The Chase for the 2017 IndyCar Title

Countdown to the 2017 Indy Car Championship.

This Sunday in the U.S. will see yet another classic Indy Car Series year come to an end and yet again another championship that goes to the wire and once again it makes a very strong statement about the quality of this series and the drivers that compete in it. For the winner the title and the Astor Cup. Sonoma plays host to the Grand Final for the third year in a row and the 2.385 mile permanent road course with up and down hill climbs will be a great challenge to all. 85 laps will make up the race distance, with a total of 150 seconds of useable push to pass activation for the drivers. Seven sets of Firestone primary tires and four sets of the alternate compound. Teams must use one set of each during the race. That’s kind of almost the easy bit.

Point’s leader is Josef Newgarden going into this the final round of the series this weekend at the Sonoma racetrack just across the bay from the city of San Francisco. He is the new boy on the block in terms of been in this type of position at this time of the year and will that pressure come into play. At the last round leaving the pit at Watkins Glen certainly saw signs of increased pressure as he battled with team mate Will Power out of the pit resulting in an error from Newgarden and hitting the pit lane exit wall. A margin of just 3 points over the 4 time champ Kiwi Scott Dixon who lies in a very strong second after a very dramatic season, who in turn is only 19 points ahead of Helio Castroneves in third he trails the leader by 22. Pausing here for just a second and looking at the top 3. Newgarden an awesome year with four wins in his first full series with Team Penske strong performances but never had the pressure a championship weekend brings. Dixon been there before, won the championship four times and his stats are simply mind blowing. 286 Indy Car starts won the series four times 41 wins overall, 26 poles, 96 top 3 finishes and 140 top 5’s and across his Indy Car life he has lead 5031 laps of racing simply outstanding oh yes and the 2008 Indy 500 title as well. Castroneves on the other hand 3 Indy 500 wins but never claimed a championship so will history repeat itself one has to wonder and this very well maybe his last full time Indy Car season so it very much is a now or never for the very likeable Brazilian.

Moving outside of the top 3 and there are four others that can in theory win the crown and with the final event a double points race there is 100 points on the table for the win plus bonus points for laps lead and poles. In a small side note if Newgarden and Dixon were to tie Dixon would win based on more bonus points rather than race wins. Back to the other contenders then. Current camp Simon Pagenaud is still in the game that’s for sure and while he sits fourth he is only 34 points away from the top of the table, he was also the race winner in 2016 and set a new qualifying record then as well so he is very much suited to this track. Fifth is the last of the four Penske drivers Will Power at 68 points behind the leader and its still possible that’s for sure. One can of course remember Power coming together with Montoya a few years back (2015) costing JPM the title and gifting it to Dixon on a tiebreaker and count back so team boss Roger Penske won’t be wanting that same out come. Then to sixth place and still in with a chance is Alexander Rossi for Andretti Autosport some 84 points behind the leader but the most recent race winner and on a bit of a roll after resigning with the team for next season and rounding out the points chances is Graham Rahal 94 points behind the leader and really out of the chase as it requires too many other things to happen.

So four Penske drivers all in with a chance surround Dixon all Chevy powered to his lone Honda powered entry before the next Honda powered car of Rossi and with little teammate support around him. This of course is both good or bad however time will tell but if there was ever a need for Kennan (9^th), Kimball (17^th) and Chilton (12^th) to get up front now is the time to steal points and protect the team leader while the bunch of Penske drivers race for a tile or trip each other up.

Honda v Chevy and its really anyone’s game in that department but maybe slightly leaning towards Chevy on the Road Course rather than Hondas aero package more suited to the ovals.

No matter what Sunday will bring a championship title and a crown to one of these drivers, if it happens to be Dixon he becomes a five-time winner.

In closing the rumour mill of who is where in 2018 well that keeps getting hotter all the time. Penske down to three full time cars its pretty much out there now and it should and will see the departure of Helio while at Ganassi expect Dixon to be the only one of the current crop that stays while the others depart to shores unknown (apart from TK whom looks set to join AJ Foyt Racing, which is something he has always wanted to do and drive for AJ at Indy) and there is even talk of the team down sizing for 2018 to a two car team and the very very high chance it will be an all Kiwi team with Brendon Hartley set to join and drive the number 10 car heck roll on 2018 already and many hands to be played yet as well.

