2021 Pennzoil 600k

The **2021 Pennzoil 600k** was a 372 mile (600 kilometer) motor race held at Texas Motor Speedway on 18 April 2021. The race was the fourth event of the 2021 AT&T Champ Car World Series season, preceded by the DirecTV 225 at Richmond Raceway, and succeeded by the Coca-Cola 300 at Chicagoland Speedway.

Simona Leroux entered the race as the Indycar World Driver's Championship points leader, having scored two podiums in the previous three races leading into the race. Escuderia Aguila entered the race as defending winners, with Cristine Espinoza winning the race in 2020.

## Race Background

Texas Motor Speedway has been a staple of American open wheel racing dating back to the mid-1990s. It has been a part of the Indycar World Championship calendar every year the championship has been contested for. The track sits in the northern outskirts of Fort Worth, Texas, adjacent to the Fort Worth Alliance Airport, and accessible via U.S. Interstate 35, and Texas Route 114. The track was reprofiled in 2017, with turns 1 and 2 being flattened and widened to create an unsymmetrical, unusual 1.5 mile oval different from the likes of Charlotte Motor Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway.

### Tire Compound Selection

Firestone elected to supply teams with the primary "black-walled" tire compound, letting fuel strategy be the ultimate strategy factor for the race due to the track's unusual corner makeup. Track officials attempted to have the compound selection changed, wanting the series to provide more wheel-to-wheel "pack racing" similar to what was seen of the series prior to 2017, but Firestone, and Champ Car series organizer, Horizon Corporation, refused.

## Entry List

All 28 full time teams and drivers were present for the race, which included only one rookie. Former race winners included Andrew Draco, Cristine Espinoza, and Stephanie Porter-Kelley.

## Practice

Two practice sessions were initially planned for Friday, 16 April, but they were cancelled after the crash in Free Practice 1 (see below). Both sessions would have taken place in early afternoon conditions.

### Free Practice 1 Results

#### Practice Crash

Approximately 30 minutes into Free Practice 1, an accident began into turn 3 when Kaylee Zappa attempted to merge on track in front of the Black Rose Racing car of Nicole Liechti. The pair collided with each other, sliding up into the outside wall in turn 3. Zappa's car began sliding down the track, where she was clipped by Cat Devil Racing's Kunimitsu Kinoshita, with both cars coming to a stop on the apron. Liechti's car began sliding down the track soon after, where it came across the path of the unsighted Striker machine of Natalia Kirichenko. Kirichenko collided directly into Liechti's survival cell, sending both cars airborne. Kirichenko's car remained on the turn 3 and 4 banking, while Liechti's car sailed into the apron area, where the track is at its lowest point, before landing on the roll bar behind the driver's head, before rolling back into a right side up position. Due to the severity of the crash, the rest of practice was cancelled.

##### Injury Report

Kaylee Zappa, Kunimitsu Kinoshita, and Natalia Kirichenko all got out of their cars under their own power, with the latter being sent to a nearby hospital for precautionary evaluations before being cleared. Nicole Liechti, who received the hardest parts of impact, was assisted from her car and placed on a stretcher in precaution after complaining of middle back pain, where she was transported to a high grade trauma center for evaluations. Liechti was diagnosed with a concussion, dislocated right shoulder, partially torn trapezoid ligament in her right shoulder, and six broken ribs. Liechti would be replaced by Evangeline Porter for Texas, the following race at Chicagoland, and the first week of Indianapolis 500 preparations, including qualifying. Liechti would hold off on having surgery to repair her torn trap ligament until after the season, during which it became completely torn. The repair surgery occurred in late November 2021, and was a complete success.

## Qualifying

Qualifying took place on Saturday, 17 April, between 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. local time. Each driver was given one qualifying attempt, where they had a pit exit lap, 1 full warm up lap, 4 timed laps, and a pit in lap.