WASHINGTON (AP) — The Freedom 250 Grand Prix is largely about the visuals — the Capitol hovering behind Turn 1, the Washington Monument off in the distance.
Now, IndyCar drivers can finally evaluate the actual track.
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“I didn’t know if it was going to be fun or not to drive. It’s a blast, super fun,” series points leader Alex Palou said after a morning practice session Saturday. “Very bumpy, huge bumps heading into Turn 2 and Turn 6. Massive bumps that are going to spice things up.”
The 1.7-mile street course in downtown Washington was an unknown commodity, set up for the first — and possibly the last — time for this event celebrating the country's 250th birthday. As these tracks go, it looks pretty simple with only seven turns, all but one to the left.
That doesn't mean the driving is smooth, though — even on the straightaway down Pennsylvania Avenue between Turns 1 and 2.
“We got quite a bit of bumps on the exit of Turn 1, quite a bit of bumps going into 2, the straightaway,” said Pato O'Ward, who won last month at Mid-Ohio. “I would say that’s taken over a little bit of what the characteristic of what this track is.”
Pennsylvania Avenue is repaved often because of its role in presidential inaugurations. Race chair Bud Denker spoke highly of the area's roads in the run-up to the event, but at high speed, the slightest bump can make a difference. Louis Foster went over one near the end of the Independence Avenue straightaway and ended up going nose-first into the wall — in the area Palou was talking about before Turn 6.
“Going to try to see if we can get a better balance in the corners, not focus so much on the bumps. They’re not going to disappear,” Palou said. “I think if you move a little bit on lanes, might be a little bit better, but it’s not going to completely go away from that.”
Palou said Turn 2 — a severe bend at the end of the Pennsylvania Avenue straightaway — presents a good passing opportunity. Same for Turn 5 — a 90-degree left from 7th Street onto Independence Avenue.
“I think there’s going to be a lot of action. I see that just having a wide track, it’s just going to allow us to have more passing than, for example, Detroit,” Palou said, referring to another downtown Indycar course. “It’s so narrow that even if you are so much faster, you can just block so much easier. Here, if you’re not going to have the pace, they’re going to overtake you.”
Palou had the top practice lap of 56.6145 seconds in the second session, then topped qualifying later in the day.
Although IndyCar owns the D.C. spotlight this weekend, NASCAR made its presence felt when four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon swept Saturday's two-race IROC event in Washington. Kurt Busch was runner-up in both races.
“I was like a kid in a candy store,” Busch said. “It was like I was in a bowl of M&M's with all the colors and the banners. ‘Where’s my braking zone? I don't know — oh, that's a cool building.'”
The weather was mostly fine despite some threatening clouds. IndyCar drivers can expect humid conditions for Sunday's 147-lap, 250-mile race.
“It’s going to be physical,” O'Ward said. “Every challenge that a street course usually throws at you. It’s bumpy. You got a bunch of sweat inside of the helmet. You’re bouncing up and down in there. It gets pretty rough, gets pretty aggressive.”
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