IndyCar Series at Texas Motor Speedway

(Redirected from PPG 375)

The IndyCar Series held auto racing events at Texas Motor Speedway, near Fort Worth, Texas, from 1997 until 2023. The races had a variety of different title sponsors and distances over the years, and therefore the Texas round has changed names frequently. The latest event, held in 2023, was called the PPG 375.

PPG 375
IndyCar Series
VenueTexas Motor Speedway
First race1997
First IndyCar race1997
Last race2023
Distance375 mi (603.50 km)
Laps250
Previous namesTrue Value 500 (1997–1998)
Longhorn 500 (1999)
Casino Magic 500 (2000–2001)
Boomtown 500 (2002)
Bombardier 500 (2003–2004)
Bombardier Learjet 500 (2005–2006)
Bombardier Learjet 550 (2007–2009)
Firestone 550 (2010, 2012–2013)
Firestone Twin 275s (2011)
Firestone 600 (2014–2016)
Rainguard Water Sealers 600 (2017)
DXC Technologies 600 (2018–2019)
Genesys 300 (2020-2021)
XPEL 375 (2021-2022)
Most wins (driver)Scott Dixon (5)
Most wins (team)Team Penske (8)
Most wins (manufacturer)Chassis: Dallara (25)
Engine: Honda (13)

History

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The first Championship/Indy car races in the Dallas/Fort Worth area took place at Arlington Downs Raceway in nearby Arlington, Texas. AAA sanctioned five races from 1947 to 1950. USAC sanctioned ten Championship car events at Texas World Speedway in College Station, Texas. The race was discontinued when the track closed in 1981.

In 1997, the IndyCar Series debuted at Texas Motor Speedway. The event was traditionally a single race held on a Saturday night in early June. Twice, in 2011 and 2021, the series has held twin races at the track. From 1997 until 2005, it served as the first race after the Indianapolis 500. It resumed this place in 2010 and in 2011. In 2020, it served as the first race of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021 the event moved to the first weekend in May, and in 2022 the event was moved to a March date.

Texas Motor Speedway was removed from the schedule for the 2024 season after the series and track were unable to agree on a date.[1] In September 2024, RACER reported that IndyCar would begin racing on a new street circuit around AT&T Stadium in Arlington starting in 2026.[2] This report would be confirmed the next month, with the race being called the Grand Prix of Arlington.[3]

Second race

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From 1998 to 2004, a second 500 km IndyCar Series race was held at the track in the fall. It served as the IndyCar Series' season finale for each of its runnings.

In 2003, Gil de Ferran was leading on lap 187 when Kenny Bräck crashed on the backstretch. The massive accident seriously injured Bräck, and he raced only limitedly afterwards. With the race winding down under caution, and with cleanup still ongoing, officials stopped the race after 195 laps when it was clear they would not have time to go back to green. de Ferran was declared the winner in what was his final race in IndyCar (he had announced his retirement during the season).

Race length

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When the track opened, the one-lap distance was measured as 1.5 miles (2.4 km). IndyCar Series races were originally 208 laps (312 mi/500 km) long. In 2001, timing and scoring officials revised the measurement as 1.455 miles (2.342 km), and the races were changed to an even 200 laps (291 mi/468.319 km). In 2007, the race was lengthened to 228 laps in an effort to create a longer product for time value purposes. Using the traditional 1.5-mile (2.4 km) measurement, the race became 342 miles (550.4 km). However, official IndyCar timing and scoring maintained the 1.455-mile (2.342 km) measurement, and the race was officially 331.74 miles (533.88 km). In 2014, the race was extended to 600 kilometers.[4] After revamping the oval track in 2016, the new one lap measurement is 1.44 miles for lap speed calculations.[5]

In addition, the start time was moved to 9:00 p.m. CDT (10:00 p.m. EDT) so the event would take place almost entirely under the lights, rather than in the mid-summer twilight.[6]

