Lets Start... INDY 500 thread

[Chris]

Well Gang... It's HERE.. the "Month of May"
Famous for Indy car racing... Indy will be at the Indy Speedway the whole Month of May with Pole Qualifying Saturday May 10.
This weekend (May 3-4) will be rookie testing before the track opens May 6 to testing for everyone
I just saw there are 40 entries.. and that should make the month interesting.
7 cars already listed than will start the race... and there always seems to be a last minute hot shoe some team pulls out of the hat to try and put their car in the field at the 11th hour.

Interesting list of drivers ALREADY entered...
Of course Danica Patrick.. but as Usual Andretti Green has a strng team.  Beside Patrick is Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti and Hideka Mutoh. 
Rahal / Letterman has a strong team entered also.  ALex Lloyd and Ryan Hunter-Reay.  Although rookies these are stout drivers with a good team. 
Team Penske has a couple driver as potential winners:  Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe.  They also have a car TBA.
Vision Racing has AJ Foyt VI and Ed Carpenter and a TBA
AJ Foyt Racing has Larry Foyt and Darren Manning
Chip Gannassi is also fielding two possible winners : Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon.
Sarah Fisher is entered also... Flying her own team colors.
LOTS of other possible winners, and good teams not mentioned... Newman/Hass... Coyne... Panther... etc

[Corker]

It's gonna be Danica !!!!! This is her year !!!!!

 

[Chris]

well.. she has done well her previous two attempts... but look at all the great drivers who have never won...
Just ALL has to fall in place to get a win there... Can't count anyone out,... and anything as "for sure"

[Chris]

10 drivers complete Rookie orientation this weekend
Partial story from FS.
I hope as the month rolls along... we get some conversation on this.  I know probably not many "Indy" car fans here... but MOST folks at least follow the INDY 500. 

INDIANAPOLIS, Sunday, May 4, 2008 – Ten drivers completed all four phases of the Indianapolis 500 Rookie Orientation Program at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the track opened for the 92nd Running of 500-Mile Race.

Will Power was the quickest among a class of 13 rookies, the most since 1997. The rookies have two days of practice on the historic 2.5-mile oval before the track is opened to all drivers on May 6.

Power’s fastest lap in the No. 8 Aussie Vineyard-Team Australia entry was 40.7804 seconds, 220.694 mph.

Eleven rookies and two-time Indianapolis 500 starter Max Papis, who along with Davey Hamilton must complete a refresher test, combined to complete 661 incident-free laps. All Indianapolis 500 rookies must pass a four-phase orientation program, demonstrating consistent car control for 10 laps each at four increasing levels of speed.

Power, Jaime Camara, Jay Howard, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Alex Lloyd, Hideki Mutoh, Graham Rahal, Oriol Servia, E.J. Viso and Justin Wilson passed all four phases. Enrique Bernoldi completed three phases and may complete the fourth phase at any point later in the month.

Mario Moraes completed three laps late in the day, while Mario Dominguez did not take the track. Both drivers must complete the first three phases of ROP Monday to remain eligible to compete in the Indianapolis 500 on May 25.

[Chris]

Very few posts here.. but I see it's betting several views...
I'll catch up the last few days
Tuesday:

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (AFP) — Marco Andretti, the 21-year-old US grandson of auto racing legend Mario Andretti, set the fastest practice lap Tuesday on the first day of open practice for the 92nd Indianapolis 500.

Andretti turned the quick lap around the 2.5-mile (4km) Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval at 226.599 mph (362.558 k/hr) to lead 33 cars that turned 1,385 total laps in the six-hour session ahead of Saturday's pole qualifying.

Andretti, the 2006 Indy 500 runner-up to Sam Hornish, will try to erase a legacy of heartache at Indy for his family. Father Michael never won at the "Brickyard" and Mario captured only the 1969 crown in decades of effort.

