Get ready for a hot Indy 500
Sunday's Indy 500 could be the hottest ever.
The weather forecast calls for temperatures in the mid-90s, which would surpass the 92-degree mark of 1937 as the record high for the race, according to the Indianapolis Star.
While fans would surely bake in the stands, that pales in comparison to the track, which could reach 140 degrees.
"That's hot no matter how you say it," said Helio Castroneves, who has won the Indy 500 three times.
The excess heat could make the track slippery by laying down extra rubber created from overheated tires.
Temperatures reached 87 degrees during Friday's practice.
"There's a lot of rubber down, and it's hot," rookie driver Josef Newgarden said. "It's difficult to know what the car wants, what it doesn't want and what it wants for 500 miles on Sunday."
Additional aerodynamic downforce in the car is one solution. Pit crews adjust the cars' front and rear wings as the heat rises. The adjustments press the car down onto the track to increase traction.
However, the downforce also slows down the cars.
Mitch Davis, a Ganassi Racing engineer who works with second-year Indy 500 driver Charlie Kimball, said last week's hot, late-afternoon Bump Day practice session gave a good indication of how the heat would affect the race.
"I think everybody ran when it was hot, so we've seen it," he said.
Sunday's race begins at noon ET.
