Of all of the issues on the menu in Nashville, ‘Roasted Swede’ was among the many extra distinctive objects after Sunday’s Music Metropolis Grand Prix.

The dish in query was cooked contained in the cockpit of the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda as IndyCar rookie Linus Lundqvist was put via the best bodily check of his profession through the scorching and steamy NTT IndyCar Sequence race.

With ambient temperatures creeping in direction of 90.F and humidity doing its greatest to match the ambient determine, Lundqvist and the remainder of the 27 drivers within the discipline ready for a torturous expertise. As a result of excessive warmth, IndyCar additionally mandated using overhead air scoops to assist with cooling contained in the vehicles.

For Lundqvist, the news was the primary casualty of the day because it broke free from its mounts atop the vanguard of the aeroscreen early within the 80-lap race. Shedding the air scoop early within the race wasn’t the one drawback. In its fast flight backwards, the news hit the hose that feeds air to Lundqvist’s helmet and knocked it free from its connection. Including to the distress, the tube that provides fluids to Lundqvist’s helmet was the following merchandise to fail, which meant he was unable to drink water and keep hydrated for a lot of the race.

And if that wasn’t sufficient to take care of, as he approached the ultimate 30 laps of the race, Lundqvist was requested to show off the cooling system which circulates fluid via vanes in a shirt worn beneath his hearth swimsuit. Compounded by the absence of the air scoop and the air feed to his helmet, minus a functioning drink tube, and carrying an additional layer of unused cool shirt clothes within the latter phases of the race, Lundqvist operated inside a 180mph sauna that ought to have melted the 24-year-old.

“I assumed the weekend was going to be powerful beforehand,” Lundqvist advised RACER. “Then clearly, it began raining and so they canceled last apply, so one other factor that I don’t assume lots of people knew was that I hadn’t executed a single stay pitstop till the race! The workforce normally practices that type of stuff throughout apply, however we didn’t have that point, so my first ever scorching cease was the primary time within the race. And we by no means obtained to apply correct out laps or in laps, so there was already lots to do for the primary time on Sunday.

“Then the air scoop obtained free and disappeared round lap 12 or 13 within the race, after which it hit the air hose to the helmet, so it knocked out all of the air going into it. After which after the primary yellow, I finished having water from lap 15. After which with 30 laps to go, they requested me to show off the cool swimsuit. I used to be undoubtedly cooking in there.”

Lundqvist says the bodily calls for have been heightened because of the technique taken with the No. 60 Honda, however he by no means felt in danger whereas within the automotive.

“They put me on the extra aggressive technique, which meant little or no gas saving and tire administration and push laps mainly each lap of the race,” he stated. “So yeah, man, it was very powerful. But it surely was by no means harmful or something like that. If I’d felt it was getting an excessive amount of for me with the warmth, I’d have stopped, however I used to be engaged on adrenaline the entire race and wasn’t feeling something that was too dangerous.

“I’ve advised this earlier than, however after my first [IndyCar] check with Andretti in 2021, I knew my health was limiting my capacity to carry out, so I stated I might by no means let that occur to me once more, and I’ve to present plenty of because of all of the individuals at PitFit, as a result of they motivated me to take my health to the very best place it’s ever been.

“However we have been undoubtedly put to the check, and chatting with the workforce afterwards, they stated it’s in all probability one of many hardest issues that they might have requested me for since you’ve obtained to do not forget that I haven’t executed a correct single-seater race since Laguna final September.”

Based mostly on his efficiency at Nashville, Lundqvist proved he’s a significant expertise to be thought-about for a full-time IndyCar journey, and whereas he didn’t go into the occasion with the rest to reveal, he ended up exhibiting he’s one extremely match and hard character in circumstances that almost melted just a few veterans who weren’t confronted with the identical cooling and hydration issues.

“After some time, I used to be similar to, ‘Jesus, that was really fairly powerful!’” he stated. “And it’s not like I’m in correct race form. Clearly, I’ve been on the gymnasium and saved myself prepared, however being in correct race form is a little bit of a distinct deal. I’m happy with the weekend that we did with being quick, however the bodily half and the simply the acute hotness to take care of was on one other stage.”