2017 Rainguard Water Sealers 600
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The 2017 Rainguard Water Sealers 600 was the ninth round of the
2017 IndyCar Series The 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series was the 22nd season of the Verizon IndyCar Series and the 106th official championship season of American open wheel racing. The premier event was the 101st Indianapolis 500 won by Takuma Sato. Josef Newgarden, ...
season, contested over 248 laps at the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas.
Charlie Kimball Charles Newton Kimball (born February 20, 1985) is an American race car driver currently competing in the IndyCar Series with A. J. Foyt Enterprises He has scored a win, six podiums, and 13 top 5s. His best season result was ninth in 2013 and 201 ...
started from the pole position, the first of his career.
Will Power William "Will" Steven Power (born 1 March 1981) is an Australian motorsports driver who currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving for Team Penske. He is the 2014 and 2022 IndyCar Series champion and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion. ...
of
Team Penske Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona ...
won the race, leading 180 of the 248 laps. The race was marred by numerous crashes that left only six undamaged cars and by issues with blistering tires that forced the series to call for competition cautions and mandatory tire stops every 30 laps in the latter stages of the race.


Report


Background

Texas Motor Speedway Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24 ...
is a oval located in
Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...
. The track has been hosting
IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...
races since 1997. Following a series of incidents in 2016 with weepers (water penetrating on the pavement after rain) that caused the 2016 INDYCAR race to have been postponed initially one day, and then to late August, ten weeks and the November 2016 NASCAR race with a long delay caused by weepers while attempting to dry the track, in January 2017 during the NASCAR media tour, Texas Motor Speedway announced it would alter the circuit while installing a new French drain system to send rain water down pipes to fix the problem. Turns 1 and 2 were widened by , while the banking was also lowered from 24 to 20 degrees. Driver Ed Carpenter noted, "The track is absolutely different. The reshaping of Turns 1 and 2, with the width and the change in banking, definitely make the track more challenging to get the balance the same from Turns 1 and 2 to 3 and 4." Entering the race,
Dale Coyne Racing Dale Coyne Racing (DCR) is an American professional open-wheel racing team that currently competes in the IndyCar Series. The team was founded in 1984 and is owned by former driver Dale Coyne. From 1995 to 2000, the team was known as Payton-Coyn ...
rookie
Esteban Gutiérrez Esteban Manuel Gutiérrez Gutiérrez (; born 5 August 1991) is a Mexican racing driver currently representing Mercedes in Formula One, Formula E and esports and Inter Europol Competition in World Endurance Championship. Previously from 2013 ...
was forced to sit out the race due to INDYCAR's regulations on driver experience in regards to high-speed ovals, with
Tristan Vautier Tristan Vautier (born 22 August 1989) is a French professional racing driver. Racing career Formula Renault Born in Saint-Martin-d'Hères, Isère, Vautier began his career in the French Formula Renault Campus series in 2006, where he finish ...
replacing him for the round. Gutiérrez's advisor, former driver
Adrián Fernández Adrián Fernández Mier (born April 20, 1963 in Mexico City, CDMX, Mexico) is a Mexican former professional race car driver and he was co-owner of the Fernandez Racing team. Racing career Early career Fernández began his career in Mexico by ...
, agreed, "Texas is one of the most difficult ovals to just come and race, so I would say he should step away from it until he has proper time testing on ovals."
Harding Racing Harding Racing logo prior to partnership Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport was an auto racing team that competed in the IndyCar Series. Founded as Harding Racing in 2017 by businessman Mike Harding, the team would form partnerships in 2019 ...
also returned to the series for the first time since the
Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
with driver
Gabby Chaves Gabriel "Gabby" Chaves (born 7 July 1993) is a Colombian-American racing driver, currently competing in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the Michelin Pilot Challenge. He raced in the IndyCar Series and is the 2014 Indy Lights Champion. ...
.
Scott Dixon Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
of Chip Ganassi Racing entered the race leading the Drivers' Championship point standings with 303, while
Hélio Castroneves Hélio Castroneves (; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He has won the Indianapolis 500 a record-equalling four times: in 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2021. He won the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona with Wa ...
and
Takuma Sato , nicknamed "Taku", is a Japanese professional racing driver. Sato is a two time winner of the Indianapolis 500, having won the event in 2017 and 2020. He was the first Asian driver to win the Indianapolis 500, and the twentieth driver to win th ...
followed in second and third with 295 and 292 respectively.


