by Mary Champion
5/30/2010 A brief summary of each day’s activities at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway leading up to the 2010 Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 30.
May 29, Saturday – There was no activity on the track today, but the Speedway was open for several other activities.
A large crowd was on hand for an early morning autograph session with all drivers. Following the autograph session on the plaza, the race rookies were introduced in a press conference format. For the second straight year, the rookie introduction was done in a public access area, giving fans as well as the press an opportunity to see the race newcomers. Following the rookie introduction, all 33 drivers headed to the pit lane for the ceremonial drivers meeting. At the meeting a number of awards were presented including a championship ring to last year’s IZOD IndyCar Series champion, Dario Franchitti. This concluded the day’s activities at the track as, following the driver’s meeting, the drivers were bused to downtown Indianapolis for a mandatory appearance in the “500” Festival Parade. Tomorrow is the big day! It’s the Indianapolis 500. So far, the weather forecast is fairly promising. It’s predicted to be in the high 80’s with a stray thunderstorm possible in the afternoon. Let’s hope that the thunderstorms hit after the race, which starts at Noon Central Time.
May 28, Friday – It’s Carb day. It’s the last day of activity on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway until the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, and it’s a busy day.
The day will begin with one hour of IndyCar final practice. That will be followed by the Firestone Indy Lights Freedom 100 race. After that, a group of vintage race cars will run a few laps on the track. The IZOD Indy 500 Pit Stop Challenge will complete the on-track activity, and the day will wind up with a ZZ Top concert in the infield. Whew!!! The IndyCar practice session began promptly at 11:00 a.m. By 11:10, all 33 cars have been on the track. During the session, gearbox problems were reported on the #06 car driven by Hideki Mutoh. The track was extremely busy during the one-hour practice stint. The 33 qualified cars ran a total of 1,254 laps. The most laps, 60, were run by rookie Bertrand Baguette. The least number of laps on the track was 19 by rookie Sebastian Saavedra. The fastest lap of the session was Dario Franchitti’s at 225.574 mph. He was followed by Scott Dixon with a lap of 225.159 mph. Will Power was third quick at 224.993 mph. Laps by Bruno Junqueira at 224.898 mph and Helio Castroneves at 224.753 mph rounded out the top five. The command for the engines to fire for the Firestone Indy Lights Freedom 100 was given promptly at 12:30 p.m. As the field took the green, Wade Cunningham jumped into the lead from his outside front row starting position, with Charlie Kimball claiming second from the third starting spot. Polesitter, Pippa Mann, dropped back to fifth place. Meanwhile, J.K. Vernay’s car was in the pit lane with mechanical problems. At the end of the first lap, the top five were Cunningham, Kimball, Martin Plowman, Jeff Simmons and Mann. While working the third lap, Simmons attempted a low pass of Plowman in Turn 1. During the attempt, he did a half-spin to the left, collecting Mann, who was right behind the pair. Both cars hit the Turn 1 SAFER Barrier, Simmons with the left side of the car and Mann with the right. Both drivers were assisted out of their cars, but were checked out and both were cleared to drive. On lap 7, Vernay returned to the track, seven laps down. The green came back out on lap nine with Cunningham in front, trailed by Kimball. For the next few laps, Cunningham and Kimball traded the lead, often more than once in a lap. Although Cunningham held the lead, Kimball trailed by less than .2 of a second for a number of laps. By the 18th lap, James Hinchcliffe had closed on the lead pair and took second from Kimball. The pair traded the position for the next two laps. By lap 20, the top five were Cunningham, Hinchcliffe, Kimball, Dan Clarke and Plowman. Brandon Wagner, who started last after failing to qualify yesterday, had moved up to eighth position. By the 23rd lap, Vernay, who was seven laps down, proved to be a problem as he was running with the leaders, but would not yield positions to allow the leaders to run together. Vernay was a problem for several more laps as Cunningham and Hinchcliffe continued to lead the field. On lap 29, Kimball, who had previously dropped back into the field, caught the lead pair and passed Hinchcliffe for second. Kimball was briefly able to pass Cunningham one last time on lap 33, but Cunningham quickly regained the lead and held it to the end of the race, winning by a margin of .4388 of a second. Hinchclifffe finished third, followed by Clarke, with Plowman finishing fifth. It was Cunningham’s third win in the event and the fifth victory for Sam Schmidt Motorsports. Cunningham commented on his battle with Kimball throughout the race. “The whole time I thought Charlie was driving a smart race and hanging back. I thought he was going to have something in the last 10 laps. But, really, his car wasn’t good in the draft,” he said. After the race, Kimball discussed racing with Cunningham and Hinchcliffe. “I’ve got to give a lot of credit to the guys I was racing with; I mean, Wade Cunningham ran clean pretty much all day. His experience really paid off as far as early in the race, managing the car, lifting at the right spots so I couldn’t get a run. James (Hinchcliffe), I don’t know how he could run that high and I’m sure he doesn’t know how I could run that low. We ran side by side through the corners a couple of times. It was clean and a credit to everyone out there,” he said. There is a change in the official staring line-up for Sunday’s Indianapolis 500. Tony Kanaan has switched from the #11T car he qualified 32nd on Sunday to his car #11 for the race. He will start 33rd, moving Sebastian Saavedra to the 32nd starting position. Helio Castroneves and his Team Penske crew earned $50,000 for winning the IZOD Indy 500 Pit Stop Challenge today. It is the fifth straight and the 12th time overall Team Penske has won the competition. It is the first time Team Penske chief mechanic Sean Hanrahan has won the competition. Rick Rinaman, now working in-house at Team Penske was the winning chief mechanic in Castroneves’ four previous wins. The team consisted of John Haslett, fueler, Pat Husa, air jack, Matt Rosenthal, left front, Clay Turner, left rear and Eric Prentice on the right rear. Tomorrow, the only activities at the track tomorrow will be a driver autograph session, the annual race rookie’s press conference and the ceremonial drivers meeting. Finish of Firestone Freedom 100 May 28, 2010 1-#77 Wade Cunningham 40 Laps 2-#26 Charlie Kimball 40 Laps 3-#2 James Hinchcliffe 40 Laps 4-#40 Dan Clarke 40 Laps 5-#27 Martin Plowman 40 Laps 6-#49 Philip Major 40 Laps 7-#28 Stefan Wilson 40 Laps 8-#32 Brandon Wagner 40 Laps 9-#29 Sebastian Saavedra 40 Laps 10-#22 Adrian Campos, Jr. 40 Laps 11-#10 Gustavo Yacamen 40 Laps 12-#18 Rodrigo Barbosa 40 Laps 13-#32 J.K. Vernay 34 Laps 14-#4 Arie Luyendyk, Jr. 24 Laps 15-#17 Jeff Simmons 2 Laps 16-#11 Pippa Mann 2 Laps
Wade Cunningham celebrates his third Indy Lights Freedom 100 victory. [Russ Lake Photo]
Action in the Indy Lights Freedom 100 race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. [Russ Lake Photo]
Fastest driver of the day, and Indy 500 front row starter, Dario Franchitti, at speed on the track with rookie driver Ana Beatriz (#25), and Indy 500 veteran Vitor Meira (#14). [Russ Lake Photo]
Graham Rahal (#30) and three-time Indianapolis 500 winner, Helio Castroneves (#3), take a last few practice laps before Sunday’s Indy 500. [Russ Lake Photo]
E.J. Viso (#8), and Andretti Autosport driver, Marco Andretti, take part in final practice for the Indy 500 on Carb Day at the Speedway. [Russ lake Photo]
Bruno Junqueira goes under the checkered flag ending the one-hour Carb Day practice session for Sunday’s Indianapolis. [Russ lake Photo]
Helio Castroneves and his Team Penske crew earned $50,000 for winning the IZOD Indy 500 Pit Stop Challenge. [Russ Lake Photo]
Team owners Roger Penske (left) and Chip Ganassi pose with the Harley J. Earl Trophy, presented to the winner of the Daytona 500, and the Borg Warner Trophy, presented to the winner of the Indianapolis 500. Penske and Ganassi are the only two team owners to have won both prestigious events. Ganassi is attempting to be the first owner to claim both trophies in the same year. [Russ Lake Photo]
May 27, Thursday – The Firestone Indy Lights took center stage at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway today, as the track re-opened after being closed for three days following Indianapolis 500 qualifying.
Practice and qualifying were held today for the Firestone Indy Lights Freedom 100. The 40-lap race will take the green at 12:30 p.m. Tomorrow as part of a busy Carb Day at the track. In the first practice session, which started at 9:00 a.m., drivers were apparently very eager to get on the track as Adrian Campos, Jr. and James Hinchcliffe almost collided on the pit road, allowing Firestone Indy Lights veteran, Wade Cunningham, to be the first out for practice. During the session, Daniel Harrington shook down Dan Clarke’s car and Arie Luyendyk, Jr. shook down the car scheduled to be driven by Carmen Jorda. Harrington is not entered in the race, while Luyendyk is scheduled to drive a team car to Jorda’s. The session ended without incident. Luyendyk did not practice in his car, but stayed in Jorda’s for the entire session. When the session ended at 9:45, Firestone Indy Lights and IndyCar veteran Jeff Simmons was fastest at a speed of 190.674 mph, while Gustavo Yacaman was second at 190.444 mph and Charlie Kimball was third fastest at 190.110 mph. When the second practice session began at 11:45 a.m., the ambient and track temperatures had increased significantly, slowing practice speeds. The only yellow of the session was for a tow-in of Rodrigo Barbosa, who ran out of fuel on the track. Martin Plowman set the quickest speed of the session at 187.973 mph, considerably slower than most of the speeds set in the earlier session. In fact, only one driver, Philip Major, posted a faster speed in the second session than his top speed in the first session. It was announced that Anderson Racing car #5 had been withdrawn from the field and Luyendyk would drive the #4 Anderson Racing entry, replacing Jorda. When qualifying started at 3:00 p.m., the track temperature was 120, which was higher than at the start of either of the practice sessions. The first car out to qualify was driven by Brandon Wagner. After taking the green, the car stopped on the course, out of fuel. “We had to make a quick motor change before qualifying and the guys were thrashing as best they could, but we just ran out of fuel. Coming to the green, it just went out of fuel,” Wagner said. “It’s just frustrating. The guys worked hard, and to have something small like this happen, it’s frustrating for