Greetings from Iowa Speedway. It will be a warm, make that a hot day for the NTT Indycar Series drivers.  The temperature for the first practice  first practice at 11 EDT should be around 86 degrees. It will be 90 when qualifying takes place at 2 pm EDT and 92 degrees at 7 EDT for the final practice.

Last night it did not get dark until well after the race should be over tomorrow night.  The cars will be driving into a lowering sun about an hour into the race. I’m wondering if the start time will be adjusted after tonight’s practice.

Today’s Schedule – all times EDT

Practice 1- 11-12  NBC Gold

Qualifying  2:15  NBCSN

Final practice 7-8 NBC Gold

Something to look for is how the extra horsepower will affect lap times. Iwill be interesting to see how much the drivers lift in the turns.

St. Pete Extension

Adam Stern reported yesterday that the St. Pete race has been extended through 2024. A new four year agreement between the city and Green Savoree was reached. The current agreement expires after next year’s race.

This event has grown substantially over the past six years. My first time at St. Pete was 2013. I have noticed a big positive change in the race weekend since then.

I’ll be back with a first practice wrap-up later.