Courtesy of INDYCAR PR, here’s all you need to know ahead of this weekend’s resumption of the Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway, the 14th of 16 races on the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule:
Firestone 600 (The Resumption) Fast Facts
Race weekend: Friday, June 10 – Saturday, Aug. 27 (Race was scheduled for June 11, started on June 12 and was red-flagged after 71 laps. Race is scheduled to restart on Aug. 27)
Track: Texas Motor Speedway, a 1.455-mile oval in Fort Worth, Texas
Race distance: 248 laps / 360.84 miles (177 laps/257.535 miles remaining)
Firestone tire allotment: Each Entrant will be allotted one new set of tires for the mandatory install lap and practice session. Entrants will be allotted six new sets for the race.
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)
Current race leader: James Hinchcliffe (No. 5 Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda)
Current running order: Firestone 600 Lap 71 (PDF) Note: Cars must be in the aerodynamic configuration they were in when the race was red flagged. The only exception will be the front wing angle. Lap count will begin the first time by the start/finish line upon exiting pit lane.
2016 Verizon P1 Award winner: Carlos Munoz (No. 26 Andretti Autosport Honda), 48.2460 seconds, 217.137 mph (two laps)
NBCSN television broadcast: Race, 9 p.m. ET Saturday, Aug. 27 (live); Kevin Lee is the lead announcer for the NBCSN broadcast this weekend alongside analysts Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy. Pit reporters are Jon Beekhuis, Katie Hargitt and Robin Miller.
Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the chief announcer alongside analyst Davey Hamilton. Jake Query and Nick Yeoman are the turn announcers with Brad Gillie reporting from the pits. All Verizon IndyCar Series races as well as qualifying sessions 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 sessions are available on IndyCar.com, indycarradio.com and on the INDYCAR Mobile app.
Video streaming: The practice session from Texas Motor Speedway (5:30 p.m. ET,Saturday Aug. 27) will be available 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):
Saturday, Aug. 27
4:30 – 5 p.m. – Verizon IndyCar Series practice, RaceControl.IndyCar.com (Live)
8:15 p.m. – Command to restart engines
8:16 p.m. – Firestone 600 resumes on Lap 72 (171 laps/257.535 miles remain), NBCSN (Live)
Championship facts:
• Simon Pagenaud leads the Verizon IndyCar Series championship with three races to be completed for the first time in his career.
• Simon Pagenaud leads Will Power by 20 points. Pagenaud has led the championship since the second race of the season at Phoenix. With 54 maximum points available at Texas, the points lead could change for the second time in 2015.
• There are 15 drivers still mathematically eligible for the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series championship: Simon Pagenaud, Will Power, Josef Newgarden, Scott Dixon, Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, Carlos Munoz, James Hinchcliffe, Graham Rahal, Charlie Kimball, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Alexander Rossi, Juan Pablo Montoya, Sebastien Bourdais and Mikhail Aleshin. Any driver who trails the points leader by 158 points or more following the race will be eliminated from contention.
• Three drivers were eliminated from championship contention at Pocono on Aug. 22 – Takuma Sato, Marco Andretti and Conor Daly.
• Since the first Indy car race at Texas in 1997, the winning driver has won the championship six times: Sam Hornish Jr (2001 Race 2; 2002 Race 2); Tony Kanaan (2004 Race 1), Scott Dixon (2008 and 2015) and Dario Franchitti (2011 Race 1).
Key championship point statistic: The driver who has led the championship with three races to go has failed to win the championship in five of the last six seasons. Will Power in 2014 is the exception.
Point differential: The 20 points which separate Simon Pagenaud and Will Power is the third smallest margin with three races remaining since 2010. Will Power led Helio Castroneves by four points in 2014 and Ryan Hunter-Reay by five points in 2012. The average deficit with three races to go since 2010 is 23.16 points.
Championship-eligible drivers’ results at Texas: Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan and Will Power have all won races at Texas Motor Speedway. Castroneves, Dixon and Kanaan have seven podium finishes. Pagenaud’s best finish was fourth in 2014. Newgarden (who will not participate in the race’s resumption due to crash on June 12) has never finished better than eighth.
