It’s been a busy week leading up to the season finale at the racing capital of the world! Along with normal pre-race activities, Kirby must deal with the extra pressures of competing in front of his home crowd, not only for another win, but potentially a third world championship title.
“Being at home is a double-edge sword. It’s great to feel all of the local support, but there’s family, friends, and a lot of people pulling you in many directions. I’m usually pretty good at pushing all that out, though, and focusing on my job. I have one goal this weekend, and that’s to win,” remarks Kirby.
11 points behind first place’s Martin Sonka, it is mathematically possible for Kirby to claim a third title, but he’ll need a little luck on his side. And with the race track in Indy being the only standing-start of the 2017 season, competition is sure to be tight. Each lap will require a slightly different line due to increasing speeds, adding complexity to the approach. In addition, our team will put a large focus on our prop control. Last season we were disqualified for an “over-RPM” penalty, a result we do not intend on repeating.
After two practice sessions today, it seems we still have some work to do. And with just one practice left before tomorrow’s qualifying round, our goal is to narrow in on our optimum strategy.
