EDMONTON, Alberta – The 2.224-mile, 13-turn City Centre Airport circuit features three long straightaways and three low-speed turns, which have created some tremendous passing opportunities for the 75-lap Edmonton Indy.

Let’s take a look at the “Hot Spots at Edmonton”:

TURN 1

One of the longest straights of any temporary North American street circuit leads the field into Turn 1, which is a wide, tight left-hand turn that should provide plenty of passing because it’s a heavy-braking corner.

“For passing opportunities, Turn 1 is the biggest because it’s at the end of the longest straight and it’s the widest,” said Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, who qualified eighth.

Justin Wilson of Dale Coyne Racing said Turn 1 is difficult because it is an “off-camber” corner.

“All of us are fighting understeer because it’s a very difficult corner,” said Wilson, who qualified 13th. “You need to be late on the brakes and good on the exit because there is another long straight right after it so that one is tough.”

TURN 5

This is a tight turn at the end of another long straight and is ranked second by many drivers in terms of creating a passing opportunity.

“It’s the next longest straight and a hairpin turn,” Dixon said. “I got in trouble there. People get brave because it’s a big braking zone.”

It’s the tightness of this turn that can sometimes get drivers in trouble.

“Turn 5 is so, so tight,” Wilson said. “You got up there and it’s just a point. You are full-lock and one of the tightest corners we race on. You have a big brake zone in a really tight corner. Everyone thinks they can out-brake everyone there but when a guy pulls out and starts out-braking and the car ahead is 90 degrees and they T-bone. That is how tight the corner is.”

Knowing when to brake is the key to this corner.

“Turns 1 and 5 are your obvious Hot Spots,” Graham Rahal said. “You are carrying a lot of speed into those corners and you have to brake awfully late so those are the hardest. There are three places where you are braking really hard where you going from sixth gear to first in three spots. I don’t know where we do that anywhere else all year long.”

TURN 13

While there are some quick, left-right turns on this course, keep an eye on Turn 13 for several reasons.

“Turn 13 is a change of surface just before you turn in so everybody is slipping and sliding there and it’s difficult on the brakes,” Wilson said. “It would be straightforward if there wasn’t a surface change.”

“The long straightaways create some really good passing zones,” Rahal said. “The thing with this track is it’s so easy to make a mistake that anywhere can be a passing zone. You make sure you hit your marks and don’t mess up.”