Dallara Indycar
After a pretty decent 8th place finish at Indianapolis last week and a chunk of experience on an oval in the Indycar I was looking forward to Texas with excitement and trepidation in equal measures!
Looking at the real Indycar race last time at Texas, I knew there would be minimal overtaking opportunities despite very close racing, this is a drafting track, much more so than Indy.
A good qualifying time would be paramount, keeping a decent spot after the start should be easily defendable. The plan was to hang on and let everyone fight it out behind and see what happens as the race progressed.
Qualifying went like a dream. I knew I had a fast set-up but I nailed a great lap to go 13th overall, easily my best ever qualifying position.
As the entries grew for the race, it was fingers very firmly crossed that I wouldn’t have too many of the really fast guys ahead of me.
Entering the race I found myself in 4th of 21 (ranked #10), nicely near the front but lining up on the outside never goes too well for me and the outside line at Texas is at a considerable disadvantage so getting to the inside as quickly and safely as possible would be the aim.
I didn’t get a great start and lost a few places as cars steamed through on my inside but, somewhat fortunately, a big gap appeared after the 6th place car so I was able to slot in and hang onto the back of the pack. Almost immediately I was up to 6th after heavy contact with the wall meant one of the guys in front had to slow considerably.
As the race progressed I was able to comfortably stay 6th, holding onto the pack in front while a couple of yellows meant the chasing cars were beginning to thin out a little.
On lap 42 I had an amazing escape as the 2 cars right in front touched wheels in the tri-oval section and slammed into the wall. Luckily, they bounced either side of me and I was completely unscathed but the adrenaline was certainly pumping! As we formed behind the pace car on the pace lap I was still a bit dazed and completely missed the 3 cars ahead pitting. That left me in the lead but still requiring a pit-stop. As we rounded into the back straight I realised I’d been completely stupid. A stop now would mean no more pit-stops would be required for the rest of the race! DOH!
So I had to decide whether to pit on the next lap and end up at the back of the field or risk losing a HUGE chuck of time if we went green for the remainder of the race and probably ending up at the rear anyway if I pitted under yellow. I came in on the next lap and re-started in 12th.
With only 12 cars remaining, we had a very long run under green, I made one pass, one other guy had to pit which put me to 10th when the last yellow came out to put me in 9th. The car was feeling good but I was stuck behind the 3 guys in front, unable to make a pass, as I’d seen in real life, it’s incredibly difficult at this track.
As the laps ticked down I stopped pushing and decided that after 97 laps I wasn’t going to risk anything. As we came into T4 on the last lap though we saw a cloud of smoke and a brace of Dallara’s going airbourne. The 3rd, 4th & 5th drivers had managed to take each other out on the very last turn. Once again, luck was with me as our pack of 4 made it through the carnage to pick up 3rd, 4th, 5th and me finishing in 6th. Sometimes luck does favour the timid!
I finished with just one incident so I ended up with +0.13 SR (4.73), +51 iRating (1785) and a satisfying 92 points!
That was my highest ever finish in an ‘A’ class race
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