Brazilian Tony Kanaan, Andretti's teammate for Andretti-Green Racing, was second at 225.269 mph, New Zealand's Scott Dixon third at 225.011, Australian Ryan Briscoe fourth at 224.804 and England's Dan Wheldon fifth on 224.727 mph.

The session marked the first time since 1995 that all US open-wheel series elite racers had been together at Indy. A split into Champ-car and the Indy Racing League came in 1996 and ended only with a merger this year.

Two weekends of qualifying will fill the 33-car field for the May 25 race.

The past two Indy 500 winners will not take part this year, with Hornish and 2007 winner Dario Franchitti of Scotland now racing in the US stock car series

[Chris]

Wednesday - Rainout

Persistent showers throughout the afternoon have washed out the second day of practice for the 92nd Indianapolis 500.

The official order to close the track was given by IndyCar Series officials just minutes ago after a shower popped up over the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and soaked the 2.5-mile oval.

The track also took a downpour around lunch time, but the course dried enough that by 3 p.m. ET, officials were hoping to open the track around 3:20 p.m. That was before the second wave of rain came along and ended the day outright.

Tomorrow’s forecast doesn’t look much better, as it calls for more rain throughout the day. Weather.com is pegging a 70% chance for the wet stuff, so we may well see a very green race track for “Fast Friday,” the teams’ final chance to test out qualifying setups for Saturday’s run at the pole.

[Chris]

Thursday - Rainout repeat
Need some track time on "Fast friday" to get ready to go POLE Qualifying on Saturday....

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Rainy conditions have canceled practice for the Indianapolis 500 for the second straight day.

Rainy conditions prevented any drivers from making it onto the track today, causing more worries for teams looking to find better speeds on a shortened week.

Yesterday's practice was also rained out. But practice is expected to resume tomorrow with pole qualifying set for Saturday, weather permitting.

Veterans have had only one day of practice, and 21-year-old Marco Andretti is the only driver who has topped 226 miles per hour this week. Rookies had two additional practice sessions Monday and Tuesday.

[shooter]

it should be a good 1!! some actual bumping will happen!! also the cart guys need all the practice they can get!!

[Chris]

Speaking of bumping.. had a little today...

A crewmember for Dale Coyne Racing suffered a concussion when Danica Patrick's race car struck him in the pit area during Friday afternoon's practice for the Indianapolis 500.
Charles Buckman's head hit the ground, briefly knocking him unconscious, after Patrick's car clipped him as she was driving to her pit area just after 2 p.m.
Buckman soon was alert and was checked by medical personnel at the track and eventually at Methodist Hospital. He is expected to be OK, according to the owner of Buckman's team, Dale Coyne
"We don't think it's very bad, but they're taking him down to Methodist just to check him out and make sure everything's still ticking," Coyne said.
In brief comments to reporters about three hours after the accident, Patrick said she hoped Buckman would recover quickly.
"It's really, really unfortunate what happened today," she said. "Thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. Hopefully he can get back to the track soon and be able to do what he loves."
A spokesman for Patrick's team, Andretti Green Racing, said she wouldn't take questions from reporters about the incident Friday.
Video recorded by ESPN showed Buckman was walking in a pit area -- perhaps trying to walk to one of his team's cars -- when Patrick, heading toward Buckman, struck him as she tried to guide her car into her pit.
Patrick's car appeared to clip Buckman with its left front and left rear tires.
6Sports reporter Kip Lewis saw the incident
"You saw him trying to walk around (Marco Andretti's) car, who is a pit up from Danica's, and at the last second you could see (Buckman's) eyes turn," Lewis said. "He saw Danica coming into the pit; he couldn't get out of the way.
"He flipped into the air. It looked like he landed on his head, actually. Medics obviously got there to try to help him as fast as they could."
Dale Coyne Racing includes drivers Bruno Junqueira and Mario Moraes.

