IndyCar finalizes schedules for Phoenix test, race

The schedules for this week’s IndyCar Spring Training visit to the one-mile Phoenix Raceway oval and next month’s return for the Good Rancher’s 250 race as part of NASCAR’s weekend have been set.

The Tuesday-Wednesday Unser Open Test starts with a 12-5pm (Mountain Time) run during which rookies will have exclusive use of the track from 12:05-1:00pm after a five-minute window for installation laps. Tuesday closes with four hours of lapping available to all drivers from 1-5pm.

On Wednesday, the field of 25 entries have six combined hours from 9am-12pm and 1:30-4:30pm to complete their work lists. According to the track, Wednesday’s test is free and open to fans, and will feature an autograph session for the first 300 fans who make their way inside the Desert Diamond Casino Infield Experience in the Phoenix Raceway midway. The test will not be live streamed.

Once the test is over, the 10 teams will dash back to their bases, convert the cars from oval specification to street course spec, and send them to Florida for the season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg weekend which starts on Friday, Feb. 27.

Upon IndyCar’s trek back to Arizona from St. Petersburg following the March 1 season opener, teams will load into Phoenix Raceway on Thursday and prepare for a long and busy Friday, when a one-hour practice from 8-9am will start the open-wheel festivities. Qualifying is up next from 12:05-1:05pm, and then its high-line practice 2:30-3:00pm to try and add enough Firestone rubber to the second lane to allow two-wide running in the race.

Per IndyCar’s rules, its drivers will not be allowed to follow NASCAR’s practice of letting drivers run below the yellow line pained around the bottom of the track, which will place an emphasis on creating enough grip to attempt passes in the banked corners.

The March 6 schedule has a fourth and final on-track session for 50 minutes as drivers transition from the high-line lapping into closing practice from 3:10-4:00pm, and then it’s the return on Saturday March 7 for the 250-lap race set to air live on FOX, with the broadcast opening at 1:00pm and an anticipated green flag at 1:20pm.