Courtesy of INDYCAR PR, here’s all you need to know ahead of this weekend’s Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway, the ninth of 16 races on the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule:
Firestone 600 Fast Facts
Track: Texas Motor Speedway, a 1.455-mile oval
Race distance: 248 laps / 360.84 miles
Entry List: Firestone 600 (PDF)
Firestone tire allotment: Eleven sets for use through the weekend
Twitter: @TXMotorSpeedway @IndyCar, #Firestone600, #IndyCar
Event website: www.TexasMotorSpeedway.com
INDYCAR website: www.IndyCar.com
2015 race winner: Scott Dixon (No. 9 Energizer EcoAdvanced Chevrolet)
2015 Verizon P1 Award winner: Will Power (No. 1 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet), 47.9410 seconds, 218.519 mph (two laps)
Qualifying record (two laps): Will Power, 47.7960 seconds, 219.182 mph, June 7, 2013
NBCSN television broadcasts: Practice, noon ET Friday, June 10; Qualifying, 6 p.m. ET Friday, June 10 (tape delayed); Race, 8 p.m. ET Saturday, June 11. Brian Till is the lead announcer for the NBCSN broadcasts this weekend alongside analysts Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy. Pit reporters are Marty Snider, Kevin Lee, Katie Hargitt and Robin Miller.
Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the chief announcer alongside analyst Davey Hamilton. Pit reporters are Nick Yeoman, Brad Gillie and Michael Young, with Jake Query as the turn announcer. All Verizon IndyCar Series races are broadcast live on network affiliates, Sirius 212, XM 209, IndyCar.com, indycarradio.com and on the INDYCAR Mobile app. All Verizon IndyCar Series practice and qualifying sessions are available on IndyCar.com, indycarradio.com and on the INDYCAR Mobile app.
Video streaming: All practice sessions for the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season not covered by television will be available on RaceControl.IndyCar.com. Live coverage of qualifying for the Verizon P1 Award will be streamed on RaceControl.IndyCar.com.
INDYCAR Mobile app: Verizon Wireless puts fans around the world in the driver’s seat with its INDYCAR Mobile app. The app has been enhanced with new features to keep fans in the know of the latest race-day action. Exclusive features of the INDYCAR Mobile app for Verizon Wireless customers will stream live through the app and includes enhanced real-time leaderboard and car telemetry; the ability to follow the race in real time with the interactive 3D track; live in-car camera video streaming for select drivers during Verizon IndyCar Series races; live driver and pit crew radio transmissions during races and live Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network audio streaming during all track activities.
At-track schedule (all times local):
Friday, June 10
11 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. - Verizon IndyCar Series practice #1, NBCSN (Live).
3:15 p.m. - Qualifying for the Verizon P1 Award (single car/cumulative time of two laps), NBCSN (6 p.m. ET).
6:45 - 7:15 p.m. - Verizon IndyCar Series practice #2, RaceControl.IndyCar.com (Live)
Saturday, June 11
4 p.m. - Systems check
7:06 p.m. - Driver Introductions
7:45 p.m. - Command to Start Engines
7:50 p.m. - Firestone 600 (248 laps/360.84 miles), NBCSN (Live)
Race notes:
• There have been six different winners in eight Verizon IndyCar Series races in 2016: Juan Pablo Montoya (Streets of St. Petersburg), Scott Dixon (Phoenix International Raceway), Simon Pagenaud (Streets of Long Beach, Barber Motorsports Park and Grand Prix of Indianapolis), Alexander Rossi (Indianapolis 500), Sebastien Bourdais (Raceway at Belle Isle-1) and Will Power (Raceway at Belle Isle-2). Dixon’s win at Phoenix on April 2tied him for fourth on the all-time Indy car victory list with Al Unser at 39. He is the active leader in wins. Bourdais’ win at Belle Isle on June 4 tied him with Bobby Unser for sixth on the all-time list with 35 wins.
• The Firestone 600 will be the 28th Indy car event conducted at Texas Motor Speedway since the track opened in 1997. TMS hosted two races a year from 1998-2004 and featured a doubleheader event in 2011.
• This is the third of five oval races on the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule. Dixon won the first oval of the season at Phoenix in April. Rossi won the Indianapolis 500 on May 29.
• Helio Castroneves has won four times at Texas Motor Speedway (2004 Race 2, 2006, 2009 and 2013), the most wins by an Indy car driver at the track. He is one of five past TMS winners entered in this year’s race, along with Tony Kanaan (2004 Race 1), Dixon (2008 and 2015), Power (2011 Race 2) and Ed Carpenter (2014).
• Power has won the pole for the past three Texas Motor Speedway races. Other past pole winners entered this year are Castroneves (2004 Race 2) and Dixon (2008). Kanaan won a draw to start first for the second of the 2011 doubleheader races.
• Six drivers have won the Texas race from the pole: Sam Hornish Jr. (2001 Race 2), Gil de Ferran (2003 Race 2), Castroneves (2004 Race 2), Tomas Scheckter (2005), Dixon (2008) and Ryan Briscoe (2010).
• Drivers who have won at Texas have gone on to win the Verizon IndyCar Series championship six times: Hornish (2001 Race 2 and 2002 Race 2), Kanaan (2004 Race 1), Dixon (2008 and 2015) and Dario Franchitti (2011 Race 1).
• Nineteen drivers entered this weekend have competed in past Verizon IndyCar Series events at Texas Motor Speedway. Twelve of those drivers have led laps at the track (Castroneves 499, Kanaan 370, Dixon 353, Power 252, Carpenter 91, Marco Andretti 84, Pagenaud 59, Ryan Hunter-Reay 35, Montoya 29, Graham Rahal 27, James Hinchcliffe 8 and Charlie Kimball 1).
• At least three drivers entered this weekend - Max Chilton, Conor Daly and Alexander Rossi - will make their first attempt to start a Verizon IndyCar Series race at Texas Motor Speedway.
• Kanaan seeks to start his 258th consecutive race this weekend, which would extend his Indy car record streak that began in June 2001 at Portland. Teammate Scott Dixon has made 199 consecutive starts heading into the weekend, which is the third-longest streak in Indy car racing.
• Castroneves will attempt to make his 320th career Indy car start, which would tie him with Al Unser for fourth on the all-time list.
• The No. 22 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Team Penske crew of Simon Pagenaud won the Firestone Pit Stop Performance Award during Race 1 of the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit with a total pit lane time of 52.4366 seconds. During Race 2 of the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit, the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske crew of Will Power claimed the Firestone Pit Stop Performance Award with a total pit lane time of 52.0598 seconds. Both Team Penske crews will receive their respective $5,000 awards during pre-race festivities at the Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway.
• The 2016 season is the second in which aerodynamic bodywork component kits are used. The aero kits, produced by engine manufacturers Chevrolet and Honda for their respective supplied teams, are the latest technical innovation to enhance on-track performance through competitive aerodynamic development. Each manufacturer produces two kits for teams - one for short ovals/road courses/street courses and another for superspeedway ovals - but within each kit, teams have multiple component options available.
• The second season of aero kit competition complements the fifth year of engine manufacturer competition between Chevrolet and Honda with their 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged V-6 engines. It will be another season testing speed and durability to determine the manufacturer champion.