Practice and qualifying

Two practice sessions and qualifying were held on Friday, June 9. The first practice session took place in the afternoon and was delayed by rain. Dixon set the fastest lap time with his teammate
Charlie Kimball Charles Newton Kimball (born February 20, 1985) is an American race car driver currently competing in the IndyCar Series with A. J. Foyt Enterprises He has scored a win, six podiums, and 13 top 5s. His best season result was ninth in 2013 and 201 ...
and
Alexander Rossi Alexander Michael Rossi (born September 25, 1991) is an American professional racing driver and podcast host. He currently competes full-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren SP. Rossi is best known for winning ...
following in second and third. In qualifying, Kimball secured his first career pole position with a two-lap time of 46.5861 seconds (222.556 mph), in the process setting a new track record. His teammate Dixon qualified alongside him on the front row. Rossi,
Tony Kanaan Antoine Rizkallah "Tony" Kanaan Filho (born 31 December 1974), nicknamed TK, is a Brazilian racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 6 Toyota Corolla E210 for Full Time Bassani a ...
, and Vautier rounded out the top five. Carlos Muñoz, for the second race in a row, set no time, this time due to failing to reach tech inspection in time to be eligible to make a run, forcing him to start last again. In the post-qualifying practice session, Carpenter clocked the fastest single lap time (224.682 mph), ahead of Dixon and Rossi.


