For the first time since May 24, IndyCars were turning laps on the oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Six Verizon IndyCar Series drivers were on hand today, in what was a combination of team testing, and a Firestone tire test. Four teams were represented on Wednesday’s test, which ran from 9 AM to 5 PM in perfect weather conditions.

Ed Carpenter (CFHR), Ryan Hunter-Reay (Andretti Autosport), Tony Kanaan, (Ganassi), and Simon Pagenaud (Penske) all took part in team testing at IMS. Marco Andretti (Andretti Autosport) and Helio Castroneves (Penske) were there for the Firestone tire test. Three of the six drivers have won the Indianapolis 500, with Castroneves drinking the milk three times.

According to Rule 6.5.8 of the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series rulebook, in-season tire testing will be under IndyCar approved special circumstances only. Participation is restricted to two days per team by invitation from Firestone. All teams will be permitted to have one car participate in team testing run concurrently with the tire test (Andretti and Penske in this case).

Firestone holds tire tests at IMS every year, as they continue to make a better tire for the next Indianapolis 500. Next year’s race on May 29 will be the 100th Running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. The four cars participating in the team test were running with the rear-wheel guard infills that were added at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this year.

Both Pagenaud and Carpenter had the LED lights on their cars, which were surprisingly very easy to read going through Turn 2. Even in the direct sunlight at 220+ mph, it was easy to see. All six cars completed an install lap around 9 AM, with Castroneves first on the track, which should surprise no one.

Tomorrow, more IndyCar testing will take place at Sonoma, with the following teams and drivers scheduled to participate:

• Team Penske – Juan Pablo Montoya, Will Power (Spencer Pigot, Nelson Piquet Jr.)
• Chip Ganassi Racing – Scott Dixon (Sean Rayhall)
• Andretti Autosport – Marco Andretti (Matthew Brabham)
• Rahal Letterman Lanigan – Graham Rahal (Ed Jones)
• KVSH Racing – Sebastien Bourdais (Ryan Phinny)
• Schmidt Peterson Motorsports – Ryan Briscoe (Jack Harvey)

Below is a quick video put together from today’s test.

Below are some photos from the test, courtesy of IndyCar.