everybody,” he added. From that point forward, qualifying proceeded without incident. At the end, Pippa Mann sat on the pole with a speed of 187.989 mph. It is her first pole in the Firestone Indy Lights and only the second time a female driver has captured a Firestone Indy Lights pole. “These guys just gave me an awesome car. They gave me just a fantastic car. I just went out there and did my best to pedal it,” She exclaimed. “It was just awesome out there. I didn’t expect the car to be that fast in clean air. I knew I had a fantastic car in traffic, but I was quicker than I thought I would be in clean air. I’m really, really excited,” she said. A total of 16 cars will start the Freedom 100 tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. (Eastern time). Starting Line-up 2010 Freedom 100 Row 1 – #11 Pippa Mann 187.989 mph, #77 Wade Cunningham 187.742 mph Row 2 – #26 Charlie Kimball 187.375 mph, #27 Martin Plowman 187.209 mph Row 3 – #17 Jeff Simmons 187.168 mph, #7 J.K. Vernay 186.455 mph Row 4 – #49 Philip Major 185.965 mph, #2 James Hinchcliffe 185.756 mph Row 5 – #10 Gustavo Yacaman 185.691 mph, #40 Dan Clarke 185.624 mph Row 6 – #22 Adrian Campos, Jr. 185.431 mph, #29 Sebastian Saavedra 185.284 mph Row 7 – #28 Stefan Wilson 184.085 mph, #18 Rodrigo Barbosa 183.563 mph Row 8 – #4 Arie Luyendyk, Jr. 183.479 mph, #32 Brandon Wagner No Speed
Pippa Mann proudly displays the $5,000 check she received as the fastest qualifier for the Freedom 100 Firestone Indy Lights race. [Russ Lake Photo]
Veteran Firestone Indy Lights driver, Pippa Mann, claimed the pole for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Firestone Indy Lights Freedom 100 with a speed of 187.989 mph. [Russ Lake Photo]
Defending Firestone Indy Lights Freedom 100 winner and 2006 winner, Wade Cunningham, will start on the outside of the front row for the Freedom 100. [Russ Lake Photo]
Takuma Sato, took his #5 Lotus on the track along side the Lotus 38 #83 driven to seventh place in the 1965 Indianapolis 500 by Bobby Johns. Jimmy Vasser, drove the historic Lotus for two demonstration laps. [Russ Lake Photo]
May 23, Sunday – It’s Bump Day. The final day of qualifying, traditionally the fourth day, but this year, the second day of qualifying, is traditionally known as “Bump Day”.
There are nine spots to be filled today, after the first 24 spots in the field were filled yesterday. After those nine spots are filled, bumping will begin. Bumping is the procedure used to put the fastest cars in the field. When the field has 33 cars qualified, and a four-lap average speed faster than the slowest car in the field is recorded, the slowest car will be bumped out and the faster car will be in the race. The cars that qualify today will line up behind the 24 cars qualified yesterday, even if the fastest speed today is faster than the slowest speed yesterday. Cars that qualified yesterday can be bumped after the field is filled. A question about bump speeds arose last night after Hideki Mutoh and Ed Carpenter, members of the “Fast Nine”, recorded slower speeds in the second qualifying session than they did in the first session. It was determined that, for bumping purposes, the speed that put them in the “Fast Nine” is the speed that would be used to determine bumping order. Today, practice was scheduled from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. And qualifications from Noon – 6:00 p.m. (If no cars are in line to qualify, the track will be open for practice.) Driver Takuma Sato, who crashed yesterday, was checked out and released by Methodist Hospital. The Speedway medical staff has cleared him to drive. It was announced prior to practice that Bruno Junquiera will drive the #33 car and attempt to qualify today after practicing this morning. At 9:21 a.m., in practice, Tony Kanaan did a quarter-spin to the left exiting Turn 1 and hit the outside wall with the left rear of the car. Kanaan then did a full spin in the short chute between Turns 1 and 2 and made secondary contact with the SAFER Barrier in Turn 2 with the right rear of the car. The car continued to slide before stopping in Turn 2. Kanaan was unhurt, and was cleared by the medical staff to drive. It was Kanaan’s second crash in two days. The team had to put together another car from pieces of other Andretti Autosport back-up cars, but had Kanaan back out on the track for practice by early afternoon. Prior to qualifications, it was announced by the A.J. Foyt Racing Team, that A.J. Foyt IV had stepped out of the car and will be replaced by Jaques Lazier. Foyt, who was the first car out to qualify yesterday, posted a speed of 223.992 mph, and was later bumped. The temperature was already 85 and still climbing when qualifications began promptly at noon. John Andretti was the first car out to qualify. He was promptly followed by 10 other cars. All completed a qualification attempt except Milka Duno, who completed three laps not fast enough to make the field, and waved off the attempt. The last car out, Jay Howard, bumped the slowest car ahead of him, Takuma Sato. Bruno Junquiera, who did not have a ride until this morning, practiced for just eight laps, and turned in a four-lap qualifying run at 225.662 mph, which would have put him in the top nine yesterday. The car had been in the garage all week and Junqueira had been at the track since Tuesday. The money to sponsor the car came in after his teammate, Alex Tagliani, qualified in the “Fast Nine” yesterday. After qualifying, Junqueira commented on the situation. “First I have to thank B&W and the FAZZT Team. They stepped up at the last minute when I didn’t get the money,” He said. “B&W said, ‘No, you are part of the team, and we want to help your car as well.’ So they made it possible. This money was short notice. I knew it was going to be difficult,” he added. “I have to thank the team. They gave me a good car. I think it says a lot about my experience. I have always enjoyed and felt very comfortable in Indianapolis. I know my way to go really fast here. But they gave me a fast car, as well,” he said of his run. At 4:50 p.m., Sebastian Saavedra, who was the car on the “bubble,” crashed during practice. He did a half-spin to the left in Turn 1 and hit the SAFER Barrier with the rear of the car. The car slid through the sort chute between Turns 1 and 2 and stopped in Turn 2. Saavedra was assisted from the car by the safety team. He was awake and alert, but was transported to Methodist Hospital for tests and evaluation after complaining of back pain. After 5:15 p.m., the fun and games of bump day began. It turned out to be the wildest 45 minutes of qualifying at the Speedway in many years. At 5:19 p.m., Tony Kannan took to the track for a qualification attempt. He posted a speed of 224.072 mph., which bumped Saavedra. Next, Jaques Lazier went out in the #41 and took four laps not fast enough to bump his way into the field. At 5:33 p.m., Mario Romancini, who was on the bubble at 223.805 mph, withdrew his time to re-qualify. The gamble paid off as he posted a much faster speed of 224.641 mph. This put Jay Howard on the bubble at 223.824 mph. Milka Duno took to the track next and waved off her attempt after the second lap. This is when things really started to get interesting. At 5:41 p.m., Takuma Sato, who crashed yesterday, qualified at 224.178 mph, bumping Jay Howard from the field and putting Paul Tracy on the bubble. Howard then went back out on the track and posted a four-lap average of 223.824 mph, which was not fast enough to bump Tracy’s speed of 223.892 mph. Tracy then withdrew his speed and attempted to re-qualify. However, he took two laps too slow to get back in the field and waved off the attempt, putting Howard’s speed of 223.824 mph in the field. After Tracy, Jaques Lazier went out on his third attempt. The car was extremely loose on his warm-up lap and he pulled in without taking the green flag. Next, Milka Duno went out for her third, and last, qualifying attempt. She took one lap too slow to make the field and pulled in. With Paul Tracy still in line, Howard, still on the bubble, gambled and withdrew his speed of 223.824 mph. This put Saavedra, who was originally bumped by Kanaan, back in the field with a speed of 223.634 mph. As Howard was out on the track, the 6:00 p.m. Gun sounded. The first two laps of the run were fast enough to put him back in the field, but his last two laps slowed his average for the four-laps to 223.120, not fast enough to get back in the race. This left Saavedra the slowest in the field with a speed of 223.643 mph, with a car he crashed earlier in the day. When the smoke cleared, veterans Milka Duno, Paul Tracy and Jacques Lazier, and rookie Jay Howard, who had been the fastest of the rookies in most of the practice sessions, on the outside looking in. All in all, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an unpredictable place. That’s part of what makes the Indianapolis 500, “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” Starting Line-up 2010 Indianapolis 500: Row 1 #3 Helio Castroneves 227.970 mph #12 Will Power 227.578 mph #10T Dario Franchitti 226.990 mph Row 2 #6 Ryan Briscoe 226.554 mph #77 Alex Tagliani 226.390 mph #9 Scott Dixon 226.223 mph Row 3 #30 Graham Rahal 225.519 mph #20 Ed Carpenter 224.507 mph #06 Hideki Mutoh 223.487 mph Row 4 #99 Townsend Bell 225.097 mph #22 Justin Wilson 225.050 mph #2 Raphael Matos 225.028 mph Row 5 #32 Mario Moraes 224.888 mph #21 Davey Hamilton 224.852 mph #24 Mike Conway 224.583 mph Row 6 #26 Marco Andretti 224.575 mph #37 Ryan Hunter-Reay 224.547 mph #4 Dan Wheldon 224.464 mph Row 7 #8T E.J. Viso 224.380 mph #23 Tomas Scheckter 224.261 mph #25 Ana Beatriz 224.243 mph Row 8 #78 Simona De Silvestro 224.228 mph #7 Danica Patrick 224.217 mph #36 Bertrand Baguette 224.189 mph Row 9 #33 Bruno Junqueira 225.662 mph #19 Alex Lloyd 224.783 mph #34 Mario Romancini 224.641 mph Row 10 #43 John Andretti 224.518 mph #67 Sarah Fisher 224.434 mph #14 Vitor Meira 224.388 mph Row 11 #5 Takuma Sato 224.178 mph #11T Tony Kanaan 224.072 mph #29 Sebastian Saavedra 223.634 mph
Bruno Junqueira, whose deal to drive was put together Sunday morning, only ran eight practice laps in his car before posting the fastest qualifying speed of the day at 225.662 mph. [Russ Lake Photo]
An emotional Paul Tracy after missing the field for the Indy 500. The team withdrew a speed they considered too slow, to try to re-qualify. In the end, the speed they withdrew would have made the race. [Russ Lake Photo]
A relieved Tony Kanaan posed with his crew after finally qualifying for the Indy 500 at 5:23 p.m. Sunday. He will start in the middle of the row 11. [Russ Lake Photo]
Tony Kanaan crashed for the second time in two days, in Sunday morning practice. The crew borrowed parts from other Andretti Autosports cars to put together a car for Kanaan to qualify. He made it into the field at 5:23 p.m. [Russ Lake Photo]
Jay Howard’s car is pushed into line for a final qualifying attempt. The attempt was unsuccessful and he did not qualify for the race. [Russ Lake Photo]
Saturday, May 22 – Pole day, the day of the new qualifying format, which has been the talk of the Speedway, has arrived.
