Five things to see about the Genesys 300 / XPEL 375 double headers

After one race on a permanent street circuit and another one on a temporary street circuit, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES is ready to step up the pace with their first oval event of the season this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.

Let’s call it a Texas move, as the Genesys 300 opens the show on Saturday at 7 p.m. (ET), followed by the XPEL 375 on Sunday at 5 p.m. (ET). The first race is 212 laps, the second 248 on the 1.5 mile oval. Both races will be broadcast live on NBCSN and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon won last year’s event, leading 157 of the 200 laps in the first of three straight wins to open his season of title wins. It was the third year in a row that the Texas winner won the championship. But Dixon expects to have plenty of challengers in the first double header in Texas since 2011.

These two races also set the stage for a busy month of May – two races each at the TMS and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as well as the NTT P1 Award, which qualifies for the Gainbridge-awarded Indianapolis 500. It is possible, although unlikely in this competitive sport, for a driver to collect a staggering 274 points this month alone!

Given the two-day format in Texas, there is only one exercise, a 75-minute session on Saturday at 12:45 p.m. ET (live on Peacock Premium, NBC’s streaming service). Qualifying will take place on Saturday at 4 p.m. (live) on Peacock and NBCSN. The starting grid for both races is determined in the session. Sign up for Peacock Premium at www.peacocktv.com for $ 4.99 per month to receive all INDYCAR promotions, Indy Lights races and shoulder programs.

Here are five things to keep in mind this weekend in Fort Worth:

Ch-ch changes

Let’s start with the drivers in the 24-car space and the cars that will drive them. Two of the most notable additions are ex-Texas race winners.

Tony Kanaan, who won the 2004 track for Andretti Autosport, will drive the # 48 Bryant Honda # 48 for Chip Ganassi Racing in the Genesys 300 and the American Legion Honda # 48 for the Ganassi team in the XPEL 375.

2004 Series Champion Kanaan shares this season’s post with seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson, who is focused on the street courses and street courses. These are two of Canaan’s four races this year, the others being the Indianapolis 500 on May 30th and the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 on August 21st at the World Wide Technology Raceway.

The other ex-Texas race winner to make his season debut is Ed Carpenter, who has only raced oval tracks in recent years. Carpenter will drive the U.S. Air Force’s No. 20 Chevrolet, a seat held by Conor Daly in the first two races of the season. Like last year, Daly switched to the No. 59 Carlin Chevrolet that Max Chilton normally drives. Chilton will be back in the car for the GMR Grand Prix at IMS on Saturday, May 15, as well as for the “500”.

Like Johnson, Formula 1 veteran Romain Grosjean will not compete on the ovals as an INDYCAR newcomer, and his place in the Nurtec ODT Honda No. 51 by Dale Coyne Racing with RWR will be taken over by rookie Pietro Fittipaldi on the ovals. In his six-race INDYCAR 2018 season, the 24-year-old Brazilian competed in three oval races that were interrupted by injuries at a World Sports Car Championship event in Belgium.

This is not the first time Fittipaldi has stood up for Grosjean. He drove the last two races of the 2020 Formula 1 season for the Haas F1 team after Grosjean suffered burned hands in a violent fall in Bahrain.

Former Texas winners galore

The next important factor is which riders succeeded on the 1.5-mile Texas oval. There are six who have won there, the highest number of past INDYCAR race winners this season up to the “500” which could have up to nine.

Dixon dominated last year’s event in the PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Honda # 9, one of his four victories on the track. Dixon’s other wins came in 2008, 2015 and 2018, which means he has won two of the last three games and three of the last six games. Only Helio Castroneves, who is not in the field, has won four INDYCAR races in Texas.

Team Penske’s Willpower (# 12 Verizon 5G Chevrolet) has two wins in Texas in 2011 and 2017. Graham Rahal of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (No. 15 Fleet Cost & Care Honda) won in 2016 and Josef Newgarden of Team Penske (No. 12) 2 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet) won in 2019.

INDYCAR’s youth movement

Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing (No. 10 NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) is a 24-year-old series runner-up and a pair of 21-year-olds – Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren SP (No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet) and Colton Herta from Andretti Autosport (No. 26 Gainbridge Honda) – won the NTT P1 Award as pole winner in the first two races of the season. Herta led 197 of the 200 laps in winning the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg last weekend.

Rinus VeeKay from Ed Carpenter Racing (No. 21 Sonax / Autogeek Chevrolet) also got off to a good start this season. The 20-year-old VeeKay finished sixth and ninth in the opening races of the season, finishing eighth overall.

Here’s an interesting fact about INDYCAR’s youth movement: Herta and VeeKay were 3 years old when Dixon scored his first top-3 finish in the 2003 Texas end-of-season race. O’Ward was 4.

Parity on the podium

In the first two races of the INDYCAR season, six different drivers took the first three places. In fact, the four best drivers in the two races were represented by eight different drivers.

As a result, the point totals are closer than normal. Palou is leading at 67, but Power and Dixon are 65 and Herta are 62. Given the points structure, it is likely that any driver currently in the top nine will be the series leader – at least for one night – with a win on Saturday.

Unsurprisingly, there is also an overload in the middle of the pack. Only four points separate fifth from ninth place, and three drivers – Sebastien Bourdais of AJ Foyt Racing (No. 14 ROKiT AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet), Jack Harvey of Meyer Shank Racing (No. 60 AutoNation / Sirius XM Honda) and VeeKay – are tied with 51 points. Marcus Ericsson of Chip Ganassi Racing (No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) has 50 points.

Title hopefuls need help

And then there are those who are particularly keen to move up in the overall standings.

Newgarden (10th place with 47 points), O’Ward (11th with 45 points), Rahal (13th with 41 points) and Alexander Rossi (16th with 31 points) from Andretti Autosport can be seen in this race. Newgarden and Rahal have achieved three wins, with Newgarden finishing third last year and Rahal second in 2012 and 2019.

Rossi had strong cars in Texas – he finished third in 2018 and second in 2019 – and is desperate after a good day of points after finishing ninth in Barber Motorsports Park and 21st in St. Petersburg.Front right tire at Turn 4 made contact with Rahal . A slow start to last season cost Rossi a chance at the championship and he had vowed to start better this year. It hasn’t happened so far, but Texas could be its turning point.