IndyCar’s Open Test at Texas Motor Speedway has been cancelled due to cold weather.
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, Will Power, and Josef Newgarden; Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou, Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson, and Jimmie Johnson; and Ed Carpenter Racing’s Rinus VeeKay and Conor Daly were all set to cut laps at the Fort Worth circuit.
However, the combined ambient and track temperature never reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius), that being Firestone’s threshold for track activity.
“I was a little shocked to see flurries this morning in Texas,” said Dixon, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
“Yesterday was nice, it was nice and warm, but it was pretty windy.
“It’s frustrating in these days with such limited testing. You kind of have to pick a day that’s going to be worthwhile.
“It’s unfortunate for everybody who came to test, but you can’t do anything about the weather.”
Penske and ECR, both Chevrolet teams, will try and test again this Thursday (local time).
That outing would take place just over a week before Texas hosts the second race event of the season, on March 19-20 (local time).
Oval rookies did test at Texas last week, with Kyle Kirkwood reportedly fastest in an AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet and Romain Grosjean quickest in terms of non-tow laps in an Andretti Autosport Honda.