Midrace report: IndyCar's Firestone 550 at Texas Motor Speedway
FORT WORTH, Texas -- IndyCar followed the advice of its drivers and changed the aerodynamic package, making the cars more difficult to drive in Saturday's Firestone 550 at Texas Motor Speedway.
They sure were.
Dario Franchitti had such a big wiggle in turn 4 in the opening laps that he almost immediately came to pit road for an adjustment. That cost him two laps to the leaders. He came back to pit road a few minutes later for even bigger changes to the car's rear because it was that loose.
JR Hildebrand had a similar problem, although not as pronounced as Franchitti's. Hildebrand stayed on the track until the first caution, which came on lap 31.
Charlie Kimball lost control of his car in turn 4, spun and hit the outside wall. He was not injured, and he blamed EJ Viso for inconsistent driving. By Kimball's assessment, Viso's moves disturbed the air on the nose of his car, leading to an unsettling when he passed through the corner.
The second crash came on lap 65. Takuma Sato was well off the second corner when the car looped on the backstretch. Hildebrand had to navigate around him, narrowly missing Sato before he bounced off the inside wall. It wasn't much of a hit, but it was the end of Sato's race.
About that time, Ryan Hunter-Reay dropped out of the race with a mechanical problem.
The race had its strange moments. Marco Andretti didn't realize that a brief fire extinguished itself, so he came back for service. He unstrapped to get out, but the crew told him to get back in. It took six laps to get the buckles back in place.
Helio Castroneves nearly got lapped because he had to stop on pit road as rookie Josef Newgarden blocked his pit box.
Simona de Silvestro, who drives a Lotus, and former Formula 1 driver Rubens Barrichello did not start the race because their cars wouldn't start.
