Drivers still adapting to change of direction for Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
This is the sixth in a series of previews of the Grand Prix of Indianapolis.
Grand Prix of Indianapolis drivers admit going the opposite direction around Indianapolis Motor Speedway's road course is an unusual feeling.
The popular sentiment is they are driving the "wrong way" when speeding clockwise around the road course in preparation for the inaugural May 10 race. Indy 500 drivers go counterclockwise.
"It feels weird driving down pit road the wrong way and seeing cars go the wrong way," said Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon, the 2008 Indy 500 winner.
"Going down pit lane is the weirdest," said Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports driver Simon Pagenaud. "When you see the tower the other way, you're like, 'What's going on here?' "
Ganassi Racing's Ryan Briscoe said the sightlines are more unusual when watching from outside the car.
"When we're out there driving, it's just another racetrack, really," the Australian said. "But you stop, you have a look and see the cars coming off the straight the wrong way and it takes some getting used to, for sure.
"In the 500, you don't even notice the banking. In fact, it doesn't feel like there's any banking at all. But you make a flat road course and go backward through it and you're leaned over (in some areas) and the steering gets heavy."
IMS President Doug Boles enjoys driving the road course in a pace car to take in the view.
"Visually seeing the Pagoda and the scoring pylon on your right as you drive around is odd," Boles said. "You're used to it always being on the left."
Call Star reporter Phillip B. Wilson at (317) 444-6642. Follow him on Twitter: @pwilson24.
Grand Prix of Indianapolis
• When: 3:50 p.m. Saturday.
• Where: Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
• Tickets: General admission $25; reserved seats $41-$77.
• Practice: Thursday, free.
• Qualifying: Friday, 2 p.m., $20.
• Contest: Win a lap around the Speedway with an IndyCar driver. Enter at IndyStar.com/grandprix