Officials at the Iowa Speedway says a record crowd of better than 40,000 will be on hand for Sunday’s Iowa Corn Indy 250. Dario Franchiti won the inaugural race in 2007 but says the racing surface has changed in the last two years. He says the track loses some grip as it ages.
Franchiti says you have to set the car up differently and drive a little differently. He says you have to run more of the track to run close to wide open. Franchiti says the averaged over 118 miles and hour and those speeds are extremely fast for a short track. He says for 7/8ths of a mile that’s pretty quick and they have to run on a superspeedway tire.
Franchiti started third in 2007 before winning the race and says Saturday’s qualifying will be important. He says the cars are so close that it helps to be up front and you have to get up to speed quickly on a short track. Pit strategy will also be a huge factor in Sunday’s race and Franchiti says pitting under a yellow flag is especially important.
He says if you pit on a green flag and the rest of the field does stops on yellow, you will be two laps down quickly. Franchiti says if you pit with the rest of the drivers on a green you have a chance to make up some ground. He says a lot of luck is involved. Franchiti drove on the NASCAR circuit in 2008.