Texas IndyCar race delayed until Sunday

Persistent “weepers” – rainwater seeping through from underground – on the track surface rendered it unsafe and at 10.20pm IndyCar declared the race postponed.

Track organizers endeavored to grind channels in the track to improve drainage, but over five hours later, the water was still leaking through, and there were still puddles in the warm-up lane.

A track spokesman said: “People who had tickets for today can use them for tomorrow. Gates are going to open at 11am, and the ticket office at Gate 4 will also be open if someone would like to purchase tickets for tomorrow.”

The race will be broadcast on NBCSN, with the Canadian Formula 1 race on NBC.

Jonathan Diuguid, Helio Castroneves’ Team Penske race engineer, told Motorsport.com that if the day is in the high 80s/low 90s, the teams are going to need to look at their data from yesterday’s late morning practice and qualifying.

“I’m worried we won’t have enough tires for tomorrow!” he joked. “There’s going to be heavy degradation in that heat, so that’s going to be a major challenge for the drivers – keeping their tires under them over a stint.”

Castroneves will roll off third. The grid lineup is… 

1	Carlos Muñoz Andretti Autosport Honda
		2	Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
3	Helio Castroneves Team Penske Chevrolet
		4	Takuma Sato AJ Foyt Enterprises Honda
5	Josef Newgarden Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
		6	Simon Pagenaud Team Penske Chevrolet
7	Will Power Team Penske Chevrolet
		8	Tony Kanaan Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
9	Alexander Rossi Andretti-Herta Autosport Honda
		10	James Hinchcliffe Schmidt/Peterson Motorsports Honda
11	Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda
		12	Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Honda
13	Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
		14	Ed Carpenter Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
15	Charlie Kimball Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
		16	Mikhail Aleshin Schmidt/Peterson Motorsports Honda
17	Juan Pablo Montoya Team Penske Chevrolet
		18	Sébastien Bourdais KVSH Racing Chevrolet
19	Max Chilton Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
		20	Jack Hawksworth AJ Foyt Enterprises Honda
21	Conor Daly Dale Coyne Racing Honda
		22	Gabby Chaves Dale Coyne Racing Honda