The race was slightly shortened to 300 miles and 200 laps in 2020, due to COVID-19 pandemic protocols that used same-day practice and qualifying for the event. The 2020 Genesys 300 was the first IndyCar event since a hiatus due to the pandemic.[7] The 300-mile distance will also be used for 2021.[8]

Twin races

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For 2011, a special Twin race format was adopted, a throwback to the USAC-style twin races of the 1970s and early 1980s. The race would consist of two 275-km (114 laps) races, with each race declaring a separate winner, and each race awarding half points towards the season championship. The starting lineup for the first race was determined during standard time trials. After the completion of the first race, a "halftime" was observed, and the starting lineup for the second race was determined by a random draw.

A mild controversy resulted from the halftime draw for the second race's lineup. It differed from previous "twin" races where the finishing positions for the first race determined the lineup, or the finishing positions were inverted. It was considered unfair by some,[9] and it was magnified when points contenders Will Power and Dario Franchitti drew 3rd and 28th starting positions, respectively. For 2012, the twin-race format was scrapped.

In 2021 Texas hosted a twin-race weekend with two separate points-paying events, named the Genesys 300 and XPEL 375 and held on May 1 and 2 respectively.[10] Qualifying for both rounds was canceled due to rain, with the starting grid decided by the championship standings entering each race. Álex Palou, competing for Chip Ganassi Racing, was awarded pole position for the Genesys 300 as he was the points leader following the previous round at St. Petersburg. Palou's teammate Scott Dixon, who started ninth, won the first race and took his only victory of the season. Dixon advanced to take the lead in the points standings, and consequently started the XPEL 375 on pole the following day. The second race was won by Arrow McLaren SP's Pato O'Ward, who claimed his first IndyCar Series victory.

The event returned to a single-race format for 2022 onwards, and its distance was extended to 375 miles.[11]

Planned CART race

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CART scheduled a race at the track for April 29, 2001. Following practice and qualifying, however, the race was cancelled "due to irresolvable concerns over the physical demands placed on the drivers at race speeds."[12] All but four drivers reported they had experienced vertigo-like symptoms due to lateral g-forces from driving in excess of 230 mph (370 km/h) on the steep 24 degree banks.

The Dayton Indy Lights race was completed with two cautions.

PJ1 Usage

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Starting in 2019 Texas Motor Speedway began to apply PJ1 TrackBite on the high portion of the banking on the track. This was done for NASCAR, who runs multiple events at the speedway and whose cars benefit from the addition of the substance on the track. For IndyCars however the application of PJ1 has created numerous problems. IndyCar's harder tire compounds struggle to grab onto to the PJ1, which combined with the lower downforce levels of IndyCar's current aerodynamic package has led many drivers to compare driving on the substance to driving on ice.[13] Because the drivers avoid the PJ1 coated sections of the banking so called "marbles" from the worn tires are thrown by the cars onto the PJ1 coated surface, exacerbating the problem of low grip on those banks of the track. This in turn makes Texas Motor Speedway a one groove racetrack for the IndyCars and has resulted several accidents in the races run at the speedway since the PJ1 was first applied. IndyCar drivers have become very critical of the track at Texas in recent years and have complained that the PJ1 results in racing that is both uninteresting and unsafe at the same time.[14][15]

For 2022 IndyCar and Dallara unveiled bargeboards for use at Texas in an attempt to open up the portions of the track coated with PJ1 to the drivers. The bargeboards are expected to add an additional 200 pounds of downforce on top of the UAK18 superspeedway aero kit and will be optional for teams to use during both qualifying and the race.[16] Teams opted not to run the bargeboards in 2022. IndyCar mandated the use of the bargeboards in 2023.

