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2012 INDIANAPOLIS 500 DAILY TRACKSIDE REPORTS NEWS ARTICLES 2012 Indianapolis 500 Daily Trackside Reports 1 Team, Drivers Happy With Test Of New Car At IMS. April 04, 2012 | By Tom Surber Nine teams jump‐started their preparation for the 96th Indianapolis 500 by testing the new IZOD IndyCar Series car Wednesday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Participating teams and the INDYCAR engine group gathered data regarding handling characteristics and performance levels from their Chevrolet and Honda‐powered cars. One car/driver combination from each team was invited to participate. Driving Chevrolet‐powered 2.2‐liter, twin‐ turbocharged V‐6 engines in their Dallara chassis were Ed Carpenter (Ed Carpenter Racing), Tony Kanaan (KV Racing Technology), Marco Andretti (Andretti Autosport), JR Hildebrand (Panther Racing) and Helio Castroneves (Team Penske). Driving Honda‐powered cars were Scott Dixon (Target Chip Ganassi Racing), Takuma Sato (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing), Mike Conway (A.J. Foyt Racing) and Justin Wilson (Dale Coyne Racing). The cars were run in the Speedway configuration, with the new rear‐wheel guards that are taller, lighter and have a slightly different shape than the sets being used on the road/street circuits and the oval races at Texas Motor Speedway, Iowa Speedway and The Milwaukee Mile. The new IZOD IndyCar Series car will make its competitive oval debut Sunday, May 27 at the 96th Indianapolis 500. Quotes from selected participants during the midday media availability: TONY KANAAN (No. 11 GEICO/Mouser Electronics KVRT w/ SH Dallara/Chevrolet) Q: What was it like out there? TK: It felt faster than the (previous) test that we did. I went out of the pits and went flat out right away, so I have to say that the aero kit is definitely a little bit better. I was struggling at the end of last year here, so obviously the engine manufacturers are trying to dial in much of the things that they want to try to do, and in one day I don’t think we’ll be able to do it all, but it felt good. I think some other drivers did a little bit more laps, but this is what this test is for. I don’t think we’re going to see many laps, but were going to see some quality drivers giving positive feedback so when we come back here in May we can have the right stuff. Q: May is always a difficult month, but how much tougher will it be trying to dial in a whole new car? TK: It will be hard. You can see how competitive it has been already, and once we get here, it’ll be all new to everybody. It’s a new aero kit and a new engine, and there’s so many things that can happen that are unknown, and this place makes it hard just being this place. I don’t know if I can describe how hard it’s going to be because there’s no easy time here at the Speedway, even with a 10‐year‐old car that you’ve run for 10 years in a row or with a new car. So it is going to be hard. Q: What’s the difference in body‐part configuration here at the Speedway compared to on the road courses? Are there pieces you can change? TK: Definitely. The front wing is not the two‐element wing, and obviously you can see the rear wing. It’s one main plane and it’s very low, so I would say there a lot of things that are different. If you look at the cars, they look slick. They look a lot faster in the Speedway configuration. I have to say I like the new aero kit. It looks like the Batmobile and it’s kind of aggressive, and I kind of like it. Q: Does the car feel like it’s more predictable now? 2012 Indianapolis 500 Daily Trackside Reports 2 TK: It was more balanced than it was last year, and that’s what it is. We worked on it, we talked about it, and I know some people criticized us at the beginning of the year and the end of last year. It’s a new car that we’ve got to figure out. Dallara did a great job, along with Will Phillips (INDYCAR vice president of technology) and the people from INDYCAR, and it’s helping. It’s going in the right direction and making the car better. We’re drivers and we’re always going to complain, but it’s definitely better than last year. JR HILDEBRAND (No. 4 National Guard Panther Racing Dallara/Chevrolet) Q: How was it? JH: We feel all right about the stability and all of that kind of stuff with the car, and it’s just a matter of seeing where the speed kind of ends up once we get going. We’re just getting a good feel for kind of where everything’s at and how everything feels, and how confident do you want to be right away. There’s a lot of times you come to a place like this thinking like it’s going to feel really good, we’re going to go out and it’s going to be flat and blah, blah, blah; and you’ve got to know it’s going to be there before you actually do it, but we’re feeling really good right now. Q: Is the rear wing like the old wings that you can flatten out, or is it set in one area? JH: The rear wing is just as flexible in terms of where you want to run it. It’ll run anywhere from positive numbers to minus‐10. So there’s definitely a lot of room to play with there. It’s just a little bit of an unknown for us right now because this is our first true oval test with the current package and all that kind of stuff of how effective all those things are really going to be. With the previous car, you’d take a degree of wing out of the thing and you could go a mile‐an‐hour faster right away as long as the rest of your settings were sort of on par. Whereas with this car, it’s yet to be seen whether it’s that sensitive, and we’ve just got to kind of figure that out. Q: Even with John Barnes (Panther Racing team manager) and all the experience he has here, with the brand‐new car, isn’t he even starting at square one? JH: Yeah. There’s definitely experience that rolls over from various different cars and combinations in the past that the team draws from, but in the end I don’t think any of us really know what the hot setup around this place is going to be with this car because things have been changing so quickly from an aerodynamic standpoint and all that kind of stuff. I guess having said that, I guess what ends up yielding good race cars is sort of an attitude and mentality that you have. This is a track that you have so much time to practice during the month of May that you can end up getting yourself spiraling out of control just doing tons of laps and getting confused. We’re going to try to take the smart approach and see what we get. HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 AAA Insurance Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet) Q: What are you and your team trying to accomplish today? HC: We want to build a good foundation here on the setup so that when we come back in the month of May that we start in a good way. Again, it’s a new car and the first time that I’m actually ever driving on the oval with this car, and it feels pretty good. It feels different, no question about it, because you’re so used to the other car. It’s like anything else when it’s new: You’ve got to develop. And right now that’s what we’re working together with the engine and the setup and everything else. Hopefully when we come back here, we’ll have the whole ingredients ready so that we can have a good month of May. Q: How many changes are you anticipating from last year to this year’s new car? HC: It’s a completely different setup. The engine is different. The approach of the speed is different. So there’s so many other things. Trust me, when we come back here, it’ll be a different thing, as well, but at the end of the day we’re all looking for the same goal, and I can’t wait to be back. Q: What did you guys find in testing that has caused you to come out of the box so quickly this year? 2012 Indianapolis 500 Daily Trackside Reports 3 HC: I guess we did our homework. Being in the right place and positioning myself in the right areas of the racetrack. I guess all the three cars (Team Penske), not only my group but everybody is really sharing everything we can. And we’re eager to be back on the top, and so far it’s been working. Q: What has made you so comfortable in the car up to this point of the season? HC: I did some adjustments for my driving style. Maybe the car, for me, is suiting right now.

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