New driver tools could increase speeds at The Glen

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Bobby Rahal pulled Danica Patrick up to the IndyCar Series from theToyota Atlantic Series, a farm system for open-wheel racing teamsthat runs a schedule comprised almost exclusively of road courses.It was quite a shock when Patrick immediately adapted to high-speedovals, and a little surprising that she’s had one podiumfinish on a road course in 12 starts. This weekend, she’lltry to improve on her career-best eighth-place finish at WatkinsGlen International in the Camping World Grand Prix.

Her struggles are something even she can’t explain.

“Road courses have been something that has taken some timefor me to get used to. I didn’t expect that, I suppose comingfrom mostly road racing experience and very limited oval(experience),” Patrick told reporters during a conferencecall. “I felt like for the race last year we really had a carunderneath us that was pretty good. I remember coming out ahead ofMarco, coming out of the pits – which has always been a bitof a struggle for me, getting comfortable and pushing hard –and I stayed in front of him. We had two front-row qualifying atMid-Ohio and Sonoma after that, so I feel like I’ve come intowhat I like in a car and what I need to be able to drive itfast.”

After last year’s race at The Glen, which left many driversphysically drained, the Indy Racing League introduced a moreefficient steering rack for the remaining road/street races. Herresults improved immediately.

She qualified on the outside of the front row at Mid-Ohio andInfineon Raceway and scored a second-place finish on Belle Isle inDetroit. This year, the Indy cars were outfitted with paddleshifters on the steering wheel to replace the sequential stickshifter on the drivers’ right side of the tub.

“I probably will use the new steering rack, I haven’tused it so far this year at all,” said Patrick, who qualified19th and finished 10th at St. Petersburg, Fla. in April. “Itmakes a slight difference and then the paddle shifting has made itphysically a little bit easier, and if I may say, a little bit morefool proof or dummy proof – you can’t really over-revthe engine, it doesn’t let you do things that would wreakhavoc on the gearbox or engine.”

“It’s also a little safer having the shifter on thesteering wheel – keeping two hands on the wheel, as theyteach you in driving class, is always a good idea,” sheadded.
The new driver aids won’t just benefit her.

A result of February’s open-wheel merger has been an influxof drivers and teams that did nothing but road and street circuitsfor two years. Now the series is awash with skilled road racers whoanxiously await road course season, which begins this weekend atThe Glen. With a new rack and paddle shifters, the quickest roadracers will only become faster.

“It will be better, it will be faster,” said three-timepole winner at The Glen, Helio Castroneves. “You can change(gears) in the middle of a corner without taking your hand off thesteering wheel and the steering rack is going to help, even thoughat The Glen it was never a big issue. With the long turns and whenyou’re adding a lot of downforce and if the track has a lotof grip, it definitely became tough. It will be fun (now),that’s the only thing I can definitely say – it’sgoing to be a lot of fun.”

Faster? Castroneves already owns the all-time speed record (136.021mph) on the 3.4-mile layout.

The impact on the drivers is one thing, but the paddle shiftersalso teams to broaden their car setups.

“Honestly, I’ve never felt a difference with thesteering rack, but the paddle shifting can make it a lot easier onus at Watkins Glen,” said Ryan Briscoe, who is a teammate ofCastroneves’ this season. “I remember having to shifthalfway through the carousel from fourth to fifth and that was hard– taking your hand off the wheel around that bend wasdefinitely hard work and downshifting into the horseshoe whileyou’re turning in was hard work. Now we can probably be alittle bit more aggressive with the gear ratios, not gear the cararound a comfort zone, but purely around performance.”

The only question about the driver aids’ impact is how muchmore does that help the series’ top performers – ScottDixon, Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti, Will Power andGraham Rahal – versus how it allows racers like Patrick tocatch up.

There are about eight more drivers here this time that Patrick hasto contend with, too.

“I think that any weekend you can walk away with a top five,it’s been a good weekend,” Patrick said.“I’m obviously going to be shooting for the win, but ifwe finish in the top five I’ll be able to walk awayhappy.”