Palou, O'Ward to headline two-day IndyCar test at IMS

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway will hold two days of testing this week on its 2.5-mile oval for Firestone to evaluate superspeedway tire compounds and to give the track feedback on its recent repaving at Turn 2.

The outings will run from 9am-5pm ET, with Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward and Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou set for track time on Tuesday to assist with tire and paving input.

They’ll be joined by Ed Carpenter Racing’s Alexander Rossi and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Takuma Sato on Tuesday, and the two from ECR and RLL will return on Wednesday as their two days of running will be focused on a separate agenda.

As the longest tenured IndyCar drivers in the group, and with three combined Indy 500 wins to their credit, Rossi and Sato will use Tuesday and Wednesday to assist the series with input on brake and damper packages being considered for the new Dallara chassis due in 2028.

IndyCar has relied on the Performance Friction Corporation (PFC) to outfit its cars with carbon fiber brake discs, brake pads, and alloy calipers since taking over from Brembo in 2018. PFC is expected to continue in the sole supplier role with the new car. Dampers have remained open for teams to source since the Dallara DW12 was introduced in 2012, and reducing the freedom to choose suppliers and modify most of the internals is under discussion for the next chassis regulations.

Fans will be able to watch the test from inside IMS on the Turn 2 viewing mounds.