Three sessions of practice were scheduled before qualifying. In the second practice session, rookie driver Takuma Sato, made hard contact with the outside Turn 2 wall and slid almost halfway down the backstretch. He was transported to Methodist Hospital from the track hospital for x-rays and further evaluation. When qualifying opened, 29 cars completed qualifying attempts for the 24 spots in the field available today, bumping five cars from the line-up. Near the end of the session, Mario Moraes, on the fourth lap of his qualifying attempt, did a quarter-spin to the left in Turn 2, backed into the wall at the exit of Turn 2, and continued down the track stopping in the grass on the inside of the backstretch. A few minutes later, Tony Kanaan, who had just taken the green, did a half-spin to the left exiting Turn 1, slid through the short chute between Turns 1 and 2, did a half-spin to the right and hit the SAFER Barrier in Turn 2 with the right rear end, then with the right side of the car. The car continued through Turn 2 before stopping. Neither Moraes nor Kanaan were injured. After the initial flurry of qualifications, the track re-opened for practice and/or qualification attempts. Several cars qualified for the field and several cars were bumped, but the “Fast Nine” remained the same after the initial qualification session. Both Helio Castroneves and Will Power withdrew their times to re-qualify. Both ended up faster and preliminarily positioned themselves as the two fastest cars in the field. The reason both re-qualified in an attempt to boost their speeds was that race day pit positions were determined by the positions qualified for in the first qualifying session. When all was said and done, the “Fast Nine” were, in order: Helio Castroneves, Will Power, Alex Taglianai, Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon, Graham Rahal, Hideki Mutoh, Ryan Briscoe and Ed Carpenter. There were several surprises in the top nine. Taglianai and Mutoh are from teams that are not considered top-notch teams, but both had posted quick speeds during practice. Bigger surprises were Rahal and Carpenter, who are both competing at Indianapolis only, and not in the full IZOD IndyCar Series. Neither had been among the speed leaders prior to qualifying. As expected, both Target/Ganassi drivers and all three Team Penske drivers made it into the top nine. Perhaps the biggest surprise was the relatively poor performance of all the Andretti Autosport cars. None of the five cars on the team made the “Fast Nine.” In fact, the highest position of any of the three team cars already in the field, is the inside of Row 6. That space is occupied by Marco Andretti, with his teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay next to him. Hunter-Reay was bumped once and had to re-qualify. Their teammate, Danica Patrick, had her poorest qualifying performance ever, as she will start in the middle of Row 8. Kanaan crashed, as noted above, and the fifth team car, driven by John Andretti, did not qualify today. When the nine went out for the shoot-out, the first driver out, Castroneves set a blistering pace, turning the fastest laps since the track opened with two laps well over 228 mph, and a four-lap average of 227.970 mph. After one time through the line, the drivers were allowed to keep their times and go back on the track for more attempts to improve their position, but no one could come close to Castroneves’ speed. After the second session ended, Castroneves was still on the pole and talked about his run. “I wanted to put the others in a panic mode,” he said. “They kept trying (to beat me) and they came close,” he added. “We really reached the limit. You’ve got to know to go at the right time and we went at the right time,” he concluded. Qualifying resumes tomorrow at noon. The final nine positions in the field will be filled and then bumping will begin. The track will close at 6:00 p.m. Provisional starting Line-up 2010 Indianapolis 500 The provisional field line-up after the first day of qualifying: Row 1 #3 Helio Castroneves 227.970 mph, #12 Will Power 227.578 mph, #10T Dario Franchitti 226.990 mph Row 2 #6 Ryan Briscoe 226.554 mph, #77 Alex Tagliani 226.390 mph, #9 Scott Dixon 226.223 mph Row 3 #30 Graham Rahal 225.519 mph, #20 Ed Carpenter 224.507 mph, #06 Hideki Mutoh 223.487 mph Row 4 #99 Townsend Bell 225.097 mph, #22 Justin Wilson 225.050 mph, #2 Raphael Matos 225.028 mph Row 5 #32 Mario Moraes 224.888 mph, #21 Davey Hamilton 224.852 mph, #24 Mike Conway 224.583 mph Row 6 #26 Marco Andretti 224.575 mph, #37 Ryan Hunter-Reay 224.547 mph, #4 Dan Wheldon 224.464 mph Row 7 #8T E.J. Viso 224.380 mph, #23 Tomas Scheckter 224.261 mph, #25 Ana Beatriz 224.243 mph Row 8 #78 Simona De Silvestro 224.228 mph, #7 Danica Patrick 224.217 mph, #36 Bertrand Baguette 224.189 mph
Pole winner Helio Castroneves is flanked by Team Owner, Roger Penske (left), and Penske President of Competition, Tim Cindric. [Russ Lake Photo]
Driver Ed Carpenter was a surprise member of the “Fast Nine”. Carpenter has a one-off ride for the race, qualifying ninth. He had not previously been high on the speed charts. [Russ Lake Photo]
Ana Beatriz was the fastest rookie qualifier today. She will start her first Indianapolis 500 from the outside of Row 7 after posting a speed of 224.243 mph. [Russ Lake Photo]
Friday, May 21 – The start of today’s practice session was delayed for a few minutes due to wet track conditions left from last night’s heavy rain.
Intermittent sprinkles in the afternoon brought out periodic yellows, but the field was able to get in 1,308 laps of practice. Helio Castroneves was fastest for the third time since practice began with a speed of 226.558 mph. He was fastest the first two days of practice and still holds the overall fastest speed of 227.046 mph, set on Sunday, May 16. Second fast for the day was Will Power at a speed of 226.429 mph. It was the fastest speed that Power has posted since practice started on Saturday, May 15. Third quickest today was Alex Tagliani, who recorded a lap of 226.153 mph, while Scott Dixon was fourth fast at 225.828 mph and Mario Moraes rounded out the top five at 225.806 mph. Most of the discussion and press conference questions this week have centered around two subjects: The lousy weather which has shortened practice considerably, and the new qualifying format. In the shortened format, the inclement weather has left teams scrambling to have enough time to practice both qualifying and race setups. In the past, with practice time after qualifying, teams were able to concentrate on race setup after they were safely in the race. The new qualifying format has the top teams strategizing on how to approach qualifying. 24 cars are to be qualified on Saturday, but all the emphasis has been on the top nine spots. The top nine speeds will be erased at 4:00 p.m. Saturday. These cars will be guaranteed a spot in the top nine, but will have to re-qualify to determine their actual starting position. The overall consensus among the teams is that Team Penske drivers, Helio Castroneves and Will Power, plus Target/Chip Ganassi drivers Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon will dominate the top spots. Others in the hunt will be the four regular Andretti Autosport drivers, Tony Kanaan, Danica Patrick, Marco Andretti and Ryan Hunter-Reay. Other drivers that have been fast include Alex Tagliani, Mario Moraes, Hideki Mutoh and Paul Tracy. The “Fast Nine” qualifying is expected to add quite a bit of excitement for the fans but puts additional stress on the drivers and teams. How the new format worked and what the results were will be known on Saturday night.
