NASCAR Cup Series

'Push to Pass' makes short-oval IRL debut in Iowa

Published Jun. 19, 2010 12:23 a.m. ET

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The Indy Racing League's new ``push to pass'' button was designed to give drivers an extra boost at critical points in a race.

At the short-oval Iowa Speedway, one little push will last more than half a lap - and that could make for some very interesting racing Sunday at the Iowa 250.

The push to pass button, introduced by the IRL last August, will be used on a short oval for the first time at the .875-mile Iowa Speedway, the only such track left on the circuit.

``I definitely think it's going to be interesting,'' Andretti Autosport driver Tony Kanaan said. ``We don't realize how big of a difference it makes until we get in and press that thing.''

Push to pass, also known as overtake assist, is designed to help drivers make and complete passes, keep other cars from passing them and navigate through lapped traffic.

At Iowa, each car will get 24 uses of the button, giving them 10 seconds of extra horsepower with an eight-second recharge period between uses.

Not even the drivers are sure how those 10 second-boosts will come into play on Iowa's speedy, high-banked oval, where laps typically last about 18 seconds.

But the general feeling is it could have a serious impact on how things play out.

``In such close racing that this track brings, it could even decide who is going to win the race,'' Kanaan said.

What's of little doubt is that, if used properly, the push to pass button could improve the quality of open-wheel racing in Iowa.

The inaugural Iowa 250 in 2007 was marked by a number of caution flags and little room for drivers to make passes. The IRL adjusted, though, settling on aerodynamic packages and tire compounds that helped open up the field the last two years and provide more side-by-side racing.

But the track's setup doesn't offer much space, and Ryan Hunter-Reay hopes that the push to pass button will give cars more chances to zip through the field than in previous years.

Current points leader Dario Franchitti won in Iowa in 2007 and last year. Dan Wheldon took the checkered flag in 2008 during Franchitti's brief stint in stock cars.

``As tight as it is here, and as you've seen in the past it's been really tight racing. Hard to pass, hard to pull out and make that move. I think it will have a pretty big effect,'' Hunter-Reay said.

Graham Rahal's eyes were opened to the power of the overtake assist button at the Indianapolis 500, where he said it had much more of an effect than he thought it would.

Rahal, who finished 12th at Indy, believes push to pass should have a similar impact in Iowa, one he's all for.

``We've talked about the passing and stuff, but at Indy most often that was a sure bet. If you were a couple car lengths back and you used it, you could get by someone, so I feel like it's been pretty powerful this year,'' Rahal said.

Push to pass has also added an extra element of strategy to the IRL. While it could be used largely to get past lapped cars early in the race, push to pass can also be a race-changing weapon in the final laps.

The trick for the drivers, of course, is to save up as many pushes as they can for the end - while hoping they don't cross the finish line with pushes left in their pocket.

``I don't see any downside to it,'' Kanaan said. ``It adds to the race, because if you use it up to soon, then you have nothing in the end.''

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