Indianapolis 500 Pole Day
- Sandy Lamparello
Hello Indycar fans and welcome to Indy 500 Pole Day!! It’s been an amazing season so far and I’m definitely looking forward to an amazing Indy 500 in just 8 days. I’ll be at IMS in person on Thursday but for today I’m your humble Pole Day reviewer at home in Maryland.
For those who don’t know me, I’m Sandy (@npssandy on Twitter) and I've been an Indycar fan since I was a little girl. I recently started my own blog over at Sticker Reds but before that, Adrian was kind enough to invite me to review Pole Day for his site. I’m excited to be able to bring you all the action today!
Right now it’s a few minutes before morning practice begins. There are a lot of nerves in the garages and pits on race morning, for obvious reasons. I’m even feeling the nerves here at home! It’s been a fast month, with Andretti Autosport being the talk of the paddock according to several who have been at IMS. Will they continue to reside atop the leaderboard? We’ll find out this afternoon!
For those who are unfamiliar with the qualifying format, here is an explanation, courtesy of indycar.com:
Twenty-four positions will be filled May 18 from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. (ET), with a qualification attempt consisting of four consecutive timed laps. Positions 1-24 will be based on the fastest four-lap averages. The nine entries posting the fastest speeds will return for knockout qualifying from 4:30-6 p.m. to determine the Verizon P1 Award winner and set the first three rows for the 200-lap race. The pole winner will receive a $100,000 bonus. Bonus points of 15-1 are awarded through the 33-car field. Each entrant is allowed three qualifying attempts in the first segment.
Here is the qualifying order for the day:
1 #9 Scott Dixon, Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
2 #14 Takuma Sato, AJ Foyt Enterprises Honda
3 #15 Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
4 #2 AJ Allmendinger (R), Team Penske Chevy
5 #91 Buddy Lazier, Lazier Partners Racing Chevy
6 #78 Simona de Silvestro, KV Racing Technology Chevy
7 #27 James Hinchcliffe, Andretti Autosport Chevy
8 #41 Conor Daly (R), AJ Foyt Enterprises Honda
9 #7 Sebastien Bourdais, Dragon Racing Chevy
10 #19 Justin Wilson, Dale Coyne Racing Honda
11 #3 Helio Castroneves, Team Penske Chevy
12 #16 James Jakes, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
13 #6 Sebastian Saavedra, Dragon Racing Chevy
14 #63 Pippa Mann, Dale Coyne Racing Honda
15 #60 Townsend Bell, Panther Racing Chevy
16 #5 EJ Viso, Andretti Autosport/HVM Chevy
17 #98 Alex Tagliani, Bryan Herta Autosport w/Curb-Agajanian Honda
18 #12 Will Power, Team Penske Chevy
19 #8 Ryan Briscoe, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
20 #11 Tony Kanaan, KV Racing Technology Chevy
21 #21 Josef Newgarden, Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda
22 #55 Tristan Vautier (R), Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda
23 #10 Dario Franchitti, Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
24 #18 Ana Beatriz, Dale Coyne Racing Honda
25 #83 Charlie Kimball, Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
26 #20 Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing Chevy
27 #1 Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport Chevy
28 #17 Michel Jourdain, Jr., Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
29 #26 Carlos Muñoz (R), Andretti Autosport Chevy
30 #4 JR Hildebrand, Panther Racing Chevy
31 #25 Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport Chevy
32 #77 Simon Pagenaud, Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports Honda
33 #22 Oriol Servia, Panther DRR Chevy
An hour before qualifying, there is some rain in the area. Hopefully it will pass through and we can get the cars out on track on schedule. It was a fast morning, with Will Power and AJ Allendinger both topping 229 mph during their practice runs.
And half an hour before the scheduled qualifying start time, I hear it’s raining pretty hard at IMS. But we have some news! Katherine Legge, who drove for Dragon Racing last year, has been confirmed as the third driver for Sam Schmidt! According to Curt Cavin, Katherine will be driving the car that was thought to be number 99 but which will actually be number 81. Got that? It’s unclear whether the car will make a qualifying run today (unlikely) or tomorrow. The entry of the 34th car means my colleague Matt will have some bumping to cover for you tomorrow. It could be a very interesting—and fun—day!
Today the drivers will fill the first 24 spots in the starting grid. Those qualifying attempts are scheduled for 11 AM – 4 PM EDT, but with the rain the start is sure to be delayed. At the end of that qualifying period, the times of the fastest 9 drivers are erased and they must make at least one additional qualifying run from 4:30 – 6:00 PM. The Pole Sitter (and its accompanying Verizon P1 award) will be set and the remainder of the first 3 rows will be set at the end of the Fast Nine period.
Leigh Diffey, Kevin Lee, Marty Snider, Will Buxton, Gil de Ferran, Robin Miller, and Jon Beekhuis are bringing us the action on NBCSports Network. Right now there isn’t any action due to the rain, so we get a lot of talk. Gil doesn’t agree with the Andretti Autosport decision not to run any practice laps this morning. Cue video of the Andretti boys practicing together. Leigh asks how important the team aspect is and Gil says it’s very important. Collaboration can be very beneficial to the drivers.
The guys in the booth review the qualifying order and Leigh notes Townsend Bell, who is normally part of the NBCSports Network crew, is driving the #60 car today. He also highlights Ryan Briscoe’s return to Indy after losing his full-time ride with Penske after last season. I’ve missed Ryan this season and it’s great to see him back! Kevin Lee interviews Townsend and he thinks he can get into the Fast Nine with his Sunoco/Turbo-sponsored Chevy. Townsend says Helio was fast this morning.
Marty Snider visits with Beaux Barfield, Indycar President of Competition & Race Director. They hang out on a futon with a sock monkey. No, I’m not kidding. He says there will be cars on the track in the next few hours. Beaux is upset that Gil de Ferran did not come by to say hello to him. He also likes Townsend’s fire suit, and says the sock monkey is “a long story.”
Umbrellas are down and the squeegee patrol is in pit lane. Safety trucks are making the rounds of the track as Leigh tells us the focus may not be on the Fast Nine anymore, but rather getting everyone out for at least one qualification run. Conor Daly chills in the garage with his dad, Derek.
Leigh asks Gil how rain changes things for qualifying. Gil says the track will be completely different once qualification starts. He then asks Beaux why he is upset with him, saying they’ve known each other for a long time. Jon tells us JR Hildebrand likes when it rains because the track is clean. He likes to work with different parts of the racetrack and that’s easier to do when there is no rubber on the track.
Leigh reminds us who the rookies are today—AJ Allmendinger, Conor Daly, Tristan Vautier, and Carlos Munoz. Will interviews Conor in the AJ Foyt garage and he talks about his scary crash during practice. His car has been repaired and he’s ready to go this morning. I’m officially a big fan of Will Buxton.
Marty chats with Helio and tells him Townsend said he had the fastest car today. Helio thanks Townsend and notes the absence of the Andretti Boys this morning. He has his earpieces in place and he’s ready to go. The Penske boys are keeping their heads in the game. Helio visited the IMS Hall of Fame Museum and says that is what it is all about. He is seeking his fourth Indy 500 win and has a lot of work ahead of him. Marty tells Helio Gil is up in the booth and Helio says he gave his fourth win away to Gil back in 2003. Gil says Helio had Gil’s first 2 wins. Cue Helio and Gil good-naturedly teasing each other. Fun stuff!
Beaux is heading out to the track to see how things look. RHR and Marco are hanging out with Mario Andretti in the Andretti Autosport garages. Can you imagine how awesome it must be to have Mario available for advice/information whenever you have a question? Kevin talks to RHR, who says they are all chilled out and waiting for the weather to pass. Marco says he’s not like Ryan where qualifying is easy but they are ready. Apparently their teammate Hinch is walking around with a GoPro camera this morning.
Looks like the sun has made a return to IMS! Maybe we can get the cars out on the track soon.
Will talks to Dario but I missed most of it because I was putting my pizza in the oven. Dario says teams and drivers become experts in the weather during May at IMS. Wind can make a big difference—the gusts in Turns 1 & 2 can affect the cars dramatically. Will asks what a fourth win would mean for Dario and he says everyone just wants to win, whether it’s your first or second or fourth, you need a good car, a good strategy, and a little bit of luck.
Simon Pagenaud is walking his dog, which may or may not be named HP. Marty talks to Graham, who has 4 dogs but he doesn’t bring them to the track because they’re too big. Well, except for Dude, whose name apparently suits him perfectly. Graham is happy his car was faster this morning. He grumbles about the tow but enough already. He agrees with Gil that it was a mistake for the Andretti boys not to go out this morning. Graham is wearing enormous sunglasses. He says all 5 Andretti cars will be in the Fast Nine and it only leaves a few spots for the rest of the field. It’s valuable having his dad with him at the track, because he’s been through it for the past 30 or so years, and he is very methodical in his approach to the month.
Robin Miller makes an appearance from the Sam Schmidt garage and he tells us Katherine Legge has been fitted for a seat and she is going to be driving the #81 car. He says she may get out for some laps today but probably won’t try to qualify until Bump Day.
Leigh asks Robin about AJ Foyt coming into Indy in the points lead with driver Takuma Sato. Robin says AJ wanted a driver who would go for it this year and he seems to have found it in Taku. AJ recently had back surgery so he’s dealing with some pain, but otherwise it’s been a great season so far for him.
