2017 Rainguard Water Sealers 600
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| 9th round of the 2017 IndyCar Series season | |
 |
|
| Date | June 10, 2017 |
| Official name | Rainguard Water Sealers 600 |
| Location | Texas Motor Speedway |
| Course | Permanent racing facility 1.455 mi / 2.342 km |
| Distance | 248 laps 360.8 mi / 580.8 km |
| Pole position | |
| Driver | Charlie Kimball (Chip Ganassi Racing) |
| Time | 23.3131 + 23.2730 = 46.5861 |
| Fastest lap | |
| Driver | Tony Kanaan (Chip Ganassi Racing) |
| Time | 23.0816 (on lap 232 of 248) |
| Podium | |
| First | Will Power (Team Penske) |
| Second | Tony Kanaan (Chip Ganassi Racing) |
| Third | Simon Pagenaud (Team Penske) |
The 2017 Rainguard Water Sealers 600 was the ninth round of the 2017 IndyCar Series season, contested over 248 laps at the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Charlie Kimball started from the pole position, the first of his career. Will Power of Team Penske won the race, leading 180 of the 248 laps. The race was marred by numerous crashes that left only six undamaged cars and by issues with blistering tires that forced the series to call for competition cautions and mandatory tire stops every 30 laps in the later stages of the race.
Qualifying was held on Friday, June 9. Charlie Kimball secured his first career pole position start with a two lap time of 46.5861 (222.556 mph), in the process setting a new track record. His teammate Scott Dixon qualified alongside him on the front row. Alexander Rossi, Tony Kanaan, and Tristan Vautier, making his first start of the 2017 season, rounded out the top five. Carlos Muñoz, for the second race in a row, set no time, this time due to failing to reach tech inspection in time to be eligible to make a run, forcing him to start last again.
The race was held on Saturday, June 10. At the start, Charlie Kimball jumped into the lead of the race, with the top five positions staying the same. The top five remained the same drivers until around lap 20, when Team Penske drivers began working their way to the front of the field, including Josef Newgarden and Will Power. Up front, though, the battle for the lead was between Kimball and Tristan Vautier, with Vautier finally getting clear of Kimball on lap 29, as Newgarden, Power, and Ed Carpenter followed suit. Racing was interrupted for by caution for the first time on lap 37, when Alexander Rossi lost control of his car and crashed in turn 3 after making contact with the Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan. It was the first of many crashes during the night. During the caution, the field took the opportunity to make pit stops, with Newgarden winning the race of pit road ahead of Power and Vautier. As cars left the pits lane, James Hinchcliffe lost control of his car, causing him to spin and collect the cars of Hélio Castroneves and Takuma Sato, though all three were able to continue on after repairs. Kimball, after his strong start to the race, encountered mechanical issues during his pit stop and was forced to retire, leaving him with a 21st place finish. The pit stops also saw a rash of penalties, as race leader Newgarden and J. R. Hildebrand were hit with pit-lane speeding penalties and Hinchcliffe was penalized for the incident he had caused. Once the chaos of the pit stops had finished, Power held the lead over Vautier, Dixon, Carpenter, and Simon Pagenaud.
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