During testing last week at the Richmond International Raceway, IndyCar drivers were quick with their responses to how fast the track seems to be every time they come to town.

  It’s not that IndyCar drivers don’t like to think about racing at RIR, it’s more along the lines of they don’t have the time. “We’re talking about under 17-16 ½ seconds lap time,” said Penske driver Helio Castroneves. “So you can see it’s very, very fast.” Even though the cars cannot reach their maximum 220 mph on the ¾ mile oval at Richmond, Castroneves said that to the drivers it feels as if they’re traveling at that speed. “Inside the cockpit it feels like we’re extremely fast because we don’t have time even, sometimes to look at the lap time your turning.”

  Penske teammate Ryan Briscoe agreed. “It’s definitely the track that feels the fastest on the circuit,” he said. “We pull the highest number of lateral G’s through the turns on this track.”

  “It’s definitely a fun place when you have a very good car and it can be a nightmare when you have a very bad car,” said Castroneves, a 2005 winner in Richmond. “It’s one of those that you’ve got to work and that’s why we’re here today. We want to make sure that when we come back we have at least a stable car and are able to go all the way to the end and hopefully repeat what we did in the past.”

  Likewise for driver Dan Wheldon who won at RIR in 2004. “This is a tough track to get around quickly and it’s a tough track for the engineers to engineer the car for.”

  But it was driver E.J. Viso who came up with the most colorful and perhaps accurate description of what it’s like to race in Richmond. “It’s basically like being a bicycle in a bath,” he said. “Last year was my first time in this place and when I drove the first lap I just knew it was going to be physically and mentally demanding place. You need to keep your peak performance at 100 percent every time that you’re in the track.” 

  Therefore, the drivers were looking to pick up a few advance ideas about the track prior to the SunTrust Indy Challenge on June 27. Under last Wednesday’s blistering sun, the group was also joined by Raphael Matos of Luczo Dragon Racing.

  Briscoe and Castroneves came to Richmond holding IndyCar’s top two points’ slots largely due to consistency. “I think every track we’ve gone to we’ve led races as a team,” Briscoe said. “And every single race this year we’ve been in contention to win.”

  For Wheldon, who was sixth in points heading into Iowa, it has been a frustrating season and his inability to pick up a win could largely due to the current economy. During the off-season Wheldon moved from Ganassi to Panther Racing and so far it has not been what he expected. “It’s been a tougher transition than I thought,” he said. “I don’t think we’re quite working on the budget that certainly we thought we’d be working with and that’s made it difficult I think from a development standpoint.”

  The up and down season has seen Wheldon go from a 14th place finish in St. Petersburg to fifth at Long Beach. At Kansas Wheldon dropped to a 10th place finish but bounced back to come in second in Indianapolis only to drop back to 10th in Milwaukee.

  While Wheldon points out that the Panther team continues to work hard with what they have, he was hoping that testing could provide the consistency they have yet to find. “I didn’t come to this team to be running sixth in the championship,” he said. “So it’s been incredibly important to me, from a personal standpoint, that we rectify the situation as quick as we possibly can.”

  Last year, Matos was able to get in some testing experience on the track in Richmond when he came to town with Danica Patrick’s AGR crew. Matos feels that the brief experience has given him helpful insight this year. “I feel I’m able to push the car right away,” he said. “Working with the setup and with the engineers has been easier for me with all of the testing I’ve done with AGR.

  “For me the learning experience doesn’t stop,” Matos said. “Especially with me in my rookie year, it’s a very challenging season.”

  While the other drivers are looking for a win or top finishes, Viso would simply like to cross the finish line at RIR, something he has been unable to do yet this season. “It’s been very frustrating obviously,” he said. “So far we’ve had six races and haven’t finished none of them. It’s been difficult.”

  In the six races, Viso’s day has ended due to mechanical issues four times while twice being taken out by an accident. “It’s been very painful for us but (it’s) one of the things that happen in racing,” he said. “We just need to go through them, keep our head up and keep focusing and we know that day is coming. We all know it.” 

  All of the drivers are hoping for and expect Richmond to provide a better race than last year’s accident filled event.

  “It was a tough one last year,” Briscoe said. “But I remember back in 2005. It was one of the most exciting races I’ve ever experienced; a lot of two-wide action all the way around the track. I’m really hoping we can get back to some of that.”