Photo: Indycar, Matt Fraver
Pato O’Ward led an incident free Carb Day practice session as the 33 drivers in the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 completed the final tune up session. Scott Dixon was second, followed by Alexander Rossi and Takuma Sato. O’Ward’s teammate Oliver Askew was fifth.
About 150 fans were on 16th street listening to the cars and following along on the video boards.
In keeping with Carb Day tradition, the fans applauded at the end of the session.
I gained a new perspective just listening to the engines without the visual of the cars. I paid more attention to the sounds, which is hard to do in a packed grandstand. I could tell when a car was on the pit exit road, when they slowed for turn 1 or when they were close to another car. the difference between the two engines was distinct.
It is hard to imagine doing this on Sunday. I know some people plan to, but I will stay home and watch from the comfort of my den, surrounded by racing memorabilia. Since this is the first time I have watched the 500 live on television, I should probably put rookie stripes on my satellite box.
From earlier:
The top 12:
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 