Rosenqvist, Ganassi to headline busy week of IndyCar testing

IndyCar Series teams will get back to business starting next week when four teams commence private testing.

Defending champions Chip Ganassi Racing will head to Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama on Monday with its new signing Felix Rosenqvist, who will get his first taste of the Dallara wrapped in universal bodywork.

The 26-year-old Swede sampled Scott Dixon’s car on two occasions at Mid-Ohio, both while the high-downforce manufacturer aero kits were in play, which makes the early introduction to the lower-downforce universal kit a smart choice in his preparations for 2019.

Monday will also see A.J. Foyt Racing, Andretti Autosport, and Carlin Racing start their off-season testing efforts. They’ve chosen the Circuit of The Americas road course as the venue, which will give each team a chance to gather valuable data ahead of the new March 24 race in Austin, Texas.

Alexander Rossi will represent the Andretti Honda camp and Tony Kanaan will look after the driving duties for Foyt’s Chevy-powered program. Carlin’s plans for COTA are twofold. The Florida-based squad is expected to use one of its Chevy entries to sample multiple drivers as an evaluation for its second seat alongside Max Chilton, and possibly a third entry if team owner Trevor Carlin is suitably impressed.

Team Penske will also venture out, albeit at a later date, when the Chevy-powered team loads into Sebring on December 4 with cars for Will Power, Josef Newgarden, and Simon Pagenaud.