SEBRING, Florida – Charlie Kimball is ready to listen to radio analysis from a radio analyst.

As Kimball prepares for his eighth season in the Verizon IndyCar Series, he does so with a new race strategist. Davey Hamilton, a veteran of 56 Indy car races from 1996 to 2011 and former analyst for the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network, will call Kimball’s race strategy when the season opens March 11 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

For Kimball, listening to Hamilton in his helmet isn’t much different than listening to him over the airwaves.

“I don’t know that it’s much different than calling a race on a broadcast,” Kimball said today during a test session at Sebring International Raceway. “We’re working on the communication. We did a couple of long runs yesterday and felt good about how it sounded on the radio. So far, so good.”

Kimball says he’s looking forward to applying the many years of racing wisdom gained by Hamilton (shown at right).

“The biggest thing Davey adds is his experience,” Kimball said. “From Indy cars to dirt cars to super modifieds, he’s done it all. His experience on short ovals is an area that I have a lot of room to improve. To be able to pick his brain is invaluable.”

Kimball isn’t the only one working with a new voice this season. Will Power is preparing for a year with the boss in his ear, and that’s fine by him.

With Helio Castroneves transitioning to sports cars this season, Roger Penske will take over as Power’s strategist. He replaces Jon “Myron” Bouslog, who called Power’s races in 2017.

The strategist is a critical radio voice for drivers during races, along with a spotter and lead engineer. In Power’s case, longtime engineer David Faustino remains part of Power’s talking team during races, but he’ll have to adjust to Penske’s style.

“You get used to your guy, right?” Power said. “There’s always a bit of that. I always have Dave on the stand, but I’ll have to get used to how Roger says things and such. But that’s just normal. He’s pretty good on the radio. He’s gives you the information you need.”

Like other veterans, Power and Kimball are enthused by the changes of the new universal aero kit. Lighter downforce loads mean less dirty air, which means trailing drivers won’t be fighting as hard to pass.

“When you’re following, you hardly feel any turbulence,” said Power, the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series champion who’s been driving Indy cars since late 2005. “There’s no question that from that perspective, it will be a lot better. … It will be a year of really being on top of it. It won’t be fine-tuning, honestly. At a lot of these tracks, we’ll be trying to find what works and going with it.”

The two-day Sebring test was the fourth for Kimball and teammate Max Chilton for the new Carlin team. Like other drivers, Kimball indicated the car is more active and demanding to drive than in previous years, but he likes it.

“It’s definitely sporty,” said Kimball, driver of the No. 23 Tresiba Chevrolet. “It seems more nimble and more alive under your hands and feet. On the short oval (at a Phoenix open test earlier this month), the way it popped off the corner felt nice. That could create some serious passing opportunities if people have to lift (off the accelerator) on exit and get it wrong, especially as the tires wear.”

Team Penske is past the baseline stage and searching for and experimenting with particular tendencies of brakes and shocks.

“We’re getting a handle on the car and what makes it tick,” Power said of his No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. “There are obviously a lot of adjustments and ways you can run it. It’s kind of hard around this place because there’s so much grip. It’s hard to feel changes.”

Nine cars tested today at Sebring: Kimball and Chilton for Carlin, Graham Rahal and Takuma Sato with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Jordan King and Spencer Pigot for Ed Carpenter Racing, Rene Binder for Juncos Racing, Gabby Chaves with Harding Racing and Jack Harvey for Michael Shank Racing with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Only the Carlin drivers and Harvey were holdovers from testing on Tuesday, which featured 15 cars.

A few teams will return to Sebring early next week ahead of the St. Petersburg race weekend from March 9-11. The 100-lap race on the 1.8-mile temporary street course airs live at 12:30 p.m. ET Sunday, March 11 on ABC and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network.

Harvey looks pretty in pink

You won’t be able to miss Jack Harvey’s race car this season.

Thanks to sponsor AutoNation’s “Drive Pink” campaign to raise awareness in the fight against breast cancer, Harvey’s No. 60 AutoNation Sirius XM Honda will feature an unmistakable reflective dark pink paint job.

It is an attention grabber. And Harvey loves it.

“I’m thrilled to be able to fly that banner in such a public way and hopefully raise as much awareness to it as possible,” Harvey said. “Hopefully with that comes a little more funding to the Drive Pink campaign to help as many people as possible.”

AutoNation, an automotive retailer with 360 locations in the U.S., has partnered with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation for the Drive Pink promotion, which provides money for research and treatment of breast cancer.

“Everybody knows somebody connected to some form of illness,” Harvey said. “I love being a part of it.”