Past winners

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AAA Championship car history (Arlington)

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Season Date Race Name Driver Team Chassis Engine Race Distance Race Time Average Speed
(mph)
Laps Miles (km)
1947 November 2 Arlington 100   Ted Horn Ted Horn Enterprises Horn Offy 95 100.89 (162.366) 1:10:25 86.001
1948 April 25 Arlington 100   Ted Horn Horn Enterprises Horn Offy 95 100.89 (162.366) 1:17:00 78.644
1949 April 24 Arlington 100   Johnnie Parsons Kurtis Offy 95 100.89 (162.366) 1:16:40 83.15
July 17 Universal Speedways Race of Champions   Mel Hansen Lesovsky Offy 50 53.1 (85.456)
1950 April 30 MGM Sweepstakes   Duane Carter Sprint Car 30 31.86 (51.273) 0:22:44 84.087

USAC Championship car history (College Station)

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See Texas World Speedway

Season Date Race Name Driver Team Chassis Engine Race Distance Race Time Average Speed
(mph)
Laps Miles (km)
1973 April 7 Texas 200   Al Unser Vels Parnelli Jones Parnelli Offenhauser 100 200 (321.868) 1:18:19 153.224
1974
-
1975
Not held
1976 August 1 Texas 150   A. J. Foyt Gilmore Racing Coyote Foyt 75 150 (241.401) 0:52:04 172.885
1977 April 2 Texas Grand Prix   Tom Sneva Team Penske McLaren Cosworth 100 200 (321.868) 1:16:05 157.711
1978 April 15 Coors 200   Danny Ongais Interscope Racing Parnelli Cosworth 100 200 (321.868) 1:09:08 173.594
1979 April 8 Coors 200   A. J. Foyt Gilmore Racing Coyote Foyt 100 200 (321.868) 1:32:37 129.574
1980 Race cancelled

IndyCar Series history (Fort Worth)

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Season Date Driver Team Chassis Engine Race Distance Race Time Average Speed
(mph)
Report
Laps Miles (km)
1996–97 June 7, 1997   Arie Luyendyk* Treadway Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 208 312 (502.115) 2:19:48 133.903 Report
1998 June 6   Billy Boat A. J. Foyt Enterprises Dallara Oldsmobile 208 312 (502.115) 2:08:46 145.388 Report
1999 June 12   Scott Goodyear Panther Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 208 312 (502.115) 2:00:06 150.069 Report
2000 June 11*   Scott Sharp Kelley Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 208 312 (502.115) 1:47:20 169.182 Report
2001 June 9   Scott Sharp Kelley Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 200 300 (482.803) 1:55:44 150.873 Report
2002 June 8   Jeff Ward Chip Ganassi Racing G-Force Chevrolet 200 300 (482.803) 1:45:50 164.984 Report
2003 June 7   Al Unser Jr. Kelley Racing Dallara Toyota 200 300 (482.803) 1:43:48 168.213 Report
2004 June 12   Tony Kanaan Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda 200 300 (482.803) 1:53:24 153.965 Report
2005 June 11   Tomas Scheckter Panther Racing Dallara Chevrolet 200 300 (482.803) 1:45:47 165.047 Report
2006 June 10   Hélio Castroneves Team Penske Dallara Honda 200 300 (482.803) 1:34:01 185.71 Report
2007 June 9   Sam Hornish Jr. Team Penske Dallara Honda 228 342 (550.395) 1:52:15 177.314 Report
2008 June 7   Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda 228 342 (550.395) 2:04:36 159.74 Report
2009 June 6   Hélio Castroneves Team Penske Dallara Honda 228 342 (550.395) 1:55:16 172.677 Report
2010 June 5   Ryan Briscoe Team Penske Dallara Honda 228 342 (550.395) 2:04:47 159.508 Report
2011 June 11   Dario Franchitti Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda 114 171 (275.197) 0:54:47 181.649 Report
  Will Power Team Penske Dallara Honda 114 171 (275.197) 0:48:09 206.693
2012 June 9   Justin Wilson Dale Coyne Racing Dallara Honda 228 342 (550.395) 1:59:02 167.217 Report
2013 June 8   Hélio Castroneves Team Penske Dallara Chevrolet 228 342 (550.395) 1:52:17 177.257 Report
2014 June 7   Ed Carpenter Ed Carpenter Racing Dallara Chevrolet 248 372 (598.676) 2:01:26 178.301 Report
2015 June 6   Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Chevrolet 248 372 (598.676) 1:52:48 191.94 Report
2016 June 12
August 27*
  Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Dallara Honda 248 372 (598.676) 2:29:25 144.901 Report
2017 June 10   Will Power Team Penske Dallara Chevrolet 248 372 (598.676) 2:32:31 140.491 Report
2018 June 9   Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda 248 372 (598.676) 2:00:53 177.25 Report
2019 June 8   Josef Newgarden Team Penske Dallara Chevrolet 248 372 (598.676) 1:55:09 186.084 Report
2020 June 6   Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda 200 300 (482.803) 1:38:37 175.201 Report
2021 May 1   Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda 212 318 (511.771) 1:45:51 173.036 Report
May 2   Patricio O'Ward Arrow McLaren SP Dallara Chevrolet 248 372 (598.676) 2:06:31 169.36 Report
2022 March 20   Josef Newgarden Team Penske Dallara Chevrolet 248 372 (598.676) 2:09:29 165.467 Report
2023 April 2   Josef Newgarden Team Penske Dallara Chevrolet 250 375 (603.504) 2:07:07 169.917 Report
  • 1997: Billy Boat took the checkered flag as the winner due to a scoring error; Luyendyk would be declared the official winner the following day.
  • 2000: Postponed from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon due to rain.
  • 2016: Postponed from Saturday to Sunday due to rain, then suspended until August 27 due to rain and logistical issues.

