The Indy Racing League hits the Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday for the Bombardier Learjet 550, as the season ramps up the action with races almost every weekend between now and early September.
The 1.5 mile circuit is renowned for its steep banking and turns so tight that in 2001 CART cancelled its only attempt to stage a race there at the last moment because its drivers were suffering from dizziness and disorientation due to the high g-forces generated.
IndyCar pitched up there in 1997, with a controversial race in which the scoring system malfunctioned and the wrong driver was declared as winner, and the Bombardier Learjet 550 is now one of the biggest non-Indy500 races on the calendar.
Of the current crop of IndyCar drivers Tony Kanaan, Helio Castroneves and Tomas Scheckter are all past winners. The circuit often produces close finishes: this preview video highlights the five closest:
And here, as a bonus, is Vitor Meira’s spectacular crash last weekend at the Milwaukee Mile which saw him go airborne – and later led to the National Guard-sponsored driver being presented with pilot’s wings during a visit to injured soldiers in hospital.