IndyCar: Everything You Need To Know

IndyCar is the top level open wheel racing series in the US. With the likes of Romain Grosjean and Marcus Ericsson in the series, it is a great one to watch. Here is everything you need to know!

IndyCar is a single seater racing series which boasts a top price of $1 million for the season’s champion. Ther series started in 1996 and includes the infamous Indy 500 race, where the drivers race for 500 miles at the Indianapolis Motor Speed Way.

The series also has incredibly successful driver programmes, such as the Road To Indy which is a scholarship funded path to IndyCar which has graduates such as Josef Newgarden, Colin Herta and Patricio O’Ward. There are also support races for the series, such as Indy Lights, which is also a scholarship series, with the top 3 drivers earning IndyCar series test.

The Tracks

There are a few different types of tracks used for IndyCar races; these are ovals, road courses and street circuits. The series races in iconic settings across the US, including the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway as well as in the streets of Nashville (Tennessee), Long Beach (California), St Petersburg (Florida) and Belle Isle (Michigan).

Here are some examples of the tracks!

Oval: (Texas Motor Speedway)

Road Course: (Barber Motorsports Park)

Street Circuit: (Music City Grand Prix - Streets of Nashville)

The Race Weekend

The format of the weekend changes between races. However, the common format is:

• Friday: Practice Session 1&2

• Saturday: Practice 3 and Qualifying

• Sunday: Warm Up* and Race

*Please note that at oval circuits, there are no warm up sessions.

The format for qualifying depends on the race. For road/street courses, it is broken down into 3 segments.

• Segment 1: The field is split into 2 groups and given 10 minutes to set a fastest lap, with the 6 fastest drivers from each group progressing on to the next segment. The other drivers are then set up on the grid with the odd numbers (e.g 13, 15, 17) being occupied in speed order for Group 1 and Group 2 occupying the even numbers.

• Segment 2: The 12 cars are given 10 minutes to set the fastest lap, with the top 6 progressing to the final segment.

• Segment 3 - Firestone Fast 6 - the drivers are given 6 minutes of green flag time to set the fastest lap

For oval races (excluding the Indy 500), qualification is as follows:

• The order is determined by the points going into the race. Any teams without entrant points are placed at the front of the order (and organised by a blind draw)

• Each car is then permitted 2 warm up laps

• They are then able to attempt qualification, which is 2 consecutive timed laps, with the aggregate time recorded as the official qualifying time, setting the grid from fastest to slowest.

For the Indy 500, the order is determined by a blind draw, then 2 warm up laps followed by 4 timed laps which are then aggregated and used to set the starting grid.

The points system is different to that of Formula 1. Here the 1st place receives 50 points, 2nd - 40, 3rd - 35, 4th - 32, 5th - 30, 6th - 28 and continues to scale down, with the lowest finisher receiving 5 points. Bonus points include 1 for pole position, 1 point for leading at least one race lap and 2 points to the driver who led the most laps. However, points are doubled for the Indy 500 and the final race of the season.

The Teams and Drivers

There are a mix of full time and part time drivers and teams in the series. The full time drivers and teams compete in every race and therefore are much more likely to win the championship than the part time drivers and teams who do not enter every race.

Here are the full time teams and drivers!

Chip Ganassi Racing: Alex Palou, Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson, Jimmie Johnson/Tony Kanaan

Team Penske: Will Power, Simon Pagenaud , Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin

Andretti Autosport: Colin Herta, Alexander Rossi, Ryan Hunter-Reay and James Hinchcliffe,

A.J Foyt Enterprises: Sebastien Bourdais and Dalton Kellett

Meyer Shank Racing: Jack Harvey and Helio Castroneves

Ed Carpenter Racing: Ed Carpenter, Conor Daly and Rinus Veekay

Arrow McLaren SP: Pato O'Ward and Felix Rosenqvist

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing: Tajuma Sato and Grahal Rhal

Dale Coyne: Ed Jones and Romain Grosjean/Piettro Fittipaldi

Carlin: Conor Daly and Max Chilton

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing: Sage Karam and John Randal Hildebrand Jr

(N.B Driver/Driver means that both drivers occupy the same car, however drive on different track layouts).

The Cars

Indycar is a spec series, which means all the drivers use the same car chassis and teams do not design their own. The teams use a Dallara chassis with either a Chevrolet or Honda 2.2-liter twin turbocharged V-6 engine. The teams use ethanol as fuel in pursuit of sustainability and the cars have registered up to 240 km/h at tracks such as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Cars are allowed to refuel during the races, unlike F1, however only 7 team members can execute a pit stop. This uses 4 tyre changers, a refueler, an aeroscreen assistant and a person to operate the jack. For context, there are 16 team members involved at F1 level! There are also significantly more pit stops in IndyCar than F1, with up to 9 at the Indy 500.

The Schedule

Out of the 16 races this season, including the famous Indy 500 race, there are 4 left! Here is the schedule for the rest of the season.

21st August: World Wide Technology Raceway (Madison, Illinois)

12th September: Portland International Raceway (Portland, Oregan)

19th September: WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (Salinas, California)

26th September: Streets of Long Beach (Long Beach, California)

Where To Watch

In the UK, you can watch IndyCar on Sky Sports F1, with coverage on NBCSport in the US as well as a variety of channels internationally.