Iowa Raceway’s efforts to resurface much of its 0.875-mile oval track provide the NTT IndyCar Series with exceptional cornering grip. The effort has also proven to be a new complication for the series’ Firestone tires, which have not exhibited the same kind of degradation that has made many recent Iowa races so memorable.
“It’s definitely changed,” said six-time world champion Scott Dixon. “From the first few races we had here, it was just the white line, and it was a bunch of people racing. It was a bit chaotic for a short track.
“We’ve had a good run over the last 10 years, whether it’s multi-track racing, steeplechase racing or some of the best short track racing we’ve ever had. With the partial repaving they did, we’ve lost a lot of raceability. Maybe it’s better for other categories.”
Thanks to the increased grip, the performance gap between the new and old tyres that leads to overtaking was not evident during Friday’s 90-minute practice session.
“Yeah, I miss last year’s track,” the Chip Ganassi Racing driver added. “I think the drivers refer to it as ‘character.’ It had a lot of character. It had a lot of bumps. It was definitely tough. Qualifying was really tough, and then… you had to use two, three, four lanes in the race, especially on restarts and things like that. We’ll see. Hopefully it gets back to that. Whether it’s this weekend… it’s going to be tough to get into the second lane.”
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin weighed in on Dixon’s comments.
“It’s a bit unfortunate that repaving the road isn’t good for us, but that’s the situation. Everyone has the same path to deal with, so let’s see how we go,” he said.
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