Rookie Lloyd Hits Wall

The incident happened not long after Indianapolis 500 rookie Alex Lloyd crashed into a wall during the practice session.
Rookie driver Alex Lloyd was hospitalized Friday, complaining of neck pain, after hitting the wall hard during practice for the Indianapolis 500.
Lloyd, the champion last season in the IRL's developmental Indy Lights Series, completed a lap at more than 223 mph and lost control of his Dallara in the first turn. He struck the outside wall with the rear of the car and continued into the second turn.
The 23-year-old Englishman was examined at the track's infield hospital, then taken to Methodist Hospital for further tests.
The car was heavily damaged.
It was the second accident of the day, following a minor crash involving rookie Mario Dominguez of Mexico.
Dominguez was not hurt when his car tapped the inside wall at slow speed in the warmup lane. He was examined at the track hospital and cleared to drive.

Rain Shortens Friday's Session; Dixon Fastest

Rain shortened Friday's practice session, leaving some drivers starved for practice time ahead of Saturday, the first day of qualifications.
Rain had prevented practice on Wednesday and Thursday, leaving most Indy 500 veteran drivers with only Tuesday and Friday's abbreviated session to prepare for Saturday. Rookies were able to drive on the track Sunday and Monday.
Scott Dixon posted Friday's fastest lap at 226.968 mph. Following him were Marco Andretti (226.710 mph) and Tony Kanaan (226.688 mph).
Sarah Fisher, who started her own team this season, made her first track appearance and was quickly up to more than 219.
Saturday's qualifying will be for the pole and the next 10 positions in the May 25 race. The rest of the 33 starting positions will be claimed on other qualifying days.

[Chris]

Here is where we stand heading into POLE Day on Saturday

INDIANAPOLIS — In the past, there was usually little strategy involved in trying to win the pole for the Indianapolis 500. Just hold the gas pedal down and drive.
Thanks to the qualifying format adopted two years ago, Saturday's opening day of time trials for the May 25 race could be a strategic nightmare.

"This year, it's going to be such a mess," said Scott Dixon, the fastest driver in this week's rain-abbreviated practice on the 2.5-mile Indy oval with a lap of 226.968 mph Friday, considerably faster than the four-lap average of 225.817 that won the pole for Helio Castroneves last May.

In fact, the five quickest drivers on "Fast Friday," the final full day of practice before qualifying, were faster than last year's pole. But it isn't as simple as just being fast now.

The unique, four-day Indy qualifying format limits the number of qualifiers to 11 on each of the first three days, then uses the fourth and final day to bump the slowest drivers already in the 33-car lineup.

Making it even more difficult, each car is allowed up to three chances per day, with the teams allowed to withdraw an already-qualified car to try to go faster.

With the recent unification of the two American open-wheel series, there are more car-driver combinations here for the first weekend of time trials than in any year in the past decade. Thirty-three cars made it onto the track during Friday's busy session, turning a total of 1,033 laps.

Dixon said he expects a lot of those drivers, particularly the ones transitioning from the now-defunct Champ Car World Series, to be chasing position No. 11 just as hard as the favorites drive for the No. 1 spot on Saturday.

"Twenty or twenty-two or maybe more cars are fighting for that spot," Dixon said. "They're going to clog up the (technical inspection) lines and things like that. It could be a tough day for everybody."

The rookies got two full days of practice Sunday and Monday, while the veterans had one dry day on Tuesday before Friday's session, cut about three hours short by yet more rain. Dixon moved to the top of the speed chart, just ahead of Marco Andretti's 226.710, Tony Kanaan's 226.688, Ryan Briscoe's 226.143 and rookie Hideki Mutoh's 225.990.

But the New Zealander, who drives for Target Chip Ganassi Racing, doesn't consider himself the favorite.

"To be fast on 'Fast Friday,' I've been in this spot before and it hasn't worked out well for me in the past," Dixon said. "It was a bit tight out there (in traffic), hard to get clear laps, so you don't really know where you are. Everybody's speed fell off an awful lot when they were in the clear.