Team Penske driver, Will Power, was second quickest in today’s practice. He is expected to be one of the drivers competing for the top nine spots in qualifying tomorrow. [Russ Lake Photo]
Target/Ganassi Racing annual press conference. Left to right are Managing Director Mike Hull, drivers Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti and team owner Chip Ganassi. [Russ Lake Photo]
Team Penske press conference. Left to right are team owner Roger Penske, President, Penske Performance, Inc., Tim Cindric, team consultant Rick Mears and drivers Helio Castroneves, Ryan Briscoe and Will Power. [Russ Lake Photo]
Thursday, May 20 – The track opened promptly at noon and a number of cars quickly took to the track to practice in the bit of clear weather available today.
The top two speeds of the day were set in the first half-hour of track time. Tony Kanaan topped the speed charts for the first time with a quick lap of 226.775 mph. Paul Tracy was second fastest at 226.322 mph. It was the first time Tracy cracked the top five in speeds. Hideki Mutoh posted the third quick speed just a few minutes later at 226.230 mph. Unfortunately, the rain returned to The Speedway this afternoon. A drizzle put the track under yellow several times before a steady rain closed the track for the day shortly after 5:00 p.m. During just under three hours of green flag time, 1,445 laps were run. All told, 37 drivers in 36 cars practiced today. Veteran driver Bruno Junqueira, making his first appearance on the track, shook down the #29 car for rookie driver Sebastian Saavedra. Both Kanaan and Tracy participated in the post-practice press conference. In a rather animated discussion, they discussed preparations for qualifying on Saturday. “We worked on qualifying today,” said Kanaan. “It’s a very tight field, so I’m happy. It’s a step in the right direction.” “I don’t see anybody but the three Penske or the two Ganassi cars having a shot at the pole'” Kanaan added. Tracy, who is running the race on a one-off deal, commented on today’s fast lap and on qualifying. “I had a great day today. Tony (Kanaan) gave me a tow for my quick lap today. Our goal is to shoot for the top nine,” he said.
Team Penske driver, Ryan Briscoe, looks at practice times on one of the large screens while waiting to go out for practice. [Russ Lake Photo]
Dario Franchitti is suited up and preparing to go out for practice. [Russ Lake Photo]
Danica Patrick’s sponsor, “GoDaddy.com,” is prominently displayed in several places in the cockpit of her car and on her helmet. [Russ Lake Photo]
Drivers Tony Kanaan and Paul Tracy, the two fastest of the day, clowned around during the post-practice press conference. [Russ Lake Photo]
Wednesday, May 19 – Driver E.J. Viso, who crashed yesterday and was transported to Methodist Hospital, was released from the hospital Tuesday night after x-rays were negative. He was cleared to drive today by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway medical team.
The track opened at noon as scheduled. It was another busy day of practice as 35 cars were out on the track at some point during the day, and ran a total of 2,262 laps without any serious incidents. For the second straight day, Target/Chip Ganassi Racing driver Scott Dixon posted the top speed at 226.971 mph. Second on the speed chart was Team Penske driver Ryan Briscoe at 226.633 mph. Alex Tagliani, who was in the top five for the second straight day, was third quick at 226.002 mph. Fourth fastest was Japanese driver Hideki Mutoh, who turned in a lap at 225.926 mph, while Dixon’s teammate. Dario Franchitti, recorded a lap at 225.850 mph. Taglianai did not get on the track until Sunday as he is still recovering from a severe case of bronchitis, which put him in Methodist Hospital for two days last week. “I feel blah today. I have a sore throat today. I’ve been at the race track the last couple of days, but it’s not the best scenario,” he said after practice today. “As soon as you’re driving you feel better. I had 13 laps (his total track time) when I felt better today,” he added. Taglianai concluded by saying, “When we put the car on the track it was fast. The car is very comfortable out there. There was not a point to continue today. The temperature will be quite different on Saturday.” Helio Castroneves still holds the fastest lap since track opened with a speed of 227.046 mph, which was set on Sunday, May 16.
Target/Chip Ganassi Racing driver Scott Dixon was fastest for the second day in a row with a speed of 226.971. [Russ Lake Photo]
Andretti Autosport Senor Vice-President of Racing Operations, Tom Anderson (left), consults with team owner, Michael Andretti, on pit lane. [Russ Lake Photo]
Legendary driver/team owner A.J. Foyt Jr. checks notes with his grandson and driver, A.J. Foyt IV. [Russ Lake Photo]
In the post-session press conference, third-quick driver, Alex Tagliani discusses his fast lap and his ongoing recovery from serious bronchitis. [Russ Lake Photo]
Will Power discusses his day, and Team Penske, during the post-race press conference. [Russ Lake Photo]
Tuesday, May 18 – The rain finally stopped and the track was dried. Despite heavy clouds, the rain held off, allowing practice to start at 1:06 p.m., 66 minutes later than the scheduled starting time. A brief yellow came out for debris at 1:43 p.m. And lasted for four minutes.
