Rainguard Water Sealers 600 Race Preview

 
“Texas is always such a fun race. Eddie and his team do such a great job with the event and we enjoy being back at TMS each year. With the new track changes, there will a little bit of an unknown, but I’m looking forward to getting onto a different type of track with the DHL team. We’ll see what the weekend holds.”
 

Track: Texas Motor Speedway, a 1.5-mile oval

Race distance: 248 laps / 357.12 miles

Firestone tire allotment: Twelve sets for use through the weekend

Twitter: @TXMotorSpeedway, @IndyCar, #Rainguard600, #IndyCar

Event website: www.TexasMotorSpeedway.com

INDYCAR website: www.IndyCar.com

2016 race winner: Graham Rahal (No. 15 Mi-Jack Honda)

2015 Verizon P1 Award winner: Carlos Munoz (No. 26 Andretti Autosport Honda), 48.2460 seconds, 217.137 mph (two laps)

Qualifying record (two laps): Will Power, 47.7960 seconds, 219.182 mph, June 7, 2013

NBCSN television broadcasts: Qualifying, 3:30 p.m. ET Friday, June 9 (same day delayed); Qualifying Encore, 7 p.m. ET Saturday, June 10; Race, 8 p.m. ET Saturday, June 10 (live). Kevin Lee is the lead announcer for the NBCSN broadcasts this weekend alongside analysts Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy. Pit reporters are Marty Snider, Jon Beekhuis, Katie Hargitt and Robin Miller.

Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the chief announcer alongside analyst Davey Hamilton. Pit reporters are Nick Yeoman, Brad Gillie and Michael Young, with Jake Query as the turn announcer. All Verizon IndyCar Series races are broadcast live on network affiliates, Sirius 212, XM 209, IndyCar.com, indycarradio.com and on the INDYCAR Mobile app. All Verizon IndyCar Series practice and qualifying sessions are available on IndyCar.com, indycarradio.com and on the INDYCAR Mobile app.

Video streaming: All practice sessions for the Rainguard Water Sealers 600 will stream live on RaceControl.IndyCar.com and on the INDYCAR YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/indycar)

INDYCAR Mobile app: Verizon’s INDYCAR Mobile app is available across all carriers. Exclusive features of the app for Verizon Wireless customers will stream live through the app and include enhanced real-time leaderboard and car telemetry; live in-car camera video streaming for select drivers during Verizon IndyCar Series races; live driver and pit crew radio transmissions during races and live Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network audio streaming during all track activities.

At-track schedule (all times local):

Friday, June 9
10 – 11:15 a.m. – Verizon IndyCar Series practice #1, RaceControl.IndyCar.com (Live)
2:15 p.m. – Qualifying for the Verizon P1 Award (single car/cumulative time of two laps), NBCSN (2:30 p.m.)
5:45 – 6:15 p.m. – Verizon IndyCar Series practice #2, RaceControl.IndyCar.com (Live)

Saturday, June 10
6:15 p.m. – Verizon IndyCar Series pit stop practice
7:01 p.m. – Driver introductions
7:40 p.m. – Command to start engines
7:45 p.m. – Rainguard Water Sealers 600 (248 laps/357.12 miles), NBCSN (Live)

Race notes:

• There have been seven different winners in eight Verizon IndyCar Series races in 2017: Sebastien Bourdais (Streets of St. Petersburg), James Hinchcliffe (Streets of Long Beach), Josef Newgarden (Barber Motorsports Park), Simon Pagenaud (Phoenix Raceway), Will Power INDYCAR Grand Prix), Takuma Sato (Indianapolis 500) and Graham Rahal (Raceway at Belle Isle-1 and Raceway at Belle Isle-2). Bourdais’ win at St. Petersburg on March 12 gave him sole possession of sixth on the all-time list with 36 wins.
• The Rainguard Water Sealers 600 will be the 29th Indy car event conducted at Texas Motor Speedway since the track opened in 1997. TMS hosted two races a year from 1998-2004 and featured a doubleheader event in 2011.
• This is the third of six oval races on the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule. Simon Pagenaud won the first oval of the season at Phoenix on April 29. Takuma Sato won the Indianapolis 500 on May 28.
• Helio Castroneves has won four times at Texas Motor Speedway (2004 Race 2, 2006, 2009 and 2013), the most wins by an Indy car driver at the track. He is one of six past TMS winners entered in this year’s race, along with Tony Kanaan (2004 Race 1), Scott Dixon (2008 and 2015), Will Power (2011 Race 2), Ed Carpenter (2014) and Graham Rahal (2016).
• Will Power has won the pole for three of the past four Texas Motor Speedway races. Other past pole winners entered this year are Helio Castroneves (2004 Race 2), Scott Dixon (2008) and Carlos Munoz (2016). Tony Kanaan won a draw to start first for the second of the 2011 doubleheader races.
• Six drivers have won the Texas race from the pole: Sam Hornish Jr. (2001 Race 2), Gil de Ferran (2003 Race 2), Helio Castroneves (2004 Race 2), Tomas Scheckter (2005), Scott Dixon (2008) and Ryan Briscoe (2010).
• Drivers who have won at Texas have gone on to win the Verizon IndyCar Series championship six times: Sam Hornish Jr. (2001 Race 2 and 2002 Race 2), Tony Kanaan (2004 Race 1), Scott Dixon (2008 and 2015) and Dario Franchitti (2011 Race 1).
• Twenty drivers entered this weekend have competed in past Verizon IndyCar Series events at Texas Motor Speedway. Thirteen of those drivers have led laps at the track: Helio Castroneves 506, Tony Kanaan 371, Scott Dixon 353, Will Power 252, James Hinchcliffe 196, Ed Carpenter 92, Marco Andretti 84, Simon Pagenaud 59, Ryan Hunter-Reay 46, Carlos Munoz 37, Graham Rahal 28, Josef Newgarden 2 and Charlie Kimball 1.
• Rookie Ed Jones will race a Verizon IndyCar Series car at Texas Motor Speedway for the first time this weekend. Jones, the 2016 Indy Lights champion, has never competed at the track in any series.
• Tony Kanaan seeks to start his 274th consecutive race this weekend, which would extend his Indy car record streak that began in June 2001 at Portland. Teammate Scott Dixon has made 215 consecutive starts heading into the weekend, which is the second-longest streak in Indy car racing.
• Helio Castroneves will attempt to make his 336th career Indy car start, which ranks fourth on the all-time list. Tony Kanaan will attempt to make his 335th Indy car start, which is fifth all-time. Both are competing in their 20th season of Indy car racing in 2017.