Man, INDYCAR is absolutely flying toward the checkered flag this season, and get this: the next two stops on the calendar are hitting different. We’re talking brand-new street circuits, one right after the other, in Markham, Ontario, and Washington, D.C. Yeah, we saw a new one earlier this year in Arlington, Texas, but having this many new street tracks, especially two back-to-back? That’s way outside the norm for these guys, and it’s got everyone buzzing about how the heck drivers even get ready for something like that.
The Simulator Is Their Only Shot at the Unknown
So, how do you prep for a temporary street circuit you’ve never even seen before in real life? The answer is the Driver In The Loop simulator, or the DIL. This thing is a game-changer for drivers and engineers on any race weekend, but it becomes absolutely vital when you’re facing a brand-new, temporary track. Think about it: if it’s a track that’s new *to you* but has been raced before, you can watch old onboard videos or engineers can pull data from other cars to get some rough ideas. But for a track that literally just got built, the DIL is really the only tool in the box. Chip Ganassi Racing and Alex Palou even posted a video of him running sim laps for the upcoming D.C. track, and it gives you a real feel for what they’re up against.
What the DIL Can (and Can’t) Do
When these drivers jump into the DIL, it’s all about getting that crucial feel for what’s coming before they’re actually on the asphalt race weekend. For a totally new track, the sim model is crazy detailed. They laser-scan the actual roads, then build out all the corner radii using CAD files that literally show where every line, curb, and wall will be. It’s like architectural blueprints for a racetrack! That scan even gives them a rough idea of corner grip and flags any bumps in the road. Now, you gotta take that with a grain of salt, because street tracks can totally change from the sim to real life. But the DIL is clutch for figuring out where the track turns, car placement through corner sequences, and just getting the general rhythm of the place. Things like braking points, minimum speeds, and gear selection should be close, but they’re never going to be perfect. So, it’s a high-level intro, not gospel. As one driver put it, taking what you feel in the sim as absolute fact “can bite you!” He even remembered a time he and a teammate felt all “comfortable and confident” after a sim day for a new track, implying reality hit different.
These next two races in Markham and D.C. are going to be wild, with everyone on the edge of their seats to see how the DIL prep really stacks up against the real thing. It’s a huge test for these drivers and teams, and you know we’ll be locked in!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Fox Sports.
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