Sunday 26^th May 2019, sees the 103^rd running of the legendary Indianapolis 500 and it will also mark the 26^th victory for cars using Xtrac gearboxes and components. Remarkably, since Xtrac were awarded the sole gearbox supply contract in 2000, that’s 660 straight Indy 500 starts using only Xtrac gearboxes since 2000.

The first team that Xtrac aided to victory in the “500” was Penske in 1991, and fittingly, it was Penske’s Simon Pagenaud who claimed pole position this year with a qualifying speed of 229.99mph.

The 2000 season saw teams using Xtrac’s bespoke P195 gearbox which was superseded by the lighter and shorter P295, which itself was upgraded to aid driver safety in 2008 with a paddle shift gearchange system.

The current P1011 gearbox, which has been in service since 2012, has proved to be ultra-reliable and has seen very few updates that were required for reliability, although 2019 has seen the introduction of an E-Clutch system which provides drivers with a more consistent feel, over the previous pneumatic system.

Xtrac has a trailer providing sales and engineering support at every IndyCar event, such support is provided from an office situated in the famous Gasoline Alley during the month of May.

Additionally, Xtrac have prepared many of the gearboxes that will be used during the race at their facility in Indianapolis and have also provided a gearbox technician to a several teams for ratio changes during the practice and qualifying sessions. This capability has also been extended to race day support in the past.