New Dawn for Daytona and IndyCar
Written by Allan Brewer · September 13, 2006
Ethanol-powered 3.5L IndyCar to test famous high-banked Florida track in two weeks
Night test at Homestead/Miami in the works as well
A new chapter in American motor sport arrives later this month as the first pure ethanol-powered open-wheel racers in the modern era will take to the Daytona International Speedway for testing.
Indy Racing League officials announced jointly today with the famous Florida raceway a public test of next year’s IndyCar formula: the Honda 3.5 liter V-8 powered by one hundred percent bio-renewable ethanol fuel.
“We’re going to have two teams down there with engines that run a hundred percent ethanol so we can compare our data,” said IRL official John Lewis on Wednesday. “We’ll also have two teams there that will run the blends we did in 2006, which was 90-percent methanol with 10-percent ethanol. This will mark the first time an IndyCar has run on 100-percent (fuel-grade) ethanol.”
The cars will initially try the two and three quarter mile road course at the Speedway, which includes (like Indy) a portion of the highly-banked oval course that makes the Daytona 500 one of the best-known auto races in the world.
The test is seen as a try-out for Daytona as a warm-weather test facility for the IRL cars. The Ganassi team will be one of those participating in the open test along with Penske, Andretti/Green and Panther Racing.
A number of IndyCar drivers ( among them Scott Dixon, Dan Wheldon, Danica Patrick and Eddie Cheever) are familiar with the Daytona International Speedway road course from endurance sports car competition, making it an ideal site for comparisons of the new and the old.
The road course was chosen purposely to help keep speeds in check. Down force to keep the cars on the track over the curvy infield section will naturally limit the top end speed of the non-restricted-engine IndyCar machines.
“The IndyCars won’t use the high banks in NASCAR Turns 1 and 2. They’ll exit the infield road course (onto the backstretch)
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