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IndyCar Classic 2019: Preview IndyCar at Circuit of the Americas

By Brittany Frederick

AUSTIN, TX - FEBRUARY 13: Sebastien Bourdais (18) in a Honda powered Dallara IR-12 enters pit lane during the IndyCar Spring Training on February 13, 2019, at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, TX. (Photo by Allan Hamilton/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TX - FEBRUARY 13: Sebastien Bourdais (18) in a Honda powered Dallara IR-12 enters pit lane during the IndyCar Spring Training on February 13, 2019, at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, TX. (Photo by Allan Hamilton/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The 2019 IndyCar Classic makes history in the 2019 IndyCar season. Here’s what to watch for when the NTT IndyCar Series is at Circuit of the Americas.

This weekend is huge for the NTT IndyCar Series, because the IndyCar Classic is actually brand new: it’s the first time the series has ever raced at Texas’ famed Circuit of the Americas. So who will be the first winner?

Circuit of the Americas, or COTA, is one of two new tracks in the 2019 IndyCar season. The Austin venue replaced the Phoenix Grand Prix, which was removed from the schedule after a brief return from 2015-18. Unlike Phoenix, though, the series has never run here before.

That opens up a whole new can of worms for drivers. Aside from some preseason testing, this is new territory for them and testing doesn’t really compare to actual racing. Who learned the most in spring training, and who can get up to speed (literally and metaphorically) the fastest now?

And what will this event do to prove that it deserves its spot on the schedule? It’s not just about the race results—fans and management alike will be watching this event in hopes that COTA will become a fixture in the league for years to come.

What should IndyCar fans be watching for on Sunday? Let’s break the race down in our IndyCar Classic preview:

ONE THING TO KNOW:

  • Circuit of the Americas ownership raised the stakes on Friday by offering an extra $100,000 if a driver can win the pole award and the race itself. Now, given the high level of competition in IndyCar, that’s highly unlikely to happen. But it does make things a little more interesting; it’s the kind of quirk that you’d be more likely to see in NASCAR, not here.

THREE DRIVERS TO WATCH:

  • Sebastien Bourdais: Bourdais had an awful start to the 2019 season in St. Petersburg, as an engine failure caused him to finish dead last. It goes without saying he’ll want a win in Austin to claw back some of those championship points he missed out on. But Bourdais is also one of the most tenured drivers, and always finds a way to sneak into the fray, too. It would not be a surprise if he challenged, or even won this race.
  • Patricio O’Ward: The former Indy Lights champion is from San Antonio, so this is as close to a home race as he’s going to get. It’s also his debut with Carlin, after a crazy offseason that saw him be released from his contract with Harding Racing. The consensus is that they lost a very fast driver, so everyone will be looking to see if O’Ward delivers on his potential and is able to make lemonade from those offseason lemons.
  • Ed Jones: Jones was another victim of circumstance at St. Petersburg; he had a steering issue that led his No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing car to go straight into a wall. Jones fractured a finger in the wreck, so that may or may not affect his driving (remember Josef Newgarden won a race with an even worse injured hand in 2016). But in general, this is the driver who should have been Indy 500 Rookie of the Year two years ago; it’d be fantastic to watch him return to that form and take Ed Carpenter Racing along with him.

Next. What IndyCar fans learned from St. Petersburg. dark

The 2019 IndyCar Classic takes place Sunday, March 24 at 1:40 p.m. ET. For complete coverage of the 2019 IndyCar season, follow the IndyCar category at FanSided.