Chevrolet Ready to Roll in the Heart of Ohio
· Chevy drivers take momentum to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
ᴏ Team Chevy coming off two consecutive poles, race victories
· Simon Pagenaud won the 90-lap Mid-Ohio race from pole in 2016
ᴏ Team Penske driver has finished on podium the past two years
· AJ Foyt Racing continues to develop Chevy package in testing
ᴏ Drivers Carlos Munoz, Conor Daly prep for three road course races
· Four Chevy drivers among the top five in points with five races left
DETROIT (July 26, 2017) – AJ Foyt Racing drivers Carlos Munoz and Conor Daly are confident that dedicated testing with the Chevrolet 2.2-liter V6 engine and Chevrolet Aero Kit last week at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course will reap short- and long-term benefits.
Three of the five remaining Verizon IndyCar Series races will be contested on natural-terrain road courses, including this weekend’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on the 2.258-mile, 13-turn circuit.
Working within the parameters of the series’ race schedule and the team’s logistics, opportunities for in-season, on-track testing are at a premium.
A break between the Toronto and Mid-Ohio events opened a window the 25-year-old drivers, who both had success last year at Mid-Ohio with different teams, to examine and confirm data specific to road courses. AJ Foyt Racing is in its first year with the Chevrolet package that has won six races and garnered eight pole starts this season.
“We needed this test to try big steps and different options and I think we gained a lot from where we started to where we finished,” said Munoz, who has finished in the top 10 the past three years at Mid-Ohio, including third place in 2016. “The car was much more competitive from where we started so we closed the gap, but we need a little bit more to compete with the top guys. But the information that we gathered will help us to show up stronger than we did at the test so I’m looking forward to going back.”
The Verizon IndyCar Series also visits Watkins Glen International Raceway and Sonoma Raceway road courses in September. An Open Test is scheduled prior to the season-concluding event at the 2.385-mile, 12-turn Sonoma Raceway.
Daly led 22 laps en route to finishing sixth in 2016 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, which first hosted Indy car racing in 1980.
“It was nice to be able to test at Mid-Ohio last week as we haven’t had a test day in a while it feels like,” said Daly, driver of the No. 4 ABC Supply Chevrolet. “Every day with this car and aero package we are learning more. I feel like I came quite close to winning the race last year so I’m hoping to have another strong result this year.”
Simon Pagenaud, who started from the pole, led 23 laps at Mid-Ohio in winning for the fourth time during the 2016 season on the way to claiming the driver championship. Team Penske teammate Will Power, a two-time pole winner at the track, was runner-up in the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet. Pagenaud finished third in the 2015 race in his first season with Team Penske.
“We won there last year and it helped impact our championship hunt in a big way,” said Pagenaud, who will drive the No. 1 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet. “It’s a fun course. Our last race, Toronto, was a great event for us, and we think the momentum we built there can really help us as we look for another win to get more points toward the championship.”
Pagenaud, who earned his first pole of the season two weeks ago with a track-record lap on the 1.75-mile street circuit in Toronto and finished fifth in the 85-lap race, remained third in the Verizon IndyCar Series standings. Four Chevrolet drivers are among the top five.
Helio Castroneves, who will drive the No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet this weekend, is three points off the lead. Josef Newgarden, who led a field-high 58 laps at Toronto to register his second win of the season, is fourth and Power is fifth.
Spencer Pigot, who had a pair of top-10 finishes in 2015 in Indy Lights competition at Mid-Ohio, returns to the No. 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing. Teammate JR
Hildebrand, No. 21 Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolet, made his Verizon IndyCar Series debut at Mid-Ohio in 2010.
NBCSN will telecast the three rounds of qualifications live at 2 p.m. ET Saturday. CNBC will telecast the 90-lap race on the 13-turn, 2.258-mile natural-terrain road course live at 3 p.m. ET Sunday.