Today was a beautiful sunny day on the greatest racecourse in the world.
After a tough day yesterday, Bryan and the team knew they had their work cut out for them. It was a long evening for the crew working on the car, the decision was to put Sebastien’s complete setup in and have him shake it down first thing. At 12:05 pm, Sebastien went on to the track to see how the car felt. He only ran 5 laps before the track went yellow for debris. When Bourdais came back in, he informed the team that the car was stable. He was even able to run laps in the 220s.
The team then brought the car back to the garage to get the seat reinserted for Bryan. Once the car was fitted, the team went back out on to to the pits. When we rolled through gasoline alley coming into the pits, we could really see the sparkles on the paint of the car as the sun shined down on it. Bryan suited back up and you can tell he was determined and ready to go. At 2:07 pm, Bryan hit the track in his #88 KVSH Jonathan Byrd’s Racing, Cancer Treatment Centers of America Chevrolet. Right away he was able to put up a 220.8 mph lap. Bryan then came back into the pits for some ride height changes to lower the car. On his next stint he was able to run a 222.8 mph lap and follow it up with consistency in the high 220s. After some more changes throughout the afternoon he was able to run laps in the high 221s and low 222s without tow.
Later in the day, Bryan tested the waters and ran in traffic a little bit with the number 98 of Gabby Chaves. Bryan stated later that it was nice to be able to run in traffic for a little bit to get the feel for running in race trim again. Bryan was able to put 97 laps in today, second most of the field only to James Jakes at 102 laps. His best speed of the day was a 222.846 mph.
What really stood out for Bryan during his stints was his consistency. The majority of his runs were on a full fuel load with a fresh set of sticker tires in clean air. Throughout the run, the dropoff in lap speed was very minimal. He was able to run virtually flat out in multiple laps later in the afternoon. Ending on a good note is exactly what the team needed. Don’t be fooled by our place on the speed chart. Our car is dialed in and we are ready to play in traffic tomorrow.
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Jonathan Byrd's Racing 