Photos:

Scott Dixon and the Astor Cup for the IndyCar Championship – Chris Owens Indy Car Media Services

Rossi wins at the Glen

Rossi wins at Watkins Glen as championship tightens

                                                        Rossi at the 100th Indy 500 2016

Now there is just one round of the 2017 season to go after Alexander Rossi completed a dream weekend with a win in the IndyCar Grand Prix at The Glen. Josef Newgarden endured a nightmare incident in the race that leaves the Verizon IndyCar Series championship battle wide open for the 12th straight year heading to the season finale. No one can ever ask for more than this as a fan in terms of a battle for a championship. Both Honda or Chevy may claim the title and Penske or Ganassi the team crown. It will be a classic and every single point will count.

Rossi won the 60-lap race at iconic Watkins Glen International from the pole position on the same weekend it was announced he would return to Andretti Autosport next season in a multiyear deal along with sponsor NAPA Auto Parts. The 25-year-old Californian led a race-high 32 laps and drove the No. 98 NAPA Auto Parts/Curb Honda across the finish line 0.9514 of a second ahead of four-time Watkins Glen winner Scott Dixon.

Points leader Josef Newgarden finished 18th after his car sustained damage in a collision leaving the pits. The Team Penske driver saw his championship lead slip to three points over Dixon with the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma, offering double race points on Sept. 17, remaining. Seven drivers are still mathematically alive in the title hunt. The Verizon IndyCar Series champion has been determined in the season's final race every year dating to 2006.

Rossi overcame a malfunctioning fuel probe on his second pit stop that left him short of Sunoco E85 ethanol and forced an earlier third stop than scheduled. From there, Rossi laid down laps at near-qualifying pace, regaining the lead on Lap 29 and building an advantage of more than 12 seconds. The full-course caution for Newgarden's incident on Lap 46 bunched the field, but Rossi kept Dixon, in the No. 9 NTT Data Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing, at bay over the 11-lap dash to the finish.

The victory was the second for Rossi in the Verizon IndyCar Series and first since his memorable triumph as a rookie in the 2016 Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil. 

"An amazing job by the whole team today," Rossi said. "We had an issue in the beginning with the fuel thing, but whatever. It doesn't matter, the team recovered. We had the pace to do it, but it's pretty amazing. 

"It's a huge team effort. I've talked about so much how much we've improved, I'm so happy we're finally able to win."

Dixon, in search of a fifth season championship that would leave the 37-year-old New Zealander behind only A.J. Foyt (with seven) on the all-time list, had his own eventual day but was rewarded in points with the second-place finish.

"Definitely a good move in the points," Dixon said. "I'm kind of shocked we ended up where we did. 

"I locked up coming in on the first stop on the wet (tires) and it wouldn't downshift, so almost stalled the car, got into the pits and we couldn't fuel it. And then we had a fumble later - we lost another four or five spots - so we had to pass a lot of cars today. ... Nice recovery by the team, ended up second."

Newgarden had just assumed the lead in the No. 2 DeVilbiss Team Penske Chevrolet when he made his final stop on Lap 46 under green-flag conditions. Will Power - whose pit stall was directly in front of Newgarden's - barely beat his teammate out of the pits and onto the narrow, curving, downhill pit exit lane.

Newgarden locked his brakes avoiding Power and slid into the guardrail separating the pit exit from the track in Turn 1 of the 3.37-mile, 11-turn permanent road course. Sebastien Bourdais, also leaving the pits in the No. 18 UNIFIN Honda, hit Newgarden from behind. Newgarden continued but sustained front wing and right rear tire ramp damage. The 26-year-old Tennessean finished two laps off the pace and saw 28 points shaved from his championship lead.

"I felt like we were in a good position until that final pit stop," Newgarden said. "No excuse for it. It was my fault. I saw Will leave right in front of us and I just locked it up and slid over into the wall. Then (Bourdais) got into the back of me. 

"It's unfortunate, but there's nothing I can do about it. We'll go to Sonoma in a couple of weeks and race for it."

Ryan Hunter-Reay finished third in the No. 28 DHL Honda to give Andretti Autosport two podium finishers. Helio Castroneves placed fourth in the No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet and retained third in the championship, 22 points behind Newgarden.

Other drivers with a chance of winning the title at the Sonoma finale are: 2016 champion Simon Pagenaud, fourth in the standings (-34 points to Newgarden) after a ninth-place finish today in the No. 1 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet; Power, fifth in the standings (-68 points) after finishing sixth in the race in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet; Rossi, sixth in the standings (-84 points); and Graham Rahal, seventh in the standings (-94 points) after a fifth-place race finish in the No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda.