The track is looking drier, so maybe we can get a car out there soon! I’m sure you’d all rather read that than me rambling! ;)
Will interviews Simon Pagenaud and of course crepes are the topic of conversation. Simon is a crepe master and he confirms his dog is named HP. He says qualifying is the most intense moment in racing. Will asks how it is being teammates with countryman Tristan Vautier. In a nutshell, Simon likes working with Tristan and sharing information. Will says “advertisements” in the proper British way and I think I’m in love.
Simon started from ground zero last year at Indy and took his time figuring out how to adjust his car during the race. He has a better understanding right now but it is always a learning experience. Honda is working hard on ironing out details and he is confident they will be competitive. And we learn HP is a girl.
Townsend has made his way up to the booth. Leigh asks how he’s feeling. Townsend says it’s always tough on Pole Day because you don’t sleep the night before and you arrive ready to go, and the delay makes it a little more difficult. Things are going well in the Panther Racing garages. Gil asks what Townsend learned this morning. Townsend says teams were watching the setup of each car that went out on track. Different changes to the car affect the speed in different ways and at different points on the track.
Jon notes neither JR nor Oriol went out this morning and asks if Townsend was the guinea pig. He confirms he was, then reveals he thought his teammates were going out in the second session. Leigh asks what it’s like for Townsend to come to Indy once a year and hop into an Indycar. Townsend says it’s scary but he keeps coming back to do it. He says you have to have a lot of faith in the equipment and respect the track. The more time you spend in the car on track, the more relaxed you can become and the more feedback you can give to the engineers. Gil says scary and terrifying are a good way to describe it. Townsend says you have to respect the track and look for precision rather than perfection.
Marty talks to Josef Newgarden who says they are not worried that they haven’t been on top of the timesheets. They’re focusing on the race because last year they had good times in practice but then had a difficult race. Marty reveals they woke Josef up from a nap for this interview and asks how hard it is to come to the track excited for qualifying and then have to sit and wait out the rain. Josef is not fazed. He’s running the #21 car this month instead of his usual #67, in honor of sponsor Century 21. Marty asks about Brazil and Josef says he wasn’t as fired up as the other drivers but the main concern is safety, even when protecting your position.
Track is still drying, so we relive the end of the 2012 Indy 500. It was awesome, in case you missed it. I was there, my first in-person race ever. Absolutely fabulous weekend.
Robin interviews Taku and of course Brazil comes up. The block/no block has been discussed to death so I’m not going to discuss it here. Taku thanks everyone who gave him a chance in Indycar and says he was close so many times last season and just needed one thing to go the right way for him to get a win. And it all came together for him this year in Long Beach. Robin asks what AJ calls him and Taku says AJ can call him anything he wants.
Leigh tells us the first five cars have been called to inspection, which means we should have qualifying soon!
Marty interviews Will Power as teammate AJ Allmendinger’s car rolls out of the garage. Will thinks he can be in the Fast Nine and have a shot at the pole. He doesn’t think anyone will reach 230 mph today but maybe 228. Marty asks if Will feels nerves during qualifying at Indy and Will says he does. It takes bravery, intense energy, and calmness to pull it off. He’s been struggling all week but hopes they have found the answer today. Marty asks if this is the most frustrating season Will has had. He says no, it feels more competitive and they’ve had a few bad runs but that’s how it goes. If you keep knocking on the door you will eventually get a win. The championship is still attainable.
Will talks to last year’s pole sitter, Ryan Briscoe. Ryan has had a good week and he’s had plenty of track time so he feels like he’s back in the groove. He’s happy to be here with Chip Ganassi Racing and he’s ready to get in the car. He says a lot more but my phone rang so I missed it. Sorry.
Bob Jenkins is here to tell us about his favorite Pole Day memories. His first Pole Day was May 18, 1956. Bob is retired from full-time broadcasting, but he has been manning the public address system at IMS this week and he will cover Carb Day for NBCSports on Friday, May 24.
Robin interviews TK, who he calls one of the best drivers to never win at Indy. Tony says he thinks about it 364 days a year and if he wins at this point it’s more for his fans than for himself. He gets plenty of cheering and attention just for being there. TK’s wife, Lauren, is from Indy and it feels like home for him. How could you not like TK? TK and Gil chat with each other and we get to eavesdrop. It’s pretty awesome.
Cars are out on pit lane! I have to give NBCSports Network credit with how they’ve handled this unanticipated delay. Lots of great stuff to fill these 2 hours when we should’ve been watching cars on the track. Scott Dixon’s #9 is in position to make its qualifying run.
Kevin talks to Simona and gives her props for her attitude last year when she was saddled with a Lotus engine for the whole season. She says she’s definitely having more fun this season.
Marty interviews AJ Allmendinger. AJ is really nervous and the rain break didn’t help him relax much. He’s excited and says it’s a good nervous. He believes he may have a chance to be in the front row. AJ says it’s been a good week so far and his car was fast this morning so he just needs to go out and do his job. He says the drivers are not sure if there will be a Fast Nine today. With the delay there may only be time for each car to make one qualifying run. Guess we’ll find out!
Beaux is out in pit lane ahead of the line of cars waiting to qualify. Twitter word seems to be we are 10-15 minutes away.
Kevin talks to Scott Dixon, who says they may run open qualifying until 6 PM. Scott says he will give it his best shot during his first run and see what happens later.
Kevin talks to Beaux, who confirms there will be open qualifying until 6 PM, meaning each car can make up to three qualifying runs. There will then be a 30-minute break and the Fast Nine will begin at 6:30 PM, with each driver getting only one attempt. If it rains again this will all be reevaluated, but it sounds like as long as each car has had one attempt to qualify there will be a Fast Nine.
Cue the National Anthem. James Hinchcliffe, a Canadian, behaves better during the National Anthem than most Americans I see at sporting events. Just saying…
Marty talks to Hinch, who almost earned the Pole last year. He hopes the track will stay dry to allow everyone to qualify and get the Fast Nine in. He has faith in his crew and is hoping the GoDaddy car will find the Pole.
Scott Dixon is out! He gets 2 warm-up laps before his 4 lap (10 mile) qualifying run. I think Dixie is one of the least appreciated Indycar drivers. He’s very talented and doesn’t get nearly enough credit or attention.
And he’s green! Lap 1 comes in at 226.405 mph. Lap 2 is 226.245, Lap 3 is 226.098, and Lap 4 is 225.884. Scott Dixon’s 4-lap average is 226.158.
Takuma Sato, current Indycar points leader, is out for his warm-up laps. He takes the green flag for qualifying and his first lap is 226.071. Lap 2 comes in at 226.061. Lap 3 is 225.780 and Lap 4 is 225.650 for a 4-lap average of 225.892.
Next up is Graham Rahal. He takes the green and Lap 1 is 225.425. Lap 2 is 225.246, Lap 3 is 224.893, and Lap 4 is 224.996. 225.139 is his average.
Dixon says the track was pretty good, though different from this morning’s practice. He thinks they’ll have another chance later on. Sato says his run was reasonably good, and track conditions have degraded.
Rookie AJ Allmendinger is out on track now. His Lap 1 speed is 227.942. WOW! Lap 2 is 227.918. Lap 3 comes in at 227.711, and Lap 4 is 227.473 for an average of 227.761. Hello Chevy!
1996 Indy 500 winner Buddy Lazier is up next. Lap 1 comes in at 223.548, Lap 2 at 223.338, Lap 3 at 222.905, and Lap 4 at 222.505 for an average of 222.073.
AJ Allmendinger says this is a dream come true for him and he loves being around Team Penske. He says this is what it is all about. He’s very emotional as he says there were some dark times over the past year and he never thought he’d be here at Indy with a chance to qualify on the front row. I’m happy for him.
Simona De Silvestro is on track for her qualifying run. Lap 1—224.956. Lap 2—225.665. Lap 3—225.593. Lap 4—225.387. Average—225.400.
James Hinchcliffe takes his turn on the track. His Lap 1 speed is 228.131. Take THAT! Lap 2 is 227.799. Lap 3 is 227.208, and Lap 4 is 226.893. Average—227.493.
Another rookie, Conor Daly, takes to the track. Dad Derek says it is different watching someone else qualify, especially when it’s your son. Lap 1—221.528. And Conor’s engine is smoking. His crew tells him to pit so he waves off his first qualification run.
Simona tells Will she had a little lift in her first lap. Hinch tells Marty he was surprised by how much his car fell off over the course of his qualification run. He’s happy with his speed though. He will relay information to his teammates to hopefully help them in their runs.
The pace car and the safety trucks are out on the track as we wait to go back to green.
Conor tells Will a header broke on his engine and it just sucks a lot. He’s bummed, because the car was feeling good this morning. He’s hoping there is enough time for him to do another run once the car is fixed.
Sebastien Bourdais is out in his awesome-looking chrome-and-red livery. He takes the green, and his Lap 1 speed is 226.161. Lap 2 is 226.192, Lap 3 is 226.241, and Lap 4 is 226.189, for an average of 226.196.
Our next qualifier is Justin Wilson. Justin’s Lap 1 speed is 226.804. His Lap 2 speed is 226.437, Lap 3 is 226.192, Lap 4 is 226.048, and his average is 226.370.
Three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves is up next. Lap 1—227.653. Lap 2—228.339. Lap 3—228.068. Lap 4—227.842. Average—227.975. Helio takes P1 away from his teammate!