In the next half-hour, some of the fastest speeds of the day were set. Scott Dixon turned in a lap at 226.549 mph, which turned out to be the quickest of the day. Mario Moraes recorded the second-quickest lap at 225.913, and Alex Tagliani had the fourth quick speed at 225.394 mph. A bit later in the afternoon, Moraes brought out the yellow. He did a half-spin in the acceleration lane coming out of the pits and hit the inside wall twice with the rear of the car, causing slight damage to the rear wing. Moraes continued around the track and into the pits. The other fast speeds of the day were recorded by Marco Andretti who was third-fastest at 225.751 mph, and Dan Wheldon, who rebounded from his crash on Sunday, to set a speed of 225.378 mph, fifth fastest of the day. After a brief yellow for moisture on the track, cars returned to the track for the final few laps of the day. With just ten minutes left in the session, E.J. Viso did a quarter-spin to the left in Turn 1 and backed into the SAFER Barrier at the exit of Turn 1. The car slid down the short chute between Turns 1 and 2, doing 1 and spins to the right before stopping on the apron at the entrance of Turn 2. There was heavy damage to the rear of the car. Viso was removed from the car and placed on a stretcher. He was reported to be awake and alert but was transported to Methodist Hospital, complaining of back pain. Following Viso’s accident the track was closed for the day. It was a very busy afternoon as 36 cars took to the track for a total of 1,590 laps.
Helio Castroneves looks at the many computer readouts, switches and indicators in the cockpit as he prepares to go out for practice. [Russ Lake Photo]
Scott Dixon, who turned in the quickest lap of the day, signed an autograph for an awe-struck youngster. [Russ Lake Photo]
Alex Tagliani, fourth quickest of the day checked things out on the scoring monitor in the pits. [Russ Lake Photo]
Izod IndyCar Series banners with driver names are used to indentify the location of the driver’s garages and, at tracks without garages, are used to mark each transporter. [Russ Lake Photo]
Monday, May 17 – Persistent rain and wet grounds were the story of the day. The rain showers did not abate and, with no track activity, the track was officially closed for the day at 2:30 p.m.
The wet weather is presenting a problem for the teams. The already shortened practice time has put pressure on the teams to prepare both qualifying and race set-ups, basically at the same time. The wet weather only makes the time shorter. Hopes are high for better weather tomorrow, but a chance of showers is still in the forecast.
Sunday, May 16 – Due to the rain yesterday, the track opened an hour early to allow the rookies more time on the track. The cars were on the track at 11:00 a.m., but the green was only out for three minutes and 42 seconds before it went yellow for light rain.
After a 32-minute delay, cars returned to the track. The session continued until 2:10 p.m., ending 45 minutes early due to the fact that all but one driver had completed refresher tests and the Rookie Orientation Program. The lone exception was Sebastian Saavedra, who completed the first two phases, then encountered mechanical problems. It is expected he will be allowed to complete the last two phases of the test. Jay Howard had the fastest lap of the session with a speed of 222.789. At 2:15, the track was then open for practice for all cars. Despite brief yellows for light rain and debris on the track, 33 cars took to the track for practice. During the session, Saavedra finished his Rookie Orientation Program. Right after the track went green following a light shower, Ryan Hunter-Reay did a half-spin in the acceleration lane onto the track, with no damage to the car. The first serious incident since the track opened occurred just a few minutes later when Dan Wheldon slowed, then did a half-spin and hit the outside wall in Turn 4. Scott Dixon was running with Wheldon and commented on the incident. “”Wheldon has a hesitation in the short chute and was already off the pace when he hit the wall. Something mechanical must have happened to the car.” Wheldon suffered a bruised right foot, but the injury was not considered serious. The final yellow of the day came out for rain at 5:21 p.m. And the track was closed for the day 24 minutes early at 5:36 p.m. Helio Castroneves ended the day with the fastest speed of the month thus far at 227.046 mph. Scott Dixon, second fastest of the day at 226.202 mph, and Simona De Silvestro, one of the two female rookies, were the guests at the post-practice press conference. Dixon ran only 14 laps today and spoke of the importance of conserving tires as Firestone allows 33 sets of tires per car for practice, qualifying and the race. “We only ran one set of tires today and anticipate running them again,” Dixon said. “We need to conserve tires for later in the week.” “I think the weather will be a challenge this week. The shortened time period makes this a new ball game for everyone,” he commented. De Silvestro is learning to drive the ovals. “I really respect the ovals. The first time on an oval is a real eye-opener. To be part of the ovals is really cool,” she said.
Danica Patrick prepares to go out for practice. [Russ Lake Photo]
Michael Andretti (left) and son/team driver Marco Andretti sit on the pit wall. [Russ Lake Photo]
Paul Tracy talks on pit lane about his Geico Racing, KV technologies car. [Russ Lake Photo]
Rookie Simona De Silvestro and 2008 winner, Scott Dixon, discuss the day in the post-practice press conference. [Russ Lake Photo]
Helio Castroneves, fastest in today’s practice, waits to take to the track. [Russ Lake Photo]
Saturday, May 15 – The Indianapolis Motor Speedway officially opened for practice at noon today.
