Courtesy of IndyCar Series

AVONDALE, Ariz. – The Valley of the Sun welcomed the Verizon IndyCar Series back to Phoenix International Raceway this weekend. The teams and drivers responded with a very rapid thank you.

Competing en masse for the first time at the historic 1.022-mile oval since 2005, 21 drivers participated in the two-day promoter test that served as a preview for the upcoming Phoenix Grand Prix on April 2 (8 p.m. ET, NBCSN). More than 5,300 laps were completed, with 18 drivers clocking times faster than the official track record set two decades ago by Indy car great Arie Luyendyk.

Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud led the way. Castroneves, in the No. 3 Hitachi Chevrolet, set the top lap of 19.2735 seconds (190.894 mph) in the climactic Feb. 27 evening session.

“We had a little issue with the Hitachi car in the first session, but were able to take full advantage of the second one,” said Castroneves, the three-time Indianapolis 500 champion and winner of the 2002 Phoenix Indy car race. “The car seemed to be very solid in qualifying trim and we were able to jump into race mode. It’s going to be fast and non-stop. The Phoenix fans are going to have a heck of a race.”

Pagenaud was fastest in the afternoon session and second overall for the four sessions, with a lap of 19.2884 seconds (190.747 mph). Both Penske drivers were more than three-tenths of a second under Luyendyk’s 1996 record lap of 19.608 seconds (183.599 mph). Official Indy car records can only be set during qualifying and the race.

“We’ve been doing race stuff all day and the times have improved, so I feel very comfortable in every condition now,” said Pagenaud, starting his second season with Team Penske and seventh in Indy car racing. “We managed to get a snapshot of what qualifying would be like this time of the day (afternoon). The car was fast. So far, so good.”

Since only four of the 21 drivers raced Indy cars at PIR before, most spent the weekend becoming acclimated with the track that generates high G-forces in the turns.

“It’s a very, very grippy place,” said Sebastien Bourdais, driver of the No. 11 Team Hydroxycut – KVSH Racing Chevrolet. “We’re pulling over five Gs and it’s a big commitment on such a place like this when you start to average speeds over 175 (mph). To give you an example, Milwaukee would be 3.5 Gs, so it’s a big commitment and big consequences if you get it wrong. It’s a fun place but you’ve got to make sure you don’t make a wrong assumption. That could be pretty costly.”

Teams now shift to road/street course mode for a private test March 1-2 at Sebring (Fla). International Raceway. The 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season opens with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg from March 11-13. The race airs live on ABC at 12:30 p.m. ET March 13.

Ed Carpenter Racing duo shows strong at test

Ed Carpenter Racing left Phoenix International Raceway hopeful with both cars near the top of the speed chart.

Newgarden was third fastest overall in the No. 21 Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevy (19.2917 seconds, 190.714 mph), with Carpenter close behind in fourth (19.3316, 190.321) driving the No. 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevy. The team co-owner/driver didn’t hide his pleasure with the improvement in the team’s oval performance.

“It’s encouraging, for sure, when you look at where we were on the ovals a year ago starting the season,” Carpenter said. “It’s really encouraging to see the effort that the team’s put in to really improve. And not just our team, but the team at Chevrolet with their updates on the aero kit, too.”

Newgarden and Carpenter joined forces in 2015 at CFH Racing. While Newgarden enjoyed a breakout season with two wins and a seventh-place finish in the championship, Carpenter drove only on the ovals with just one top-10 start and two top-10 finishes in six events.

With an offseason to regroup and the team reverting to the Ed Carpenter Racing name, the chemistry is building.

“I’ve got a great relationship with Ed,” Newgarden said. “It was great to start working with him last year and it’s just gotten better over the offseason. We’ve really been able to work on a lot of different aspects of the team side, the car side, what we’re doing driving-wise.

“We have a great, really fluid relationship. He’s been open about his information, same with me. I think we work really well together. He’s one of the best teammates I’ve ever had.”

KVSH Racing confirms Bourdais as driver, Hydroxycut as sponsor

Sebastien Bourdais is back with KVSH Racing and so is co-primary sponsor Hydroxycut for the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season.