The race at Sonoma Raceway offers 100 points to the winner, 80 for second place, 70 for third and down from there.  In just two weeks time the 2017 Champion will be know and one thing for certain this is going to be yet another classic season ender to another great IndyCar season.

Todays race results

1. (1) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 60, Running
2. (2) Scott Dixon, Honda, 60, Running
3. (7) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 60, Running
4. (6) Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet, 60, Running
5. (10) Graham Rahal, Honda, 60, Running 
6. (8) Will Power, Chevrolet, 60, Running
7. (5) Charlie Kimball, Honda, 60, Running
8. (19) Max Chilton, Honda, 60, Running
9. (12) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 60, Running
10. (11) Carlos Munoz, Chevrolet, 60, Running
11. (14) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 60, Running
12. (13) Spencer Pigot, Chevrolet, 60, Running
13. (15) Ed Jones, Honda, 60, Running
14. (18) Jack Harvey, Honda, 60, Running
15. (21) JR Hildebrand, Chevrolet, 60, Running
16. (20) Marco Andretti, Honda, 60, Running
17. (9) Sebastien Bourdais, Honda, 60, Running
18. (3) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 58, Running
19. (4) Takuma Sato, Honda, 56, Running 
20. (17) Tony Kanaan, Honda, 46, Contact
21. (16) James Hinchcliffe, Honda, 5, Mechanical

Race Statistics:
Winner's average speed: 118.865 mph
Time of Race: 1:42:03.9024
Margin of victory: 0.9514 of a second
Cautions: 4 for 9 laps
Lead changes: 8 among 6 drivers

Lap Leaders:
Rossi 1 
Castroneves 2-14 
Pigot 15-22 
Rossi 23 
Hunter-Reay 24-27 
Rossi 28-42 
Dixon 43-44 
Newgarden 45 
Rossi 46-60 

Verizon IndyCar Series point standings: Newgarden 560, Dixon 557, Castroneves 538, Pagenaud 526, Power 492, Rossi 476, Rahal 466, Sato 421, Kanaan 375, Hunter-Reay 373.

Photo from David Turner collection at the 100th Indy 500

Media Quotes ex IndyCar Media

Dixon tops Watkins Glen Practice

WATKINS GLEN, New York (Friday, Sept. 1, 2017) 

                                      

With two rounds remaining things are about to get very interesting in the 2017 IndyCar Series.Apart from the who will be where sags for 2018 and more on that in the coming days, its now church time for the championship quest.

Scott Dixon continued his mastery of Watkins Glen International, leading the afternoon's second practice for the IndyCar Grand Prix at The Glen with the fastest lap of the day.

A year after pacing every practice session, winning the pole position and leading 50 of 60 laps on his way to victory, Dixon topped the end-of-day speed chart on the iconic road course. The driver of the No. 9 NTT Data Honda sped around the 11-turn, 3.37-mile circuit in 1 minute, 22.6187 seconds (146.843 mph) - less than a tenth of a second off the track record he set in capturing the Verizon P1 Award in qualifying in 2016.

"Just really enjoy it," Dixon said of Watkins Glen. "It's a fun place, man. It's extremely fast. It's definitely some pretty high-risk situations. 

"For me, the tracks of current day are nothing like these. It's a lot of fun to come here. I think (we're) very fortunate for all IndyCar and the competitors to come back to a circuit like this."

Dixon's win at the Glen last year was his fourth in seven Verizon IndyCar Series races during the current era of competition that began in 2005 at the track in upstate New York. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver is hoping to use today's results as a springboard toward his fifth season championship. He trails Josef Newgarden - who was 11th overall in practice - by 31 points with two races remaining.

"For us, the biggest thing we've got to do is just focus on our race, go out there, try and win," Dixon said. "If we can win, that takes care of a lot of situations."

Will Power, the 2010 Watkins Glen race winner, was second fastest in the afternoon session with a lap of 1:22.7129 (146.676 mph) in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. 

"We learned a lot today," Power said. "The Verizon Chevy was pretty good. It was good to get a feel of the (Firestone alternate) red tires versus the (primary) black tires. I feel like the course has changed a little over the last year, but it's still super-fast."