Sebastien tells Marty the car was pretty fast so he’ll take it.
James Jakes heads out to qualify. His Lap 1 speed is 224.663. Lap 2 is 225.840. Lap 3 is 225.589. Lap 4 is 225.499. Average is 225.397.
Helio tells Marty he had a little issue during his first lap but otherwise it was on rails. The Penske teamwork is paying off.
NBC Sports Network has gone to Preakness coverage, so I’m working off of racecontrol.indycar.com now. All that really means is no between-qualifying interviews until they come back at 4:25 PM.
Sebastian Saavedra and his crazy hair are out on track now. Lap 1—224.932. Lap 2—224.721. Lap 3—224.551. Lap 4—225.420. Average—224.656.
Pippa Mann dances out for her qualifying run. OK, not really but I know she is very excited to be back at Indy! Pippa’s Lap 1 speed is 222.620. Lap 2 is 223.005. Lap 3 is 223.545, and Lap 4 is 223.445. Average is 223.153.
Townsend Bell takes to the track in his Sunoco/Turbo livery. Lap 1—225.886. Lap 2—225.604. Lap 3—225.708. Lap 4—225.599. Average—225.699.
EJ Viso is up next. EJ’s Lap 1 speed is 227.990. His Lap 2 speed is 227.608, Lap 3 is 227.531, and Lap 4 is 227.320, for an average of 227.612.
Alex Tagliani is out on his qualifying run. He turns in a Lap 1 speed of 227.907. Lap 2 is 227.629, Lap 3 is 227.075, and Lap 4 is 226.937. Average is 227.368.
Will Power takes the green flag. Lap 1—229.422. Holy speed, Batman!! Lap 2—229.170. Lap 3—228.526. Lap 4—228.260. Average—228.844. Will knocks teammate Helio off of the provisional pole.
2012 Polesitter Ryan Briscoe returns to Indycar qualifying. Ryan’s first lap is 225.284, his second lap is 224.978. His third lap is 225.052, his fourth lap is 224.859, and his average is 225.043.
Tony Kanaan takes his shot at qualifying. Lap 1—227.256. Lap 2—227.028. Lap 3—226.803. Lap 4—226.710. Average—226.949.
Josef Newgarden is out on track for his qualifying run. Lap 1 speed is 226.009, Lap 2 speed is 224.425, Lap 3 speed is 225.403, and Lap 4 speed is 225.009, for an average speed of 225.210.
Rookie Tristan Vautier, the only full-time Rookie in Indycar this season, climbs into his car and heads out. Lap 1 is 223.751. Lap 2 is 223.730. Lap 3 is 223.861. Lap 4 is 223.912. Average is 223.814. Impressive run for the rookie!
Defending Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti is up next. If you can’t tell Dario’s car from Scott Dixon’s car, you’re not alone. Last year at Indy I figured out that Dixie’s car has white accents while Dario’s car is all red. Dario’s first lap is 226.680. His second lap is 226.325, his third lap is 225.680, his fourth lap is 225.596, and his average is 226.069.
Ana Beatriz makes her qualification run. Her Lap 1 speed is 222.990. Her Lap 2 speed is 223.573, Lap 3 is 223.737, and Lap 4 is 223.653, for an average of 223.488.
Our next driver is Charlie Kimball. Lap 1—226.226. Lap 2—225.986. Lap 3—225.794. Lap 4—225.515. Average—225.880.
Next up is Ed Carpenter. And we now have a bubble! Only 24 spots are filled today, so now that we have 24 cars in the field the bumping starts. Buddy Lazier is the current driver in danger of being bumped out of the field. Ed’s first lap speed is 228.435. His second lap is 228.309. I think it’s safe to say Buddy is about to be bumped. Ed’s third lap is 227.778, and his fourth lap is 227.287, for an average of 227.952.
Defending Indycar Series Champion Ryan Hunter-Reay takes the track. RHR’s Lap 1 is 228.684. Pippa Mann is now on the bubble. RHR’s Lap 2 is 228.426. His Lap 3 is 228.101, and his Lap 4 is 227.917, for an average of 228.282.
Michel Jourdain, Jr. is next up to qualify and Ana Beatriz is now on the bubble. Lap 1—219.548. Lap 2—221.859. Looks like Bia may be safe for now. Lap 3—220.991. Lap 4—219.466. Average—220.461 Not fast enough to make the top 24 today. Let’s see if he gets another chance this afternoon. Why did they let him finish when time is already short today?
Our final Rookie to attempt to qualify is Carlos Munoz. It seems I may have missed something, because indycar.com race control shows James Jakes failed to qualify. Aha, his car failed inspection. So Pippa is in but on the bubble. Back to Carlos. Lap 1 is 228.447, Lap 2 is 228.132, Lap 3 is 228.181, and Lap 4 is 227.923. Average is 228.171 and the rookie knocks TK out of the Fast Nine and Pippa out of the top 24.
JR Hildebrand is out on track to attempt to qualify. Lap 1—227.704. Lap 2—227.532. Ana Beatriz is now on the bubble, for real this time. Lap 3—227.511. Lap 4—227.016. Average—227.441. Bia is now out of the top 24 and Tags it out of the Fast Nine.
Marco Andretti, who has been having a fantastic 2013, is up next. Tristan Vautier is now on the bubble. Marco’s first lap speed is 228.572. His second lap speed is 227.898, third lap speed is 227.522, and fourth lap speed is 227.583, for an average of 227.893. Vautier is out of the top 24 and Hildebrand is out of the Fast Nine.
Simon Pagenaud climbs into his car for his qualifying run. Pags has been having a bit of a sophomore slump but you can never count him out. Sebastian Saavedra is currently on the bubble and Hinch is in danger of being knocked out of the Fast Nine. It looks like we’ll have plenty of time for cars to make another run though, so I expect that Fast Nine to change. Lap 1—225.437. Lap 2—225.581. Lap 3—225.841. Lap 4—225.839. Average—225.674. Saavedra is bumped out.
Our last driver to make an initial qualifying run today is Oriol Servia. Ryan Briscoe is now on the bubble, and Hinch is still in danger of being knocked out of the Fast Nine. Servia’s first lap speed is 227.142, second lap speed is 226.893, third lap speed is 226.633, and fourth lap speed is 226.588, for an average of 226.814. Briscoe is bumped out but Hinch is still safe.
The Yellow Flag flies for track inspection as teams regroup and decide if they will make another qualifying run. After the first round of qualifying, the top 24 spots line up as follows:
1 Will Power 228.844
2 Ryan Hunter-Reay 228.282
3 Carlos Munoz 228.171
4 Helio Castroneves 227.975
5 Ed Carpenter 227.952
6 Marco Andretti 227.893
7 AJ Allmendinger 227.761
8 EJ Viso 227.612
9 James Hinchcliffe 227.493
10 JR Hildebrand 227.441
11 Alex Tagliani 227.368
12 Tony Kanaan 226.949
13 Oriol Servia 226.814
14 Justin Wilson 226.370
15 Sebastien Bourdais 226.196
16 Scott Dixon 226.158
17 Dario Franchitti 226.069
18 Takuma Sato 225.892
19 Charlie Kimball 225.880
20 Townsend Bell 225.699
21 Simon Pagenaud 225.674
22 Simona De Silvestro 225.400
23 Josef Newgarden 225.210
24 Graham Rahal 225.139
And now we wait to see if anyone goes out for another run. NBC Sports Network will be back in about 10 minutes to take us up to the 6 PM cutoff for open qualifying. Then I hear they will be back at 6:30 for the Fast Nine. Nice job adapting to the schedule change. It’s much appreciated!!
Graham Rahal takes his number 15 car out for some practice laps while we wait to see if anyone will make another qualifying attempt. The Jakes number 16 car is being rolled out too, we’ll have to see if he makes another attempt after his first run was disallowed due to a failed tech inspection. Leigh Diffey returns to air to tell us Jakes’s car was disqualified for being underweight.
Dixon is back out on track for some practice runs as the NBCSports Network guys review what went on while they were away. Will tells us Jakes’s car was out and ready to make a qualifying run but for some reason it has been taken back to the garage. Not even Jakes knows why, apparently, as we see him sitting on the pit wall by himself.
Ryan Briscoe is back out for another qualifying run. His Lap 1 speed is 225.336, his Lap 2 speed is 225.286, and he waves off his qualification run. Ryan can make one more qualification run today with just over 1:15 left in open qualifying.
James Jakes is back in his car to make another qualification run. If he qualifies he will knock his teammate, Graham Rahal, out of the top 24. Graham is sitting in his car, just in case. Jakes heads out on track.
Will talks to Chip Ganassi, who is not happy. Kevin talks to Michael Andretti, who is happy but wondering how the winds, which are picking up, may affect the rest of the afternoon.
Jakes turns in a first lap speed of 225.488, a second lap speed of 224.876, a third lap speed of 225.311, and a fourth lap speed of 224.937. His average is 225.153 and he knocks his teammate Graham Rahal out of the top 24.
Graham’s crew readies his car for another qualifying run. Of course, if Graham now qualifies he will knock his teammate Jakes back out of the top 24. Apparently Graham is going to run a few practice laps first.
Robin tells us Scott Dixon’s crew has made changes to his car. He says the team can’t change the engine to make another qualifying run, but maybe what they need is a Chevy. Nice!