KVSH co-owners Kevin Kalkhoven, James “Sulli” Sullivan and Jimmy Vasser confirmed what Vasser called the “worst-kept secret of the season.” Bourdais, the four-time Indy car champion, will drive the No. 11 Team Hydroxycut – KVSH Racing Chevrolet. Bourdais won titles in Champ Car a record four straight seasons from 2004-2007 and is tied for seventh in all-time Indy car race wins with 34. Three of those wins have come with KVSH in the past two seasons.

It is expected to be the only full-season entry for KVSH in the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series, allowing the team to focus on a single goal against multi-car operations.

“We’re no Penske or Ganassi, but we can be as good or better on any given day when we get our stuff together,” said Bourdais, who turns 37 on Feb. 28. “That’s really the challenge for me that I relish. I’ve been on the side of being expected to win because you’re on the big teams and that’s what you should be doing.

“To be able to do it with a small organization and sometimes a fraction of their budget is a very awesome feeling. It also proves how competitive the series is. It’s harder but when you get it done, it’s very gratifying and it’s a credit to the people in the organization.”

Vasser said the team was still working to field a second full-season entry until recently, when the ownership trio decided to focus the effort on Bourdais’ car only.

“To coin a phrase from Kevin Kalkhoven, we put all the wood behind this one arrow and all of our resources,” Vasser said. “The main component starts with the driver and Bourdais is a proven, great champion, a legend in the sport. After the last couple years, we really feel we’re in a position to fight for the championship.”

On-the-job training for rookies at Phoenix test

While Sunoco Rookie of the Year contenders Conor Daly of Dale Coyne Racing and Max Chilton of Chip Ganassi Racing Teams were on track and learning in the cockpit during the promoter test at Phoenix International Raceway, fellow Verizon IndyCar Series rookies Alexander Rossi and Spencer Pigot were acclimating to the teams they will compete with in 2016.

Pigot, the 2015 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires champion, will drive in at least three races for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. He spent much of his time watching the testing action from teammate Graham Rahal’s pit box.

“Just trying to learn as much as I can,” said Pigot, who will debut in the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in two weeks but is not slated to race in the Phoenix Grand Prix on April 2.

Rossi, named to drive Andretti Autosport’s No. 98 Honda for the entire season earlier this week, watched the Feb. 26 PIR evening session from the spotter stand atop the Turn 1 suites with race strategist Bryan Herta and engineer Tom German.

“I’m here in an observatory role,” said Rossi, making his first-ever visit to an oval circuit and where he will make his oval racing debut in April. “It’s building (chemistry) day by day. This is only our second day working together and we’re just beginning to understand each other and how we communicate.

“It’s a very interesting perspective to be up top and see the different approaches you can take into a corner. When you’re watching a video or from pit lane, it can all look the same, but when you get up high you can see it from a different perspective.”

Pigot and Rossi won’t have to wait long to drive their cars. Each will test for the first time March 1 at Sebring International Raceway in Florida.

Two-seater ride has Air Force colonel, Diamondbacks pitcher, animator soaring

Col. David Shoemaker is vice commander of the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, so he knows something about going fast. But getting a ride around Phoenix International Raceway from legendary Mario Andretti in the INDYCAR Experience two-seater Feb. 27 was enough to get the military veteran’s heart racing.

“Riding in an Indy car with Mario Andretti would have been on my bucket list if I knew it was even a possibility. That’s the absolute truth. That was unreal. Speed isn’t new to me, but speed to us is at a reference of 500 feet, not at 1 foot over the ground. That was unbelievable, unbelievable. Great.”

Tyler Clippard, who pitched in the 2015 World Series for the New York Mets before signing in the offseason with the Arizona Diamondbacks, received a two-seater ride from Andretti. And so did his mother.

“That was the most surreal thing,” Clippard said. “It didn’t really make sense what the car was capable of doing. When I was in it, I was like ‘we should not be going this fast and be able to turn this much.’ So it was incredible.

“Mario Andretti is the coolest thing for me and my mom. I’ve been to multiple Indianapolis 500s, my mom’s been to 30 of them. She’s a lifelong Mario Andretti fan, so I’m just so glad to get her out here and be able to do this. But for me, too, this was cool. Especially with Mario behind the wheel.”

Stephen King, an animator at Lucas Film, is another race fan who loved his two-seater ride around PIR with Andretti.

