The Phoenix Grand Prix is the first oval track of the 2017 IndyCar Series. Here are four things to watch out for on Sunday at the one-mile short oval in the desert.
One – Newgarden’s oval defense
Fresh from his first win of the 2017 IndyCar Series season, Josef Newgarden gets his first opportunity to defend is his 2016 oval discipline award at Phoenix International Raceway. The 26 year-old from Tennessee has finished well at ovals since 2013, including a win in Iowa last year and a podium finish during the 100th Indianapolis 500. Newgarden in an rebounded Team Penske Chevrolet is the early favorite for the win on Sunday.
Two – JR Hildebrand’s health
Ed Carpenter Racing’s JR Hildebrand has been cleared to race this weekend, after sitting out in Alabama due to a fractured left hand. Hildebrand received the fracture in Long Beach on April 9 during a last lap incident with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ Mikhail Aleshin. It will be interesting to see if Hildebrand’s recovering hand can cope with the left-cornering, tight banked PIR track. With Hildebrand’s return, rookie Zach Veach (Hildebrand’s substitute for Alabama) will return to Belardi Auto Racing in the Indy Lights series.
Twitter: He’s gotten the all-clear! @JRHildebrand will be back in the #21 @FuzzysVodka Chevy this weekend at @PhoenixRaceway… https://t.co/r14Ntmn0H5 (@ECRIndy)
Three – Will Power’s luck
Three races, three bad luck incidents that cost the Australian a chance at Victory Lane. If Power is to mount some kind of recovery, it needs to start in Phoenix. To this end Power has some history on his side; after failing to start in St. Petersburg in 2016, Power rebounded with a podium in Phoenix then followed that with back-to-back Top-10 finishes before an impressive midseason run. The Australian needs to turn his season around and the first oval of the year might help him to that.
Four – Honda on the ovals
Whether by design or luck or a combination of the two, Honda have impressed this year. Having won two of the first three races and continuing to top practice sessions, Honda’s needle is pointing up. With Phoenix being an oval, Honda executives and fans will be watching closely to see if any improvements have been made since testing. In testing it seemed that Chevrolet still owned the oval, Honda will be hoping for a different results with the Indy 500 coming up.
