Last year’s Shell/Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston was not an altogether pleasant weekend.
The Houston doubleheader last October may have revived the Verizon IndyCar Series championship race going into the season finale, but that aspect was overshadowed by a pesky bump in Turn 1, a constantly revised schedule of events, and of course, the crash that ended the career of Dario Franchitti and injured 13 fans via flying debris.
Now the series is set to head back there at the end of the month, and naturally, there are questions about what the promoters are doing to ensure that this year’s running is less troubled.
ABC affiliate KTRK reports grandstands in some of the track’s high-speed areas are being pushed farther away, presumably in response to the Franchitti wreck that took place in Turn 5 of the temporary circuit at NRG Park.
Franchitti was sent airborne and slammed hard into the catch fence, spraying debris all over the course and into a nearby seating area.
Course designer Martyn Thake told KTRK that the crash was a perfect storm of circumstances.
“There are racing incidents,” he said to the station. “If you would’ve sat down and tried to describe [the crash] to me, I would’ve said a million to one shot.
“It’s just a matter of everything happening at the right place at the right time or the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Additionally, some parts of the circuit are also getting a repave to make things smoother. The Associated Press relays word from Thake that the Turn 1 area has been demolished and new concrete is being poured there.
Construction of the Grand Prix track began with a ceremony today that saw Will Power, Takuma Sato, and Mikhail Aleshin get inside forklifts and move the first barriers into place. The trio also signed autographs for local fans.
The Shell/Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston will air LIVE on NBCSN June 28 and 29 at 3 p.m. ET.
