On Tuesday, June 2, INDYCAR announced they have implemented the usage of closure panels to the rear wheel guards for both Honda and Chevrolet’s superspeedway aero kits beginning this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.
“This has been a collaborative effort with both manufacturers and they have been working on these since the Indianapolis 500 qualifications,” Will Phillips, INDYCAR vice president of technology, said. “These closure panels serve as a blocker so air cannot flow through the rear wheel guards. This will ultimately raise the point at which cars would experience lift when traveling backward.”
The panels developed by the respective manufactures will be utilized for the rest of the superspeedway oval events on the schedule, which includes Auto Club Speedway and Pocono Raceway.
During practice and qualifying for the Indianapolis 500, three drivers flipped – Helio Castroneves, Josef Newgarden and Ed Carpenter. None of the drivers were injured in the accidents.
INDYCAR also confirmed that the rear wing main plane angle for both Honda and Chevrolet must be between (-6) and (-10.5) degrees, which will still result in an increase in overall downforce compared to the 2014 event on the 1.455-mile, high-banked Texas Motor Speedway oval.
