The Indy 500 open test will begin Thursday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as IndyCar teams begin tuning up for the season’s biggest race while series officials fine-tune on its oval racing package.
After a hugely successful debut for added downforce in the April 2 race at Texas Motor Speedway, IndyCar will be trying for aerodynamic tweaks over two days on the Brickyard in hopes of high-quality racing May 28 in the 107th Indy 500 (11 a.m.
ET, NBC). Building on the barge boards that were used at Texas, IndyCar is expected to use road course-style strakes and more rear wing flexibility to allow drivers greater handling in the draft at 230 mph. INDY 500 PRIMER: Start times, schedules for watching in May on Peacock, NBC With teams focusing on qualifying runs and settling into their cars, Colton Herta isn’t expecting to learn much about Indy 500 favorites from the test but is expecting to get an understanding of how the aerodynamic changes will affect handling. “You won’t see who has a fast car,” Herta said. “You’ll get somewhat of a read, but it won’t be clear cut.
Everybody knows what to expect from wind tunnel data, and data from Honda or Chevy, on the aerodynamics. We know the numbers of how much drag and downforce.