AVONDALE, Ariz. - It’s already been a busy morning for the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, which is testing today at Phoenix International Raceway.
The Dallara IL-15 Mazda chassis is hauling the mail. With timing & scoring up, RC Enerson in the No. 7 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports car is the first driver to clock a lap sub-22 seconds, and as of 11:00 a.m. MT and local time, has a best lap time of 21.872 seconds - or 168.214 mph.
The session runs til noon local time. Rookies were out first, then veterans only, then all cars of the 16 cars entered.
Juan Piedrahita, driver of the No. 2 Team Pelfrey car, sustained a small fire which brought out an extended yellow flag. A heavy amount of oil was laid down and put the session under yellow.
Piedrahita reported he was OK and didn’t get a warning, but pulled off course once smoke was detected at Turns 1 and 2.
Meanwhile, here are some of the other early nuggets gleaned from the first morning of three during this week’s series test:
- Gabby Chaves is on site, in the first round of his “making the rounds” and working to secure an Indianapolis 500 program. Chaves told NBC Sports he hopes to have that program sorted within the next several weeks, and from there, will be able to determine what other future races - IndyCar or elsewhere - he hopes he can participate in this year.
- Most, but not all, of the IndyCar transporters have loaded into the track on the inside of Turns 1 and 2. Team Penske’s four transporters were getting a typical washdown to make them seem even cleaner.
- Expect a number of new liveries to be revealed this week, including from Andretti Autosport and Ed Carpenter Racing. Josef Newgarden teased a hint of his No. 21 Fuzzy’s Vodka entry on Wednesday, with the full reveal set for Thursday.
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7:00 p.m. ET (UPDATE 2): Enerson’s morning time stood as the fastest lap of the day and, by default, of the one-day test.
In the afternoon, Santiago Urrutia and Andre Negrao led the way in a 1-2 in two other Schmidt Peterson cars. Urrutia, the Pro Mazda champion, also broke into the sub-22 second bracket at 21.986 seconds, 167.341 mph.
Negrao, Felix Serralles and Dean Stoneman were next up. Stoneman tested earlier this week for Andretti Autosport to complete his maiden oval test.
Team Pelfrey’s challenging day continued with Scott Hargrove also having an engine issue in his entry, which sidelined him for the remainder of the day. Piedrahita returned to the track in the final hour.
Not as lucky was Dalton Kellett of Andretti Autosport, who had a “bigger than he realized” accident off Turn 2 in the No. 28 entry. Kellett’s car didn’t appear that bad upon returning to the paddock area; however, he told NBC Sports it was heavy contact that cracked the bell housing.
In other IndyCar nuggets:
- In the new livery department, there are a total of 14 of 21 cars testing this weekend that have a new livery compared to the final race of last year. They are: the No. 22 Team Penske Chevrolet, the No. 7 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda, all four Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolets, all four Andretti Autosport Hondas, the two Dale Coyne Racing Hondas, the No. 11 KVSH Racing Chevrolet and the No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet. Without giving too much away before cars hit the track tomorrow, some of the new liveries seem to fit or look better than others.
- Alexander Rossi is here, although he won’t be testing this weekend. Rossi, who will take the reins of the No. 98 Honda for the Bryan Herta/Michael Andretti partnership, will have his first oval test in a private session at Phoenix prior to the April 2 race. A date is yet to be revealed. He’ll also likely need to undergo a test at a bigger oval prior to the month of May at Indianapolis, similar to what Max Chilton did at Auto Club Speedway earlier this month.
- Ed Carpenter told NBC Sports he is “running out of time” to make the second car run on road and street course races this year, the team’s No. 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolet, although there remains a possibility the car could run all events. Carpenter said he doesn’t want to detract from the team’s primary program for Newgarden. The No. 20 car, along with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s No. 16 Honda for Spencer Pigot, are set to alternate as the 22nd car at selected races this year.
- On that front, INDYCAR is expected to reveal its 2016 Leaders Circle entrants likely early next week, per an INDYCAR spokesperson. The Leaders Circle entrants receive financial assistance over the course of the season.
More to follow throughout the weekend on NBCSports.com.