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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Top 3 In Championship On Their Fifth Engine
With just three rounds left, some of the men in the midst of the title hunt are praying for engine reliability as every point earned or position lost becomes crucial.
Will Power, like most of the drivers fighting for the IZOD IndyCar Series championship, can no longer afford to take 10-spot engine penalties. (Photo: Marshall Pruett)
Five engines per lease, approximately 2000 miles between rebuilds.
That’s the allotment and usage matrix set out for the season by the IZOD IndyCar Series and signed off on by Chevy, Honda and Lotus, its three engine suppliers.
But with just three rounds to go in the championship, some of the men in the midst of the title hunt are praying for engine reliability as every point earned or position lost becomes crucial.
The series’ penalty system for engine failures that happen outside of the race itself, engine changes that take place before a minimum of 1850 miles has been reached, or if more than five engines are used for the year is a simple one: Run afoul of any of those common scenarios, and you’ll lose 10 grid positions from wherever you qualified.
Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay and Team Penske’s Will Power, then one-two in the championship, made premature engine changes at Edmonton to gain access to the latest Chevy specification, willfully forfeiting 10 spots apiece, but only Power recovered enough positions in the race to make the risky move pay off.
At Mid-Ohio last weekend, Helio Castroneves, who won at Edmonton and took over the points lead, also opted for a premature engine change to get the most recent Chevy spec--he failed to make up significant ground and dropped to third in the standings.
Hunter-Reay, with a one-race-old Chevy, suffered what appeared to be an engine failure during the Mid-Ohio race, but won’t lose 10 spots at Sonoma because in-race failures aren’t penalized. But it does mean he’ll have to go to engine No. 5 for Sonoma and hope it lasts for Baltimore and the season finale at Fontana.
Mid-Ohio race winner Scott Dixon, who lost engine No. 5 at Toronto last month, served his 10-spot penalty at Edmonton for installing No. 6. With that race included, Dixon, who is fourth in points and still very much in title contention, will need that Honda powerplant to last a total of five races (Edmonton, Mid-Ohio, plus the final three) if he wants to avoid going to No. 7 and incurring another 10-spot penalty.
Of the drivers in the top 5, Power is on his fifth Chevy, Hunter-Reay is moving to his fifth Chevy, Castroneves is on Chevy No. 5, Dixon’s on Honda No. 6 and despite being at the bottom of the top 5, James Hinchcliffe actually has a bit of breathing room due to using Chevy engine No. 4.
That’s the allotment and usage matrix set out for the season by the IZOD IndyCar Series and signed off on by Chevy, Honda and Lotus, its three engine suppliers.
But with just three rounds to go in the championship, some of the men in the midst of the title hunt are praying for engine reliability as every point earned or position lost becomes crucial.
The series’ penalty system for engine failures that happen outside of the race itself, engine changes that take place before a minimum of 1850 miles has been reached, or if more than five engines are used for the year is a simple one: Run afoul of any of those common scenarios, and you’ll lose 10 grid positions from wherever you qualified.
Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay and Team Penske’s Will Power, then one-two in the championship, made premature engine changes at Edmonton to gain access to the latest Chevy specification, willfully forfeiting 10 spots apiece, but only Power recovered enough positions in the race to make the risky move pay off.
At Mid-Ohio last weekend, Helio Castroneves, who won at Edmonton and took over the points lead, also opted for a premature engine change to get the most recent Chevy spec--he failed to make up significant ground and dropped to third in the standings.
Hunter-Reay, with a one-race-old Chevy, suffered what appeared to be an engine failure during the Mid-Ohio race, but won’t lose 10 spots at Sonoma because in-race failures aren’t penalized. But it does mean he’ll have to go to engine No. 5 for Sonoma and hope it lasts for Baltimore and the season finale at Fontana.
Mid-Ohio race winner Scott Dixon, who lost engine No. 5 at Toronto last month, served his 10-spot penalty at Edmonton for installing No. 6. With that race included, Dixon, who is fourth in points and still very much in title contention, will need that Honda powerplant to last a total of five races (Edmonton, Mid-Ohio, plus the final three) if he wants to avoid going to No. 7 and incurring another 10-spot penalty.
Of the drivers in the top 5, Power is on his fifth Chevy, Hunter-Reay is moving to his fifth Chevy, Castroneves is on Chevy No. 5, Dixon’s on Honda No. 6 and despite being at the bottom of the top 5, James Hinchcliffe actually has a bit of breathing room due to using Chevy engine No. 4.
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