It was 90 degrees outside and at least 120 degrees inside everyone’s Indy car for two hours Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as conditions and the new windshield really tested the mettle of the drivers.
No one needed relief and no one was treated for heat prostration after 80 laps around the IMS circuit, but most of the 24 finalists were roasted.
“I am not going to lie, man; my neck was tan today, ”said Graham Rahal after finishing second in the RLL Honda. “I hope to recover this week. Road America is going to be great. We have good times (and an opportunity) to breathe a little compared to here. Today was definitely a physical race. It was hard “.
Simon Pagenaud, who charged from 20 to take the third, believes he and his Penske team should work to try to get more ventilation in their Dallara Chevy.
“Personally, we’ll probably do a job trying to better ventilate inside the car because it’s so hot and I’m exhausted,” said the 2019 Indy 500 winner. “Air doesn’t circulate well in the cabin. It’s such a small cabin, and it seems like the air just stays, doesn’t come out of the cabin, and there’s no wind. You could actually run with the visor open just to get some air.
“I think we just have to do a little work on the ventilation, maybe work on the helmet and the tube, and also have a bigger drink bottle. I think that was what we had in the past. The heat level doesn’t work for me. “
To which Rahal added: “The beverage bottles are on the side posts with all the exhaust, and the water is hotter than I drink my coffee. It was generally brutal. “
Winner Scott Dixon lost his helmet’s cooldown for a couple of seasons before plugging it back in during his last pit stop and said: “I didn’t feel that bad considering. But it was steamy. “
Pagenaud appreciates that his off-season training program has helped him prepare for days like Saturday.
“IndyCar racing is probably one of the most physical races out there. We do not have power steering. And now it’s also very hot in the race car. That’s the kind of thing you say, ‘Thank you’ to your training. I’ve been training in the heat, but maybe I’m going to adjust (the training) a bit to be even stronger.
“It is evolving every year. It’s fun, and I’m glad I trained so hard this winter. “
.