Rounding out the top five were: Graham Rahal in the No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda (1:22.9716, 146.219 mph), Simon Pagenaud in the No. 1 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet (1:23.0915, 146.008 mph) and Alexander Rossi in the No. 98 NAPA Auto Parts/Curb Honda (1:23.1124, 145.971 mph). Earlier today, Andretti Autosport announced it had signed Rossi and sponsor NAPA Auto Parts to a multiyear extension for 2018 and beyond so thats a big part of the 2018 puzzle and the fact that Sato will move on leaves a spare seat at Andretti Autosport even thought they will once again be Honda power it appears that Sato's move was in progress while the chat of which power plant for 2018 was equally going on. Unofficially as it can not be made offical until season end he will be back at the Rahal Letterman Lanigan team next year.

Eight drivers - Newgarden, Dixon, Helio Castroneves, Pagenaud, Power, Rahal, Rossi and Takuma Sato - remain mathematically eligible to win the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series championship. Of those, only Dixon (four times), Pagenaud (2016) and Power (2014) are past champions.

A third practice is set for 10:30 a.m. ET Saturday, ahead of Verizon P1 Award knockout qualifying at 3 p.m. There is the chance that Sunday US time may even see rain on the forecast and with very limited use of the Firestone wet tyre this will add yet another twist in the race for the title.

Media Quotes from Indy Car Media.

Qualifying from Gateway with 3 IndyCar Rounds to go in 2017

Its going to get very tight as the 2017 season heads to these final three events of the season.

Qualifying Friday for the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Valvoline Verizon IndyCar Series event on the 1.25-mile Gateway Motorsports Park, with qualifying position, car number in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, and speed: 

1. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 189.642  
2. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 188.316  
3. (3) Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet, 187.457  
4. (1) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 186.747  
5. (20) Ed Carpenter, Chevrolet, 184.528  
6. (26) Takuma Sato, Honda, 184.186  
7. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 183.848  
8. (14) Carlos Munoz, Chevrolet, 183.620  
9. (98) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 183.578  
10. (5) James Hinchcliffe, Honda, 183.528  
11. (4) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 183.283  
12. (19) Ed Jones, Honda, 182.900  
13. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 182.830  
14. (28) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 182.529  
15. (21) JR Hildebrand, Chevrolet, 182.499  
16. (8) Max Chilton, Honda, 182.271  
17. (10) Tony Kanaan, Honda, 182.195  
18. (83) Charlie Kimball, Honda, 182.137  
19. (18) Sebastien Bourdais, Honda, 181.846  
20. (27) Marco Andretti, Honda, 181.191  
21. (7) Sebastian Saavedra, Honda, 177.700    

1 Down and 3 to go

IndyCar hits the final exciting stretch for 2017.

                                                        Will Power post race at this years Indy GP

After last weekends great event at Long Pond, Pennsylvania a new contender of sorts has entered the mix in the chase for the 2017 Championship title. Will Power overcame numerous obstacles to get to the front, then held off charging Team Penske teammate Josef Newgarden to win the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway for a second straight year. Now with just three races left this season, one oval this weekend at Gateway, followed by the road course at Watkins Glen and the the trip to the West Coast to wrap it all up at Sonoma its going to yet another great season ending to another great IndyCar season.

Power defeated Newgarden by 0.5268 of a second to become the first Indy car driver to post back-to-back wins on the three-turn, 2.5-mile oval in the event's 24-race history. It was also Power's third triumph this season and the 32nd of his 13-year career, moving the 36-year-old Australian into sole possession of ninth place on the all-time Indy car victory list ahead of Dario Franchitti and Paul Tracy."It seriously means a lot. I love racing on ovals," said Power, whose win today is his sixth on an oval track. "Every oval win I get, I really, really enjoy because we don't have many of them. "To come back and win it again in a very different way this year - it was a crazy race, exciting to me - but feels fantastic to go back-to-back."The results also kept the battle for the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series championship tight with three races remaining. 

Newgarden leads Scott Dixon by 18 points, Helio Castroneves by 22, Simon Pagenaud by 26 and Power by 42. The top 15 drivers in the standings remain mathematically alive for the title.

