After Friday’s practice session, multiple IndyCar drivers have commented on the difficulty and size of the bumps around the newly-built Nashville circuit.
Most street circuits are bumpy, but there are a few particular bumps around the 2.17-mile course that seem to be bigger than most others throughout the season.
After the session, which was the first of the weekend, Will Power talked about the bumps and even suggested that one in particular should be ground down before the rest of the weekend continues.
“I think transition off the bridge is the toughest part,” said Power. “Going into [turn] four is really hard because it’s actually more of a curve in the track than it is going into nine.
“Like you’ll kind of lift over that bump, and it does upset the car. I almost lost it there following someone.
“But we came in, we raised the ride height, it got better for us. Yeah, it’s the biggest bump on the track.
“I think if they had a grinder on hand they could fix it pretty easy. Like I don’t even think it’s the seam, it’s before the seam. Everywhere else is fine.”
Colton Herta mirrored Power’s thoughts, saying that he wasn’t expecting the end of the bridge to be quite as bumpy as it was.
He wasn’t of the mind that anything should be changed, though, instead saying that the bumps give the course character.
“I thought the bridge was going to be bumpy,” said Herta. “But I didn’t expect coming off the bridge to be quite that bumpy.
“I didn’t expect it to be quite like that. But it’s not a negative thing. I think it adds character to the track.
“It’s actually pretty interesting to follow people through there and see if people are staying out wide or cutting in, trying to avoid the bumps, just finding different lines.”
The drivers will have a couple more sessions on Saturday, then the inaugural Music City Grand Prix takes place on Sunday from the streets of downtown Nashville, TN.