"I think, in the morning, we're going to decide if we've got a legit shot at the pole. ... We can't waste tires or energy on going for it if we don't have a great shot at it."

Andretti, a third-generation IndyCar driver who finished second in the 500 two years ago as a 19-year-old rookie, believes he and teammate Andretti Green Racing teammate Kanaan are definite pole contenders. He welcomed this week's rain.

"We're ready," said Andretti, who was also over 226 on Tuesday. "Bring on tomorrow. We're just hoping that, hopefully, (the rain) is just separating us from our opposition."

"The car has shown definite signs of consistency right from the start, which is definitely a positive. We're just working on what I'm sure the majority of the field is working on -- taking off downforce and still trying to keeping the balance in the car."

Castroneves, a disappointing 11th on Friday's speed list, got in only 31 laps before the rain came.

"It's too bad we couldn't run more today," the two-time Indy winner and two-time pole winner said. "I would have liked to have done a few more things out there, but I still think we're in good shape for tomorrow.

"I'm not concerned with the other drivers' speeds today because I think a lot of them were getting tows (from other cars)."

Oriol Servia, one of the transitional drivers, was 16th on Friday and happy with his progress.

"It's hard to tell because everyone gets towed, and we did, too," Servia said. "But I'm happy with how the car feels and that is the most important thing. I think ... we may have a shot at being in the top 15 and, if we do it right, we could be in the top 11."

[Chris]

Well we had LOTS of bumpng on opening day... the first 11 spots filled up, and then bumping began to get the fastest cars into the spots for Day #1.
So spots 1-11 are locked in...
Day #2 has been washed out... practice will resure in the coming week and next Saturday qualifying will resume, and fill the field before bumping starts.

Target Chip Ganassi Racing principals considered the track conditions, the competition and what alterations could be made to catapult the No. 9 car from the middle of Row 2 to the pole position for the 92nd Indianapolis 500. They didn't have to solicit Scott Dixon's opinion.

Dixon's initial aggregate time was withdrawn, and he re-entered the qualification line at 3:39 p.m. as the large crowd roared its approval. 2007 500-Mile Race runner-up Dixon posted an aggregate four-lap time of 2 minutes, 39.0348 seconds (226.366 mph average) and then waited for all comers to knock him off the perch. No one came close.

After a spirited competition to fill the top 11 spots for the May 25 race, Dixon held the $100,000 check aloft as the PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award presented by AutoZone winner. Thirty-one qualifying attempts were recorded (23 completed) on a pleasant spring afternoon at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Second Day Qualifying (to fill spots 12-22 on the grid) is scheduled for noon-6 p.m. Sunday, May 11.

"It means a lot," said Dixon, who secured his 11th IndyCar Series pole start and third this season. "It's not just for me, though. It's the hard work that goes into it. All the time that they put in back at the workshop and the guys that a lot of time you don't even see at the track, it's a lot of effort. And from me a lot of thanks goes to them.

"I think amongst the drivers it means a lot. If you talk to any of the drivers out there, they know how on the limit you are, and for a general person I don't think that they realize that stuff. It's definitely right at the top of accomplishments that I've done."

Teammate Dan Wheldon, the 2005 Indy 500 winner, and Team Penske's Ryan Briscoe will share the front row with Dixon, who has qualified either first or second on the four ovals in the early section of the IndyCar Series season.

"It's a real tribute to the team," said team owner Chip Ganassi, who celebrated his third pole start at Indianapolis (Bruno Junqueira in 2002 and Arie Luyendyk in 1993). "Every team works hard in the offseason to get better, and you're charged with making your team better than the other guys who make their team better. This is the payoff."

Both Briscoe and Wheldon had their initial times withdrawn for a run at the big check. Briscoe occupied the middle of Row 2 before jumping to the provisional pole with a four-lap time of 2:39.2358 (226.080) - five minutes before Dixon rolled onto the track.

