Competition
Fans were treated to a spectacular finish at Mid-Ohio after Barry Wanser instructed his driver to have a go at the race leader on the final lap.
Simon Pagenaud cut nearly a second off his lap time from practice to qualifying to continue his commanding weekend north of the border.
Oliver Jarvis put 0.223 seconds between he and Dane Cameron in qualifying at Watkins Glen but both drivers left speed on the track as the grid was set for the third endurance race of 2019.
Alexander Rossi was easily quickest on Friday at Road America but two mistakes on his strongest lap kept his ideal lap and actual lap from being one and the same.
Simon Pagenaud matched Will Power’s 2018 feat by winning the INDYCAR Grand Prix, the Indy 500 pole and the 500-mile race itself in consecutive weekends.
At more than 30 laps shorter than the street and road course races that precede it, the Long Beach race offers limited opportunities for strategy differentiation.
Will Power had his first race at COTA destroyed by what he labels “the worst rule in IndyCar.”
IndyCar’s preseason test at COTA revealed to Race Control that it had no choice but to accept total track limits violations at Turn 19.
Action up front may have been limited but IndyCar’s COTA debut included more general and position passes per mile than the St. Pete season opener.