IndyCar adds practice session to work in extra lane at Texas

Since the PJ1 TrackBite was added to parts of the track surface in November 2019 to boost traction for the Goodyear tyres of the NASCAR stock cars, IndyCar drivers have found it thoroughly incompatible with their Firestone rubber, some comparing it to black ice.

In effect, IndyCar drivers at full racing speed – as opposed to lap one speeds as shown above – have been reduced to one lane through Turns 1 and 2, so the chances of passing on the outside are non-existent.

Anyone passing on the outside along the main straight has to chop down in front of the car they have just passed in order to avoid the PJ1 patch in the turn.

The patch also meant that drivers were unable to take a variety of lines through Turns 1 and 2 to execute an over/under manoeuvre and perform a slingshot pass down the back straight.

To address this problem, IndyCar has announced a change in the schedule for this Sunday's second round of the 2022 season.

On Saturday from 4:00 to 4:30pm local time – post-qualifying but before second practice – seven cars will be allowed to lap the 1.5-mile oval in the higher groove, allowing them to help add rubber and remove dust from the the higher lane.

One-groove racing limited IndyCar's 2021 Texas double-header

Photo by: Barry Cantrell / Motorsport Images

The drivers participating in this session will be former Texas winners Ed Carpenter (Ed Carpenter Racing), Helio Castroneves (Meyer Shank Racing), Pato O’Ward (Arrow McLaren SP), and Team Penske's Will Power, along with Graham Rahal (Rahal Letterman Lanigan), Felix Rosenqvist (Arrow McLaren SP) and Takuma Sato (Dale Coyne Racing with RWR).

Combined, they will use a total of 10 sets of Firestone tyres from last year’s race, one per driver except for Rahal and Power who will receive two sets each.

Final practice for all drivers will then commence at 4:45pm local time on Saturday, with the race beginning at 11:45 local time on Sunday. 

Jimmie Johnson and Callum Ilott will be making their first starts in an open-wheel car on an oval with Chip Ganassi Racing and Juncos-Holinger Racing respectively, although Johnson won there seven times in the NASCAR Sprint Cup.