Will talks to Helio, who says he went out to practice and it didn’t quite go the way he had hoped. And now it’s too close to the Fast Nine for them to make the changes he’d like. But they’re going to go out and go for it.
And now TK’s car is being rolled out to pit lane. Apparently TK plans to run some practice laps and then decide whether to make another qualifying run.
Graham heads out for his second qualifying run. Once he takes the green flag his original time will be erased. Simona De Silvestro is also in line for a second qualifying run.
Graham’s Lap 1 speed is 225.037. Lap 2 is 225.074. Lap 3 is 224.921. And they’re waving off the attempt. Or not, as Graham decides to finish it. Lap 4 is 224.771, for an average of 224.950. He’s still outside the top 24.
Simona heads out for her second qualification run. It’s a gamble, as she was in P22 and safe for at least a little while. She takes the green, officially erasing her earlier time and putting Graham Rahal into P24.
Will talks to Sebastian Saavedra about his paint issues this week.
Simona’s Lap 1 speed is 225.027, Lap 2 is 225.395, Lap 3 is 225.312, and Lap 4 is 225.168. Her average is 225.226 and she’s back in P22. Graham is back out of the top 24.
Graham talks to Marty and says they’ll probably go home for the night and start fresh on Bump Day tomorrow.
There are 38 minutes left in open qualifying and Pippa Mann appears ready to make a second qualifying run. And she’s out! Lap 1—225.160. Lap 2—224.805. Lap 3—224.306. Lap 4—223.140. Her average is 224.350, which puts her in 27th right now.
And now Townsend Bell is out on track for his second qualification run. He takes the green, erasing his earlier time, which put him at P20. His first lap is 224.745, his second lap is 224.018, and this is not looking like a good move for Townsend. Graham Rahal is back in the top 24 right now, though. Townsend’s third lap is 224.872, and his fourth lap is 224.605, for an average of 224.560. He’s in 26th right now. Definitely not a good move for the Panther Racing team.
Ana Beatriz makes her second qualifying attempt. Lap 1—225.106. Lap 2—225.233. Lap 3—225.076. Lap 4—225.055. Average—225.117. She’s in, Graham is out.
Ryan Briscoe goes out for his third qualifying attempt. If he makes it in Bia will be back out. Ryan takes the green flag and his Lap 1 speed is 225.060. Lap 2 is 225.350, Lap 3 is 225.346, and Lap 4 is 225.305. Average is 225.265 and he’s now P21. Bia is back out of the top 24.
Josef Newgarden has apparently lined up for another qualifying run, and Townsend Bell is getting strapped in for his third run.
Kevin talks to Sarah Fisher, who owns Josef’s car. She says they are getting ready to play the offensive; they will not pull their car if it is in the top 24. Sarah is wearing yellow ladybug earrings. I like them.
Tristan Vautier apparently made a qualifying run but we missed it. Not a huge deal because he wasn’t fast enough to make the top 24.
There are about 17 minutes left in qualifying, then a 30-minute break before the Fast Nine make their qualifying runs.
Pippa is back out for her third qualifying attempt. Or not, as she waves it off. She will have another attempt available, if there is time.
Josef Newgarden pulls his car out of line and Townsend Bell is ready to make his third qualifying run. After a commercial, of course…
Townsend heads out as teams scramble to get their cars ready behind him. Jakes is still on the bubble as Bell pulls away. Lap 1—226.146. Looking good! Lap 2—225.797. Lap 3—225.520. Lap 4—225.113. Average—225.653 and Townsend Bell is back in the top 24 at P21!
Jakes was just bumped out but he’s back out for a qualifying attempt. Josef Newgarden is on the bubble and if he is bumped he may not have time for another qualifying run.
Jakes takes the green flag and his first lap speed is 226.066. Sarah Fisher is getting nervous for her driver. Jakes’s second lap speed is 225.754, third lap speed is 225.838, and fourth lap speed is 225.578. Average is 225.809 and he’s in P20. Josef is out.
Michel Jourdain, Jr. is back out for his second qualifying attempt. Time is almost up, so Josef Newgarden will have to come back and qualify tomorrow.
The gun is fired, closing the track for qualifying. Josef Newgarden climbs out of his car.
Simona is on the bubble but Jourdain is very slow. Lap 1 is 219.042. Lap 2 is 218.622. Lap 3 is 217.365, and Lap 4 is 218.295. Not fast enough by a long stretch.
Josef is OK, he says he’ll get in the field tomorrow and their focus is on next week.
Heading into the Fast Nine, here is the qualifying order:
1 Will Power 228.844
2 Ryan Hunter-Reay 228.282
3 Carlos Munoz 228.171
4 Helio Castroneves 227.975
5 Ed Carpenter 227.952
6 Marco Andretti 227.893
7 AJ Allmendinger 227.761
8 EJ Viso 227.612
9 James Hinchcliffe 227.493
10 JR Hildebrand 227.441
11 Alex Tagliani 227.368
12 Tony Kanaan 226.949
13 Oriol Servia 226.814
14 Justin Wilson 226.370
15 Sebastien Bourdais 226.196
16 Scott Dixon 226.158
17 Dario Franchitti 226.069
18 Takuma Sato 225.892
19 Charlie Kimball 225.880
20 James Jakes 225.809
21 Simon Pagenaud 225.674
22 Townsend Bell 225.653
23 Ryan Briscoe 225.265
24 Simona De Silvestro 225.226
The Fast Nine consists of all 5 Andretti drivers, all 3 Penske drivers, and Ed Carpenter. Let’s go Andretti!! All 9 cars are powered by Chevy.
NBCSports Network is staying around for the break before the Fast Nine, but I’ve been sitting here all day so I’m going to go grab some dinner and watch the Preakness before the Fast Nine. Stay tuned!
So apparently I was wrong. NBCSports Network is leaving IMS at 6:30 for Preakness post-race coverage, and they’ll be back at 7 PM for the end of the Fast Nine. Not cool, NBCSN!
The drivers go in reverse order of their initial qualifying times, so Andretti Autosport’s James Hinchcliffe is first out in the Fast Nine. He has one shot to put it on the Pole. I don’t know what kind of coverage I’m going to have available, because right now there’s no TV and indycar.com has been spotty at best for me today. But I’ll do my best for you.
Hinch is out on track! Lap 1—225.760. Lap 2—227.871. Lap 3—227.550. Lap 4—227.113. Average—227.070.
Hinch’s teammate EJ Viso is up next. Lap 1—228.611. Lap 2—228.372. Lap 3—227.938. Lap 4—227.682. Average—228.150.
AJ Allmendinger is the first Team Penske driver to take to the track during the Fast Nine. Lap 1—228.722. Lap 2—228.262. Lap 3—227.786. Lap 4—227.629. Average—228.099.
EJ Viso remains on the Pole.
Marco Andretti is up next for his pole run. Lap 1—229.049. WOO HOO! Lap 2—228.393. Lap 3—228.012. Lap 4—227.596. Average—228.261.
Marco takes the Pole from his teammate! Way to go, Marco!! The Indycar radio guys say Marco will end up in the front row. I like the sound of that!
Ed Carpenter heads out onto track. Lap 1—229.347. Lap 2—228.976. Lap 3—228.774. Lap 4—227.955. Average—228.762. Ed is now P1.
Helio Castroneves lines up for his Pole run. Lap 1—228.770. Lap 2—228.118. Lap 3—227.435. Lap 4—226.736. Average—227.762. Helio is P5.
Carlos Munoz heads out on track. Lap 1—228.988. Lap 2—228.382. Lap 3—228.211. Lap 4—227.792. Average—228.342. Carlos is P2.
Ryan Hunter-Reay heads out. Lap 1—228.778. Lap 2—228.106. Lap 3—227.394. Lap 4—227.343. Average—227.904. RHR is P 6.
Will Power takes the track. Lap 1—229.119. Lap 2—228.375. Lap 3—227.619. Lap 4—227.246. Average—228.087. Will ends up P6.
Congratulations to Ed Carpenter! The single-car team owner/driver took on the big boys of Andretti and Penske and came out on top. Interesting to note that Andretti had cars 2, 3, and 4 in the starting grid last year and they have that again.
Here is your top 24:
1 Ed Carpenter 228.762
2 Carlos Munoz 228.342
3 Marco Andretti 228.261
4 EJ Viso 228.150
5 AJ Allmendinger 228.099
6 Will Power 228.087
7 Ryan Hunter-Reay 227.904
8 Helio Castroneves 227.762
9 James Hinchcliffe 227.070
10 JR Hildebrand 227.441
11 Alex Tagliani 227.368
12 Tony Kanaan 226.949
13 Oriol Servia 226.814
14 Justin Wilson 226.370
15 Sebastien Bourdais 226.196
16 Scott Dixon 226.158
17 Dario Franchitti 226.069
18 Takuma Sato 225.892
19 Charlie Kimball 225.880
20 James Jakes 225.809
21 Simon Pagenaud 225.674
22 Townsend Bell 225.653
23 Ryan Briscoe 225.265
24 Simona De Silvestro 225.226
It’s been a pleasure to bring you today’s marathon Pole Day action! I hope you didn’t mind my rambling too much. And while it may be obvious I’m an Andretti girl, I tried to contain my bias for most of the day.
Thanks for reading, and be sure to come back tomorrow for my colleague Matt’s coverage of Bump Day. It should be a fun day, and with the announcement of Katherine Legge’s seat in car #81, there will be some bumping. You don’t want to miss it!
