Race strategy in IndyCar is like no other motorsport series on the planet. The number of tyres and the compact race weekend schedule makes tyre degradation impossible to predict, while the teams – which are much smaller than those in Formula 1 – also need to manage fuel consumption, pit windows and full course yellows. But the biggest headache for strategists is the variety of types of track on which IndyCar races.
There are three types of circuit on the IndyCar calendar: ovals, road courses and street courses. Ovals can be split into short ovals and superspeedways, where the latter is more than two miles long. Road courses are permanent tracks which feature both right and left turns, and street courses are made up of closed-off public roads or airport runways.
This diverse range of circuit types means that lap times can vary from 23 seconds on an oval, to 1m45s on a road course. Consequently, the time lost in the pits relative to the average lap time varies significantly at each race track. This not only plays a major role in determining the pit windows, but also changes the effect of pitting under a full course yellow. Therefore, the optimum race strategy is completely different depending on whether you are racing on an oval or on a road/street course.
Lap times can vary from 23 seconds on an oval, to 1m45s on a road course
Tyres
Traditionally, IndyCar has been a fuel limited series, where stint lengths were defined by fuel consumption. This still plays a