“This is a lifelong dream for me,” he said. “I vividly remember when I was 9, my dad taking me to my first race when it was in Vancouver and Mario was driving and his son (Michael) was driving. It was the early days and the security wasn’t really that good, so I was close up to action and just watching them go by and feeling like ‘I want to do that.’

“Unfortunately, I’m 6-foot-3 so that’s a little hard. But to be able to go do that was amazing, a dream come true, my bucket list, everything. My dad’s going to freak out when he finds out Mario Andretti drove me around the track.”

Following Saturday’s first session in the Verizon IndyCar Series Phoenix Promoter “Test in the West,” 16 of 21 drivers had posted times that bested the Phoenix International Raceway track record of 19.608 seconds (183.599 mph) set by Arie Luyendyk in 1996. Simon Pagenaud, driving the No. 22 Team Penske Chevrolet, recorded the fastest time at 19.298 seconds (190.747 mph). Select quotes from drivers participating in the test and Andretti Autosport rookie (not testing) Alexander Rossi follow.

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA (No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet): “So far it’s been good. We came here and tested before, so yesterday was a really good day for us for what we wanted to do. Today we had a couple… did a little bit of qualifying simulations, nothing too extreme. Just figured out an idea of what we need to do. I think it’s going to be interesting because NASCAR is going to be here about two weeks before we race, two, three weeks, so I think it’s going to change the track a lot with all that rubber they’re going to lay down and everything, so we’ll see how the track changes.”

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 Andretti Autosport Honda): “I felt really good with my car in traffic, especially on the first of two group runs that we did. The thing is around this place, it’s just like Iowa a couple years ago, everybody in practice couldn’t pass, and then in the heat races that we had, nobody could pass. But you have to get beyond lap 20 to really start mixing it up. That’s when the tires start to fall off a bit, that’s when the handling care sticks of each different car is magnified, and that’s when the difference is going to be made, and also we’re going to be hitting traffic here, so lap traffic or whatever it may be, different strategies, that’s when the racing is really going to get hot around here.

Other than that you’re not going to have one IndyCar drive around another one just in a straight line, just coming out of a corner or something like that. You need to be interacting with other cars in dirty air.”

JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet): (On if the track is extremely physical) “Yeah, I mean, to me it’s not — it’s interesting, it’s got characteristics of Iowa and Milwaukee to me. I think it’s a little easier than Iowa, but it’s still damned tough. I’m not trying to make it sound easy, it’s not, it’s really difficult. But maybe just a little — it’s different than Iowa. Iowa you sustain the loading for longer than here. You know, there’s — I think you reach about the same peak loading as Iowa in Turns 1 and 2, but it’s more crimped and you get in and out of it quicker so it’s not as sustained, and 3 and 4 is more open than Iowa and not quite as banked.”

GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda): “Yeah, it’s good. It’s been a lot of fun to be out here, and cars obviously very quick around this place. You know, really our first session today just totally focused on a couple qualifying simulations. We didn’t run a ton, but I think from what I’ve seen so far, we’re the fastest Honda on the no toes, obviously Marco with the toe got us there right at the end of the session, but I think we’re close.”

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS (No. 11 Team Hydroxycut- KVSH Racing Chevrolet): “Yeah, it’s great that we can finally make that an official news, but we’ve been working towards 2016. Sully has been working really, really hard with all his partners and Jimmy and Kevin to make this happen, and I think people underestimate how challenging it is to find a budget to run these kind of programs, but we did put it together, and although it may be a bit late, we’re still in pretty good shape and building off of two strong years.

Obviously we’re just thinking to just take it to the next step. There’s a lot of potential. We’ve got a really good relationship with Olivier and myself and a lot of very good guys on the team, and just really excited about the prospects for ’16. There’s no hard way to it. I think the aim is to just always do the best we can. When we can win the race, we’ll win the race. When we’ve got to take a podium, we’ll take a podium, and when it’s just a top 5 or top 10, we’ll do the same. This series is all about consistency and being committed to the effort of the program, and I think this year being able to really focus everything on one car and not get any distraction is a big help. I’m definitely looking forward to it and thankful to Hydroxy for coming back with us.”