Race

The race was held on Saturday, June 10. At the start, Kimball jumped into the lead of the race, with the top five positions staying the same. The top five remained the same drivers until around lap 20, when
Team Penske Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona ...
drivers began working their way to the front of the field, including
Josef Newgarden Josef Nicolai Newgarden (born December 22, 1990) is an American race car driver who competes in the IndyCar Series full-time for Team Penske. He is the 2017 and 2019 IndyCar Series Champion and 2011 Indy Lights champion. Career Karting Newga ...
and Power. Up front, though, the battle for the lead was between Kimball and Vautier, with Vautier finally getting clear of Kimball on lap 29, as Newgarden, Power, and Ed Carpenter followed suit. Racing was interrupted by caution for the first time on lap 37, when Rossi lost control of his car and crashed in turn 3 after making contact with the Ganassi teammates Dixon and Kanaan. It was the first of many crashes during the night. During the caution, the field took the opportunity to make pit stops, with Newgarden winning the race of pit road ahead of Power and Vautier. As cars left the pit lane,
James Hinchcliffe James Douglas Meredith Hinchcliffe (born December 5, 1986) is a Canadian race car driver and commentator best known for competing in the IndyCar Series. Hinchcliffe won six races for Andretti Autosport and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. In 2015, ...
lost control of his car, causing him to spin and collect the cars of Castroneves and Sato, though all three were able to continue on after repairs. Kimball, after his strong start to the race, encountered mechanical issues during his pit stop and was forced to retire, leaving him with a 21st-place finish. The pit stops also saw a rash of penalties, as race leader Newgarden and J. R. Hildebrand were hit with pit-lane speeding penalties and Hinchcliffe was penalized for the incident he had caused. Once the chaos of the pit stops had finished, Power held the lead over Vautier, Dixon, Carpenter, and
Simon Pagenaud Simon Pagenaud (born 18 May 1984) is a French professional racing driver. He is contracted to drive the No. 60 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing in the IndyCar Series. After a successful career in sports car racing that saw him taking the top class ...
. Racing resumed on lap 48, with Power maintaining his lead despite attempts by both Vautier and Dixon to get around him. However, by lap 66, attacks on Power's lead began to dissipate as his teammate Pagenaud moved into second place. Behind them, Castroneves began to make a move toward the top of the field, moving into the top five only 10 laps later. During this stint, some drivers, most notably Newgarden, began suffering from tire blistering, causing concerns about tire durability. These concerns seemed to come to light on lap 91, when the right-front tire on Castroneves's car failed, causing him to crash heavily in Turn 2. Pit stops once again occurred, with Power maintaining his lead over Pagenaud, Dixon, Kanaan, and
Mikhail Aleshin Mikhail Petrovich Aleshin ( rus, Михаи́л Петро́вич Алёшин, p=mʲɪxɐˈil pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ɐˈlʲɵʂɨn, born 22 May 1987 in Moscow, Soviet Union) is a Russian professional racing driver and the 2010 champion of the Fo ...
. During the caution, Hinchcliffe, Newgarden, and Sato were all able to get back onto the lead lap after losing it in the chaos of the first caution. Racing resumed on lap 103, but almost immediately the race went back under caution as Carpenter and Vautier touched, sending Carpenter into a spin in turn 1. This caution was very brief, and racing resumed on lap 108. A lengthy green flag period followed the restart, with Power leading the way. Behind him, positions in the top five changed often, as Pagenaud, Dixon, Kanaan, Vautier, and Hildebrand battled for positions. On lap 139, caution flew again, this time for debris. The leaders once again took advantage of the caution to make pit stops, but
Max Chilton Maximilian Alexander Chilton (born 21 April 1991) is a British racing driver who last competed for Carlin Motorsport in the IndyCar Series, before announcing his retirement from IndyCar in February 2022. Prior to IndyCar, he competed in Formula ...
elected to stay out, placing him in the lead of the race. On lap 149, racing resumed, with Chilton able to briefly hold his lead before Power once again moved past him to resume command of the race. On lap 152, Kanaan moved wide coming towards turn 3, making contact with Hinchcliffe, who had Aleshin outside of him. Hinchcliffe then spun, causing a large crash that took out himself, Aleshin, Carpenter, Hildebrand, Vautier, Ed Jones,
Ryan Hunter-Reay Ryan Christopher Hunter-Reay (born December 17, 1980) is a professional American racing driver best known as a winner of both the Indianapolis 500 (2014) and the IndyCar Series championship in 2012. In each accomplishment, Hunter-Reay became th ...
, and Muñoz in an incident compared to The Big One at similar pack-racing
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...
races. Carpenter and Hildebrand would eventually return to the race course, but several laps down. The incident forced the race to be red flagged to allow for clean-up. During the red flag, INDYCAR and Firestone officials, in response to continuing issues with blistering tires, elected to have competition caution periods and mandatory tire stops after 30 green flag laps for the remainder of the race. Also during the red flag period, officials assessed a stop and 20-second hold penalty to Kanaan for his role in the eight-car pileup, which, once the race restarted, put him two laps down. After 30 minutes of clean-up, racing finally resumed on lap 159. The top four was a battle between Power, Pagenaud, Dixon, and Newgarden. However, Newgarden, who had been suffering the worst issues with blistering, pit two laps before the mandatory stops, placing him at the tail end of the field and, despite just changing tires, was still forced to change tires at the competition caution. During the mandatory stops, Dixon managed to get past Power, placing him in the lead, while Pagenaud, Sato, and
Graham Rahal Graham Robert Rahal (born January 4, 1989) is an American race car driver and small business owner. He currently participates in the IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, a team partially owned by his father Bobby Rahal, the winn ...
emerged behind them. During the caution, Kanaan managed to regain one of his laps, putting him only one lap behind the leaders. Racing resumed once again on lap 198, where Power almost immediately moved back around Dixon to once again take the lead of the race. Caution came out again only three laps later, as Newgarden attempted to complete a three-wide pass in turn 3, which resulted in him hitting the wall in turn 4. Racing resumed on lap 210, with Power maintaining his lead, while second place became a battle between Pagenaud, Dixon, and Sato, with Dixon emerging ahead. This caution also put Kanaan back onto the lead lap. On lap 225, the final competition caution of the race came out, with the top five staying the same after the mandatory pit stops. The final restart of the race came at lap 229, with Dixon quickly moving to the outside of Power to challenge for the lead. The two switched the lead several times, while behind them, Pagenaud, Sato, Rahal, and Kanaan pulled up behind the duo and also began challenging for first. With five laps to go, Sato attempted to pass Dixon in the dogleg on the front-stretch, but clipped the grass, sending him into a spin and collecting Dixon and Chilton.
Conor Daly Conor J. Daly (born December 15, 1991) is an American professional racing driver who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No. 20 Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing, and part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 50 Chevrolet Ca ...
also spun in the incident, but did not hit anything, though the incident caused him to drop a lap. Chilton was able to complete two more laps before heading into the pit lane. With so few laps left, the race ended under caution, with Power taking his second victory of the year and his second win at
Texas Motor Speedway Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24 ...
. Kanaan, despite his role in two incidents, came across the line in second, while Pagenaud took the final step of the podium. Only three other drivers finished on the lead lap; Rahal in fourth, Chaves in fifth, and
Marco Andretti Marco Michael Andretti (born March 13, 1987) is an American auto racing driver who drives the No. 98 car for Andretti Herta Autosport part-time in the IndyCar Series. He is the third generation of the famous Andretti racing family. He is the 20 ...
in sixth.


