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IndyCar Rainguard Water Sealers 600 preview and predictions

By Brittany Frederick

Aug 27, 2016; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Chip Ganassi Racing Team driver Scott Dixon (9) of New Zealand and Team Penske driver Will Power (12) of Australia and Rahal Letterman Racing driver Graham Rahal (15) of United Statesi and Ed Carpenter Racing driver Ed Carpenter (20) of United States and Chip Ganassi Racing Team driver Tony Kanaan (10) of Brazil during the Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 27, 2016; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Chip Ganassi Racing Team driver Scott Dixon (9) of New Zealand and Team Penske driver Will Power (12) of Australia and Rahal Letterman Racing driver Graham Rahal (15) of United Statesi and Ed Carpenter Racing driver Ed Carpenter (20) of United States and Chip Ganassi Racing Team driver Tony Kanaan (10) of Brazil during the Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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Will Honda power continue to win in the Rainguard Water Sealers 600 at Texas? We preview and predict Round 9 of the Verizon IndyCar Series season.

The Verizon IndyCar Series returns to the site of one of its closest races for the Rainguard Water Sealers 600. Texas Motor Speedway hosts IndyCar’s only evening event, and last year not only was it rained out causing the second half of the race to be run in a whole other month, but it was one of the closest finishes. Will the racing be similarly good this year?

All signs point to yes so far. Charlie Kimball set a new track record in qualifying, snagging his first pole position of the year. Kimball was flying across the Texas oval with an average speed well over 222 MPH. You can read more about Kimball and his season outlook in our interview here.

Meanwhile, Scott Dixon continues to not give a damn that he injured his ankle, as he qualified in the second spot after two strong finishes in the Dual in Detroit. In fact, all four Chip Ganassi Racing cars qualified well while Team Penske’s qualifying struggles continued. The highest-placing Penske car, and the highest starting Chevrolet in the entire field, was Will Power coming home in ninth.

That sets up plenty of storylines for the Rainguard Water Sealers 600. Can the Ganassi squad get their first victory? Could it come to Charlie Kimball, who’s been scrapping hard for a strong finish all season and seems to have found his missing piece? What the heck is going on with Penske, who are struggling again after finishing so well in the second Dual in Detroit race?

And defending race winner Graham Rahal just happens to have dominated the last two events, so don’t count him out. Don’t count anyone out when IndyCar comes to Texas.

WEATHER FORECAST:

You can stop worrying about this race getting rained out again. Weather.com suggests only a 10 percent chance of rain on Saturday night, with clouds and a high of 72 degrees. It should be clear sailing (driving?) for IndyCar’s lone night race.

THREE THINGS TO WATCH:

  • Charlie Kimball/Max Chilton: Both Kimball and Chilton have had rough first halves in their seasons. But Chilton finished fourth in the Indy 500 and qualified well on Friday, and Kimball got a top 10 at Detroit before stealing the Texas pole. Look for one or both of these Ganassi drivers to continue improving their stock in the Rainguard Water Sealers 600.
  • Tristan Vautier: Vautier will be the third different driver for Dale Coyne Racing in three stops, but he has driven for DCR at Texas twice before and he also qualified within the Firestone Fast Six. Coyne could use a good result for the No. 18 entry to make the best out of a tough situation. Could Vautier surprise everyone and give it to them?
  • The ground: Last year’s race saw many cars run incredibly low; James Hinchcliffe wound up being penalized (and knocked out of slim championship contention) for his car being so low that it dragged the bottom around the track. Will other drivers stick with flying low this time around? And will anyone go too low and get busted for it? We’ll see how many sparks fly at Texas in 2017.

PREDICTION:

Two things are clear going into IndyCar’s night at Texas: Honda continues to dominate and Chip Ganassi Racing is the team to beat. The fastest eight of 22 cars (or more than a third of the field) were all Honda powered, and CGR got all four of their cars within the Top 6, led by Charlie Kimball and his new track record.

But Texas has a way of messing with IndyCar drivers when they least expect it. In last year’s race (back when it was called the Firestone 600), Graham Rahal didn’t lead a single lap until the final one, when he edged out James Hinchcliffe for the win. So just because a team starts strong does not mean that they’re going to finish that way. Look for more crazy-close racing on Saturday night.

Who will survive the battling under the lights? It’s hard not to think of at least one Ganassi driver on the podium, but any of them are good candidates. Scott Dixon has been driving well all year and was second fastest in qualifying. Tony Kanaan was battling for the win here last year. And Kimball has his best shot at a win right here. We’ll give the edge to Kanaan, though, just because he has a precedent of knowing how to hang in when the going gets tough.

We’ll predict Tony Kanaan to win the Rainguard Water Sealers 600, with Alexander Rossi and Graham Rahal completing the podium.

Next: Complete Rainguard Water Sealers 600 qualifying results

The Rainguard Water Sealers 600 takes place on Saturday, June 10 at 8 p.m. ET from Texas Motor Speedway. For the latest IndyCar news and updates throughout race weekend, follow along with the Motor Sports category at FanSided here.