FORT WORTH - Yes, it’s absurd.
Simon Pagenaud is still answering questions about the Firestone 600.
That’s what happens when you start a race on June 12 (and meant to start June 11) and never finished it.
Throw in a few torrential downpours, a lack of communication between Texas Motor Speedway and IndyCar, and you have the series returning to Fort Worth, Texas, today. That’s 77 days later that the green flag will drop to finish the last 177 laps of the race.
Pagenaud, who will restart 15th, can’t do anything but laugh at the situation.
“It’s weird, the whole team is only showing up tomorrow and we’re going to have 10 minutes of practice and then race,” Pagenaud told NBC Sports in a phone interview. “It’s going to be a short weekend. Obviously, it’s going to be a pretty short race. It’s going to be a sprint.”
MORE: McFadin column: At least IndyCar is coming back for this Firestone 600
The series completed 71 laps in June before the rain sent teams scrambling for cover in the garage and then away from TMS. They went on to compete in five races before today, with Pagenaud keeping hold of his points leads. That’s after his Team Penske teammate Will Power won three of those races and Pagenaud wrecked at Pocono.
And yes, the remaining 20 cars in the field will be given just 20 minutes to practice Saturday evening - 10 minutes for the front half of the field, 10 minutes for the back half.
After a 77 day red flag, you have to get down to business.
“I don’t know if that’s an advantage or a disadvantage,” Pagenaud said. “We don’t have any time to change anything. They impound the cars pretty quickly after practice, so you don’t get to do anything on the cars. It’s really a driving exercise and nothing else.”
And they’ll be racing at night, with a scheduled green flag just after 8:15 p.m. CT. In June, teams practiced in the mid to late afternoon with the intent to race under the lights.
Then it rained. The green flag dropped well after 2 p.m. CT the next day. Now IndyCar will race in the conditions they originally intended - more or less.
“Because we didn’t practice to race at night, the behavior of the car is going to be different, but we have enough data from years past to know which way it’s going to go and how to balance the car. It’s definitely going to be a bit of a guess,” Pagenaud said. “The best engineer-driver combination should win the race. “
Through 13 and half races this season, the best combination has been on Pagenaud’s No. 22 car. The Frenchman has four wins and seven poles. Entering 2016, he had only two poles in his previous five seasons.
At Texas, Pagenaud has only one top five (fourth, 2014).
Tonight, Pagenaud (should) get to finish his fifth Texas race and the points leader thinks the two month wait to finish the Firestone 600 will be worth it.
“We might have more edgy cars than during the day,” Pagenaud said. “It’s just something we’ve seen throughout the years. The track just changes when the sun goes down. I think it’s better for the fans. It’s a better show.”
After a record-setting intermission, the show must go on.