Oval racing couldn’t be further from what we’re used to at DirtFish, right? As it turns out, that might not entirely be the case.
We’ve already learned how DirtFish driver Benjamin Pedersen has applied rally school learning to road course racing in Indy Lights, but he says that in optimizing qualifying performance, parallels can be drawn with rallying and how optimum road position can lead to maximum results.
“In rally if you can be the last one out on the stage, that’s optimal, right? Because conditions are usually at their best,” Pedersen says. “All the rocks are out of the way and swept and everything, but it’s the same thing on the ovals.
“On the ovals it’s single-car qualifying, so you go out and you do four laps or whatever the lap allocation is for that track, and if you’re first out the reality is the track isn’t going to be at its best.
“Let’s say you’re number two in line, the track’s still not quite rubbered up and you feel that the lap time’s not there, you can abort and only do one lap and you still have three laps in the bank.
It's actually really similar to rally with when you go on your stage. It's a big deal if you're first or if you're last, depending on the grip levels.Benjamin Pedersen
“But if you abort, you go to the back of the line and there’s a certain timeframe that qualifying has to be completed within. So it’s kind of a gamble if something happens or [not].
“It’s the sort of gamble that has been attempted on occasion, and it’s delivered success too.
“I did hear this story where [a driver] wasn’t quick, they aborted, went to the back of the line and then everyone kind of went through and the track got better,” Pedersen recalls. “Then they were the last one and there was only like five minutes to go in the session. And they went out with their three laps and they put it on pole just due to the track conditions.
“So it’s actually really similar to rally with when you go on your stage. It’s a big deal if you’re first or if you’re last, depending on the grip levels.”
This weekend’s double-header at World Wide Technology Raceway (formerly known as Gateway) in Madison marks the first oval race of the 2021 Indy Lights season – the fan favorite Freedom 100 oval showpiece at Indianapolis Motor Speedway having been scratched from this year’s schedule.
It will also mark the first time Pedersen has raced on an oval, but despite that, he’s brimming with confidence.
“I feel confident in myself for the first oval because I would say I feel like I have a really good feeling in the car,” he says. “So I think that’s a massive thing on the ovals.
“I feel very positive about those. If we could add another oval to the calendar, like the Freedom 100 you could sign me up, even though I’ve never done an oval.”
To prepare for the two races, which award 50% more points for finishing position than Indy Lights’ road course events, Pedersen’s been combining simulator time with the lessons he’s learned at DirtFish and over the course of the year so far.
“Between events, at home I do have a simulator, so I definitely use that,” he says. “Even oval training, being that I haven’t done any ovals, you can replicate a lot of stuff on the sim with ovals on iRacing in terms of everything from qualifying runs, race runs, being close to people and feeling the effect of dirty air.
“It’s all replicated in the sim, so it’s a great tool. I’m definitely using that a lot.
“I think it’s definitely a starting point, but you know, just like rally conditions, it will be different every day with temperature, grip level on track, and the amount of rubber down.”
Pedersen’s week in Madison has started well too, having gone fourth fastest in pre-event testing on Thursday.