"I turned around, and Dixon was taking (the pole) away from me," said Briscoe, who finished fifth last year with Luczo Dragon Racing. "Aside from that, I thought I had a really good run."

Wheldon, driving the No. 10 Honda-powered Dallara, improved from third to second (2:39.2143; 226.110).

"We have been close to pole in the past at Indianapolis, leading into Pole Day, but when it has become Pole Day we have not been so competitive," Wheldon said. "It is good to show we are competitive," Wheldon said.

Two-time 500-Mile Race winner Helio Castroneves, Danica Patrick and Andretti Green Racing teammate Tony Kanaan will be on Row 2. AGR teammates Marco Andretti and Hideki Mutoh will occupy the third row with Panther Racing's Vitor Meira. Mutoh (ninth) is the highest qualifying rookie, while Castroneves extended his streak of consecutive top-five starts in the '500' to four on his 33rd birthday.

For the second year in a row, all four Andretti Green Racing cars qualified on the first day.

"I wish that we could have found some more speed, but unfortunately we didn't," said Patrick, who had a four-lap average speed of 225.197 mph. "Believe me, it was not from a lack of trying. My crew did a great job getting me a car that was capable of staying up front with the guys that had the fastest cars of the day. It was a great day for Andretti Green Racing, because we got all four cars in."

Vision Racing's Ed Carpenter was 10th and Tomas Scheckter in the No. 12 Luczo Dragon Racing car filled the final available spot. Scheckter withdrew his time (223.779 mph) late in the six-hour session when he was on the bubble, but couldn't move up on the second attempt (223.496).

Graham Rahal (2:41.0767; 223.355) in the No. 06 Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing car was the final driver bumped, by Scheckter, and will have to make another attempt during Second Day Qualifying to crack positions 12-22.

Ryan Hunter-Reay's No. 17 Ethanol car made contact with the Turn 3 SAFER Barrier during his second qualification attempt. He was checked and cleared to drive.

"I was just trying to make a car that wasn't there go fast," he said. "The exits had no grip, and the entrances had too much grip. I was just hustling something that wasn't there."

[Chris]

Well.. not a lot of posters... But I see a lot of views... So I'll keep updating
Today the teams got back to a scheduled practcie day.
Rain up until the last hour when the teams were able to get on the track and a bit more than 60 minutes of track time.
More rain is predicted for Thursday
John Andretti was the quickest of the cars not already qualified for the 500

Following the Greatest Spectacle in Raining/Drying/Waiting, Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened for practice Wednesday afternoon with a running yellow about five minutes to 5PM. Just a few drivers went out initially: Will Power, Jaime Camara, Buddy Rice, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Max Papis and Alex Lloyd.

All of these drivers had turned laps before today, but Roger Yasukawa, newly named to drive for CURB/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports took his first tours of the 2.5-mile oval about 15 minutes later. Yasukawa thought that, for a “shakedown day it was pretty good. We got a couple of runs out of it but we still need to sort out the aero balance and we can do that tomorrow,” if the weather cooperates.

Rookie Lloyd, of course, returned to action following his accident last week and is sporting new colors for his No. 16 Dallara/Honda/Firestone entry that is co-fielded by Target Chip Ganassi Racing and Rahal Letterman Racing. Lloyd’s car is adorned with the bright green and white of Wii Fit, Nintendo’s newest video game that places an accent on fitness.

“It was nice to get in the car and get in at least a few laps today with the way the weather was looking,” Lloyd said. “We were basically just doing leak-checks, having had the accident and put the car back together again. We wanted to make sure everything was OK.”

As it was, 29 drivers were able to complete 390 laps of practice here at IMS –and they did that, taking into account cautions and red flags for mist, in half an hour!  Rain returned at 5:49PM, causing a halt to the action for the day.

Fastest speeds came from rather likely suspects: Scott Dixon at 222.834, teammate Dan Wheldon at 222.810, teammates Marco Andretti with a speed of 22.801, Hideki Mutoh at 221.868 and Danica Patrick with 221.683 mph.

