Category: Uncategorized

Indycar News and Notes- Coyne Again Searching for Drivers

thepitwindow

With activities at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway beginninjg this Friday, Dale Coyne finds himself in a familiar position- looking for a driver or drivers to fill a seat vacated by an injured driver. Pietro Fittipaldi was slated to drive the number 19 car in both the Indycar Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500. He was injured in a severe crash Saturday preparing for the 6 hours  WEC race at Spa. Fittpaldi injured both legs, including a complex fracture of the left leg. He underwent successful surgery and will be out at least eight weeks. Fittipaldi will also miss his scheduled start at Texas in June. The projected recovery time could allow him to drive his next assignment at mid Ohio in late July.

The scenario is a familiar one for Coyne. Last year Sebastien Bourdais fractured his pelvis in a qualifying crash at Indianapolis. James Davison filled in for Bourdais fort he 500. Coyne than had other drivers drive the number 18 until Bourdais returned for Watkins Glen. Tristan Vautier, one of last year’s subs, is under consideration to take Fittpaldi’s ride.

Other drivers thought to be in contention are Zachary Claman DeMelo, who shares the 19 with Fittipaldi and has ties to the car’s sponsor, Paysafe; and Ryan Briscoe. Practice and qualifying for the Indycar Grand Prix is Friday, so a decision should come quickly.

Entry List for the 102nd Indianapolis 500

The official entry list is out. Thirty-five cars have entered to attempt to get one of the thirty-three spots for the race. Buddy Lazier is not one of the entries. The field includes six former winners. Four of the five past champions are entered. With Fittipaldi out there are now three rookies in the field: Robert Wickens, Matheus Leist, and Kyle Kaiser. Helio Castroneves will drive in both the Indycar grand Prix and the 500. These are scheduled to be his only Indycar appearances  this season. Danica Patrick returns to the 500 for the first time since 2011. The 500 will be the final race of her career. The entry list appears at the end of this post.

Donuts for Daly

Jack’s Donuts has signed on to support Conor Daly’s Indanapolis 500 ride with Thom Burns Racing. Look for promotions during the month @ConorDaly22, @ThomBurns Racing and @jacksdonuts. If Conor is involved, it should be fun.

Bump Tales

Thursday the second part of “Bump Tales” appears. It is a tale of just how humbling Indianapolis Motor Speedway can be.

Castroneves, Taylor win IMSA race at Mid Ohio

The Team Penske Acura driven by Helio Castroneves and Ricky Taylor won the IMSA race at Mid Ohio Sunday. The race marked the return of sportscar racing to the track. The former American LeMans Series used to run the same weekend as Indycar, making for a tremendous weekend of racing. The IMSA/Indycar is a doubleheader that needs to return.

This was Team Penske’s first victory in the Weather Tech Series.

Entry List

Here is a link to the Entry List for the 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500.

Indy 500 Entry List 5-

 

I will also be back with a preview of the Indycar Grand Prix on Friday.

Bump Tales- Stories of Past Bump Days at the Indianapolis 500 – Tied for 33rd

thepitwindow

Welcome to the first edition of Bump Tales, a weekly series this month about some of the wilder Bump Days of past Mays. Today is a reprise of a post from  August 16, 2016, “Tied for 33rd.”

Bump day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway meant a driver needed to be one of the fastest thirty-three drivers or go home. Your car did not get multiple attempts- one four lap run and you lived with it. While the car was done after that, a driver could find a different car if he were to be bumped. After a usually furious Pole Day, action on the other three days followed a more laid back pattern. A couple of cars would make attempts early in the day. Everyone else then waited for  the five o’clock shadow to cover the front straight before going out for their run. Things were running as usual in 1963 on Bump Day.  The shadow appeared at its appointed time. Then things got strange.

As the magic hour approached, some stars were in danger of not making the field. Troy Ruttman, winner of the 1952 race,  qualified just before 5 to bump Ebb Rose. Len Sutton, runner up  the previous year, had also been bumped. He was trying to find a new car to drive, as was Rose.  The last hour congestion began in pit lane, with thirteen or so cars lining up to get a try.