ALEXANDER ROSSI (No. 98 Andretti Autosport Honda): “Yeah, I’m very excited to be here and to have the opportunity to participate, especially with a team with so much pedigree as Andretti, and I’m really looking forward to getting in the car for the first time, as you said. I’m here kind of in an observatory role. I’ve never been to an oval before, never driven an oval, and obviously never driven the car. I’m just trying to learn as much as I can and get to know the people and how they work and operate. It’s a little bit different than what I’m used to, so it’s good to have an idea before I get in the car for the first time.”

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Teams Chevrolet) : “We tried a few different things today in the afternoon session. We trimmed the car out a bit and did a few qualifying simulations but didn’t quite get things where we wanted them. Overall the Target car is fast though and we’re pretty happy with where we are at.”

TONY KANAAN (No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Teams Chevrolet): “We spent most of the first session working on qualifying runs and then the team switched the car over to the race setup to get ready for tonight’s session. The car has felt pretty good most of the weekend and it’s been a lot of fun getting back into the swing of things here at Phoenix. We’re looking forward to getting back out tonight for the night session and working through a few more things to make sure we’re ready to go for the race in April.”

CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 83 Chip Ganassi Racing Teams Chevrolet): “Overall it’s been great to be back at Phoenix International Raceway. The fan turn out today for the free Saturday was awesome – it’s really great to see the excitement for the Verizon IndyCar Series coming back to race here. We made some progress over the last few days on the No. 83 and we’ve really learned a lot. We’ll take what we can from our teammates as well and focus on coming back prepared and ready to go racing in April.”

MAX CHILTON (No. 8 Chip Ganassi Racing Teams Chevrolet): “Today we didn’t do a lot of running but it was still productive. We’re doing things the way there are supposed to be done. We are slowly making changes and improving the car. We’re focused on maximizing the time we have in the car today to make sure I’m feeling comfortable.”

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet): “Unfortunately we didn’t have time to practice the Hitachi car. We had a mechanical failure and we are fixing for the afternoon. We’re going to go back and keep working on the No. 3 machine.”

SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 22 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Chevrolet): “It’s been good. We’ve been working on the Hewlett Packard Enterprise car pretty well.  We’ve been doing race stuff all day and the times have improved so I feel very comfortable in every condition now. We managed to get a snapshot of what qualifying would be like this time of the day.  The car was fast. So far so good.  Chevrolet has done a great job with the aero package and the engine, so we are just scratching the surface, but so far it’s gone pretty good.”

CARLOS MUNOZ (No. 26 Andretti Autosport Honda): “Second day of testing, we’re finding some good stuff for the race. We seem a little bit slower than competitors right now but we’re just new with the kit and everything still figuring that out. Tonight we will be able to just focus on the race running so we will see how we are but I think we still need to work to be in the top.

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 27 Andretti Autosport Honda): “So far so good. The main focus right now is to really get a race car underneath us. There are pretty staggering speeds by some of the guys which is fun, but it is definitely crazy. On a one-mile oval, 200 mph, 190-something average…  It’s good fun. It seems to just be getting quicker and quicker. Tonight might even be quicker yet so we’ll just keep going out and seeing how much we can wring the thing out, but the main priority is getting a race car set up.

CONOR DALY (No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda): “I’m feeling good with how things went. We’re just working away. We’re a couple of days behind other teams that have tested here, which is to be expected. Information is very important. They have some and we have a little bit less. It’s just about working through that, getting used to the track, getting used to everything. It’s all new for both Luca and I here. I’m happy with what we’re doing, it would have been nice maybe to have a few more sets of tires to run some things but it is what it is. I’m just happy to continue working and that’s the thing that we have to do. It doesn’t matter where we are on the time sheet right now, there’s no winning here, it’s one of those things that we’re happy with what we’re doing.

Running in traffic, at night, is pretty hectic. Cars are lively, that’s for sure. We could probably use a little bit more downforce in traffic in a race situation but it’s fun, as well. It’s cool to experience this because it’s new for me. It’s going to be a challenge but we just need to keep working on our car in traffic and by ourselves as well and see what happens.”

LUCA FILIPPI (No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda): “Today, I felt more confident and we had a solid session. We had more things to try and also myself, I’m also learning, especially in traffic. So far I’m enjoying it.

It was nice to have two days of testing here because every time you learn something new it’s always good to sleep on it and the day after it’s already more conventional and everything comes a little more automatic, maybe not as much as I’d like but I’m still happy and positive. I definitely feel that we are going in the right direction.”