Polesitter Dixon “got maybe 15 or 20 laps (actually 17 with his best on L2).  We just wanted to see how the car handled in traffic.  Because there were so few laps, everybody was out there so we got to run in traffic a little bit and see how the balance was.  We have a little bit of understeer, especially in traffic.  It was pretty decent, but it was basically about who got the biggest tow,” Dixon said.

Wheldon was working “on race stuff and we didn’t get a lot of time, but I think we have an idea of where our car is at.  What we’re going to do now is try and improve it.”

Andretti realizes the “weather is the same for everyone, but it’s still disappointing to get so little time on track.  We still need a couple of days of full-tank runs to get a good handle on the race set-up.  It has been good,” he acknowledged, “because the rain has given us some extra time to sign autographs and talk to the fans.”

The sole rookie in the field thus far, Mutoh assumed that with projected rain for Thursday, “It was good that we got some track time today.  We were able to try some setup changes and we were able to get a pretty balanced car.  We are happy with what we were able to accomplish in such a short time.”

“Cover girl” Patrick who graces the front of Sports Illustrated this week was “happy with the time we did get today.  My crew was able to make a couple of changes that made the car feel real balanced.”

Of the drivers still looking for one of 22 available starting slots in the 92nd Indianapolis 500, John Andretti was quickest, sixth today at 221.386.  “It was a good day; we’re moving to where we need to be.  These little spurts [of activity] keep the team organized and really, we have to make the car do the work around the Speedway.”  Andretti was pleased to be a day ahead of where he was in 2007 – he practiced for the first time on Thursday last year.

Buddy Rice took seventh at 220.277 while Enrique Bernoldi looked like he was getting with the program in eighth at 220.105.  ”It was good,” the Brazilian said, “because it had been three days that I wasn’t in the car.  It’s always good to get mileage and you always learn on a track like this one.”

Townsend Bell took ninth at 220.020 and Bruno Junqueira rounded out the top 10 at 219.981.  Will Power, Oriol Servia, Max Papis, Ed Carpenter and Darren Manning completed the top 15 drivers today.  Milka Duno remained slowest of the bunch with 11 laps culminating in a top speed of 84.288!!

Neither of the Team Penske entries for Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves took part in practice today; Tony Kanaan abstained as well.  Kanaan did note that it “would still be nice to get as many full-tank runs in as possible.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate tomorrow.”

Ah, the weather, that great equalizer.  It’s supposed to be clear until mid-late afternoon when the rain might return, but then, who knows?  We were expecting no on-track activities today and were pleased that there was an opportunity for cars and drivers to work at their crafts. 

Hopefully, the forecasters will be incorrect for tomorrow, but as Sarah Fisher aptly stated, "What can you really do about the weather?  You just have to try to plan around it as best you can, and the Indy 500 is certainly about people who can alter their plans and change for the adverse conditions.”

[Chris]

Full Six hours of practice (WOW unusual)... they run a TON of laps...
John Andretti was again 7th quickest and looks to be plenty fast enough to qualify this weekend (weather permitting)
Something I've never understood about this new (goofy) qualifying format.  Here we set with 11 cars locked into the field.  Not unusual for it to rain in indiana this time of year, and it takes 3+ hours to dry the track.
What happens if it rains both Saturday and Sunday this weekend and they get to do NO qualifying.... all we have is 11 cars set into the field.  How do they determine who starts in the field.  I suppose they could carry over to Monday??
Still you get the point.
As far as 'slow" drivers.  Marty Roth is 30th.  Surprising he hadn't shown more speed since he brought Andretti on to help out his program.  Sarah Fisher is 31st.  She has her own team this season, and is also down in that bubble range of not making the field.  Last one I want to point out is AJ Foyt VI.  He is 32nd...
1996 winner Buddy Lazier is yet to be on the track but is expected to hit the track today, and try and qualify tomorrow.