Thanks again to Adrian for allowing me to go international for a little while!
For those who don’t know me, I’m Sandy (@npssandy on Twitter) and I've been an Indycar fan since I was a little girl. I recently started my own blog over at Sticker Reds but before that, Adrian was kind enough to invite me to review Pole Day for his site. I’m excited to be able to bring you all the action today!
Right now it’s a few minutes before morning practice begins. There are a lot of nerves in the garages and pits on race morning, for obvious reasons. I’m even feeling the nerves here at home! It’s been a fast month, with Andretti Autosport being the talk of the paddock according to several who have been at IMS. Will they continue to reside atop the leaderboard? We’ll find out this afternoon!
For those who are unfamiliar with the qualifying format, here is an explanation, courtesy of indycar.com:
Twenty-four positions will be filled May 18 from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. (ET), with a qualification attempt consisting of four consecutive timed laps. Positions 1-24 will be based on the fastest four-lap averages. The nine entries posting the fastest speeds will return for knockout qualifying from 4:30-6 p.m. to determine the Verizon P1 Award winner and set the first three rows for the 200-lap race. The pole winner will receive a $100,000 bonus. Bonus points of 15-1 are awarded through the 33-car field. Each entrant is allowed three qualifying attempts in the first segment.
Here is the qualifying order for the day:
1 #9 Scott Dixon, Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
2 #14 Takuma Sato, AJ Foyt Enterprises Honda
3 #15 Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
4 #2 AJ Allmendinger (R), Team Penske Chevy
5 #91 Buddy Lazier, Lazier Partners Racing Chevy
6 #78 Simona de Silvestro, KV Racing Technology Chevy
7 #27 James Hinchcliffe, Andretti Autosport Chevy
8 #41 Conor Daly (R), AJ Foyt Enterprises Honda
9 #7 Sebastien Bourdais, Dragon Racing Chevy
10 #19 Justin Wilson, Dale Coyne Racing Honda
11 #3 Helio Castroneves, Team Penske Chevy
12 #16 James Jakes, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
13 #6 Sebastian Saavedra, Dragon Racing Chevy
14 #63 Pippa Mann, Dale Coyne Racing Honda
15 #60 Townsend Bell, Panther Racing Chevy
16 #5 EJ Viso, Andretti Autosport/HVM Chevy
17 #98 Alex Tagliani, Bryan Herta Autosport w/Curb-Agajanian Honda
18 #12 Will Power, Team Penske Chevy
19 #8 Ryan Briscoe, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
20 #11 Tony Kanaan, KV Racing Technology Chevy
21 #21 Josef Newgarden, Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda
22 #55 Tristan Vautier (R), Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda
23 #10 Dario Franchitti, Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
24 #18 Ana Beatriz, Dale Coyne Racing Honda
25 #83 Charlie Kimball, Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
26 #20 Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing Chevy
27 #1 Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport Chevy
28 #17 Michel Jourdain, Jr., Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
29 #26 Carlos Muñoz (R), Andretti Autosport Chevy
30 #4 JR Hildebrand, Panther Racing Chevy
31 #25 Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport Chevy
32 #77 Simon Pagenaud, Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports Honda
33 #22 Oriol Servia, Panther DRR Chevy
An hour before qualifying, there is some rain in the area. Hopefully it will pass through and we can get the cars out on track on schedule. It was a fast morning, with Will Power and AJ Allendinger both topping 229 mph during their practice runs.
And half an hour before the scheduled qualifying start time, I hear it’s raining pretty hard at IMS. But we have some news! Katherine Legge, who drove for Dragon Racing last year, has been confirmed as the third driver for Sam Schmidt! According to Curt Cavin, Katherine will be driving the car that was thought to be number 99 but which will actually be number 81. Got that? It’s unclear whether the car will make a qualifying run today (unlikely) or tomorrow. The entry of the 34th car means my colleague Matt will have some bumping to cover for you tomorrow. It could be a very interesting—and fun—day!
Today the drivers will fill the first 24 spots in the starting grid. Those qualifying attempts are scheduled for 11 AM – 4 PM EDT, but with the rain the start is sure to be delayed. At the end of that qualifying period, the times of the fastest 9 drivers are erased and they must make at least one additional qualifying run from 4:30 – 6:00 PM. The Pole Sitter (and its accompanying Verizon P1 award) will be set and the remainder of the first 3 rows will be set at the end of the Fast Nine period.
Leigh Diffey, Kevin Lee, Marty Snider, Will Buxton, Gil de Ferran, Robin Miller, and Jon Beekhuis are bringing us the action on NBCSports Network. Right now there isn’t any action due to the rain, so we get a lot of talk. Gil doesn’t agree with the Andretti Autosport decision not to run any practice laps this morning. Cue video of the Andretti boys practicing together. Leigh asks how important the team aspect is and Gil says it’s very important. Collaboration can be very beneficial to the drivers.
The guys in the booth review the qualifying order and Leigh notes Townsend Bell, who is normally part of the NBCSports Network crew, is driving the #60 car today. He also highlights Ryan Briscoe’s return to Indy after losing his full-time ride with Penske after last season. I’ve missed Ryan this season and it’s great to see him back! Kevin Lee interviews Townsend and he thinks he can get into the Fast Nine with his Sunoco/Turbo-sponsored Chevy. Townsend says Helio was fast this morning.
Marty Snider visits with Beaux Barfield, Indycar President of Competition & Race Director. They hang out on a futon with a sock monkey. No, I’m not kidding. He says there will be cars on the track in the next few hours. Beaux is upset that Gil de Ferran did not come by to say hello to him. He also likes Townsend’s fire suit, and says the sock monkey is “a long story.”
Umbrellas are down and the squeegee patrol is in pit lane. Safety trucks are making the rounds of the track as Leigh tells us the focus may not be on the Fast Nine anymore, but rather getting everyone out for at least one qualification run. Conor Daly chills in the garage with his dad, Derek.
Leigh asks Gil how rain changes things for qualifying. Gil says the track will be completely different once qualification starts. He then asks Beaux why he is upset with him, saying they’ve known each other for a long time. Jon tells us JR Hildebrand likes when it rains because the track is clean. He likes to work with different parts of the racetrack and that’s easier to do when there is no rubber on the track.
Leigh reminds us who the rookies are today—AJ Allmendinger, Conor Daly, Tristan Vautier, and Carlos Munoz. Will interviews Conor in the AJ Foyt garage and he talks about his scary crash during practice. His car has been repaired and he’s ready to go this morning. I’m officially a big fan of Will Buxton.
Marty chats with Helio and tells him Townsend said he had the fastest car today. Helio thanks Townsend and notes the absence of the Andretti Boys this morning. He has his earpieces in place and he’s ready to go. The Penske boys are keeping their heads in the game. Helio visited the IMS Hall of Fame Museum and says that is what it is all about. He is seeking his fourth Indy 500 win and has a lot of work ahead of him. Marty tells Helio Gil is up in the booth and Helio says he gave his fourth win away to Gil back in 2003. Gil says Helio had Gil’s first 2 wins. Cue Helio and Gil good-naturedly teasing each other. Fun stuff!
Beaux is heading out to the track to see how things look. RHR and Marco are hanging out with Mario Andretti in the Andretti Autosport garages. Can you imagine how awesome it must be to have Mario available for advice/information whenever you have a question? Kevin talks to RHR, who says they are all chilled out and waiting for the weather to pass. Marco says he’s not like Ryan where qualifying is easy but they are ready. Apparently their teammate Hinch is walking around with a GoPro camera this morning.
Looks like the sun has made a return to IMS! Maybe we can get the cars out on the track soon.
Will talks to Dario but I missed most of it because I was putting my pizza in the oven. Dario says teams and drivers become experts in the weather during May at IMS. Wind can make a big difference—the gusts in Turns 1 & 2 can affect the cars dramatically. Will asks what a fourth win would mean for Dario and he says everyone just wants to win, whether it’s your first or second or fourth, you need a good car, a good strategy, and a little bit of luck.
Simon Pagenaud is walking his dog, which may or may not be named HP. Marty talks to Graham, who has 4 dogs but he doesn’t bring them to the track because they’re too big. Well, except for Dude, whose name apparently suits him perfectly. Graham is happy his car was faster this morning. He grumbles about the tow but enough already. He agrees with Gil that it was a mistake for the Andretti boys not to go out this morning. Graham is wearing enormous sunglasses. He says all 5 Andretti cars will be in the Fast Nine and it only leaves a few spots for the rest of the field. It’s valuable having his dad with him at the track, because he’s been through it for the past 30 or so years, and he is very methodical in his approach to the month.
Robin Miller makes an appearance from the Sam Schmidt garage and he tells us Katherine Legge has been fitted for a seat and she is going to be driving the #81 car. He says she may get out for some laps today but probably won’t try to qualify until Bump Day.
Leigh asks Robin about AJ Foyt coming into Indy in the points lead with driver Takuma Sato. Robin says AJ wanted a driver who would go for it this year and he seems to have found it in Taku. AJ recently had back surgery so he’s dealing with some pain, but otherwise it’s been a great season so far for him.
The track is looking drier, so maybe we can get a car out there soon! I’m sure you’d all rather read that than me rambling! ;)
Will interviews Simon Pagenaud and of course crepes are the topic of conversation. Simon is a crepe master and he confirms his dog is named HP. He says qualifying is the most intense moment in racing. Will asks how it is being teammates with countryman Tristan Vautier. In a nutshell, Simon likes working with Tristan and sharing information. Will says “advertisements” in the proper British way and I think I’m in love.
