIVE. Scott Dixon was last year’s WINNER and he also has victories in 2015 and 2012. Will Power WON in 2017 and 2011. Graham Rahal WON in 2016 in a great battle with James Hinchcliffe. Takuma Sato and Charlie Kimball are always, always fast at TMS.

• Other former WINNERS in the field are Tony Kanaan, who WON in 2004 and Ed Carpenter who was the guy in 2014.

• Conor Daly is subbing for Max Chilton, who has decided not to do any of the ovals in 2019. Conor is jumping out of a competitive Honda at Indy driving for Andretti Autosport, and into an unknown Chevy for Carlin. Lucky for him, teammate Charlie Kimball has a lot of good wisdom here to impart. He was the pole-WINNER last year. Let’s see if he can help Conor improve.

• The most laps put in before the rain were by Will Power, at 48. A few other guys got in the 40s but most drivers only got into the 30s on laps.

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Conor Daly (left), Tony Kanaan and Ed Carpenter (right)

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On Friday the IndyCars will have another practice, but that will be in the heat of the day, which isn’t as useful. Then, Friday afternoon they will qualify. This was the last on-track activity of the day.

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[MarkyS]

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Friday at Fort Worth - the IndyCar hold their second practice of the weekend…

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…and a new fast guy comes to the top. In the heat of the day everyone went faster than they did in last night’s cool evening run, likely because the track is rubbering in, despite the rain that washed it, last night. A lot of guys were also running their qualifying set-ups, as well as the normal race simulations.

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Here was the order of speed for the IndyCar P-2 practice, with times for the TOP FIVE: {R] denotes rookies

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1 - Colton Herta [R], Harding Steinbrenner Racing - time of 00:23.3040s for a speed of 222.451mph

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2 - Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan - time of 00:23.4598s for a speed of 220.974mph

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3 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport - time of 00:23.4853s for a speed of 220.734mph

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4 - Will Power, Team Penske - time of 00:23.5196s for a speed of 220.412mph

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5 - Marcus Ericsson [R], Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports - time of 00:23.5277s for a speed of 220.336mph

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6 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing
7 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
8 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport
9 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
10 - Sebastien Bourdais, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser Sullivan

11 - Santino Ferrucci [R], Dale Coyne Racing
12 - Zach Veach, Andretti Autosport
13 - Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske
14 - Charlie Kimball, Carlin
15 - Spencer Pigot, Ed Carpenter Racing
16 - Tony Kanaan, A.J. Foyt Enterprises
17 - Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing
18 - James Hinchcliffe, Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
19 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport
20 - Felix Rosenqvist [R], Chip Ganassi Racing

21 - Conor Daly, Carlin
22 - Matheus Leist, A.J. Foyt Enterprises

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Notable:

• Colton topped the field with a tow and he isn’t the only rookie in the TOP FIVE, as Detroit podium finisher Marcus Ericsson also continues to impress. It’s has to be remembered that Indy and Texas are the young Swede’s first ovals.

• The only Chevy in the TOP FIVE was Will Power and the only other Chevy in the TOP TEN was Power’s teammate Joseph Newgarden

• Topping th no-tow lits was Scott Dixon, followed by Alexander Rossi, Ryan Hunter-Reay and James Hinchcliffe - all veterans and all Hondas. Watch for these guys in qualifying.

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Colten Herta (left) and no-tow guys Scott Dixon and Ryan Hunter-Reay (right)

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Qualifying will be on Friday at 6:30 EASTERN time and will be broadcast LIVE on NBC-SN.

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[MarkyS]

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The IndyCars are qualified!..

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Qualifying is simple at TMS: The cars go out one at a time and do a warm-up lap, followed by two hot laps. The speed of those two laps are averaged and the fastest average car is on the pole.

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Here is the way the IndyCars will grid for the DXC Technology 600, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie; the time is for two laps and the speed is the average of those laps.

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Row 1

Pole - Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan - time of 00:47.0738s for a speed of 220.250mph

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P2 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:47.0926s for a speed of 220.162mph

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Row 2

P3 - Sebastien Bourdais, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser Sullivan - time of 00:47.1817s for a speed of 219.746mph

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P4 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport - time of 00:47.2266s for a speed of 219.537mph

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Row 3

P5 - Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske - time of 00:47.2659s for a speed of 219.355mph

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P6 - Spencer Pigot, Ed Carpenter Racing - time of 00:47.3210s for a speed of 219.099mph

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Row 4

P7 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
P8 - James Hinchcliffe, Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports

Row 5

P9 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
P10 - Colton Herta [R], Harding Steinbrenner Racing

Row 6

P11 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport
P12 - Zach Veach, Andretti Autosport

Row 7

P13 - Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing
P14 - Marcus Ericsson [R], Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports

Row 8

P15 - Will Power, Team Penske
P16 - Felix Rosenqvist [R], Chip Ganassi Racing

Row 9

P17 - Charlie Kimball, Carlin
P18 - Santino Ferrucci [R], Dale Coyne Racing

Row 10

P19 - Conor Daly, Carlin
P20 - Matheus Leist, A.J. Foyt Enterprise

Row 11

P21 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport
P22 - Tony Kanaan, A.J. Foyt Enterprises

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Notable:

• Sato is having a great year. This is his 2nd NTT P1 pole of the year. He was among the group that went out later in the session, and the cooler track helped, but he and Dixon have been hot all weekend. Sato was the only guy to break 220 miles per hour for both laps.

• Spencer Pigot’s laps were early in the session when the track was hotter, making his run all the better.

• The TOP FOUR are Hondas, but the Chevys are the next three, so they are close.

