107 Pursuit

INDYCAR is often overshadowed by Formula 1, being more globally recognized, but continues to bring in new fans regularly. A diverse racing spectacle with a distinct American touch makes the world of Indycar an exhilarating one. Whether you are an existing motorsport fan expanding your scopes or someone just wanting to start watching the sport, this crash course will cover everything from the technical aspects to the dynamic driver environment to begin watching in 2024!

The race weekend schedule in Indycar varies by each weekend. As the tracks vary from streets to ovals (we will cover this later), the setup of each weekend is different. The usual race weekend consists of practice sessions, qualifying, warmups, and races.

On Friday, Practice 1 goes underway with 45 minutes in the session. During this session, teams are able to pinpoint where they stand at and with the track to make any modifications to strategy for the race. For some races, Practice 1 goes into Saturday with Practice 2 always occurring. Practice 2 holds similar purposes. On this same day, qualifying (we will cover this next) occurs to set the grid for the race and specific positions. Sunday is race day with a warmup session to feel better with the cars on track.

There are three different types of qualifying in Indycar. One is for the oval race tracks, the roads/streets, and the Indy 500.

Qualifying for ovals begin with two-lap warmup sessions followed by two laps that are timed. The average is taken from these two laps and used as the qualifying time for the car.

For street/road circuits, qualifying is broken up into three segments.

The first segment includes two groups that are determined using the lap times from the last qualifying session. Each group is given ten minutes to set lap times. The six fastest drivers from each group move onto segment two leaving the rest of the cars to fill up positions 13 and up.

Cars in segment two also receive ten minutes to set a lap time. The fastest six cars progress to the Firestone Fast Six where the pole sitter and grid position 1-6 are determined. The remaining cars determine grid positions 7-12. Doubleheader races have 12 minute sessions.

Now we’ll look at technical aspects of the car.

Each Indycar team uses either a Honda or Chevrolet V6 engine. Andretti, Chip Ganassi, Dale Coyne, Meyer Shank, and Rahal Letterman Lanigan teams, all use Honda engines. AJ Foyt, Arrow McLaren, Dreyer & Reinbold, Ed Carpenter, Juncos Hollinger, and Penske teams, all use Chevrolet engines.

Tires are supplied by Firestone having three compounds.

The black tires are tires used across all the tracks and are the main compounds for a race while the red tires are used at alternates for the main compounds but only on street and road circuits. The gray tires are used in wet conditions.

Another crucial aspect in Indycar are the pit stops made during races. Only 6 members of the team are allowed to be working on the car during a stop. During these pit stops, fuel is added, tires are changed, and make win adjustments.

Flags are a crucial part of ensuring a smooth race. Let’s see what each one means!

Next, we’ll look at how how points are awarded. Below is the general points system for the series.

It is important to note that the Indy 500 awards double points with points for qualifiers and entrants.

Lastly we have the teams and drivers for the 2024 season listed below.

Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing are the most renowned teams of the series, holding the most championships and wins.

Dale Coyne Racing has been switching through drivers throughout the season and does not have set and permanent drivers.

This is all you will need to know to begin watching Indycar in 2024! As you watch more races and fall further down the rabbit hole of Indycar, everything else falls into place. All of this information is important when you start viewing and Indycar doesn’t have explanations for new viewers on their channels. Definitely something that can be figured out but this blog is here to make it easier! Hope this helped anything wanting to get into motorsports or existing fans taking a liking to a new one.