Incredible! Six hours of practice were scheduled today at Indianapolis Motor Speedway ahead of the 92nd Indianapolis 500 set for May 25th; six hours of practice were held. There was no rain, but it was quite cold and blustery – cloud cover obliterated the sun. It began to rain just as the track closed.

And the Team Penske duo of Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves obliterated the balance of 35 car/driver combinations that posted 2628 laps today, giving a grand total of 6907 laps for the month.

Briscoe turned his best of 223.708 mph on his 25th of 74 total laps while driving his T car and Castroneves hit 223.284 on his 26th of 94 laps. Briscoe, like most everyone else, spent the day working on race setup. “Tomorrow might be different and we might have to change the car around,” he said, wondering what the weather might hold for race day. “We’ll probably run as much downforce tomorrow and try to learn as much as we can in the next couple of days.”

Castroneves was grateful that “Mother Nature definitely helped us out today with the weather. We had a great opportunity to run a lot of laps and try several different things,” he said. “I’m happy with the progress we made and I think we’re definitely moving in the right direction.”

There was action from top to bottom of the field but no on-track incidents of any kind, indicative of the downforce levels everyone ran and the amount of fuel.  In essence, it was a safe and good practice day. 

Pole man Scott Dixon turned the third quickest lap as he began preparations for the race, hitting 223.192 on his sixth of 88 tours of the 2.5-mile oval, while Tony Kanaan held down the fourth spot at 222.880, achieved on his 22nd of 97 laps.  Kanaan called it “a good day since we got a lot of good running time.  We are finally at the point where we want to be,” he said.

Tomas Scheckter, whose Luczo Dragon team didn’t bother with yesterday’s half-hour session, unwilling to put their driver and car in harm’s way, turned the fifth best speed of 222.804 on Scheckter’s 12th of 95 laps today.  Scheckter wasn’t sure he got everything he needed, “But we certainly went through a lot of tests.  We got some laps in there and we will look over it tonight and see, and maybe come out with a better car tomorrow.”

Rookie Will Power was sixth (222.657), the Australian noting his respect for the hallowed grounds of IMS.  “It’s been interesting this month so far,” he said.  “It was good for us to get so much running time today,” putting in 73 laps and turning his best on the 52nd time around.  “This event is second to none.  I was surprised how many people were here on qualifying day last Saturday.”

John Andretti, in only his second day driving the No. 24 Roth Racing entry was seventh quick at 222.474, turned on his 52nd of 55 laps.  Hideki Mutoh showed his comfort on the big oval with his seventh lap (of 105) at 222.411, but fought a loose car toward the end of the session. 

Dan Wheldon, ninth today at 222.378, turned the most laps of any driver, 109, yet his best was on his second trip around the oval.  Bruno Junqueira rounded out the top 10 in Dale Coyne’s Z-Line Dallara/Honda/Firestone entry at 222.303. 

Buddy Rice ran with the leaders much of the day but ended up in 11th place, happy “to run a lot of laps today.  We just ran race setup, plus we got to work on pit stop practice,” he said.  EJ Viso, named this morning by Scott Dixon as one of the more volatile drivers out there (because he hasn’t hit the wall, perhaps?) ended up 12th for the day, while Marco Andretti was 13th, Vitor Meira 14th and Jeff Simmons, in his first full day driving the No. 41 AJ Foyt entry was 15th, not a bad run for him.  “We’ve been making progress all day,” Simmons said.

Today’s ignoble mention as slowest of the bunch goes to Roger Yasukawa, running more exploratory laps for the CURB/Agajanian/Beck.  He did all of 36 laps (the least of any driver) and his top was 217.490.  “We’re obviously searching for a little bit of speed and going through the fundamental stuff.”

That’s something Phil Giebler would like to be doing, but his American Dream team still hasn’t been able to get their funding situated sufficiently to sign an engine lease.  Formerly Playa Del Racing, American Dream signed Giebler a few days back and will be running – if the money shows up – a former Chastain Racing Panoz, the sole such vehicle in the field!

