Q:
How can you explain the difference in performance on ovals between the established IndyCar Series Teams and the former Champ Car teams coming in?
Eric Zeto:
At Homestead, the ex-Champ Car teams were facing multiple hurdles. In our case, we had drivers that were seeing an oval track for, literally, the first time. As any of the current IndyCar drivers will tell you, learning to adapt to the constantly changing conditions, running in traffic with cars literally inches away at over 200mph, and getting accustomed to having a car on the ‘knife edge’ in terms of balance, is a very tall order.
To compound the issue, the teams were just not fully prepared. Just looking around the paddock during the race weekend, long after the IndyCar regulars had left the track for dinner, the Champ Car teams were grinding on bodywork, fitting back-ordered parts that had just arrived, and just generally trying to build a racecar. Rather than running the parts we wanted, like specific suspension, bodywork or roll bars, we were running what we had on hand.
The other factor, of course, was lack of spares. Graham Rahal’s crash in testing was a prime example of what could happen with an unfortunate incident. With another race the following weekend, we couldn’t afford, with our rookies, to be overly aggressive in race trim. We made our car safe, but slower, to ensure that they were brought home with all four wheels intact. I don’t want this to be misinterpreted, because I’m not implying that after two or three more events, we’ll be running with the big boys, but I certainly think we can put on a more respectable showing in time.
Q:
If there was such a difference on ovals, why were the 'transitional' teams so strong on the street course?
EZ:
The biggest misconception, I think, that the media has about the challenge facing the so-called ‘transition’ teams is that we will have a difficult time learning the new Dallara. In actuality, the car is quite similar to what most of us have been running for years - whether it be the Lola or the newer Panoz chassis. The wheelbase is basically the same, the track widths are in the same ballpark, suspension geometry is easily calculated and configurable, the vehicle weight is similar, we’re using dampers that we’re familiar with, and the wheels and tyres are effectively identical between the two series so, at a place like St Pete, for the ex-Champ Car teams, we’re using tools that we’re very familiar with. With Champ Car, in recent years, becoming
de facto spec with the Lola and then, subsequently, full spec with the Panoz, teams were focusing on the subtleties and details of road course racing, things that, in a more open environment, we quite frankly didn’t have time for.
![Conquest Racing works on Franck Perera's Dallara-Honda at Sebring [pic credit: IRL/Payne]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/418435.jpg)
