Drivers satisfied with improved NOLA Motorsports Park track

In order to make the racing more exciting at NOLA Motorsports Park for the upcoming Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana, the track underwent some changes so another passing zone could be created for when the Verizon IndyCar Series, the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda visit in April, 2015.

It wasn’t too bad, but around the middle area where it comes back across the track is a bit bumpy

Jordan Lloyd

The esses on the back side of the course were crossed over with a straight piece of asphalt, leaving the esses still visible to be used as an additional configuration. There was concern about how the straight piece of track would interact with the esses that were paved a few years ago, but it might not be as bad as some would think.

A bit bumpy

“It wasn’t too bad, but around the middle area where it comes back across the track is a bit bumpy, you have to choose your line a bit better so you don’t get a bit of wheelspin through there,” said Jordan Lloyd, who was driving at the test for John Cummiskey Racing in a USF2000 car.

Pro Mazda driver Raoul Owens was also complimentary of the paving job while he drove for Team Pelfrey at the test.

“The pavement itself is smooth, there are a few bumps where the circuit crosses over where the esses used to be, it’s not too bad, the car doesn’t seem to hit the track all too much and the surface is pretty smooth overall,” said Owens.

Other than those concerns, the test was pretty incident free. Two cars ran out of gas but only one of them required testing to be stopped as it was towed as the other coasted back. There were some light spins, but nothing too significant.

Team Pelfrey misadventure

The only major drama during the test happened when one of the Team Pelfrey USF2000 cars went off track, kicked up a few stones and puncturing the right-hand radiator on the car. The other Team Pelfrey car hit one of the stones, puncturing the radiator on the left side of the car. Both cars were sidelined for the remainder of the test. One of the John Cummiskey Racing USF2000 cars punctured a tire after going past the stones, so a track inspection was called for.