Prior to the opening, Bobby and Graham Rahal announced that the dietary product, Quick Trim, would be sponsoring the Rahal Letterman Racing car, which will be driven by Graham Rahal. Veteran drivers were on the track from noon – 2:00 p.m., while the rookies took to the track for the Rookie Orientation Program (ROP) from 2:00 – 6:00 p.m. The seven rookies entered for this year’s race; Takuma Sato, Ana Beatriz, Sebastian Saavedra, Mario Romancini, Bertrand Baguette, Jay Howard and Simona De Silvestro, will be participating in the ROP. The ROP consists of four phases. Each driver must complete 10 laps each at (A) 200-205 mph, (B) 205-210 mph, (C) 210-215 mph and (D) over 215 mph. The drivers must complete all four phases today and tomorrow (or receive special permission to finish later) in order to attempt to qualify for the Indy 500. At noon, Helio Castoneves took the ceremonial first lap of the track, receiving the green flag from Indianapolis mayor, Greg Ballard. When the track officially opened for practice, it was quickly a busy place. In the first 45 minutes of practice, 25 car and driver combinations made appearances on the track. Tony Kanaan, lead driver for Andretti Motorsport, was the busiest driver as he shook down all four of his teammates cars (those of Danica Patrick, Marco Andretti, Ryan Hunter-Reay and John Andretti) before he practiced in his own car. The practice session was halted a few minutes early due to a steady light rain. In total, 451 laps were run in the session, without incident, by 27 car and driver combinations. Only two yellows interrupted the session. One was for debris on the track, which lasted four minutes, and the other was for 17 minutes for a light rain shower. Helio Castroneves got right down to business and recorded the fastest lap in the session of 226.603. Dario Franchitti was just a tick slower at 226.535 mph. After the session, Castroneves was pleased with his run. “It’s always good to start in a positive way,” he said. Franchitti only turned in a total of five laps and was quick right away. He commented about the fast lap, “It was a shakedown day for Team Target. I got a nice tow (on the quick lap) from TK (Tony Kaanan.)” In addition to the ROP, some Indy veterans are required to take a track refresher, which consists of the third and fourth phases of ROP. Veterans who have not run on an oval in the past year or have not run an IZOD IndyCar Series race in the past year are required to take the refresher. These drivers are Tomas Scheckter, Townsend Bell, Graham Rahal, Davey Hamilton and A.J. Foyt IV. Following the veterans, some of the rookies and the drivers required to take a refresher took to the track. The track was green for just 10:23 minutes and only 14 laps were run before a light rain shut down the track for just over two and one-half hours. The track reopened for a short time after the showers before a yellow for debris on the track, followed by another set of showers, closed it for the day. During the brief dry periods, 11 cars were on the track for a total of 146 laps. Of the rookies, Jay Howard was fastest at 215.039 mph, with Ana Beatriz second quick at 213.802 mph. Both are veterans of the Firestone Indy Lights Series. Howard, who has waited a long time for a chance to drive in the Indianapolis 500, was happy with his performance today. “It felt good this afternoon. I’m excited, I’m relaxed and I feel good. I’m enjoying my experience with Sarah Fisher Racing. It’s nice to have a good working relationship. I think having Sarah as a teammate is a good thing,” he said. Ana Beatriz was philosophical about her brief run today. “We couldn’t run as much today as we wanted to,” she said. “We went through two phases. I’m very happy with what I accomplished today,” she added. Despite the brief amount of track time, De Silvestro, Sato and Beatriz completed the first two phases of the ROP. Saavedra completed the first phase and Scheckter, Rahal and Bell completed their refresher tests. Both veterans and rookies will return to the track tomorrow if the weather cooperates. However, the forecast is for rain throughout the day.
Helio Castroneves. [Russ Lake Photo]
Dario Franchitti. [Russ Lake Photo]
Ana Beatriz. [Russ Lake Photo]
Jay Howard. [Russ Lake Photo]
Pace cars hit the track. [Russ Lake Photo]
Graham and Bobby Rahal announce that Graham will be driving for Rahal Letterman in this year’s Indy 500. [Russ Lake Photo]
Previous winners entered in this year’s Indy 500, Dario Franchitti, Dan Wheldon, Helio Castroneves and Scott Dixon. [Russ Lake Photo]
May 14 – Although the Indianapolis Motor Speedway does not officially open for practice for the Indianapolis 500 until tomorrow, the Firestone Indy Lights were on the track today. It will be the only chance for the IZOD Indycar Series support series, to get on the track until they practice and qualify on Thursday, May 27 for the Friday, May 28 Freedom 100 race at the track.
16 car and driver combinations took to the track for the two-hour morning practice session for a total of 502 laps. Among those practicing were Indy 500 rookie Sebastian Saavedra, an Indy Lights veteran, who took advantage of the additional track time and plans to run both the Freedom 100 and the Indianapolis 500, and IndyCar and Indy Lights veteran Jeff Simmons. When the session ended, sophomore Indy Lights driver, Charlie Kimball, who currently sits second in series points, was the fastest with a speed of 190.080 mph. Jeff Simmons was second fastest with a speed of 189.763 mph and Martin Plowman was third at 189.731mph. Pippa Mann was fourth quick with a speed of 189.534 mph. The top speed in the three-hour afternoon session, and overall fastest of the day, was recorded by Gustavo Yacaman at a speed of 190.511 mph. Mann was just behind with a speed of 190.225 mph (second quickest overall,) while Simmons was third quick with a speed of 190.072 mph. Kimball was fourth on the afternoon speed chart at 189.864. 812 laps practice laps were completed by 15 cars in the afternoon session and 1,314 crash free laps were run during the five total hours of practice.
Sophomore Indy Lights driver, Charlie Kimball was the fastest of the first session of the day. [Russ Lake Photo]
Gustavo Yacaman turned the fastes Indy Lights lap of the day at a speed of 190/511mph. [Russ Lake Photo]
Pippa Mann turned some quick laps around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in her Indy Lights machine. [Russ Lake Photo]