Simon started from ground zero last year at Indy and took his time figuring out how to adjust his car during the race. He has a better understanding right now but it is always a learning experience. Honda is working hard on ironing out details and he is confident they will be competitive. And we learn HP is a girl.
Townsend has made his way up to the booth. Leigh asks how he’s feeling. Townsend says it’s always tough on Pole Day because you don’t sleep the night before and you arrive ready to go, and the delay makes it a little more difficult. Things are going well in the Panther Racing garages. Gil asks what Townsend learned this morning. Townsend says teams were watching the setup of each car that went out on track. Different changes to the car affect the speed in different ways and at different points on the track.
Jon notes neither JR nor Oriol went out this morning and asks if Townsend was the guinea pig. He confirms he was, then reveals he thought his teammates were going out in the second session. Leigh asks what it’s like for Townsend to come to Indy once a year and hop into an Indycar. Townsend says it’s scary but he keeps coming back to do it. He says you have to have a lot of faith in the equipment and respect the track. The more time you spend in the car on track, the more relaxed you can become and the more feedback you can give to the engineers. Gil says scary and terrifying are a good way to describe it. Townsend says you have to respect the track and look for precision rather than perfection.
Marty talks to Josef Newgarden who says they are not worried that they haven’t been on top of the timesheets. They’re focusing on the race because last year they had good times in practice but then had a difficult race. Marty reveals they woke Josef up from a nap for this interview and asks how hard it is to come to the track excited for qualifying and then have to sit and wait out the rain. Josef is not fazed. He’s running the #21 car this month instead of his usual #67, in honor of sponsor Century 21. Marty asks about Brazil and Josef says he wasn’t as fired up as the other drivers but the main concern is safety, even when protecting your position.
Track is still drying, so we relive the end of the 2012 Indy 500. It was awesome, in case you missed it. I was there, my first in-person race ever. Absolutely fabulous weekend.
Robin interviews Taku and of course Brazil comes up. The block/no block has been discussed to death so I’m not going to discuss it here. Taku thanks everyone who gave him a chance in Indycar and says he was close so many times last season and just needed one thing to go the right way for him to get a win. And it all came together for him this year in Long Beach. Robin asks what AJ calls him and Taku says AJ can call him anything he wants.
Leigh tells us the first five cars have been called to inspection, which means we should have qualifying soon!
Marty interviews Will Power as teammate AJ Allmendinger’s car rolls out of the garage. Will thinks he can be in the Fast Nine and have a shot at the pole. He doesn’t think anyone will reach 230 mph today but maybe 228. Marty asks if Will feels nerves during qualifying at Indy and Will says he does. It takes bravery, intense energy, and calmness to pull it off. He’s been struggling all week but hopes they have found the answer today. Marty asks if this is the most frustrating season Will has had. He says no, it feels more competitive and they’ve had a few bad runs but that’s how it goes. If you keep knocking on the door you will eventually get a win. The championship is still attainable.
Will talks to last year’s pole sitter, Ryan Briscoe. Ryan has had a good week and he’s had plenty of track time so he feels like he’s back in the groove. He’s happy to be here with Chip Ganassi Racing and he’s ready to get in the car. He says a lot more but my phone rang so I missed it. Sorry.
Bob Jenkins is here to tell us about his favorite Pole Day memories. His first Pole Day was May 18, 1956. Bob is retired from full-time broadcasting, but he has been manning the public address system at IMS this week and he will cover Carb Day for NBCSports on Friday, May 24.
Robin interviews TK, who he calls one of the best drivers to never win at Indy. Tony says he thinks about it 364 days a year and if he wins at this point it’s more for his fans than for himself. He gets plenty of cheering and attention just for being there. TK’s wife, Lauren, is from Indy and it feels like home for him. How could you not like TK? TK and Gil chat with each other and we get to eavesdrop. It’s pretty awesome.
Cars are out on pit lane! I have to give NBCSports Network credit with how they’ve handled this unanticipated delay. Lots of great stuff to fill these 2 hours when we should’ve been watching cars on the track. Scott Dixon’s #9 is in position to make its qualifying run.
Kevin talks to Simona and gives her props for her attitude last year when she was saddled with a Lotus engine for the whole season. She says she’s definitely having more fun this season.
Marty interviews AJ Allmendinger. AJ is really nervous and the rain break didn’t help him relax much. He’s excited and says it’s a good nervous. He believes he may have a chance to be in the front row. AJ says it’s been a good week so far and his car was fast this morning so he just needs to go out and do his job. He says the drivers are not sure if there will be a Fast Nine today. With the delay there may only be time for each car to make one qualifying run. Guess we’ll find out!
Beaux is out in pit lane ahead of the line of cars waiting to qualify. Twitter word seems to be we are 10-15 minutes away.
Kevin talks to Scott Dixon, who says they may run open qualifying until 6 PM. Scott says he will give it his best shot during his first run and see what happens later.
Kevin talks to Beaux, who confirms there will be open qualifying until 6 PM, meaning each car can make up to three qualifying runs. There will then be a 30-minute break and the Fast Nine will begin at 6:30 PM, with each driver getting only one attempt. If it rains again this will all be reevaluated, but it sounds like as long as each car has had one attempt to qualify there will be a Fast Nine.
Cue the National Anthem. James Hinchcliffe, a Canadian, behaves better during the National Anthem than most Americans I see at sporting events. Just saying…
Marty talks to Hinch, who almost earned the Pole last year. He hopes the track will stay dry to allow everyone to qualify and get the Fast Nine in. He has faith in his crew and is hoping the GoDaddy car will find the Pole.
Scott Dixon is out! He gets 2 warm-up laps before his 4 lap (10 mile) qualifying run. I think Dixie is one of the least appreciated Indycar drivers. He’s very talented and doesn’t get nearly enough credit or attention.
And he’s green! Lap 1 comes in at 226.405 mph. Lap 2 is 226.245, Lap 3 is 226.098, and Lap 4 is 225.884. Scott Dixon’s 4-lap average is 226.158.
Takuma Sato, current Indycar points leader, is out for his warm-up laps. He takes the green flag for qualifying and his first lap is 226.071. Lap 2 comes in at 226.061. Lap 3 is 225.780 and Lap 4 is 225.650 for a 4-lap average of 225.892.
Next up is Graham Rahal. He takes the green and Lap 1 is 225.425. Lap 2 is 225.246, Lap 3 is 224.893, and Lap 4 is 224.996. 225.139 is his average.
Dixon says the track was pretty good, though different from this morning’s practice. He thinks they’ll have another chance later on. Sato says his run was reasonably good, and track conditions have degraded.
Rookie AJ Allmendinger is out on track now. His Lap 1 speed is 227.942. WOW! Lap 2 is 227.918. Lap 3 comes in at 227.711, and Lap 4 is 227.473 for an average of 227.761. Hello Chevy!
1996 Indy 500 winner Buddy Lazier is up next. Lap 1 comes in at 223.548, Lap 2 at 223.338, Lap 3 at 222.905, and Lap 4 at 222.505 for an average of 222.073.
AJ Allmendinger says this is a dream come true for him and he loves being around Team Penske. He says this is what it is all about. He’s very emotional as he says there were some dark times over the past year and he never thought he’d be here at Indy with a chance to qualify on the front row. I’m happy for him.
Simona De Silvestro is on track for her qualifying run. Lap 1—224.956. Lap 2—225.665. Lap 3—225.593. Lap 4—225.387. Average—225.400.
James Hinchcliffe takes his turn on the track. His Lap 1 speed is 228.131. Take THAT! Lap 2 is 227.799. Lap 3 is 227.208, and Lap 4 is 226.893. Average—227.493.
Another rookie, Conor Daly, takes to the track. Dad Derek says it is different watching someone else qualify, especially when it’s your son. Lap 1—221.528. And Conor’s engine is smoking. His crew tells him to pit so he waves off his first qualification run.
Simona tells Will she had a little lift in her first lap. Hinch tells Marty he was surprised by how much his car fell off over the course of his qualification run. He’s happy with his speed though. He will relay information to his teammates to hopefully help them in their runs.
The pace car and the safety trucks are out on the track as we wait to go back to green.
Conor tells Will a header broke on his engine and it just sucks a lot. He’s bummed, because the car was feeling good this morning. He’s hoping there is enough time for him to do another run once the car is fixed.
Sebastien Bourdais is out in his awesome-looking chrome-and-red livery. He takes the green, and his Lap 1 speed is 226.161. Lap 2 is 226.192, Lap 3 is 226.241, and Lap 4 is 226.189, for an average of 226.196.
Our next qualifier is Justin Wilson. Justin’s Lap 1 speed is 226.804. His Lap 2 speed is 226.437, Lap 3 is 226.192, Lap 4 is 226.048, and his average is 226.370.
Three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves is up next. Lap 1—227.653. Lap 2—228.339. Lap 3—228.068. Lap 4—227.842. Average—227.975. Helio takes P1 away from his teammate!
Sebastien tells Marty the car was pretty fast so he’ll take it.
James Jakes heads out to qualify. His Lap 1 speed is 224.663. Lap 2 is 225.840. Lap 3 is 225.589. Lap 4 is 225.499. Average is 225.397.