Indy Lights

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Notes

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  1. ^ Brittle, Cian (11 January 2024). "IndyCar: Texas Motor Speedway return not guaranteed in 2025". BlackBook Motorsport. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  2. ^ Pruett, Marshall (27 September 2024). "IndyCar set for Dallas street race in 2026". RACER. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  3. ^ Pruett, Marshall (7 October 2024). "IndyCar GP of Arlington confirmed for 2026". RACER. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  4. ^ Lewandowski, Dave (2013-09-24). "Fans to get more mileage out of 2014 race at TMS". IndyCar Series. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
  5. ^ http://www.imscdn.com/INDYCAR/Documents/3756/2017-06-09/indycar-results-quals.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  6. ^ "IRL: Indy Racing League News and Notes 2006-12-12". Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  7. ^ "IndyCar return for 2020 season will be at Texas without fans". NBC Sports. 2020-05-07. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  8. ^ Ryan, Nate (October 1, 2020). "IndyCar announces its 2021 schedule". NBC Sports. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  9. ^ "Controversial draw spoils Dario Franchitti's IndyCar win in Texas - Bruce Martin - SI.com". Archived from the original on 2011-08-20. Retrieved 2012-01-03.
  10. ^ Ryan, Nate (October 1, 2020). "IndyCar announces its 2021 schedule". NBC Sports. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  11. ^ "PPG 375".
  12. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2006-10-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. ^ Boxall-Legge, Jake (4 May 2021). "One-lane Texas 'not ideal' with ice-like surface - Rahal". Autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  14. ^ "'It's worse': IndyCar drivers blame Texas' single-lane racing for 2 crashes Saturday". MSN.
  15. ^ "How the PJ1 areas affected the racing at Texas this past weekend, what the drivers said and why INDYCAR should be applauded". 3 May 2021.
  16. ^ Pruett, Marshall (17 January 2022). "IndyCar creates downforce increase options at three ovals". Racer.com. Racer Marketing and Media. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
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Preceded by
Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
IndyCar Series
XPEL 375
Succeeded by
Grand Prix of Long Beach