Will Power took the win at Texas Motor Speedway after a race of pack running, tire blistering, an eight-car pileup and mandatory tire stops.
Will Power of Team Penske won the 2017 Rainguard Water Sealers 600 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 10, 2017. He led 180 of the 248 laps. The race ended under caution after a run of crashes and tire problems, which sparked debate about pack racing on ovals.
The 2017 Rainguard Water Sealers 600 was the ninth round of the 2017 IndyCar Series, run over 248 laps at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth on June 10. Will Power of Team Penske won while leading 180 of the laps. The race is remembered for multiple large crashes, tire blistering and the mandatory tire stops that the series introduced late on.
Why was Texas under scrutiny before the race?
The track had a difficult 2016, when weepers, water getting into the pavement after rain, postponed the IndyCar race and delayed a NASCAR event. Texas responded in January 2017 by reshaping the first two turns and installing a new French drain system to carry rainwater away.
Turns 1 and 2 were widened by 20 feet (6.1 m), and the banking was reduced from 24 to 20 degrees. Ed Carpenter said the changes made it harder to balance the car between the first two turns and the last two.
Two driver stories also shaped the weekend. Esteban Gutierrez, a Dale Coyne Racing rookie, was ruled out under INDYCAR experience rules for high-speed ovals, and Tristan Vautier replaced him. Gutierrez's adviser, Adrian Fernandez, said Texas was one of the most difficult ovals to learn and that he should wait for proper testing. Harding Racing also returned for the first time since the Indianapolis 500, with Gabby Chaves.
Pack running, blistered tires and an eight-car pileup turned a Texas win into a debate about safety on ovals.
Who qualified on pole and how fast were they?
Charlie Kimball took his first career pole with a two-lap time of 46.5861 seconds, or 222.556 mph, which set a new track record. Scott Dixon qualified alongside him on the front row, while Alexander Rossi, Tony Kanaan and Vautier completed the top five. Carlos Munoz started last after missing the tech inspection deadline.
Two practice sessions and qualifying took place on Friday, June 9. The first practice was delayed by rain, and Dixon set the early pace before Kimball and Rossi followed. In the post-qualifying session Carpenter clocked the fastest single lap, at 224.682 mph, ahead of Dixon and Rossi.
How did the first half of the race unfold?
Kimball led the start, but Vautier passed him on lap 29 and Team Penske drivers climbed through the field. The first caution came on lap 37 when Rossi crashed in turn 3 after contact with the Ganassi cars of Dixon and Kanaan.
Under that caution the field pitted, and Newgarden won the race of pit road ahead of Power and Vautier. Speeding penalties followed for Newgarden and J. R. Hildebrand, and Hinchcliffe was penalized for the incident he caused. Kimball's strong start ended with mechanical trouble at his stop, and he finished twenty-first.
Power led at the restart on lap 48, and Simon Pagenaud moved up to second by lap 66. Tire blistering began to trouble several drivers, Newgarden most of all, and it raised concerns about how long the tires would last. Carpenter and Vautier touched on lap 103 and sent Carpenter spinning in turn 1, but that caution was brief and racing resumed on lap 108. On lap 139 debris brought out another caution, and Max Chilton stayed out to lead until Power passed him after racing resumed on lap 149.
Why did the big crashes happen?
Crashes came in clusters as blistered tires and tight pack racing combined. Castroneves lost his right-front tire on lap 91 and hit the wall heavily in turn 2. On lap 152 Kanaan's contact with Hinchcliffe set off an eight-car pileup, and the race was red-flagged for clean-up.
Officials then made a decision that shaped the rest of the race. With the tire problems continuing, INDYCAR and Firestone introduced competition cautions and mandatory tire stops after every 30 green-flag laps. Kanaan was given a stop-and-hold penalty of 20 seconds for his role in the pileup, which left him two laps down.
Racing resumed on lap 159 after 30 minutes of clean-up. Newgarden had pitted two laps early, so he restarted at the back and still had to change tires at the competition caution. During the mandatory stops Dixon got past Power into the lead, with Pagenaud, Sato and Graham Rahal close behind. Carpenter and Hildebrand returned to the race several laps down after being caught up in the pileup with Aleshin, Vautier, Ed Jones, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Munoz.
How did the final laps decide the race?
Power regained the lead on lap 198, and Dixon and Power traded the top spot to the end. With five laps to go Sato clipped the grass in the dogleg, spun and collected Dixon and Chilton, and the race finished under caution. Power took the win ahead of Kanaan and Pagenaud. Caution came out three laps after that restart, when Newgarden tried a three-wide pass in turn 3 and hit the wall in turn 4.
Kanaan, despite his part in two incidents, finished second and regained a lap during one of the cautions. Rahal, Chaves and Marco Andretti completed the top six, and only three other drivers finished on the lead lap.
Final classification
| Position | Driver | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Will Power | Team Penske; led 180 laps; second win of the year and second at Texas |
| 2 | Tony Kanaan | Apologized to Hinchcliffe for his role in the largest accident |
| 3 | Simon Pagenaud | Called the race a lot of fun and incredibly close |
| 4 | Graham Rahal | Finished on the lead lap |
| 5 | Gabby Chaves | Harding Racing returned to the series |
| 6 | Marco Andretti | Finished on the lead lap |
| 21st | Charlie Kimball | Pole sitter; retired after a mechanical problem at a pit stop |
What did the drivers say after the race?
Power said he was over the moon to win at a place he considers a second home, since his wife is from the area. Kanaan apologized to Hinchcliffe for the largest accident of the night and said the team had paid its penalty and still finished second. Pagenaud called the race a lot of fun and said it was incredible how close the drivers could race.
Power had predicted a pack race before the event and said he did not judge whether that was good or bad. Kanaan asked the series to change its format so that pack racing would not happen again, while Dixon argued that more testing could have prevented the crashes.
Sebastien Bourdais, who was still recovering from injuries sustained in qualifying for the Indianapolis 500, called the race a poor style of racing. He recalled that the series had promised after Dan Wheldon's death never to race that way again, and pointed to a similar race at Fontana in 2015. He added that the track owners were not responsible for the racing style, and that the teams had to bring the right package.
What did the result mean for the championship?
Dixon kept the points lead, and Pagenaud moved back up to second. Power returned to the top five after dropping out in the Detroit races. Points were scored for leading a lap, an extra two for leading the most laps and one for pole position.
