IndyCar factors chief Alex Palou says final weekend’s Iowa races had been “essentially the most boring factor I’ve ever performed” after he restricted the injury to his benefit following his shock exit in Saturday’s occasion.
The Chip Ganassi Racing driver hit out after ending second in Sunday’s second aspect of a double-header weekend on the 7/8-mile oval, which had its corners repaved since final yr’s race.
The partial repave was performed to swimsuit NASCAR’s maiden Cup Sequence weekend on the monitor final month, an occasion that produced some nice side-by-side racing and was hailed as a triumph when it comes to its present.
However for IndyCar, passing alternatives had been at a premium across the 185mph oval, as efforts to rubber-in a second lane didn’t assist a lot, and passes had been primarily restricted to restarts and the couple of laps that adopted earlier than tire marbles began to type on the excessive line, which dissuaded any additional passing efforts.
This was proved by the stats for overtakes for place: There have been 319 passes in 2023’s Race 1, right down to 100 in 2024. In Race 2, there have been 379 passes final yr and solely 95 on Sunday.
Though there have been lead modifications in each races this weekend, they every occurred throughout pitstop cycles and didn’t occur on monitor. Arrow Mclaren’s Pato O’Ward declared the race “a snoozefest”, and Palou concurred.
Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Photograph by: Geoffrey M. Miller / Motorsport Photographs
“Little bit of a disgrace that we could not actually do something to move or to do something,” mentioned Palou. “Little bit of a boring race for everyone: drivers, media.
“It is essentially the most boring factor I’ve ever performed. It was yesterday, as properly.
“It is a disgrace that we could not actually put a greater present. I feel everyone will agree that it was a really boring race to drive.”
Palou had expertise of main in addition to working within the pack, after he stalled in a pitstop throughout Saturday evening’s race and fell to the underside of the highest 20. He later crashed out.
“Even when main or being in the midst of the pack, the bundle of IndyCar’s tire, aero, engine, no matter we had on monitor this weekend, it was not possible to make it run,” he rued. “It was by no means a problem earlier than.
“It was a repave for our automobiles. However, having that mentioned, we have seen different collection right here run properly. I imply, we can not examine. It is like placing a MotoGP on dust. It is a cool monitor, however you can not count on a really good race.
“It was a disgrace as a result of it was once a very cool race I feel for the followers with tons of overtaking and tons of tire deg and issues to do. I do not know. I haven’t got the solutions.”
Scott McLaughlin, Crew Penske Chevrolet, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Photograph by: Josh Tons / Motorsport Photographs
Saturday’s race winner Scott McLaughlin agreed that additional options had been required to alleviate IndyCar’s passing downside at Iowa.
“The skin lane can work within the first 5, 10 (laps),” he mentioned. “We have to in some way work a solution to get the second lane to work – that is after 30, 40 laps.
“Whether or not that is a compound that goes on the racetrack or one thing that acts with our tire and permits us to proceed working that second lane.”
McLaughlin thanked the efforts that had been made to rubber-in the highest lane, which included a particular observe session on Friday, in addition to monitor cleansing within the corners throughout cautions.
“Like, that factor labored – I handed three automobiles immediately on the skin of the restart,” he added. “I feel it’s going to work by means of the race for those who can simply get rid of a number of the extra rubber that goes on there.
“I feel the bundle might assist. I feel IndyCar might go to work with downforce ranges, working with Firestone on just a few different issues. However you simply cannot blame the monitor as a result of on the finish of the day they should repave this at a while. That is simply how it’s.
“If we will in some way get our automobiles working when a repave occurs and know what we have to do to make it work, we can’t run into these points.
“I really feel like we go into it and never do the correct amount of examine or whatnot to get it performed and to get it to work. That is not a shot on the sport, not a shot at something.
“It is working along with the superb folks and the geniuses we’ve got up and down pit lane. It is only a matter of constructing it work.”