Post-race comments

Power was overjoyed to have earned the victory, saying, "Over the moon to win here. My second home and my wife refrom here, so we spend a lot of time down here, so t'sjust an amazing feeling." Kanaan apologized for his role in causing the largest accident of the night: "I'm going to apologize to inchcliffefor what happened - I just got up a little too high. We paid the price for my mistake. We got a penalty, paid the penalty, and we were able to finish second. ... I'm not going to lie, I'm glad it's over." Pagenaud called the race, "a lot of fun. It got a little crazy at the end. I tell you, it is just incredible how close we can race against each other. Good fun, good night, awesome working with Will. That is Team Penske, we all work together, you guys don't believe us, but we do and we showed it tonight." The race became controversial for being a pack race, which contributed to the size of the accidents that occurred. Power was unsurprised by the nature of the race, "I told the series...'This will be an absolute pack race.' I didn't say whether that was good or bad, but I absolutely knew it would be a pack race." Kanaan called on the series to change the style of racing to avoid pack races in the future: "I don't think we should be doing this the way it is. We should be coming to Texas. The fans are great. This track is awesome. But I think we should change the format a little bit. How? I don't know; we've got to figure it out." Dixon argued that additional testing could have prevented the pack racing from occurring.
Sébastien Bourdais Sébastien Olivier Bourdais (born 28 February 1979) is a French professional racing driver. He is one of the most successful drivers in the history of American open-wheel car racing, having won 37 races. He won four successive championships u ...
, who was still recovering from injuries sustained in qualifying for the Indianapolis 500, described it as a "bullshit" race, explaining, "Back in the days, particularly when Dan Wheldon died, we told ourselves that we would never do that style of racing again. And actually, as far as I'm concerned, Texas last weekend is not even the first time we've done it since then. We’ve done it at Fontana in 2015 and in a couple of other places." However, he also maintained that he held no ill will against the speedway, saying, "It's got nothing to do with that track, and it's not any track owners' responsibility to define our racing for us. It’s down to us to bring the right package." In the points standings, Dixon maintained the points lead, while Pagenaud moved back up to second place. Power, with his win, moved back into the top five after dropping out in the Detroit races.


Results


Qualifying


Race

Race finished under caution. Points include one point for leading at least one lap during a race, an additional two points for leading the most race laps, and one point for Pole Position.


Standings after the race

* Note: Only the top five positions are included.


References

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