WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Scott Dixon has so much success at Watkins Glen Int’l, they should reserve a permanent place for him on the stage of the media center.
In seven previous races at the 11-turn, 3.37-mile permanent road course, Dixon has four wins including last year and three in a row from 2005 to 2007.
He scored his first Watkins Glen pole last year and was the fastest during Friday’s two combined practice sessions for Sunday’s IndyCar Grand Prix at the Glen.
Dixon’s fast lap was 1:22.6187 around the course for a speed of 146.843 mils per hour in a Honda. That was faster than Team Penske’s Will Power, whose Chevrolet had a fast lap of 1:22.7129 (146.676 mph).
“We had a good test here a couple weeks ago,” Dixon said. “We probably didn’t have the speed at the test we were quite hoping for. We backed up on a few adjustments we made, kind of understood a little bit better where I think we went wrong.
“The first practice went good. We had a really strong car. We only ran one set of tires. On our quickest two laps, we had a bit of traffic, didn’t get to show the potential. Car was really good on blacks. We changed a couple things when we went to the reds. I think we missed the balance there. I was on a lap to equal our black time, but not as good as maybe some of the others on the reds. Little bit of work to do there for the weekend.
“But all in all, I think Chip Ganassi Racing, they brought some strong cars here and some cars that hopefully come tomorrow, Sunday, can be in contention fighting for the win.”
Power has one pole and one win in three starts at Watkins Glen. He credits tire selection to his fast speed on Friday.
“We got a good taste of the (Firestone) Reds to see how they were,” Power said. “It’s a tough call when you see Dixon go as fast on his Blacks as he did on his Reds. Maybe we didn’t get a good read on the Blacks.
“We made some changes from the first session. I feel like we are definitely headed in the right direction.”
It’s apparent both drivers have taken a liking to the historic road course since their very first time at WGI. They are among the best drivers that compete at a track that once hosted the United States Grand Prix Formula One race.
“It’s a very nice track, very high commitment in this car in particular because of the downforce,” Power explained. “It can be scary around this joint because of the speed you got to carry in some of those corners, like the last corner, the carrousel. The carrousel is basically wide open.
“It’s fun. Consistent grip. I’m disappointed if I’m not quick at any track really.”
This and Mid-Ohio are Dixon’s two best tracks for the Verizon IndyCar Series legend.
“It’s a track where the team has been very strong, too, similar to Mid-Ohio I guess up until this year where we had a few issues there,” Dixon said. “These high-speed road courses, I would definitely say the Honda aero kit is probably not ideal for a track like this, much similar to what we had at Road America. But it doesn’t hurt us as bad as maybe the high downforce at Mid-Ohio, some of those places.
“I expect the competition to be tough tomorrow. But the tires are always changing. Everything is always evolving. The basic setup that the team brings here works well with my driving style and definitely well with the track.”
It’s also a race course where teams and drivers have a variety of options on how to win the race. Strategy can vary and play a very big role in the outcome.
“I think it’s a track that enables a lot of maybe some differences in strategy, too,” Dixon said. “It’s a track you can save some fuel and maybe extend your window, jump someone in the pits. It’s a track that if you can trim out to a pretty significant level, it can aid you in the race with being able to pass people on the straights.
“But each year I find it changes. A little bit has changed that you have to catch up with, maybe make exception for. But I think our cars on the long runs here have always been strong. This weekend will be interesting, especially Sunday if we get bouts of weather, maybe a bit of rain.
“You want to start at the front. You want to start on the front row, if possible. We haven’t done that all the time, but last year was definitely much easier starting from the pole.”
Graham Rahal was third fastest in a Honda at 1:22.9716 (146.219 mph) followed by Chevy’s Simon Pagenaud at 123.0915 (146.008 mph).
Alexander Rossi, who officially announced earlier in the day he would remain at Andretti Autosport after the team announced on Thursday it would stay with Honda, rounded out the top five at 1:23.1124 (145.971 mph).
Source :speedsport.com
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