SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS will be making his seventh start at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. He tested at TMS earlier this year. His best start was third in 2019 and his best finish of eighth came the same year.
Bourdais: “The Texas doubleheader is obviously a very tough race, it’s always a very challenging event. We were not awesome there in testing but I think they guys have some really good ideas so hopefully we’ll make some good progress and perform as well as Charlie [Kimball] did last year for the team and have a good time two races in a row.”
DALTON KELLETT will be making his first career start at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend which is his first ever race on a high-banked oval. In Indy Lights, he raced at Phoenix, Iowa and Gateway.
Kellett: “Going into Texas this week which is the third race of our back-to-back season opener stint. Really excited to go back to “No Limits, Texas” as I think the town is called. As they say, they do everything bigger in Texas. It’s the first high-banked oval for me so we were testing there about a month ago. It was great to get an opportunity to be on that track and get familiarized with it before we go into a fast-paced race weekend. There’s not a lot of time to figure stuff out so it’s great that we got to test there and the car felt pretty good. When we were there, it was cold and windy and the track was pretty green so when we go back there hopefully it’s not so much of a go, no go, situation with that sealant that they applied. Maybe the racing will be a little bit better than what we were thinking but if that’s not the case, it will probably come down to strategy and getting good track position.
“My first impressions: I was impressed with the size of the facility and the intensity of driving there. You really feel the load pushing into the seat. It’s a track with lots of history in IndyCar so it’s exciting to get to race there!
“We did some group running in testing but my experience [in traffic] is limited to Indy. So I will be tapping into that going into the weekend. The big challenges will be managing tire degradation and the sealant on the 2nd and 3rd lanes. Looking forward to the challenge of two races in No Limits, Texas!”
A.J. FOYT will be passing up attending the Kentucky Derby this year to be at this weekend’s Texas doubleheader. Foyt’s team won this race with Billy Boat driving in 1997 but after a protest, the race win was awarded to Arie Luyendyk by officials who cited a scoring error. In 1998, Boat started alongside pole winner Tony Stewart. Boat’s teammate Kenny Brack finished third and went on to win the title that year.
Foyt: “I’m going to Texas instead of the Derby because I’ve been going to the Derby for many, many years, but I don’t have a horse running there this year. A lot of times on Derby Day, I’d have a horse running, but now I don’t, so I’d rather see my two race cars run. I gave the suite to my grandson Anthony and his wife Casey. I’m hoping for a big weekend in Texas. When you’re in your home state, you don’t like to get beat. I know when I was racing in Texas, I did win some races. So far, the last good race we had was with Billy Boat winning it. We had to back it up the second year because the first year they tried to say we didn’t win it, which we did, so we won it two years straight. I still have the trophy.”
The trophy from the 1997 Texas race sits next to the famed “Come and Take It” flag dating back to the Battle of Gonzales and later the Alamo (which is another story in itself).
Last Race: At St. Petersburg, Bourdais qualified fifth and finished tenth after an up and down race. Dalton Kellett was running a solid race but electrical issues cut short his race. He placed 23rd.
The Genesys 300 will be broadcast live on NBCSN Saturday night starting at 7 p.m. ET. The XPEL 375 will be broadcast Sunday afternoon starting at 5 p.m. ET.
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM. STIL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
