INDIANAPOLIS — IndyCar drivers waited out a four-hour rain delay and labored via their considerations over a slippery warm-up lane Thursday.

It did not take lengthy for the 31 drivers to begin turning laps topping 225 mph.

Thirty-one of the 32 drivers entered in subsequent month’s Indianapolis 500 participated within the second and ultimate day of testing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with tons of of followers lining the mounds close to the speedway’s museum.

The largest query coming into the check session was whether or not monitor officers discovered an answer for the warm-up lane issues that brought about three race winners to spin Wednesday, which led to 2 crashes.

“I felt it a pair months in the past and I assumed it was slippery however I did not suppose something of it,” mentioned Tony Kanaan, who spent a lot of Wednesday night time speaking to speedway president Doug Boles. “I believe we’ve to go sluggish. Yesterday, I used to be actually sluggish. It should be completely different for race week so why are you going to strive one thing completely different now? If all of us use widespread sense, I believe we’ll be OK.”

Kanaan mentioned monitor officers promised to grind the monitor, if essential, earlier than the Might 29 race day.

Boles mentioned monitor staff spent 5 hours dragging tires via the problematic a part of the monitor’s apron, an effort to offer drivers with extra grip after the measurements confirmed the historic 2.5-mile oval had 25% extra grip.

The reason being believed to be that the oval has had extra site visitors than pit highway because the Fast Penetrating Emulsion was put in final fall. The substance helps the monitor dry faster, one thing that helped drivers lastly make it onto the monitor Thursday.

By the primary 90 minutes, not many automobiles pitted and none spun, in contrast to Wednesday.

Will Energy, the 2018 Indy winner, mentioned it felt like water when he ran via the world that compelled him right into a harmful 360-degree spin close to the primary flip. Energy’s automobile compelled promising 22-year-old Colton Herta to take the next line, which despatched his automobile into the wall.

That crash, the second in lower than an hour, prompted collection officers to finish testing early so a extra thorough inspection might be performed by collection and monitor officers in addition to representatives of the collection’ longtime tire producer, Firestone.

“We did some tire dragging until about 1 o’clock final night time,” Boles mentioned Thursday morning. “The attention check tells you the grip stage can be again up, the tennis shoe check tells you it is going to be.”

It is not the primary time the 113-year-old speedway has monitor hassle.

Solely six Components One automobiles began the 2005 U.S. Grand Prix due to considerations about Michelin’s tires lasting not than 10 laps. Three years later, NASCAR’s Brickyard 400 was marred by the same state of affairs with Goodyear tires. Each races had been held on the oval.

However final 12 months, Cup drivers used Indy’s highway course for the primary time and the race was marred by deteriorating curbing that despatched some automobiles airborne and broken others. NASCAR officers red-flagged the race so monitor staff might take away the curbing and the 200-mile race was accomplished.

Then got here Wednesday.

Earlier than a single lap was turned Wednesday, Alexander Rossi, the 2016 Indy winner, spun on the warmup lane. Then with about 80 minutes left within the third and ultimate two-hour check session, Brazil’s Helio Castroneves spun, slid via the grass and slammed the second flip wall.

Castroneves and Herta had been each examined on the monitor’s infield medical heart and launched shortly after they hit the wall. Each had been cleared to drive for Thursday’s check session.

However the injury to Castroneves’ automobile was too extreme to return to the monitor Thursday.

“Very unusual,” mentioned Castroneves, who was driving the identical automobile he received with final 12 months and plans to make use of once more subsequent month. “I wasn’t pushing, I wasn’t even making an attempt. It was very uncommon. I do not know in the event you guys noticed however I used to be like ‘I am unable to consider what simply occurred.'”

Boles mentioned he referred to as Castroneves to apologize.

“Initially, I take this so personally since you need this to be probably the most particular racetrack on the earth,” Boles mentioned. “We weren’t utterly nervous when Rossi spun as a result of it was early within the morning and also you suppose it is chilly however when you will have three skilled drivers spin, that is a priority.

Boles added: “What I need and, I am positive we are able to clear up by race day, is you wish to get in and our of the pits as quick as you may go.”