                                                     Dixon post race with team owner Chip Ganassi

Starting the 200-lap race from fifth, Power made an unscheduled green-flag pit stop on Lap 66 to replace a front wing assembly on his No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet and went a lap down. He later had a damaged rear wing assembly replaced during a caution period. Still, Power persevered, was back on the lead lap with 75 to go and worked his way through the field.A lightning-quick pit stop on Lap 177 put Power ahead of the other front-runners who had stopped before him. When race leader Marco Andretti, who was off pit sequence, stopped for fuel on Lap 190, Power assumed first place and withstood pressure from Newgarden and Alexander Rossi over the final 10 laps."Once I got my lap back, I was like, 'All right, it's game on,' I can definitely get back up there," said Power, who has four top-five finishes in the last five races. "I was thinking like top-5 (finish), but when I was pumping out like 217 (mph) laps, I'm like, 'OK, we're going to make some serious hay here.'"The guys did a fantastic job in the pits having to do all that and still able to go ahead and win the race."

Newgarden took consolation that his points lead expanded slightly with the second-place finish."It was a good day for points," said Newgarden, driver of the No. 2 Fitzgerald Glider Kits Team Penske Chevrolet. "Tough when you have an opportunity to potentially win a race at the end of it, but I don't think we had enough for Will, to be honest with you."I'm happy for Team Penske. It's a 1-2 at the end of the day, so keeping it in the family. 

When one car wins, we kind of all win."Rossi led 44 laps and finished third in the No. 98 Andretti Autosport/Curb Honda to earn his second podium finish in the past three races. "It's a really good result, but when you come so close to a win, it's sometimes difficult to swallow," Rossi said. "Looking back to where we were at Pocono last year, when we had a strong car and didn't finish, to come back to be on the podium is a testament to Andretti Autosport and the entire team and the work that they've done all year."Reigning Verizon IndyCar Series champion Pagenaud was fourth in the No. 1 DXC Technology Team Penske Chevrolet, with Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Tony Kanaan and Dixon (who led a race-high 51 laps) finishing fifth and sixth, respectively.Hunter-Reay, who sustained left hip and knee injuries in a qualifying crash Saturday, charged from the 21st starting position to lead 12 laps before finishing eighth in the No. 28 DHL Honda for Andretti Autosport.The thrilling race featured 42 lead changes - a Pocono race record - among 10 drivers. At one point, Kanaan and Graham Rahal swapped the lead for 12 consecutive laps. The race was slowed by three cautions, including one when James Hinchcliffe and JR Hildebrand collided in Turn 1 on Lap 125. Neither driver was injured.The Verizon IndyCar Series returns to action on Saturday, Aug. 26 with the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Valvoline at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Illinois. It marks the return of Indy car racing to the St. Louis region for the first time since 2003 which as a side note was won by the Iceman himself Scott Dixon and in his first championship year as well --- hmmm!!!

Below are the offical results Sunday of the ABC Supply 500 Verizon IndyCar Series event on the 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):

1. (5) Will Power, Chevrolet, 200, Running

2. (14) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 200, Running 

3. (6) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 200, Running

4. (2) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 200, Running

5. (4) Tony Kanaan, Honda, 200, Running

6. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 200, Running

7. (20) Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet, 200, Running

8. (21) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 200, Running

9. (7) Graham Rahal, Honda, 200, Running

10. (18) Carlos Munoz, Chevrolet, 200, Running

11. (16) Marco Andretti, Honda, 200, Running

12. (22) Ed Carpenter, Chevrolet, 200, Running

13. (1) Takuma Sato, Honda, 200, Running

14. (17) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 200, Running

15. (8) Gabby Chaves, Chevrolet, 200, Running

16. (3) Charlie Kimball, Honda, 200, Running 

17. (11) Ed Jones, Honda, 200, Running

18. (10) Max Chilton, Honda, 129, Mechanical

19. (19) JR Hildebrand, Chevrolet, 124, Contact

20. (12) James Hinchcliffe, Honda, 124, Contact

21. (15) Sebastian Saavedra, Honda, 114, Contact

22. (13) Esteban Gutierrez, Honda, 23, Contact

Race Statistics

Winner's average speed: 183.737 mph

Time of Race: 2:43:16.6005

Margin of victory: 0.5268 of a second

Cautions: 3 for 17 laps

Lead changes: 42 among 10 drivers

Lap Leaders:

Kanaan 1-11

Rossi 12-27

Kanaan 28-29

Dixon 30-53

Rossi 54-55

Power 56

Hildebrand 57-58

Dixon 59

Rossi 60-65

Dixon 66-81

Rossi 82-83

Hinchcliffe 84 

Rossi 85

Hinchcliffe 86-87

Dixon 88-97

Rossi 98-99

Hunter-Reay 100-103

Rossi 104-114

Newgarden 115-117

Hunter-Reay 118-122

Rahal 123

Kanaan 124-133

Rahal 134

Kanaan 135

Rahal 136

Kanaan 137

Rahal 138

Kanaan 139

Rahal 140

Kanaan 141

Rahal 142

Kanaan 143

Rahal 144

Kanaan 145-146

Rahal 147

Kanaan 148-149

Rahal 150

Hunter-Reay 151-153

Power 154-176

Rossi 177-180

Newgarden 181

Andretti 182-190

Power 191-200

Verizon IndyCar Series point standings: Newgarden 494, Dixon 476, Castroneves 472, Pagenaud 468, Power 452, Rahal 418, Sato 399, Rossi 394, Kanaan 351 and Hinchcliffe 327.

