Chevrolet had 10 drivers involved in a full-field test of the soon-to-be debuted INDYCAR Hybrid Power Unit at the famed Milwaukee Mile, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
o Two teams, Juncos Hollinger Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing, were excused with driver conflicts due to Le Mans
· The four Chevrolet-powered teams and their drivers participated in two sessions that were strictly for the teams to work on car set-up and perfecting the operation of the Hybrid Power Unit – much like any two practice sessions on a race weekend
· Will Power, No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet, set the pace with 188 laps completed, and a fastest lap time of 22.6001 seconds/161.521 mph
o Power’s teammates followed with Josef Newgarden in the No. 2 Chevrolet second completing 176 laps with a quick time of 22.7073 seconds/160.759 mph. Scott McLaughlin was third completing 159 laps, turning a 22.742 seconds/160.639 mph in the No. 3 Chevrolet
· The tWO afternoon sessions were directed by INDYCAR to simulate race conditions including starts, restarts, pit stops, caution periods behind the pace car and green flag laps to see how the Hybrid Power Unit performed in the actual race application
o Newgarden was the fastest followed by Power and McLaughlin in the final tally
§ In the final session, Newgarden ran 64 flawless laps to lead the simulated race to its conclusion
· A total of 3,563 combined laps were run today
· The INDYCAR Hybrid Power Unit is scheduled to debut at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course July 5-7, 2024
· Next on the schedule for Team Chevy in the NTT INDYCAR Series will be June 21-23, 2024 at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, California.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet:
“For me it was a pretty seamless day. It seemed like an easygoing day for most people.
“The system, certainly from the last time I ran it, it operates pretty seamlessly. Just not having a lot of hiccups with it. We’ve definitely had a lot of miles on it now. It seems to work really well. Pretty robust.
“I think it’s impossible to say we’re not going to have any issues. It’s like any new part, if there’s a new part, there’s always going to be some risk of something still needing to be developed.
“Up to this point, I think we’ve seen the system is fairly robust. It’s ready to drive I think in a race condition. Yeah, I’m excited to see this new chapter for the rest of the year.”
Will Power, No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet:
“You can feel it. It’s probably going to assist in a passing situation if you have a run on somebody I think it will work. I think it will be situational. I think there is an optimal way to use it in a qualifying sim. You will work out the best time to use it. You are probably only going to get one shot at it because you aren’t lifting that much to regen. (regenerate the unit). Since I tested it here in the fall, the system is reliable and we are able to get running in.”
Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:
“I would like to see what we, as a series, can really extract out of it, because where we are now, the difference isn’t big enough. I think it is a work in progress. The more we can use what this hybrid system can bring to the series, I think the better it’s going to be. I think right now we are all working within certain limits we can work in. I think it will be different on road and street courses compared to ovals. You can definitely feel it.”
JOSEF NEWGARDEN PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
THE MODERATOR: Josef, your thoughts on being back at the Milwaukee Mile today.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It’s great to be back. This is a great track, one of the best that I’ve been to. Long time. I guess 2015 was the last time we were here. Really fun to be back. Enjoyed running today.
Different than other short ovals like Iowa. There’s no banking to help you. Had to get used to that, the comfort of not falling into something and trusting the car is going to hold. It can be unnerving. For some of the guys that have never run it, it took a while to get used to it. It’s awesome.
Love this place, love this town. Really pumped we’re coming back here.
THE MODERATOR: Your thoughts on putting the power unit through the paces. Feel pretty good about it so far?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: For me it was a pretty seamless day. It seemed like an easygoing day for most people.
The system, certainly from the last time I ran it, it operates pretty seamlessly. Just not having a lot of hiccups with it. We’ve definitely had a lot of miles on it now. It seems to work really well. Pretty robust.
I think it’s impossible to say we’re not going to have any issues. It’s like any new part, if there’s a new part, there’s always going to be some risk of something still needing to be developed.
Up to this point, I think we’ve seen the system is fairly robust. It’s ready to drive I think in a race condition. Yeah, I’m excited to see this new chapter for the rest of the year.
THE MODERATOR: More questions.
Q. Josef, obviously the last time you guys were here was manufacturer aero kits. Now the universal kit. How different is the less downforce in addition to the deg you anticipated from the tires?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It’s very different. Last time we were here in 2015, I think we were pretty much flat in qualifying, if not just the tiniest lift. Were we flat, Will, in 2015? This is a bonus question here. The aero kit in ’15. I think we trimmed, yeah. Not flat today (smiling).
We were pretty of flat, to answer your question. Not flat today, not even close. You’re not braking at all in a qual run. In race conditions you’re lifting, then a little bit of brake towards the end of the tire life. It’s a different ballgame. I’d say it’s closer to Iowa as far as the way the tires degrade and the way it’s going to race. I think that’s the closest you can look at.
Q. So between ride heights, push to passes, the hybrid assist, how many different tools are inside the car that you have to figure out how to use while going 200 miles an hour?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It’s more now. You have push to pass. You have the hybrid unit. You have all the map options. You have roll bars, weight jackers. I think that’s about it. Then your gear selects obviously. That’s not going anywhere.
There’s plenty of options in there. I don’t think we need to add any more. We have enough going on. You could add more. I don’t know that you would need to at this point. There’s definitely enough adjustability to drive the car.
Yeah, this will add to it. As we touched on earlier, it’s just another strategic thing that everyone will learn how to manage.
Q. On an oval, isn’t it limited to the handling of your car? You can’t go to 1300 horsepower if the car isn’t going to handle it through the turns. Does that determine when you use it?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I think it depends on how you set the car up. You’re going to set the car up for how you want to utilize it. If it can’t take it, you’re going to adjust accordingly. Vice versa, maybe you don’t want to adjust accordingly and use it that much. It’s going to factor into the way you run a race weekend, for sure.
Q. We got Laguna next week, week off, Mid-Ohio. How much time are you going to spend studying Mid-Ohio of when to use it, when not to use it?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I mean, we’ve been studying it. It’s not like it’s getting dropped in our lap right now. That’s what I would say. It’s not like we’re scrambling right now to think about Mid-Ohio. If we had to go to Mid-Ohio tomorrow, it would be okay.
We’ve been working on it. We sort of had our initial feelings about it, strategy or plan. We’re going to keep developing that as we get closer to Mid-Ohio, try to hit the ground running a little bit better than everybody.
I don’t think you’re going to find people that are, like, way out to bed with it. I think everyone will be pretty close. You might see some people with maybe a touch of a better advantage with it, maybe a different tactic that’s helping them.
You’re not going to see anybody, like, light-years ahead because they are using it better. It’s pretty simplified in a lot of respects. It’s kind of like the push to pass. It’s a system that you’re going to determine how you want to use it across the lap. Everybody’s going to come up with their own method. I don’t think you’re going to see people way off on a different planet with it.
THE MODERATOR: Thanks, everyone.
GM PR
