It's vital that your car is set up right and you're happy with the handling before each race.
There is no point in having the fastest car on the track if it just doesn't feel right and behaves erratically.
It's more important that you have a car you feel comfortable and confident with.
The only way you're going to get this right is to take the time to practice before each race.
All the tracks in the Indy Racing League are oval which would lead you to believe that they all drive the same, right?
Well not at all, they're all completely different.
You need to set your car up right for each race if you're serious about competing at the highest level.
For instance did you know that there are two different types of front and rear wing?
We have one type for super speedways and Indianapolis 500, and the other type for short ovals.
For the super speedways and Indy, the cars run with very little downforce as you can run flat out for most of the race.
For short ovals you need the increased downforce to get around the tighter corners faster. It's a fine balancing act.
You could run with less downforce and go faster on the straightaways, but then you'd have to slow down a lot more for the corners.
Basically downforce is what helps stick your car to the track;
it is produced by the aerodynamic shape of your car and the front and rear wings.
As you pass through the air your car is pushed down.
You can increase and decrease downforce back in the garage by adjusting the angle of your front and rear wings.
But be aware that at some tracks there is a minimum and maximum wing angle restriction
so you have to work within these constraints.
And remember that while downforce is a good thing helping maintain grip,
the consequence is drag which slows you down on the straightaways.
And again it's a balance; the only way you're going to get it right is to practice and make adjustments before the race.
Your pit crew can also adjust your front wing during pit stops,
but this is a fine tweaking to compensate for handling changes during the race.
Another important reason for getting your set up right is your tires.
Your tires are the most important part of your car, so you want to ensure that they last as long as possible.
There's nothing worse than wearing your tires down too quickly and wrestling with your car until the next pit stop.
To get maximum performance from each tire you want the temperature across the surface of the tire to be consistent.
The hotter your tires the more grip you get, but they wear down faster.
However a consistent temperature means that the whole of the tire surface is coming into contact with the road
and that the load across the tire is constant.
This means the tire wear will be even,
which gives you a much more controllable and predictable ride.
To test your tire temperatures run a few practice laps and then head back to the garage.
Here you'll find the temperature readings for all your tires.
You can then use these readings to make your set up decisions.
For instance if the left side of the tire is hotter than the right side then you should adjust the camber.
Camber is the tilt, or angle, of the wheel in relation to the track.
It is used to help maintain an even contact between the tire surface and the road.
This helps to keep the temperature across the surface of the tire constant.
To balance the temperature across this tire we need to add more positive camber.
If the reverse were true, the right side of the tire being hotter than the left, we'd have to add more negative camber.
You will know when your camber is right when the temperature reading for the tire is symmetrical.
However, you still may not have an even temperature.
If this is the case you need to adjust the tire pressure.
Say the outer edges of your tire are hotter than the center;
this means that the tire is sagging which means that the air pressure is too low so we need to add more tire pressure.
Likewise if the temperature of the center of your tire was hotter than the outer edges then your tire is over inflated.
So we need to reduce the tire pressure.
You can also use the method of running practice laps and then reading your tire temperatures to try to reduce the heat,
or to balance the load more evenly across the four tires by altering your suspension components to affect weight transfer.
This will give you greater tire life but you will lose some grip. Again it's a fine balance.
OK this car has been deliberately tuned down to produce a slower lap time than normal.
Take it out for a couple of practice laps and then head for the garage.
It's up to you to find out what's wrong with it and improve the set up so that you can beat the lap time.
I'm not going to tell you what to do; you need to figure that out for yourself.
The only clue I'll give you is that it's best to change only a few settings at a time.
Don't steam in there and change everything at once, as it will be difficult to work out which setting affects what.
Once you feel you're ready to give it a go, take the car out onto the track.
If you beat the slower lap time you pass the test, it's that simple.
Three, two, one GO!
You were way off the pace.
That was close, but you're still not fast enough.
You just beat the time so that's a bronze.
Good time. That's the silver medal.
Excellent performance, you've set that car up really well. Gold award.
That was close, but you're still not fast enough.