Ralph Liguori then bumped Masten Gregory, who had qualified one of Mickey Thompson’s cars.. Thompson had entered five cars, but only two would make the race. Liguori getting in was good news and bad news. He had a faster speed than Gregory, but he was now the slowest in the field. Sutton found a new car and took to the track. His qualifying run started well, but at the finish, he and Liguori were tied at 147.620. Thirty- four cars had the thirty- three fastest speeds.  In these pre-computer days, the officials had to do some hand figuring to carry the speeds to next decimal place. All they really had to do was wait until Ebb Rose went out again in A. J. Foyt’s spare car.

Rose, owner of a trucking company in Houston, had entered his own car, which Ruttman had bumped. In Foyt’s car, with about ten minutes to go, he comfortably beat Liguori’s and Sutton’s time. In effect, he bumped two cars at once. A new track record! It turned out that Sutton had a better time than Liguori after the time was figured to the ten-thousandth place. Sutton would be first alternate.

This was not the only tie in speed that weekend. The day before, Bob Christie and Lloyd Ruby also had the same average speed. Christie started eighteenth and Ruby nineteenth, based on the tie -breaking fourth decimal place. They were separated by six ten-thousandths of a second.

The race was dominated by Parnelli Jones from the pole. Jim Clark in second began closing in late in the race when oil on the track became an issue. Many thought Jones’ oil tank was leaking. Colin Chapman, Clark’s car owner, pleaded with officials to black flag Jones. They didn’t, and Jones won easily as Clark decided to back off on the slippery track.

Ruttman finished twelfth and Rose came home fourteenth. They both completed all 200 laps. Al Miller, the fastest last day qualifier, finished ninth.  It was a pretty good day for some starting at the back of the field. Three rookies in the field, Jim Clark, Bobby Unser, and Johnny Rutherford, would go on to win the race in future years.

In 1963 sixty-six cars were entered. Today it is a struggle to get to thirty-three.  Granted, we don’t need two qualifying weekends, and cars do need limited multiple attempts. Indycar is still struggling to find the correct qualifying format for the race. I miss the old format, but I realize it doesn’t work with as few cars as there are now. 1963 provided the drama we all seek out of qualifying.

Top photo: Parnelli Jones (L) passes Ebb Rose, the last driver to qualify,  during the 1963 500. (Photo from 1964 500 Mile Race program)

Next week: A year after a dominating month, one of the most formidable teams in Speedway history fails to make the race.

 

 

 

 

 

Test Day Wrap Up

thepitwindow2 Comments

Top Photo: Indycar

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway had its first look at the new speedway aerokit. today. Speeds were fast for an initial test day. The crowd was likely the largest crowd ever for a test. The new car looks beautiful.

Many fans took advantage of the nice weather to come out to watch. I arrived at 10 am. Normally on a test day, I pull into the museum parking lot in front of the museum. I was shocked to find no spaces open, and that I had to park in the overflow lot on the east side of the building. Did I mention this was a test day? I have never seen both mounds so filled for a non-official day. last year when Fernando Alonso had his test day, I thought the crowd was large. i never thought I’d see a bigger crowd than that for a test. Today threw that idea out the window. I left for lunch and when I returned, I had to park behind the museum. I am now a well rounded museum visitor.

Speeds were higher than I expected. I was thinking no one would go over 220 mph as they were testing out how the new package handled on the large oval. But Tony Kanaan had the fastest lap at more than 226 mph.

I did not get to stay for the aeroscreen test with Josef Newgarden. I understand there was an issue with glare. I will find out more tomorrow about how it went.

One other observation- If you are going to the track this May, get a spotters’ guide and learn the liveries. The tiny numbers on the tiny rear wings are impossible to see. The teams that run the same sponsors on their cars fortunately have reversed the color pattern on one of the cars to make them easier to tell apart. This year, go by paint, not numbers.

The t5op 5 from this afternoon:

Tony Kanaan A.J. Foyt (Chevy)     226.181

Simon Pagenaud Team Penske (Chevy) 225.910

Marco   Andretti  Andretti Autosport (Honda) 225.637

Gabby Chaves Harding Racing (Chevy)  225.630

Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing (Honda) 225.448

James Hinchcliffe was slowest with a 220.161.

Andretti, Dixon, and Chaves were also in the top 5 in the morning session.

