GoPro Grand Prix set-up: Demanding Sonoma laps
AUG 24, 2013
NBC Sports Network will broadcast the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma at 4 p.m. (ET) Aug. 25. Leigh Diffey handles the call, with Townsend Bell and Wally Dallenbach providing analysis.
Radio broadcast: IMS Radio Network affiliates, Sirius and XM 211, American Forces Network, INDYCAR 13 app, www.indycar.com ... Chief announcer: Mike King
Starting lineup || Take a virtual lap || Warm-up results
Timing & Scoring: INDYCAR 13 app, Race Control on www.indycar.com
Twitter: @IndyCar (#IndyCar), @RaceSonoma (#GoProGrandPrix)
Track layout: 2.385-mile, 12-turn road course
Length: 85 laps with 10 overtake assist pushes for 15 seconds eachRestarts: Double file
Verizon P1 Award winner: Dario Franchitti, No. 10 Honda-powered Target Chip Ganassi Racing car, 1 minute, 17.5271 seconds
2012 winner: Ryan Briscoe
First IZOD IndyCar Series event at venue: August 2005, won by Tony Kanaan.
What to watch: Shifting winds can dramatically change the handling of the race cars. That happened during Firestone Fast Six qualifying, leading several drivers to say it felt like a completely different car from practice earlier in the day. “It surprised me,” fourth-place qualifier Ryan Hunter-Reay said. "It's a different racetrack; I mean, different turning points, different braking points.”
Another factor is sand and dirt blowing across the racing surface, which can make the already demanding race course slippery.
Did you know: Team Penske has won four of the past five races at Sonoma Raceway. ... There have been seven different winners in the eight races at Sonoma. ... There are 20 drivers mathematically eligible for the championship.
Up next: The Grand Prix of Baltimore presented by SRT on Sept. 1 (NBC Sports Network).