JR Hildebrand looks forward to his second IZOD IndyCar start at Sonoma's Infineon Raceway with confidence following his initial foray with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing's Dallara-Honda at Mid-Ohio. California native Hildebrand, a former winner at Infineon in Indy Lights, is among 14 IndyCar drivers set to test at the Sonoma track this Friday, and is optimistic the additional time with his No. 24 RollCoater entry will make him more competitive.
"I think that our pace was really good and I was able to push for most of the race and pass guys," said Hildebrand of his Mid-Ohio debut, in which he started 18th and finished 16th. "This was my first time dealing with any kind of fuel mileage and in the first stint it ended up being irrelevant the way that the yellows worked out. But we were able to do a good job of keeping the pace with the guys in front of us and get the mileage that we were looking for.
"For me, those were all big positives. On the flip side of that, I made some kind of obvious mistakes that I should make, so the next time around I will be a little more used to the car and the circumstances. I don't think that I will be making those kinds of errors like driving off the track on the exit of corners or getting a little bit of push that I'm not expecting, and for whatever reason, these cars seem to be a little more sensitive to it than what I'm used to. There were some positives and some negatives, but all around it was a pretty solid day."