Helio tells Marty he had a little issue during his first lap but otherwise it was on rails. The Penske teamwork is paying off.
NBC Sports Network has gone to Preakness coverage, so I’m working off of racecontrol.indycar.com now. All that really means is no between-qualifying interviews until they come back at 4:25 PM.
Sebastian Saavedra and his crazy hair are out on track now. Lap 1—224.932. Lap 2—224.721. Lap 3—224.551. Lap 4—225.420. Average—224.656.
Pippa Mann dances out for her qualifying run. OK, not really but I know she is very excited to be back at Indy! Pippa’s Lap 1 speed is 222.620. Lap 2 is 223.005. Lap 3 is 223.545, and Lap 4 is 223.445. Average is 223.153.
Townsend Bell takes to the track in his Sunoco/Turbo livery. Lap 1—225.886. Lap 2—225.604. Lap 3—225.708. Lap 4—225.599. Average—225.699.
EJ Viso is up next. EJ’s Lap 1 speed is 227.990. His Lap 2 speed is 227.608, Lap 3 is 227.531, and Lap 4 is 227.320, for an average of 227.612.
Alex Tagliani is out on his qualifying run. He turns in a Lap 1 speed of 227.907. Lap 2 is 227.629, Lap 3 is 227.075, and Lap 4 is 226.937. Average is 227.368.
Will Power takes the green flag. Lap 1—229.422. Holy speed, Batman!! Lap 2—229.170. Lap 3—228.526. Lap 4—228.260. Average—228.844. Will knocks teammate Helio off of the provisional pole.
2012 Polesitter Ryan Briscoe returns to Indycar qualifying. Ryan’s first lap is 225.284, his second lap is 224.978. His third lap is 225.052, his fourth lap is 224.859, and his average is 225.043.
Tony Kanaan takes his shot at qualifying. Lap 1—227.256. Lap 2—227.028. Lap 3—226.803. Lap 4—226.710. Average—226.949.
Josef Newgarden is out on track for his qualifying run. Lap 1 speed is 226.009, Lap 2 speed is 224.425, Lap 3 speed is 225.403, and Lap 4 speed is 225.009, for an average speed of 225.210.
Rookie Tristan Vautier, the only full-time Rookie in Indycar this season, climbs into his car and heads out. Lap 1 is 223.751. Lap 2 is 223.730. Lap 3 is 223.861. Lap 4 is 223.912. Average is 223.814. Impressive run for the rookie!
Defending Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti is up next. If you can’t tell Dario’s car from Scott Dixon’s car, you’re not alone. Last year at Indy I figured out that Dixie’s car has white accents while Dario’s car is all red. Dario’s first lap is 226.680. His second lap is 226.325, his third lap is 225.680, his fourth lap is 225.596, and his average is 226.069.
Ana Beatriz makes her qualification run. Her Lap 1 speed is 222.990. Her Lap 2 speed is 223.573, Lap 3 is 223.737, and Lap 4 is 223.653, for an average of 223.488.
Our next driver is Charlie Kimball. Lap 1—226.226. Lap 2—225.986. Lap 3—225.794. Lap 4—225.515. Average—225.880.
Next up is Ed Carpenter. And we now have a bubble! Only 24 spots are filled today, so now that we have 24 cars in the field the bumping starts. Buddy Lazier is the current driver in danger of being bumped out of the field. Ed’s first lap speed is 228.435. His second lap is 228.309. I think it’s safe to say Buddy is about to be bumped. Ed’s third lap is 227.778, and his fourth lap is 227.287, for an average of 227.952.
Defending Indycar Series Champion Ryan Hunter-Reay takes the track. RHR’s Lap 1 is 228.684. Pippa Mann is now on the bubble. RHR’s Lap 2 is 228.426. His Lap 3 is 228.101, and his Lap 4 is 227.917, for an average of 228.282.
Michel Jourdain, Jr. is next up to qualify and Ana Beatriz is now on the bubble. Lap 1—219.548. Lap 2—221.859. Looks like Bia may be safe for now. Lap 3—220.991. Lap 4—219.466. Average—220.461 Not fast enough to make the top 24 today. Let’s see if he gets another chance this afternoon. Why did they let him finish when time is already short today?
Our final Rookie to attempt to qualify is Carlos Munoz. It seems I may have missed something, because indycar.com race control shows James Jakes failed to qualify. Aha, his car failed inspection. So Pippa is in but on the bubble. Back to Carlos. Lap 1 is 228.447, Lap 2 is 228.132, Lap 3 is 228.181, and Lap 4 is 227.923. Average is 228.171 and the rookie knocks TK out of the Fast Nine and Pippa out of the top 24.
JR Hildebrand is out on track to attempt to qualify. Lap 1—227.704. Lap 2—227.532. Ana Beatriz is now on the bubble, for real this time. Lap 3—227.511. Lap 4—227.016. Average—227.441. Bia is now out of the top 24 and Tags it out of the Fast Nine.
Marco Andretti, who has been having a fantastic 2013, is up next. Tristan Vautier is now on the bubble. Marco’s first lap speed is 228.572. His second lap speed is 227.898, third lap speed is 227.522, and fourth lap speed is 227.583, for an average of 227.893. Vautier is out of the top 24 and Hildebrand is out of the Fast Nine.
Simon Pagenaud climbs into his car for his qualifying run. Pags has been having a bit of a sophomore slump but you can never count him out. Sebastian Saavedra is currently on the bubble and Hinch is in danger of being knocked out of the Fast Nine. It looks like we’ll have plenty of time for cars to make another run though, so I expect that Fast Nine to change. Lap 1—225.437. Lap 2—225.581. Lap 3—225.841. Lap 4—225.839. Average—225.674. Saavedra is bumped out.
Our last driver to make an initial qualifying run today is Oriol Servia. Ryan Briscoe is now on the bubble, and Hinch is still in danger of being knocked out of the Fast Nine. Servia’s first lap speed is 227.142, second lap speed is 226.893, third lap speed is 226.633, and fourth lap speed is 226.588, for an average of 226.814. Briscoe is bumped out but Hinch is still safe.
The Yellow Flag flies for track inspection as teams regroup and decide if they will make another qualifying run. After the first round of qualifying, the top 24 spots line up as follows:
1 Will Power 228.844
2 Ryan Hunter-Reay 228.282
3 Carlos Munoz 228.171
4 Helio Castroneves 227.975
5 Ed Carpenter 227.952
6 Marco Andretti 227.893
7 AJ Allmendinger 227.761
8 EJ Viso 227.612
9 James Hinchcliffe 227.493
10 JR Hildebrand 227.441
11 Alex Tagliani 227.368
12 Tony Kanaan 226.949
13 Oriol Servia 226.814
14 Justin Wilson 226.370
15 Sebastien Bourdais 226.196
16 Scott Dixon 226.158
17 Dario Franchitti 226.069
18 Takuma Sato 225.892
19 Charlie Kimball 225.880
20 Townsend Bell 225.699
21 Simon Pagenaud 225.674
22 Simona De Silvestro 225.400
23 Josef Newgarden 225.210
24 Graham Rahal 225.139
And now we wait to see if anyone goes out for another run. NBC Sports Network will be back in about 10 minutes to take us up to the 6 PM cutoff for open qualifying. Then I hear they will be back at 6:30 for the Fast Nine. Nice job adapting to the schedule change. It’s much appreciated!!
Graham Rahal takes his number 15 car out for some practice laps while we wait to see if anyone will make another qualifying attempt. The Jakes number 16 car is being rolled out too, we’ll have to see if he makes another attempt after his first run was disallowed due to a failed tech inspection. Leigh Diffey returns to air to tell us Jakes’s car was disqualified for being underweight.
Dixon is back out on track for some practice runs as the NBCSports Network guys review what went on while they were away. Will tells us Jakes’s car was out and ready to make a qualifying run but for some reason it has been taken back to the garage. Not even Jakes knows why, apparently, as we see him sitting on the pit wall by himself.
Ryan Briscoe is back out for another qualifying run. His Lap 1 speed is 225.336, his Lap 2 speed is 225.286, and he waves off his qualification run. Ryan can make one more qualification run today with just over 1:15 left in open qualifying.
James Jakes is back in his car to make another qualification run. If he qualifies he will knock his teammate, Graham Rahal, out of the top 24. Graham is sitting in his car, just in case. Jakes heads out on track.
Will talks to Chip Ganassi, who is not happy. Kevin talks to Michael Andretti, who is happy but wondering how the winds, which are picking up, may affect the rest of the afternoon.
Jakes turns in a first lap speed of 225.488, a second lap speed of 224.876, a third lap speed of 225.311, and a fourth lap speed of 224.937. His average is 225.153 and he knocks his teammate Graham Rahal out of the top 24.
Graham’s crew readies his car for another qualifying run. Of course, if Graham now qualifies he will knock his teammate Jakes back out of the top 24. Apparently Graham is going to run a few practice laps first.
Robin tells us Scott Dixon’s crew has made changes to his car. He says the team can’t change the engine to make another qualifying run, but maybe what they need is a Chevy. Nice!
Will talks to Helio, who says he went out to practice and it didn’t quite go the way he had hoped. And now it’s too close to the Fast Nine for them to make the changes he’d like. But they’re going to go out and go for it.
And now TK’s car is being rolled out to pit lane. Apparently TK plans to run some practice laps and then decide whether to make another qualifying run.
