Bill Pappas, IndyCar’s VP of competition and race engineering, is satisfied the new aerokit has increased the importance of the driver, and is particularly satisfied with how downforce reduction is going to improve competition at Phoenix. The removal of approximately 1200lbs of downforce in short-oval specification has had a profound effect on the car’s behavior around the 1.022-mile oval ISM Raceway, forcing drivers to lift and change down, particularly on worn tires. More remarkably, one lead race engineer told Motorsport.com that even on fresh tires, the difference in maximum and minimum speeds around ISM Raceway had stretched, from 11.7mph to 20.5mph. In 2017, during qualifying, his...
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