Hildebrand focused on Indy alone… for now

Although he is eager to parlay his performances at IMS into a full-time IndyCar ride once more, the Colorado-based Californian is focusing on trying to win the race he cruelly lost five years ago at the final turn.

He told Motorsport.com: “I think I’ve come to recognize in the last couple of years that you have to just focus on the process, whereas thinking about the consequences of the outcome, good or bad, is not going to be particularly productive to what you’re trying to achieve.

“I honestly know that having a good run or not on Sunday makes a difference in terms of what my options are down the road. I’ve seen that on the positive side after the past couple of years because I’ve had good races and so the team has been quick to re-sign me and get sponsorship sorted out and look at trying to make that into something more full-time.

“And I’ve had more interest this year from teams than in years past, so I think to keep that momentum rolling is important. But part of the way to have a good result is controlling what happens between now and the green flag on Sunday and trying not to think too much about what happens after the race.” 

Confident of a strong car

Ed Carpenter Racing had an unusual eight days of practice and qualifying at the Speedway, where Josef Newgarden was beaten to pole by hundredths, while Hildebrand qualified 15^th and team owner and two-time Indy polesitter Ed Carpenter was 20^th.

But Hildebrand isn’t bothered by the disparity, and believes his #6 Preferred Freezers car will be quick when it matters.

He said: “I think those differences are more a result of the sensitivity of these cars now and the varied conditions. On the first day of qualifying when they were defining who made the Fast Nine, Josef qualified two cars before me and he went out and had an awesome run and was able to stick with that run for the rest of the day. He didn’t need to defend it and he was locked into the Fast Nine.

“I went out just 10 minutes later or whatever and it felt like crap, and so when we looked at the data we discovered I’d had 10mph more wind to deal with, and that was enough to make the difference.”

This extra sensitivity to ambient and track temperatures and crosswinds, says Hildebrand, can be put largely down to the introduction of the domed skids, that force the teams to raise the ride-heights of the cars.

He said: “I think they definitely contribute to how touchy the cars are in a certain ambient condition. I don’t recall it being like that in previous years. And yeah, unfortunate timing with the quali run,

“But I think also Josef’s team has been dialed in all month. They’ve got a really cohesive mentality, and that’s because Josef and that team are full time. Myself and even Ed as an oval-only guy, are coming into it a bit less slick. Plus I just think Josef and his team have done a great job. We could have been closer if everything had gone the right way for us, but also credit where it’s due – [Newgarden’s] #21 team are just on it.”  

Hopeful parallels with Montoya

Hildebrand was pleased with the handling of his car in Monday’s practice, and thinks the #6 team is making up ground and coming good at exactly the right time – emulating the situation for last year’s race winner.

Smiles Hildebrand: “It’s funny that we’ve qualified exactly where [Juan Pablo] Montoya qualified last year, when he had a similar experience to us this year, and went on to win the race. He had a somewhat wonky week of practice and qualifying as he headed into race weekend, and that’s kind of what we’ve had too.

“But I have as strong a feeling as ever about what I know I need from the car to pass cars, go to the front and then run up front. And on Monday we felt we were definitely heading in that right direction.

“It was the best I’d felt in the car in terms of being able to place it where I want to on track and race around other guys.

“You know, this is a race where over the past three or four years in particular, you need to be able to run in traffic and be able to pass guys. The last bunch of winners – Montoya, Hunter-Reay, Kanaan, Franchitti – have had to do that; they’ve been in situations where they’ve had to get around 20 cars. And I think we can do that, despite having a less-than-highlight-reel month so far.”

Hildebrand also said he was hoping conditions would be difficult for racing at 220mph-plus.

“Yeah, I want it to be hot and sunny and no cloud cover and a track that’s slick,” he stated. “That’s where our strengths can rise to the top. The trickier it is, the better shot we have to show what we’ve got.”