The NTT IndyCar Series will race half of its oval courses for the entirety of the 2021 schedule this weekend in Texas.
The doubleheader at the longtime IndyCar track will provide most of the oval racing that we will see this season. Aside from the Indianapolis 500, the series’ only other race on an oval will come at Gateway in the later weeks of the year.
That could mean some major parity.
Over the last decade, Texas Motor Speedway has seen nine different race winners in its 12 events held. It’s been a track that has delivered unexpected winners during an amount of races as of late.
This weekend’s 24-car field has the potential to deliver that as well.
After driving for A.J. Foyt Racing in the last three years, Tony Kanaan returns to Chip Ganassi Racing to pilot the No. 48 car in lieu of Jimmie Johnson. If anything, that will give the field an extra competitive entry – something we haven’t quite seen yet from Johnson.
That goes without mentioning that Conor Daly will be back in the Carlin Racing entry for the weekend as well.
As intriguing as the temporary names are for the weekend the names on the former winners list boast character just the same.
Drivers like Graham Rahal and Josef Newgarden can start a march to the championship off with a big win over the weekend. Alexander Rossi will surely show off some of his oval racing talent that we’ve seen from him over the years.
Although, there will be two names to watch above all the others.
Scott Dixon and Will Power: The pair of veterans are the only drivers to repeat at Texas over the past decade and have combined to win three of the last four races in Fort Worth.
Dixon’s last win came as part of his blistering start to the season that included winning each of the first four events.
The kicker is – he hasn’t won since then.
Both Dixon and Power, along with the other veterans of the tour, are sure to hold an advantage, so look for them to do well, but don’t be surprised to see someone new walk away with a win.
Saturday’s action at Texas will kick off with qualifying at 3:00 p.m. CT and a 6:30 p.m. CT race start on NBCSN. Sunday’s race will go live at 4:00 p.m. CT on the same channel.
