The NTT IndyCar Series has announced that the series’ new Dallara IR-28 chassis will undergo its first oval testing next week.
The car will be driven on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval on September 9-10 with the speedway wing configuration fitted.
Just as they were for the initial road course testing one month ago, Alexander Rossi and Alex Palou will be the two drivers to put the car through its paces.
During those first runs, both drivers and officials praised the build quality and functionality of the new chassis.
There were only small teething issues, and no major flaws were found after taking the car up to speed for the first time.
Next week’s run have the potential to be run at higher speeds, considering current cars are able to achieve speeds over 230 MPH on the IMS oval.
The IR-28 package is designed to ultimately be able to set new records at Indianapolis, though it seems doubtful the car will be run at record-breaking pace during the first tests of the new aerodynamics.
The viewing mounds inside the Speedway near the IMS museum will be open, meaning fans can come to the track and watch as the car makes high speed runs on the banking.
Testing is scheduled to continue throughout the offseason, including tests of the car’s ability to run in dirty air once more than one functional chassis are available.
IndyCar also still needs to fit a hybrid system and new engines provided by Honda and Chevrolet before they will truly be able to test the 2028 design.
Those steps and more will be completed throughout testing next year, leading up to the car’s launch.
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