• Indianapolis 500

New technology gives drivers an extra boost

Danica Patrick, who qualified back in 23rd position for the Indianapolis 500, may need to use her push-to-pass button early on © Getty Images

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Racers at this weekend's Indianapolis 500 will be using new technology to give them an extra boost as and when they need it.

The push-to-pass button is making its Indy 500 debut this week. Drivers will get 15 chances to use the new feature, which provides 18 seconds of extra horsepower. Drivers then must wait 10 seconds before hitting the button again.

"I think it makes the game a little more complicated," said Gil de Ferran, the 2003 Indy champ. "You're adding a degree of difficulty to this race. Typically you spend 450 miles trying to get yourself in position to win, and the last 50 miles you drive with bare knuckles."

Drivers have not tested the button at Indy and will get their first chance during Friday's final practice. IndyCar officials added the push-to-pass button last season to increase passing. It debuted this past August and has been used in all 11 IndyCar races since, proving most effective on the road courses.

"This is such a high-speed place anyway, and now with the different rules, I think you'll probably run a little closer, so I think it will affect the race," Helio Castroneves, who is on pole, said. "Normally, you have 20 that last about 20 seconds, and that's half a lap here. So it's going to give you extra power, no question."

Ed Carpenter, making his first start of the season, knows exactly what he wants to do. "The only way I'm using it on defence is if I'm leading the race," he said.

Rick Mears, one of three four-time Indy winners, has an idea of what might happen. When he was driving in the '70s, '80s and '90s, some cars had unlimited use of a turbocharged booster knob. "The exception is they're regulated by the number of times they can push it," he said. "Whereas we could do it any number of times but we were regulated by fuel mileage."

Come Sunday, there's only one rule - 15 shots at that extra horsepower. How drivers will incorporate the button into their race-day strategy is the topic of conversation in Gasoline Alley.

"If there's a whole bunch of restarts late in the race, do you use them to protect your position? What do you do?" said de Ferran, who co-owns de Ferran Dragon Racing with Roger Penske's son, Jay. "I think it's going to make for a very interesting race."

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