Buddy Lazier, the 1996 Indy 500 winner has been named to drive Ron Hemelgarn’s Dallara, but he still hasn’t made it onto the track, so we’re not sure what the situation is with that team.  They have been on-site since the track opened, but have been fairly silent until today.  Sources say they’ll be on-track Friday and intend to qualify on Saturday, should the weather hold.

We are expecting sunnier and warmer conditions for Friday, which couldn’t happen too soon for most of us on-site.

[Chris]

Friday - Final Practice Day
Three crashes in final day of practice.  Front row quailifies Briscoe crashed his backup car,and rookies Will Power and E.J. Viso crashed early in the session.  Neither have qualified for the race yet.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Veteran driver Ryan Briscoe, a front-row qualifier last week, crashed hard in the second turn but was uninjured during practice Friday for the Indianapolis 500.

One of the fastest on the final full day of practice before the May 25 race, Briscoe spun into the wall with the rear of his backup car. After climbing out on his own, he was checked at the infield hospital and cleared to drive.

The 26-year-old Australian, who drives for Team Penske, qualified his primary race car third last week, placing him on the outside of the front row for the race. At the time of his crash on Friday, his top speed of 223.372 mph was third-fastest of the day, behind pole-sitter Scott Dixon and former winner Helio Castroneves, Briscoe's teammate with Penske.

In separate crashes Friday, rookie drivers E.J. Viso and Will Power also hit the wall but were not hurt.

Viso, a 23-year-old Venezuelan, hit the wall first. He had completed only one lap early in the session and was still building speed when he lost control going into the third turn, struck the outside wall with the rear of his car and spun across the track.

"It just got loose in the middle of the corner," Viso said.

He was out of the car on his own, checked and released from the infield hospital and cleared to drive.

Less than 30 minutes later, Power, who had turned a lap at 223.039 mph — second-fastest of the day at the time — spun and slid into the wall, sending up a cloud of flame and debris. The 27-year-old Australian also was unhurt and cleared to drive.

"There was a lot of blustery wind out there and I just got caught," Power said. "I wasn't even up to speed yet, and the car came around on me, sending me into the wall.

"I just have a few bumps and bruises on my knees and an ankle. Other than that, I feel fine," he said.

Both Viso and Power are among the nine drivers who have moved to the IRL's IndyCar Series along with teams making the transition from the now-defunct Champ Car World Series.

Neither of them was among the 11 drivers who qualified for the race last Saturday.

The crashes by Viso and Power came during a busy first hour of Friday's practice. On Thursday, 35 cars turned more than 2,600 laps on the 2 1/2-mile oval without a single incident.

After final qualifications Sunday, the track will be closed until race day except for a final two-hour practice next Friday

[Chris]

As Usual at Indy...
Drama plays out in the final hour... And drama will be on tap for Bump day on Sunday.
Marty Roth qualified for the 33rd and final spot in the waning minutes Saturday to fill the field.  Roth took the speed (215.5) altho it was mucj slower than the rest of the field, and he will be the first on bumped out Sunday if there is any on track Activity.
Sundays forecast calls for intermitent raian showers all day.  SO time will tell if his move paid off.

AJ Foyt VI went out just in front of Roth to try and take the 33rd spot, but had gear box problems and pulled into the pits without taking the green. 
ALso not in the field is Max Papis, and about Mario Momingez.  All posted practice speeds above 220.

IN a final note... we have THREE ladies qualified for this years Indy 500  IMO I think all three are safe with their speed.
Of course Danica Patrick qualified 5th last week,... (middle row #2)
Today Sarah Fisher has qualified the inside of row #8 (22nd) and Milka Duna has qualified the outside of row #9 (27th)

Townsend Bell was the fastest qualifier today... slotting into 12th spot with a speed of 222.539