Will Power photo from the  David Turner Collection

Scott Dixon photo from Shaun Wood  who was trackside at Sundays race

Media Quotes from Indy Car Media Services

Dixon on the Home Stretch for 2017

Thanking my friends at IndyCar media for this one. This video on Scott Dixon says so much about this guy. He is without a doubt a legend of the modern IndyCar scene.

Its well worth having a watch thats for sure.

http://www.indycar.com/Videos/2017/08/08-15-Photo-Finish-Dixon

Photo from David Turner collection Indy Grand Prix May 2017.

New aero kit receives rave reviews in debut test.

After just one day of testing on Tuesday 25th July at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway its all positive news on the new aero kits for the IndyCar Series in 2018.

If the first day of on-track testing is any indication, the new Verizon IndyCar Series car is well on its way to making Indy car racing in 2018 even better.

Juan Pablo Montoya and Oriol Servia turned more than 100 laps each on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in their respective Chevrolet- and Honda-powered Dallara IR-12s equipped with the universal aerodynamic bodywork kit making its public debut ahead of being used by all competitors next season.

Afterward, approval of the new car's bolder, sleeker look and performance was unanimous from everyone involved. Buy-in from the two test drivers - among the most veteran and respected around - was essential and secured from the outset.

"From Lap 1, it just felt at home," said the 43-year-old Servia, who has driven Indy cars since 2000. "The car felt great. I was flat on it out of the pits, which just says how good the car felt right away.

"I think it's going to be a fast, good racer."

The sanctioning body for the Verizon IndyCar Series, announced in April 2016 its intent to move away from aero kit competition to a universally supplied kit in 2018. Dallara, a series chassis supplier since 1997, was named to produce and supply the universal kit.

"It's exciting because, for the first time in the car, it drives really, really well," said Montoya, 41 and a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner. "I think they addressed a lot of the things and the car looks great. I think having one aero kit for everybody is great for the sport. The car looks good and it drives really good."

Montoya's car was prepared by Team Penske and Servia's by Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, though INDYCAR is retaining control of the cars until testing is complete in late September. INDYCAR officials watched with nervous excitement as the two cars took to the track for the first time shortly after 9 a.m. ET and methodically worked through the test checklist. By 5 p.m., the checklist had been completed and a potential second day of testing Wednesday was deemed unnecessary.

"We were pleased," said Bill Pappas, INDYCAR's vice president of competition/race engineering who headed up the technical development of the universal kit. "It matched up with our numbers that we predicted in the wind tunnel and CFD (computational fluid dynamics), so we were very happy for that."

Pappas said the test list included short runs by each car to "ensure that there weren't any surprises," followed by longer runs on the 2.5-mile oval to check for durability issues. Everyone at INDYCAR and Dallara felt confident the test would be a success, but there are never givens in racing.

"This is my first experience being part of a car being designed," Pappas said. "Obviously, Dallara did a great job helping us, but you hold your breath until the first competitive laps are run."

Mission accomplished, at least for the first phase of testing. Additional tests for the two cars are scheduled for Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (Aug. 1), Iowa Speedway (Aug. 10) and Sebring International Raceway (Sept. 26). But the fact that this opening test was completed in half the allotted time is reason to celebrate, if only for a short time.

"Everything we had planned to do in two days, we already accomplished in the first day," Servia said. "We did lots of laps, long runs, and the car feels good. The car feels very benign. 

"It just feels right and we're not having any issues or moments out there. Very consistent. My second long run, I think, was one of my most consistent runs I've done at this track in all of my years."

The 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season resumes this weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. Kiwi Scott Dixon still leads the series as it hit the final events of the series and once again it looks like it will go right to the wire at Sonoma for the final round and the crowing of the 2018 Champion.

Press Quotes and Photos supplied from Indy Car Media