Graham heads out for his second qualifying run. Once he takes the green flag his original time will be erased. Simona De Silvestro is also in line for a second qualifying run.
Graham’s Lap 1 speed is 225.037. Lap 2 is 225.074. Lap 3 is 224.921. And they’re waving off the attempt. Or not, as Graham decides to finish it. Lap 4 is 224.771, for an average of 224.950. He’s still outside the top 24.
Simona heads out for her second qualification run. It’s a gamble, as she was in P22 and safe for at least a little while. She takes the green, officially erasing her earlier time and putting Graham Rahal into P24.
Will talks to Sebastian Saavedra about his paint issues this week.
Simona’s Lap 1 speed is 225.027, Lap 2 is 225.395, Lap 3 is 225.312, and Lap 4 is 225.168. Her average is 225.226 and she’s back in P22. Graham is back out of the top 24.
Graham talks to Marty and says they’ll probably go home for the night and start fresh on Bump Day tomorrow.
There are 38 minutes left in open qualifying and Pippa Mann appears ready to make a second qualifying run. And she’s out! Lap 1—225.160. Lap 2—224.805. Lap 3—224.306. Lap 4—223.140. Her average is 224.350, which puts her in 27th right now.
And now Townsend Bell is out on track for his second qualification run. He takes the green, erasing his earlier time, which put him at P20. His first lap is 224.745, his second lap is 224.018, and this is not looking like a good move for Townsend. Graham Rahal is back in the top 24 right now, though. Townsend’s third lap is 224.872, and his fourth lap is 224.605, for an average of 224.560. He’s in 26th right now. Definitely not a good move for the Panther Racing team.
Ana Beatriz makes her second qualifying attempt. Lap 1—225.106. Lap 2—225.233. Lap 3—225.076. Lap 4—225.055. Average—225.117. She’s in, Graham is out.
Ryan Briscoe goes out for his third qualifying attempt. If he makes it in Bia will be back out. Ryan takes the green flag and his Lap 1 speed is 225.060. Lap 2 is 225.350, Lap 3 is 225.346, and Lap 4 is 225.305. Average is 225.265 and he’s now P21. Bia is back out of the top 24.
Josef Newgarden has apparently lined up for another qualifying run, and Townsend Bell is getting strapped in for his third run.
Kevin talks to Sarah Fisher, who owns Josef’s car. She says they are getting ready to play the offensive; they will not pull their car if it is in the top 24. Sarah is wearing yellow ladybug earrings. I like them.
Tristan Vautier apparently made a qualifying run but we missed it. Not a huge deal because he wasn’t fast enough to make the top 24.
There are about 17 minutes left in qualifying, then a 30-minute break before the Fast Nine make their qualifying runs.
Pippa is back out for her third qualifying attempt. Or not, as she waves it off. She will have another attempt available, if there is time.
Josef Newgarden pulls his car out of line and Townsend Bell is ready to make his third qualifying run. After a commercial, of course…
Townsend heads out as teams scramble to get their cars ready behind him. Jakes is still on the bubble as Bell pulls away. Lap 1—226.146. Looking good! Lap 2—225.797. Lap 3—225.520. Lap 4—225.113. Average—225.653 and Townsend Bell is back in the top 24 at P21!
Jakes was just bumped out but he’s back out for a qualifying attempt. Josef Newgarden is on the bubble and if he is bumped he may not have time for another qualifying run.
Jakes takes the green flag and his first lap speed is 226.066. Sarah Fisher is getting nervous for her driver. Jakes’s second lap speed is 225.754, third lap speed is 225.838, and fourth lap speed is 225.578. Average is 225.809 and he’s in P20. Josef is out.
Michel Jourdain, Jr. is back out for his second qualifying attempt. Time is almost up, so Josef Newgarden will have to come back and qualify tomorrow.
The gun is fired, closing the track for qualifying. Josef Newgarden climbs out of his car.
Simona is on the bubble but Jourdain is very slow. Lap 1 is 219.042. Lap 2 is 218.622. Lap 3 is 217.365, and Lap 4 is 218.295. Not fast enough by a long stretch.
Josef is OK, he says he’ll get in the field tomorrow and their focus is on next week.
Heading into the Fast Nine, here is the qualifying order:
1 Will Power 228.844
2 Ryan Hunter-Reay 228.282
3 Carlos Munoz 228.171
4 Helio Castroneves 227.975
5 Ed Carpenter 227.952
6 Marco Andretti 227.893
7 AJ Allmendinger 227.761
8 EJ Viso 227.612
9 James Hinchcliffe 227.493
10 JR Hildebrand 227.441
11 Alex Tagliani 227.368
12 Tony Kanaan 226.949
13 Oriol Servia 226.814
14 Justin Wilson 226.370
15 Sebastien Bourdais 226.196
16 Scott Dixon 226.158
17 Dario Franchitti 226.069
18 Takuma Sato 225.892
19 Charlie Kimball 225.880
20 James Jakes 225.809
21 Simon Pagenaud 225.674
22 Townsend Bell 225.653
23 Ryan Briscoe 225.265
24 Simona De Silvestro 225.226
The Fast Nine consists of all 5 Andretti drivers, all 3 Penske drivers, and Ed Carpenter. Let’s go Andretti!! All 9 cars are powered by Chevy.
NBCSports Network is staying around for the break before the Fast Nine, but I’ve been sitting here all day so I’m going to go grab some dinner and watch the Preakness before the Fast Nine. Stay tuned!
So apparently I was wrong. NBCSports Network is leaving IMS at 6:30 for Preakness post-race coverage, and they’ll be back at 7 PM for the end of the Fast Nine. Not cool, NBCSN!
The drivers go in reverse order of their initial qualifying times, so Andretti Autosport’s James Hinchcliffe is first out in the Fast Nine. He has one shot to put it on the Pole. I don’t know what kind of coverage I’m going to have available, because right now there’s no TV and indycar.com has been spotty at best for me today. But I’ll do my best for you.
Hinch is out on track! Lap 1—225.760. Lap 2—227.871. Lap 3—227.550. Lap 4—227.113. Average—227.070.
Hinch’s teammate EJ Viso is up next. Lap 1—228.611. Lap 2—228.372. Lap 3—227.938. Lap 4—227.682. Average—228.150.
AJ Allmendinger is the first Team Penske driver to take to the track during the Fast Nine. Lap 1—228.722. Lap 2—228.262. Lap 3—227.786. Lap 4—227.629. Average—228.099.
EJ Viso remains on the Pole.
Marco Andretti is up next for his pole run. Lap 1—229.049. WOO HOO! Lap 2—228.393. Lap 3—228.012. Lap 4—227.596. Average—228.261.
Marco takes the Pole from his teammate! Way to go, Marco!! The Indycar radio guys say Marco will end up in the front row. I like the sound of that!
Ed Carpenter heads out onto track. Lap 1—229.347. Lap 2—228.976. Lap 3—228.774. Lap 4—227.955. Average—228.762. Ed is now P1.
Helio Castroneves lines up for his Pole run. Lap 1—228.770. Lap 2—228.118. Lap 3—227.435. Lap 4—226.736. Average—227.762. Helio is P5.
Carlos Munoz heads out on track. Lap 1—228.988. Lap 2—228.382. Lap 3—228.211. Lap 4—227.792. Average—228.342. Carlos is P2.
Ryan Hunter-Reay heads out. Lap 1—228.778. Lap 2—228.106. Lap 3—227.394. Lap 4—227.343. Average—227.904. RHR is P 6.
Will Power takes the track. Lap 1—229.119. Lap 2—228.375. Lap 3—227.619. Lap 4—227.246. Average—228.087. Will ends up P6.
Congratulations to Ed Carpenter! The single-car team owner/driver took on the big boys of Andretti and Penske and came out on top. Interesting to note that Andretti had cars 2, 3, and 4 in the starting grid last year and they have that again.
Here is your top 24:
1 Ed Carpenter 228.762
2 Carlos Munoz 228.342
3 Marco Andretti 228.261
4 EJ Viso 228.150
5 AJ Allmendinger 228.099
6 Will Power 228.087
7 Ryan Hunter-Reay 227.904
8 Helio Castroneves 227.762
9 James Hinchcliffe 227.070
10 JR Hildebrand 227.441
11 Alex Tagliani 227.368
12 Tony Kanaan 226.949
13 Oriol Servia 226.814
14 Justin Wilson 226.370
15 Sebastien Bourdais 226.196
16 Scott Dixon 226.158
17 Dario Franchitti 226.069
18 Takuma Sato 225.892
19 Charlie Kimball 225.880
20 James Jakes 225.809
21 Simon Pagenaud 225.674
22 Townsend Bell 225.653
23 Ryan Briscoe 225.265
24 Simona De Silvestro 225.226
It’s been a pleasure to bring you today’s marathon Pole Day action! I hope you didn’t mind my rambling too much. And while it may be obvious I’m an Andretti girl, I tried to contain my bias for most of the day.
Thanks for reading, and be sure to come back tomorrow for my colleague Matt’s coverage of Bump Day. It should be a fun day, and with the announcement of Katherine Legge’s seat in car #81, there will be some bumping. You don’t want to miss it!
Thanks again to Adrian for allowing me to go international for a little while!
Pictures appear courtesy of Amy (@OpenWheelMom) who is working in the Social Media Garage for the Indy 500