Practice 1 at Pocono has been delayed but not cancelled yet according to a source at the track. A storm cell approaching the track and a low ceiling all morning has prevented the medical helicopter from getting to the track.
Qualifying could be delayed or cancelled and the grid set by points. If that occurs, there will be a practice session later in the day. It’s possible if Indycar decides to conduct qualfying that there will be an abbreviated practice before it. There are several possibilities. It depends on when or if rain arrives, track drying time, and getting the helicopter to the track.
No word yet on how the schedule will be adjusted. I will post an update when I get information.
Good morning. It’s practice and qualifying day at Pocono Raceway for the ABC Supply 500.
Today’s schedule: All Times Eastern
Practice 1- 9:30-10:30
Qualifying 12:30-1:45
Practice 2 4:00-5:00
All sessions are streamed on NBC Gold. Qualifying will be shown delayed on NBCSN at 2:30. My Quick Thoughts will post after the television broadcast.
The race is the first of the last four races of the season and the first of three consecutive weekends of racing. After all the wild nes of the past ten days, it will be great to re-focus on the championship. After tomorrow we should have a clearer picture of how many drivers will still be in contention. I still thin k going into Portland we will be down to a two man battle between Alexander Rossi and Josef Newgarden.
I will be back after the first practice with a summary and some thoughts on the latest news.
The “Day Before the 500” has its first presenting sponsor as The Pit Window will become the official sponsor of the Open-Wheels Pit Stop Competition. The fun event will be held Saturday, November 16 following the final one-hour Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race practice session and the Veterans 100.
“To partner with Mike Silver and his website, The Pit Window, is an exciting venture and I am happy he jumped on-board to help sponsor our pit stop competition,” said Tanner Watkins, owner and editor of Open-Wheels.com and the president of the Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race.
“Mike’s passion for IndyCar racing and this history of racing at Indianapolis is evident in his coverage of the NTT IndyCar Series on The Pit Window, and I am thankful that his passion has spilled over into sim racing! Mike is a worthy partner and I look forward to working with him throughout the month of November.”
The Pit Stop Competition will be a 40-lap race in the Dallara IR-18 Indy car with reduced fuel tank capacity and no yellow flags. The emphasis will be placed on drivers who can not only be quick on-track, but speedy and efficient coming in and out of the pit lane. The winner of the race will take home a cash prize as well.
“The Pit Window is proud to sponsor the Open-Wheels Pit Stop Competition in conjunction with the Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race,” said Mike Silver, the owner of The Pit Window. “This event fits perfectly with The Pit Window‘s goal of engaging fans of open-wheel racing with IndyCar racing and related activities.”
The Pit Window is a helpful and insightful website that Silver uses to document the Indianapolis 500, the history of IndyCar, and even the latest current-day news around American open-wheel racing.
The primary logo for the 2019 Open-Wheels Pit Stop Competition, presented by The Pit Window.
“Since I began The Pit Window in 2016 I have taken a look at the history of IndyCar in general, with a focus on the Indianapolis 500,” adds Silver. “Many times, my posts are from my personal experiences at the Indianapolis 500. I have been fortunate enough to meet many past winners.
“The Pit Window also provides coverage every race weekend with commentary and keeps fans up to date on the latest news. You can find The Pit Window at thepitwindow.blog, @PitWindow on Twitter, and on Facebook at by searching “The Pit Window.”
Drivers can register for the Open-Wheels Pit Stop Competition when they submit their entry to the 2019 Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race. The entry form will go live on Tuesday, October 1 and will be accessible via Open-Wheels.com, the iRacing forums and Open-Wheels’ social media outlets.
The 2019 Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race presented by Mitchell Transmissions will go green on Sunday, November 17, broadcast live by RaceSpot TV.
Carlin Racing announced today that Conor Daly will drive the 59 car at both the ABC Supply Co. 500 at Pocono and the Bommarito Automotive Group 500k at World Wide Technology Raceway. From Carlin’s Twitter page:
Daly will have driven in every oval on the 2019 schedule. He drove for Andretti Autosport in the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500, finishing 10th. Daly also drove for Carlin at Texas and Iowa.He finished 11th at Texas and 13th at Iowa. He finished fifth in 2017 driving for A. J. Foyt Racing in the inaugural race at Gateway.
Daly will return to Andretti in the season finale at Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca. His seven races this year is the most he has driven since his season with Foyt.
Most people remember 1958 for just one thing- the first lap accident in which popular driver Pat O’Connor lost his life. An overlooked aspect of the 42nd Indianapolis 500 is that it is the first 500 in which both a Foyt and an Unser started the race. Both were rookies. A. J. Foyt started 12th and Jerry Unser started started 24th. Neither would finish the race. It would be five more years before the names Foyt and Unser again appeared in the same 500.
I purchased a 1958 program at the Legends Day memorabilia show this past May. It seems odd to say I was disappointed, but this was one of the few programs I have bought there that does not contain a starting lineup sheet or notes by the original owner. The program is in good condition with just some minor wear and tear. Nevertheless, I found it fascinating.
Two photos caught my attention. The first one below shows a young Bill Vukovich, Jr. talking with 1949 winner Bill Holland. Vukovich had to be in his mid teens at the time. The second photo below shows Tom Carnegie in an ad for Genatt Photo, a local photo store which filmed the 1958 500.
Raise your hand if you recall Tom Carnegie looking like this.
An ad in the program is for Casite, a product that looks similar to STP. It was produced by Hastings Manufacturing, which manufactured piston rings. Otehr companies no longer in business that bought ad space in 1958 were Eastern Airlines, Bear, which performed wheel balancing and alignment for the cars in the race; Stark & Wetzel, a local meat company; and L. Strauss & Company. Strauss presented a trophy to the winner of the race.
The program contains several feature articles written by local sportswriters. One is about the Speedway museum, which was celebrating its second year. One thing I had forgotten is that admission was free at that time. It wqas a small space with just a few cars and lots of photos and trophies. Besides the Borg-Warner Trophy, the Wheeler-Schebler trophy also had a place of honor.
Another story looks back on the 1928 race. It was the first of Louis Meyer’s three victories. Echoes of today’s racing world were evident even in 1928. Meyer drove a car that wilbur Shaw had hoped to race. Shaw couldn’t get enough money to buy the. Alden Sampson put up the money to get Meyer the ride. Shaw started on the last row. He qualified on race morning in a car Pete DePaolo had wrecked attempting to qualify.
The 1958 race got off to a horrific start. There was some confusion among the front row drivers, mainly between pole sitter Dick Rathmann and second place starter Ed Elisian. each accused the other of starting the accident. From what I have read, Elisian tried to jump the start. Five of the six cars in the first two rows were out on the first lap. O’Connor was killed instantly when his rolled over. Three cars from the last three rows also became involved. Unser went over the wall in what would be his only 500 appearance.
Jimmy Bryan, who started seventh, led 139 laps and won by 27 seconds over rookie George Amick. Foyt finished 16th after spinning out on lap 148. he went on to have a decent career. Unser, out after the first lap melee, died of injuries suffered in a practice crash at the Speedway the following May. The total purse for the race was a record at the time- $304,000. Bryan won a third of the total.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 