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IndyCar
IN THE COCKPIT: Josef Newgarden, Barber
We ended up crossing the finish line a very tough 17th place, far from what we wanted, and in my opinion far from what we are capable of.
Josef Newgarden is learning quickly during his rookie season. (Photo: Marshall Pruett)
Two races down, 14 to go! That first number is going to grow very quickly in the coming months, and before long the 2012 season will be done and over with. The second round of the IZOD IndyCar series in Barber was just over a week ago, and our result was not what the team or I were hoping for. There were some very positive signs coming out of the weekend, and one thing I’m very sure of is that speed is not No. 1 on our list of items to improve on.
Practice was very short during the Barber race weekend, but it was not something we really needed having just tested there a week before the season kicked off. The Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda rolled off the truck looking as good as ever and it had all the speed we knew it would. We ended the first session of the weekend in P4, which was right in the hunt.
Practice 2 and 3 were both wiped with very little rain running taking place in P2 and then no running from any teams during P3 courtesy of a damp foggy track early morning on Saturday.
Next up we rolled right into qualifying and felt confident in what we would be able to produce. This was our first chance to run the Firestone Red road course compound, and our second time on a Red compound overall. This tire had a larger performance gap to the Blacks compared to the two compounds used in St. Pete.
I was more than ready to get going with the session and I tried to attack with the tires as soon as I hit the track. They came up to temp as quickly as I anticipated and I soon found myself with a car that was more secure around Barber than I had ever had before. This was all accompanied with great traction and better braking grip.
Clicking the laps off, I thought I had a nicely balance car, but was it too balanced? We ended up missing out on transferring to Round 2 by just a tenth, and it really showed how close and competitive the field was.
The end result put us right in the middle of the field in 15th place. I felt horrible…
Was I too confident? Did I push enough for the newfound grip? I had so many questions running through my head at once, but most of all I was just disappointed. Sure, it was only our second qualifying attempt for the season, but having such a confidence heading into the session and getting shot down was a tough pill to swallow.
After reflecting on the session, things became clearer to me. For one, I absolutely did not use the full potential of the tires. Because the field is so tight, you MUST use every ounce of grip given to you by the Red compound tires supplied. But what about that balance? You better believe the balance was damn good, but that’s just the point. In order to be quick around Barber, your car has to be over the scale of dead neutral and tipping into oversteer.
As soon as you pick up just a hint of under steer around that place, its game over, you’re already losing time. There were lessons to take away all around from that session, and you better believe they will be applied next time we qualify the No. 67 machine.
Practice was very short during the Barber race weekend, but it was not something we really needed having just tested there a week before the season kicked off. The Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda rolled off the truck looking as good as ever and it had all the speed we knew it would. We ended the first session of the weekend in P4, which was right in the hunt.
Practice 2 and 3 were both wiped with very little rain running taking place in P2 and then no running from any teams during P3 courtesy of a damp foggy track early morning on Saturday.
Next up we rolled right into qualifying and felt confident in what we would be able to produce. This was our first chance to run the Firestone Red road course compound, and our second time on a Red compound overall. This tire had a larger performance gap to the Blacks compared to the two compounds used in St. Pete.
I was more than ready to get going with the session and I tried to attack with the tires as soon as I hit the track. They came up to temp as quickly as I anticipated and I soon found myself with a car that was more secure around Barber than I had ever had before. This was all accompanied with great traction and better braking grip.
Clicking the laps off, I thought I had a nicely balance car, but was it too balanced? We ended up missing out on transferring to Round 2 by just a tenth, and it really showed how close and competitive the field was.
The end result put us right in the middle of the field in 15th place. I felt horrible…
Was I too confident? Did I push enough for the newfound grip? I had so many questions running through my head at once, but most of all I was just disappointed. Sure, it was only our second qualifying attempt for the season, but having such a confidence heading into the session and getting shot down was a tough pill to swallow.
After reflecting on the session, things became clearer to me. For one, I absolutely did not use the full potential of the tires. Because the field is so tight, you MUST use every ounce of grip given to you by the Red compound tires supplied. But what about that balance? You better believe the balance was damn good, but that’s just the point. In order to be quick around Barber, your car has to be over the scale of dead neutral and tipping into oversteer.
As soon as you pick up just a hint of under steer around that place, its game over, you’re already losing time. There were lessons to take away all around from that session, and you better believe they will be applied next time we qualify the No. 67 machine.
2013 INDY 500 Practice
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