Drivers talk tough turns at the track
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indianapolis Motor Speedway: home to the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. With straightaways that let drivers hit 230 miles per hour, and four turns that allow you to continue on your way, or force you into the wall.
“All the misfortunes I’ve had have happened in turn three,” said Tony Kanaan. “So I would say turn three if I had to choose.”
Kanaan chalks turn three up to be the toughest of the four turns. How do his fellow drivers feel?
“Turn one for whatever reason always seems to be the most difficult,” said Will Power.
“Turn one is often the most daunting, especially in qualifying. taking it flat the first lap,” said Charlie Kimball.
“I don’t have a hardest turn, it depends on the day,” said Simon Pagenaud. “Today it’s windy and the wind is going into your tail on turn two that lifts your butt up really going into the corner. It makes the car a little trickier to drive. Pushes you into the wall as well.”
The jury’s still out on which turn is the toughest. But one factor drivers can agree upon? The toughest turn has to do with how the wind’s blowing.
“The hardest turn, it depends on the actual wind,” said Power. “The wind can make any of those turns very difficult.”
“It totally depends on the day, on the conditions. So it’s never the same track,” said Pagenaud.
So how can you prepare for a track that lacks consistency?
“You just react to the conditions as best as possible. You have to be prepared all the different things,” said Kimball. “Even over the course of a day, the weather will change. You just have to pay attention and react the best as possible.”
Never the same track? Sounds nerve wracking from an outsider’s perspective. But maybe that gives the speedway its magic.