Indianapolis 500 Bump Day
- Matthew Hickey
Bump Day exudes magic. It is one of the most iconic parts of the Month of May when it comes to the Indianapolis 500. Today was no different. All eyes were on drivers Michel Jourdain Jr. and Katherine Legge, with Jourdain being slow all week and Legge getting a last second deal together. Let's do a quick recap of what transpired today:
Drivers who went out in the session that began at Noon Eastern time were drivers who did not qualify yesterday. The order in which they went out were as follows:
-Buddy Lazier / Lazier Racing Partners
-Ana Beatriz / Dale Coyne Racing
-Sebastian Saavedra / Dragon Racing
-Conor Daly / AJ Foyt Enterprises
-Graham Rahal / Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
-Tristan Vautier / Schmidt Peterson Racing
-Pippa Mann / Dale Coyne Racing
-Josef Newgarden / Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing
-Katherine Legge / Schmidt Peterson Racing
Michel Jourdain did not make an attempt. He was slotted to take an attempt after Conor Daly.
Following everyone's first attempt, the driver who stood out to me the most was Josef Newgarden. Josef, who somehow did not get in yesterday, did a perfect job with his lines and speed and put her in the show with 225.731 MPH, 0.700 MPH faster than the next fastest Bump Day qualifier which was Graham Rahal.
Following Rahal on the charts was Sebastian Saavedra, whose car still looks terrible following the livery change. Tristan Vautier, who ran a lap of 226 before losing speed after hitting the hard limiter twice, came in at P28. Ana Beatriz slotted in P29, and qualifying for her second 500 was British driver Pippa Mann in P30. Rookie Conor Daly, who has had a pretty miserable week, nabbed the P31 slot. Buddy Lazier came in P32 with a last minute deal with his own team, such a great effort, very happy for him and his team.
And then in P33 is British driver Katherine Legge. You want to talk about a great drive? Legge gives us a perfect look at it. After being sacked in the offseason by Jay Penske and Dragon Racing, Legge was without a ride for 2013. A last minute deal for Sam Schmidt and Schmidt Peterson Motorpsorts for the third team car sponsored by Angie's List came together for her. She made her very first laps in the car today, and with little to no time in the car, she put it in the field. Very impressive but she'll have a lot of work to do in the race. Nonetheless, she did a very admirable job.
Following Legge's run, the track was opened up for practice for the next several hours. Many drivers who were locked in the field began to focus on race setups. But all eyes remained on Michel Jourdain Jr. Could he find the speed to make an attempt to bump his way in the field?
Graham Rahal, being the great teammate he is, jumped into the car for Michel Jourdain Jr. just to see how the car was. After a couple laps, Graham came back in and confirmed what Michel was feeling in that the car was undriveable.
What baffles me is that Graham's laps were done in the afternoon around 2pm Eastern. The gun goes off at 6pm Eastern, signifying the end of the session. Why did Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing elect to make changes to the setup of the car rather than rolling out Graham's or other teammate James Jakes's T car. Back in 2009 when Tony Kanaan wrecked both his primary and back up car, the team elected to put TK's wings, side pods, and number on then teammate Hideki Mutoh.s car. Kanaan qualified for the race. Why was the same not done in this instance? It cost Jourdain a chance to race in the 500 again, and it sucks for him. The team decided not to make a run as the speed was clearly not their, and Jourdain was very much upset when he got out of the car. I'd love to see him back next year.
With no actual bumping, one might say Bump Day was boring. But there was so much to enjoy, with some great practice action and great stories between Buddy Lazier qualifying again, American hopeful Conor Daly capping off a hellish week with a 500 birth, or Katherine Legge needing all but one day to get the car in the field. However you look at it, Bump Day was a good one.
Matthew Hickey
@Indycar_MN / Indycar Minnesota
Drivers who went out in the session that began at Noon Eastern time were drivers who did not qualify yesterday. The order in which they went out were as follows:
-Buddy Lazier / Lazier Racing Partners
-Ana Beatriz / Dale Coyne Racing
-Sebastian Saavedra / Dragon Racing
-Conor Daly / AJ Foyt Enterprises
-Graham Rahal / Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
-Tristan Vautier / Schmidt Peterson Racing
-Pippa Mann / Dale Coyne Racing
-Josef Newgarden / Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing
-Katherine Legge / Schmidt Peterson Racing
Michel Jourdain did not make an attempt. He was slotted to take an attempt after Conor Daly.
Following everyone's first attempt, the driver who stood out to me the most was Josef Newgarden. Josef, who somehow did not get in yesterday, did a perfect job with his lines and speed and put her in the show with 225.731 MPH, 0.700 MPH faster than the next fastest Bump Day qualifier which was Graham Rahal.
Following Rahal on the charts was Sebastian Saavedra, whose car still looks terrible following the livery change. Tristan Vautier, who ran a lap of 226 before losing speed after hitting the hard limiter twice, came in at P28. Ana Beatriz slotted in P29, and qualifying for her second 500 was British driver Pippa Mann in P30. Rookie Conor Daly, who has had a pretty miserable week, nabbed the P31 slot. Buddy Lazier came in P32 with a last minute deal with his own team, such a great effort, very happy for him and his team.
And then in P33 is British driver Katherine Legge. You want to talk about a great drive? Legge gives us a perfect look at it. After being sacked in the offseason by Jay Penske and Dragon Racing, Legge was without a ride for 2013. A last minute deal for Sam Schmidt and Schmidt Peterson Motorpsorts for the third team car sponsored by Angie's List came together for her. She made her very first laps in the car today, and with little to no time in the car, she put it in the field. Very impressive but she'll have a lot of work to do in the race. Nonetheless, she did a very admirable job.
Following Legge's run, the track was opened up for practice for the next several hours. Many drivers who were locked in the field began to focus on race setups. But all eyes remained on Michel Jourdain Jr. Could he find the speed to make an attempt to bump his way in the field?
Graham Rahal, being the great teammate he is, jumped into the car for Michel Jourdain Jr. just to see how the car was. After a couple laps, Graham came back in and confirmed what Michel was feeling in that the car was undriveable.
What baffles me is that Graham's laps were done in the afternoon around 2pm Eastern. The gun goes off at 6pm Eastern, signifying the end of the session. Why did Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing elect to make changes to the setup of the car rather than rolling out Graham's or other teammate James Jakes's T car. Back in 2009 when Tony Kanaan wrecked both his primary and back up car, the team elected to put TK's wings, side pods, and number on then teammate Hideki Mutoh.s car. Kanaan qualified for the race. Why was the same not done in this instance? It cost Jourdain a chance to race in the 500 again, and it sucks for him. The team decided not to make a run as the speed was clearly not their, and Jourdain was very much upset when he got out of the car. I'd love to see him back next year.
With no actual bumping, one might say Bump Day was boring. But there was so much to enjoy, with some great practice action and great stories between Buddy Lazier qualifying again, American hopeful Conor Daly capping off a hellish week with a 500 birth, or Katherine Legge needing all but one day to get the car in the field. However you look at it, Bump Day was a good one.
Matthew Hickey
@Indycar_MN / Indycar Minnesota
Pictures appear courtesy of Amy (@OpenWheelMom) who is working in the Social Media Garage for the Indy 500
