IndyCar crews survive a roasting at Road America

XPEL Grand Prix race winner Alex Palou and most of the other drivers in the IndyCar Series used a cool-shirt system on Sunday to deal with the 96-degree weather at Road America, but their pit crews weren’t as fortunate – not while they were wearing thick, multi-layer fireproof suits and other safety paraphernalia that can be suffocating when high temperatures make for a miserable afternoon of racing.

Across the paddock, a range of drivers and crew chiefs shared their formulas for dealing with the baking sun while needing to be perfect on track and during pit stops, starting with Rinus VeeKay’s chief mechanic Renato Laporte.

“I drink a lot of water, but I don’t eat before,” Laporte told RACER. “And I put a cold towel around my neck.”

VeeKay looked fresh about an hour before the race, and that was thanks to the cold plunge he’d just completed.

“It’s 45 degrees for 10 minutes,” he said. “It really helps and brings your core (temperature) down.”

The onboarding of water was an obvious play for every team, and most made sure to add some form of electrolytes to the mix.

“You do a lot of water,” said Matt Jonsson, Will Power’s crew chief. “And then Pedialite popsicles.”

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Recognizing it would be extremely hot, IndyCar made an allowance for teams to add pop-up tents to their pit boxes as sunshades for the pit crews – greatly appreciated up and down pit lane. Within those expanding tents, high-power fans or coolers were rolled in for teammates to take turns in front of the machines.

“That was very good and helpful,” Jonsson added. “We drove up an extra swamp cooler to try and make it a little better for everyone.”

Felix Rosenqvist’s chief mechanic Jimmy Looper says his crew follow their driver’s liquid routine.

“A lot of us run, so we’re accustomed to training out in the heat,” he said. “We sent out an email at the start of the week to everyone to be sure to hydrate because if you start here, it’s too late. Then it’s just being smart about what you do. Pre-hydrating and making sure you replenish your salts. Staying under the tent longer than maybe you would normally so you’re not in the sun longer than you need. We use the same the same hydration mix as Felix so we’re on the same routine.”

Chip Ganassi Racing team manager Blair Julian says they don’t do much that’s different from the other teams, but there’s a group approach to combating heat exhaustion within the program.

“It’s making sure they aren’t drinking just sodas, and we work with a catering company to make sure the nutrition is right for the conditions,” he said. “But mostly it’s the buddy system – checking in on each other, making sure the teammate next to you is drinking enough water and staying in a good place with their hydration.”