Gateway Promotion

Representatives of Gateway Motorsports Park came to IMS today to greet fans, sell tickets and continue their incredible race promotion efforts. According to trackm president Curtis Francois, they are doubling their concession offerings and have improved parking and camping. They are offering a bus trip on race day from IMS to Gateway. Cost is $149. It includes a race ticket and paddock pass. For more information, got their website, gatewaymsp.com

Some photos from the day.  Photos by Mike Silver

20144707
Part of the large crowd at IMS today (Monday)
20144679
Josef Newgarden holds a replica ticket for for the Bommarito 500 scheduled for August 25. Newgarden signed three of the the replica tickets which three fans won in a drawing.

Mid Day Test Update.

thepitwindow

On a beautiful with an an amazing crowd, Indycar began testing the new car at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Top 5 this morning:

Marco Andtetti. 223.997

Takuma SaSatonScott Dixon

Gabby Chaves

Ryan Hunter-Reay.

Charlie Kimball was the slowest at 218.228.

Gateway Gets It

Gateway Motorsports Park set up a ticket promotion tent and trailer near the turn 2 mounds to sell tickets for the August race.

Curtis Francois, Gateway president, spoke and predentes Josef Newgarden with a commemorative ticket.

Maker:0x4c,Date:2018-3-6,Ver:4,Lens:Kan03,Act:Lar01,E-Y

Newgarden said the cars didn’t feel that much different from last year.

More on Gateway tonightMaker:0x4c,Date:2018-3-6,Ver:4,Lens:Kan03,Act:Lar01,E-Y

 

Open Test at IMS Today

thepitwindow

Good Morning. It’s great to be back in Indy. I will be heading to the track in a few minutes. Look for photos and a summary of the day this evening.

Quick notes on today’s session:

Testing times:

10-12

1-5

21 drivers participating

Live streaming today and Tuesday on racecontrol.indycar.com.

This is the only chance teams will have before May 15 to learn how these cars behave on the oval.

Tomorrow’s times for Rookie Orientation and refresher sessions:

10-1

2-5.

Look for more news this evening.

Remember, “Bump Tales” begins Thursday.

King of Barber Knows a Good Tire Guy

thepitwindow

Josef Newgarden needed help from his Tim Cindric to win the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama on Monday. For the second time in three races, Cindric made the correct call on when to switch tires. In Phoenix it was a fresh set for the final restart. Monday it was putting rain tires on several laps before anyone else. He had some assistance from the weather. Had it not started raining harder Sebastien Bourdais would have won staying on slicks.

The rain with about 15 minutes left turned what was an ordinary race into an intriguing finish. Newgarden was clearly the class of the field. Bourdais’s gamble didn’t work because the rain intensified. He might have had a better chance pitting when Newgarden did. Bourdais ended up fifth, beating Scott Dixon in a drag race to the line.

With the victory Newgarden takes the points lead back from Alexander Rossi, who finished eleventh. This is the first time this season Rossi has not been on the podium. Newgarden leads by 13 points. I expect these two to swap the lead back and forth a few more times before Sonoma. Meanwhile, don’t ignore Sebastien Bourdais or Graham Rahal. They are tied for third 39  points behind. Bourdais owns the tie breaker with his victory at St. Pete. Rahal is having a very consistent year and one of his best starts to a season. He is usually very strong in the second half. Bourdais has led laps in all four races this year.

Notes

Why weren’t the leader lights working at Barber? They were on during Friday’s first practice, but weren’t on the rest of the weekend.

SPM continues its resurgence with a third for James Hinchcliffe and fourth for Robert Wickens.

Matheus Leist finished 12th for his best result this season. It was a bit of  salvation for an otherwise horrendous weekend for the Foyt team.

Zachary Claman De Melo turned the fastest lap of the race, 1:09.8183. He made some great passes. Keep an eye on this rookie.

Three drivers have won at what they consider their home tracks this season.  Bourdais at St. Pete, Rossi at Long Beach, and Newgarden at Barber. Does this trend bode well for Ed Carpenter at the 500?

Newgarden has won three of the last four races at Barber. He now has nine career wins.

Marco Andretti earned his third top 10 of the season Monday. This is by far his best start in a long time.

