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 practise 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 practise 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 tyres.
Your tyres 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 tyres down too quickly and wrestling with your car until the next pit stop.
To get maximum performance from each tyre you want the temperature across the surface of the tyre to be consistent.
The hotter your tyres the more grip you get, but they wear down faster.
However a consistent temperature means that the whole of the tyre surface is coming into contact with the road
and that the load across the tyre is constant.
This means the tyre wear will be even,
which gives you a much more controllable and predictable ride.
To test your tyre temperatures run a few practise laps and then head back to the garage.
Here you'll find the temperature readings for all your tyres.
You can then use these readings to make your set up decisions.
For instance if the left side of the tyre 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 tyre surface and the road.
This helps to keep the temperature across the surface of the tyre constant.
To balance the temperature across this tyre we need to add more positive camber.
If the reverse were true, the right side of the tyre 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 tyre is symmetrical.
However, you still may not have an even temperature.
If this is the case you need to adjust the tyre pressure.
Say the outer edges of your tyre are hotter than the centre;
this means that the tyre is sagging which means that the air pressure is too low so we need to add more tyre pressure.
Likewise if the temperature of the centre of your tyre was hotter than the outer edges then your tyre is over inflated.
So we need to reduce the tyre pressure.
You can also use the method of running practise laps and then reading your tyre temperatures to try to reduce the heat,
or to balance the load more evenly across the four tyres by altering your suspension components to affect weight transfer.
This will give you greater tyre 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 practise 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.