• Marco Andretti’s 1st lap was good enough for P6 but he lost it on the second lap and was fortunate to keep it off the wall.

• Tony Kanaan hit the wall in Turn 2 on his first hot lap, hard, but flat. He was able to drive it to the pits and it can be repaired.

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Lucky guys Marco Andretti (left) and Tony Kanaan

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The race is scheduled for broadcast on Saturday night on NBC-SN starting at 8:00pm EASTERN time. This was the last on-track activity of the day

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[MarkyS]

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Spotter’s Guide - Changes in livery since Detroit…

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This time we have only a few changes and three driver adds for the race…

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Josef Newgarden was in the Hitachi car of black and white for the Detroit Dual but switches back to the Fitzgerald car of black with green trim for Texas:

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Graham Rahal drove the blue and white 5th / 3rd Bank car at Detroit, but steps into a black and white Fleet Cost & Care car with blue trim for TMS:

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Ed Carpenter takes over driver duties in the # 20 car from Ed Jones, who drive it in Detroit. The livery has changed, too, as Ed is in a red and silver-colored car for regular sponsor Autogeek:

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Charlie Kimball last drove at the Indy 500 for Carlin in virtually the same car as here, the FIASP car of yellow, dark blue and white:

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Alexander Rossi has been in the NAPA car of blue and yellow since the start of the season but switches to a car sponsored by Gess, the Capstone car. It has the same green and white colors of Colton Herta’s Gess car, but the difference is the rear wheel fairing, which is white on Colton’s car and green on Alexander’s car:

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Conor Daly steps into the Gallagher # 59 car for Max Chilton for Texas, but the livery is the same as Max drove in Detroit, with dark blue and light blue colors with white trim:

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Marco Andretti was in a white, grey and pink AutoNation car for Detroit but returns to his familiar red and white with black trim US Concrete car for Texas:

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[MarkyS]

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The race…Newgarden becomes a Good Ol’ Boy for the first time…

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The race will be remembered as a three-parter, with a dominant leader who shot himself in the foot for part 1, great battles for the lead in part 2, and part 3, where it turned at the end when Josef Newgarden for Team Penske, who was hiding in plain sight, finally used a great pit stop and good in and out laps to take a lead that he never relinquished. P2 was Alexander Rossi for Andretti Autosport and P3 was Graham Rahal for Rahal Letterman Lanigan.

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The race started with a dominating first 60 laps by pole-sitter Takuma Sato for Rahal Letterman Lanigan, who was always inching away from his pursuers until he pitted on lap 60. He drove into his pit too fast and slid into the wall, knocking over his front left wheel man and damaging pit equipment. By the time his crew got him back into his pit stall and fueled he was two laps down. He was then assessed a stop and go penalty, putting him another lap down and effectively out of the race. Thankfully, his crewman was bruised only by the incident.

The second part of the race was a battle for the lead between Ryan Hunter-Reay for Andretti, Alexander Rossi and Scott Dixon for Chip Ganassi, with Hunter-Reay leading the most, at 90 total laps, but it was costing him fuel to do so. He got some help with the first full-course caution when teammate Zach Veach, in P7 at the time, kissed the wall in Turn 2 on lap 135, breaking his toe link and sending him spinning. Veach masterfully kept the luridly spinning car off the walls. He would be towed in and be repaired and rejoin, several laps down.

On lap 190 the Newgarden pit crew gave Josef the lead, after the Tennessean had been lurking near the front all day. On lap 219 James Hinchcliffe for Arrow SPM hit the Turn 2 wall almost exactly as Veach had, but he was unable to keep the spinning car off the inside wall and smacked it hard enough to put him out of the race. On lap 229 a hard-charging Colton Herta for Harding Steinbrenner got inside Scott Dixon, in P2 at the time. The two cars touched down at the apron and spun out, taking both to the wall and out of the race. Dixon offered that he probably didn’t give Herta the room he needed and a miffed Herta didn’t argue the point.

That left the race with a classic 13-lap duel to the end between Newgarden and Rossi. Rossi several times was able to get aside Newgarden on the outside and even a tiny bit ahead of him, but was unable to hold on enough to complete a pass, before he got too loose to go ahead and had to back out. Eventually, he lost his tires trying and Newgarden WON by a comfortable (for Texas), 0.8 seconds.

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Notable:

• This is Newgarden’s first super speedway WIN and the 3rd WIN of the season, helping him to keep the points lead over Alexander Rossi. Rossi did as well as he could, but it nevers helps to finish behind the guy you’re chasing.

• Rookie Santino Ferrucci finished P4 for Dale Coyne in a great drive from his P18 start. He was named Rookie of the Year at Indy and now takes over series Rookie of the Year in points.

• P5 was Ryan Hunter-Reay and that makes the TOP FIVE finishers all Americans - the first time that has happened in any IndyCar race since 2001.

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Here are your podium finishers, left to right - Josef Newgarden in P1, Alexander Rossi in P2 and Graham Rahal in P3:

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With this result, here are the TOP FIVE in points leaving Texas:

1 - Josef Newgarden 367
2 - Alexander Rossi 342
3 - Simon Pagenaud 319
4 - Scott Dixon 278
5 - Takuma Sato 272

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The next outing for the IndyCars will be at Road America, June 21-23, where they will have the full support of all three Road to Indy series.

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[MarkyS]

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IndyCar and NBC have released extended race highlights…

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DXC Technology 600 at Texas Motor Speedway 2019 | EXTENDED HIGHLIGHTS | 6/8/19 | NBC Sports

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A great super speedway race, with a lot of passing and a lot of courage displayed.

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