The windscreen gets its second test at IMS next Monday after the open test. Josef Newgarden will test the the device. Dixon tested it at Phoenix.

“Bump Tales” Begins May 3

A four week series recounting some of the more dramatic Bump Days in the past begins May 3. Many former winners missed the race and there was once a tie for the last spot.

Check in each Thursday during the month for stories about who didn’t make the fastest 33.

 

Quick Thoughts on a Rainy Race Day

thepitwindow8 Comments

Indycar made quite an effort to get the race in Sunday. From my viewing point’, I could see water pooling in turn 5. I understand turn1 had a similar issue.

It was the right call to postpone the race. Conditions were horrible and safety was compromised. Might a better call been to move up the race another hour? Probably could have gotten an official race in then.

I am very impressed by the fans in Alabama. There were more people at Barber yesterday than I expected. I left to get to my car at 4:45 and still.  quite a few fans had stayed. After a record Saturday crowd of more than 34,000, I can’t imagine what yesterday’s attendance would have been on a dry day. This race has become a big event here.

Allowing the cars to refuel and change tires before today’s restart is unfair to the handful of teams that pitted on lap 13.  Today is supposed to be a resumption,, not a do over.

A huge shutout to all the track workers who tried for so many hours to get the track in race shape. The fans appreciated your efforts.

One thing about a race in the rain- I love rooster tails on race cars.

 

Back to Normal- Penske Front Row Sweep

thepitwindow

41BK5904

Order in Indycar returned Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park as Josef Newgarden edged Will Power by 0.01 seconds for the pole, giving Team Penske it’s first pole of the year. It is also the first team front row sweep of 2018. Four teams have won poles in the four races this season.

It was a day of disappointment and happiness. In other words, a typical qualifying session. Andretti Autosport had their best overall qualifying day even though points Lee Alexander Rossi d I dint make the Fast S He s t arts eighth next to teammate Marco Andretti. It’s Andretti’s best starting spot since 2015. Ryan Hunter-Reay starts fourth. .Rookie Zach Veach advanced to the second round for the first time. He moved up when group 2 was red flagged because of Tony Kanaan’s accident.

It was not a good day for AJ Foyt Racing. Kanaan will start last and Matheus Leist lines up in twenty first. Kanaan has had two consecutive top tens. That stream may be in jeopardy today.

Spencer Pigot was second quick Friday but starts seventeenth.The Rahal team also didn’t fare well Saturday. Graham Rahal begins the race in 15th and Takuma Sato starts 18th.

The latest weather looks like a very wet afternoon. It may start as a wet race and could end up as a timed event. If it is a rain affected race, Sebastien Bourdais would be my pick to win.

In a strange twist Indycar no longer has a morning warm up on permanent road courses. No one has driven this aero kit with rain tires. It could be a wild ride.

I will have some race thoughts this evening.

A Day at the Beach

thepitwindow
Maker:0x4c,Date:2018-3-6,Ver:4,Lens:Kan03,Act:Lar01,E-Y

The Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama’s two practice had some challenges for a few of IndyCar’s front runners. Points leader Alexander Rossi, Josef Newgarden, Simon Pagenaud, and Zach Veach all found the sand traps. Ryan Hunter -Reay and Rene Binder a l so had off road excursions.

Will Power led the first session with a time of 1 minute 7.598 seeconds  with Josef Newgarden second. Newgarden led the second round with rtf g e day’s quickest time, 1 minute 7.434 seconds. Spencer Pigot had the days next best lap, 0.103 seconds behind.

In the fastest drivers press conference both Pigot and Newgarden both mentioned the wind as the issue in turn 5 rather than the decreased downforce.  Pigot said the track didn’t have a lot of grip today.

Pigot would be happy if it rained Sunday during the race. Newgarden said the cars would need more changes for wet conditions. He called traction the big concern in the rain and that starting up front would be crucial.

The wind is expected to change direction tomorrow which could solve today’s problems but could create new ones. A different turn might be the trouble spot. I think one Fast SIx contender will cause a red flag during qualifying Saturday. With the Sunday forecast not improving, that will make that driver’s day long.

Back tomorrow with a qualifying wrap-up.

Above: Spencer Pigot and Josef Newgarden at the fastest driver press conference.