This weekend the NTT IndyCar Series is visiting the final oval venue of the season with a race around the 1.25-mile World Wide Technology Raceway.
The familiar venue will play host to a new set of tire rules that the series is trying out for the first time, which will force teams to use two different rubber compounds during the race.
Each entry is given only two sets of the softer, red-walled Firestone tires for the weekend. One set must be returned after Saturday’s practice, with the second set saved and used for at least two laps at some point during Sunday’s feature.
The rules for using the alternate tire compound are similar to the formula that has been used at road and street courses for many seasons, but there are some limitations the series is putting on teams this weekend.
The biggest difference is that the alternate tire cannot be used during qualifying. Only the black-walled primary tire can be used during the two-lap qualifying runs.
A second difference is that drivers will have to start the race on the harder tires, making for an even playing field for at least the first few laps.
Also, with only two sets of the softer tire being provided, and only one set available for the race, there is not a lot of varying strategy the teams can employ.
They will be essentially limited to a decision to run the alternate tires for a stint in the middle of the race, or to save them for the final run to the checkered flag.
Josef Newgarden, who was won the previous three races at Gateway and is on a five-race oval winning streak dating back to last season, gave his approval of the experiment.
“It’s an unknown for all of us,” Newgarden told Motorsportweek.com. “I don’t mind that we’re giving it a go here. We’re going to have something different, and that’s okay with me.
“We’ve all got the same opportunity to hopefully get up to speed with them, sort of understand what they’re all about.
“They’ll only be utilized in the race, and that simplifies things a little bit. You don’t have to worry about them in qualifying, so you’ve only got to worry about the race conditions and the way they operate.
“It’s hard to say what we’re going to get from them until we try them. It’s one of those deals where you’ve got to experience them in the weekend, and then we’ll have some feedback afterwards.”
Newgarden’s comments echoed other drivers, who were generally in favor of IndyCar testing out a new formula to potentially spice up the series’ short oval package.
The alternate tire compound is identical to the one Firestone brought to Gateway a couple years ago, so there may well not be many surprises in the way of car performance once they get used on track.
The first time the tires will be used is during Saturday’s opening practice session, which begins at 10:00 AM Central Time.
