Herta, O'Ward encouraged after Iowa IndyCar test

Yesterday at 03:36 PM

The NTT IndyCar Series asked Andretti Global and Arrow McLaren to provide insights on aerodynamic changes, engine power output, and a range of different tires from Firestone on Tuesday at Iowa Speedway.

According to Andretti's Colton Herta and McLaren's Pato O'Ward, good gains and solid directions were found that could restore the quality of racing that was lost last season during the Hy-Vee IndyCar Doubleheader Weekend.

The track underwent a repaving between the 2023 and 2024 IndyCar events, and teams found the new high-grip track surface, the heavier hybrid-powered cars, and the harder tires Firestone designed to deal with the extra weight to be at odds with the 0.875-mile oval.

The tough rubber and the related lack of degradation made for two processional races across July 13-14, and in Tuesday’s quest for solutions, Herta turned 199 laps in the No. 26 Honda with a best lap of 17.972s (179.079mph) and O'Ward generated a nearly identical lap of 18.030s (178.50smph) in the No. 5 Chevy across his 227 laps while sampling higher downforce and softer tires that began to degrade and lose grip on longer runs.

The only issue on Tuesday was the temperature, which hovered around 50F, which was not only far cooler than the most recent race, but also meant denser air piled more downforce onto the two cars than anticipated. Testing in like-for-like conditions would have given all parties a more accurate look at how the aero changes and different tires fared in hotter weather, but Herta was encouraged by the findings.

"We came with a little bit of a different downforce package, similar to what we ran at Nashville, which I think is positive because it’s a little bit more inefficient when you’re running in a group, but it’s way more inefficient for passing as it punches a huge hole in the air, and it’s just overall slower in a straight line. So that’s a positive," Herta, who won the Nashville race, told RACER.

"We didn’t even really test many other things outside of that, just because we were happy with what it was. But we’re taking everything with a grain of salt, right? The high was 50 degrees out there, so we’re running outside the normal window so it’s hard to create as much tire deg. But with the thick air, I can say we probably did the first laps ever in this era's DW12 that were flat around Iowa."

O'Ward, who finished the test and headed for this weekend's Formula 1 race at Circuit of The Americas, came away with positive takes — some that differed from Herta – on most of what was tried.

"I think we learned a lot more than we thought we would," he said. "And I think we got a direction of what aero package and boost level we should have along with tires. We tried extremes. We tried a tire that didn’t degrade at all, which was what this year was like, which obviously made the racing horrible. But then we also went to the other extent and used a tire that degged very aggressively, even with the low temps.

"I don’t think that was bad at all. I actually think it was very reminiscent of what Iowa was like three years ago. You started a stint, feel you’ve got all the grip in the world, and then by lap 10 and 15, you’re already a second slower. And then by lap 40 and 50, you’re three seconds off the pace, and the better cars could go up to the second lane and pass the ones that were having to string out their tires to last.

"Then you started seeing cars that were able to do it, and then you started seeing cars that weren’t able to do it, and that it was that’s what truly made the race so crazy and enjoyable with all the strategies that were going around. Because then you would have cars on completely different lives of tire, and that’s what made the race. That is what we need, really. I think when we go back to race, it’ll be better than this year. It was a good test. I think it was very useful, for sure."