Tag: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Thoughts on Qualifying Weekend

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Today’s schedule:

11 a.m.-3 p.m.: Public Gates Open

1-3 p.m.: NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice Peacock, Indycaradio

TICKETS: General Admission tickets are $15. Children 15 and under are admitted free with paying adult.

PUBLIC GATES OPEN (11 a.m.-3 p.m.): Gate 2, Gate 4, Gate 6S, Gate 7, Gate 7S, Gate 10, and Gate 10A.

PARKING: Free parking is located in the IMS infield. Enter through Gate 10 from 30th Street or through Gate 2 from 16th Street.

Indianapolis 500 qualifying gave fans quite a shiow. Fans saw the fastest qualifying time by a rookie (Benjamin Pedersen) and a female driver (Katherine Legge), the closes front row in history, and the second fastest pokle speed.

Saturday’s nonstop action was better than many qualifying days with gaps in the proceedings. Sunday had high drama in the Last Chance Qualifying with Jack Harvey’s last lap bump of teammate Graham Rahal

I have never liked the new format for qualifying, but I thought this was the first year it actually worked well. Sunday’s program is a;ways going to be in flux, since it depends on the number of entries.

For this current format to work well, the entry list has to be at least 35 cars. That number would eliminate the down time in the LCQ round. There would also be one less car that is safe and would have tothink about a second run.

I’m no engineer, but I understand why they would wabnt to cool the engines before a second run, but Harvey showed yesterday that a driver can still go fast enough to get in the field even with two runs somewhat close together. Wouldn’t everyone be equal if there were no cooling off period?

Having the Fast Six pole runs immediately after the LCQ was ant-climactic After the frenzy of and excitement of bumping, seeing six cars make one and done qulifying runs. stole a lot of the crowds enthusiasm for the pole winner.

The pole shootout and LCQ need to have some separation. I have always advbocated for deciding the pole on Saturday.. Sunday should be just for bumping.The pole winner can be on television Sunday, talking about his accomplishment and publicizing the race.

Palou Wins Pole; Harvey Squeezes In

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It was a game of thoudandths at both ends of the field this afternoon at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Jack Harvey earned the final spot on the grid on the final lap of his third attempt. Alex Palou edged Rinus VeeKay by six thousandths of a mile per hour to win the pole for the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500.

Jack Harvey

In the last chance shootout, Christian Lundgaard and Sting Ray Robb easily secured spots 31 and 32. Jack Harvey qualified next. Graham Rahal quickly bumped Harvey out of the field. Harvey took a second try, but failed to beat out his teammate.As time ran out, Harvey returned to the track. After three laps, he was still behind, but close. His fourth lap was good enough to earn the final starting position by sevn thoiusandths of a mile per hour.

The Fast Six run for the pole saw Palou post a 235 mile per hour lap on his first circuit. he ended with a 234.217 mile per hour average. It was just enough to edge Rinus VeeKay by six thousandnths of a second. Fekix Rosenqvist was third after an anticlimactic run.

Notes

Today continued the drama of yesterday. The only issue I had is with the last cg=hance qualifying. It needs at least 5 cars to work. Havign justfour cars left too much diwn time as Harvey tried to run out the clock before his final runs. Six cars would be ideal in the last chance.

The pole was definitely earned. Having to make three qualifying runs over two days is a grind for the drivers qand the teams. The money awrd for the pole needs to be bigger. The points award should go up as well.

This week was devastating to the Rahal team., One the biggest stars of the series is on the sidelines for the biggest race in the world. it is not the first time this has happened. I believe this isw the first time that a father and son have both had the misfortune to be bumped from the race. Bobby waqs bumped in 1993.

Today’s attendance was the largest I’ve seen on a qualification day in at least 10 years, maybe longer.

I’ll Have some more thoughtson the weekend tomorrow. Thanks for following along this weekend.

Rosenqvist Leads Fast 12

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Photo by Kyle McInnes

Fekix Rosenqvist edged Santino Ferrucci by 17 hundredths of a mile per hour to take first in the Fast 12 shotout. Ferrucci, who was the fourth car on track, set the pace with a233.911 mph average. The next seven cars failed to reach the bar he set. Rosenqvist, the last car on ntrack, beat Ferrucci with a better fourth lap. The Arrow McLaren driver had a last lap of 233.623 mph, while Ferricci’s final trip around the oval was 233.154 mph.

Eliminated from pole contention were Alexander Rossi, Takuma Sato, Tony Kanaan, Marcus Ericsson, Benjamin Pedersen, and Will Power.

The Fast Six

The Fast Six, who will run for the pole at 5 pm Eastern today:

Only two Hondas made the final round. The pole shootout inckudes two cars from arrow McLaren, two from Ganassi, and one each from Foyt and Carpenter.

Cars wil again qualify in inverse order of speed.

Practices Complete

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The two practice sessions before today’s qualifying session are complete. In the Fast 12 practice, Rinus Veekay had what seemed to be an engine issue after turning a lap at 234.801 mph. It turned out to be a turbocharger problem.

Marcus Ericsson led the Fast 12 practie with alap of 235.692. Alwx palou, Takuma Sato, and Benjamin pedersen also had laps at 235 mph. Felix Rosenqvist was the slowest oif the greoup at 233.733 mph. Tony Kanaan did not participate in the session.

In the Last Chance practice, Christian Lundgaard was quickest qt 231.075 mph, followed by Graham Rahal and Sting Ray Robb. Both drivers were above 230 mph. Jack Harvey was slowest of the group with a lap of 230.423.

I walked around the garages this morning. The mood difference between the Foyt garage and the Rahal garages was striking. Foyt’s area was full of exuberance. Santino Ferrucci signed autographs and took pictures with fans.

In the Rahal garages the crew quietly went about their work, yet still took time to talk to fans. There was aq tone of calm urgency.

Pole/Bump Day-Who Will be the Odd Man Out?

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Today’s schedule:

10 a.m.-6 p.m.: Public Gates Open

11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Top 12 Qualifying Practice Peacock

12:30-1:30 p.m.: Last Chance Qualifying Practice

2-3 p.m.: Top 12 Qualifying

4-5 p.m.: Last Chance Qualifying Peacock

5:15-5:45 p.m.: Firestone Fast Six Qualifying NBC, Peacock

5:45 p.m.: NTT P1 Award Presentation NBC, Peacock

TICKETS: General Admission tickets are $20. Children 15 and under are admitted free with paying adult. Free entry for all military personnel with a valid military ID.

PUBLIC GATES OPEN (10 a.m.-6 p.m.): Gate 1, Gate 2, Gate 3, Gate 4, Gate 6S, Gate 7, Gate 7S, Gate 9, Gate 10, and Gate 10A.

PARKING: Free parking is located in Turn 3 and Lot 7 (North 40), in the South Carousel Lot for motorcycle parking and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum Lot and Lot 7 (North 40) for ADA parking. Paid parking is $20 in Gate 1 and $10 in Main Gate, Lot 2, Lot 3G and Lot 3P. Paid ADA parking is $20 in Gate 1 and $10 in Lot 2, Lot 3P and Lot 3G. Bicycle parking is located outside Gate 1, Gate 6 and Gate 9.

If you didn’t get enough drama yesterday, there is more on the way this afternoon. The race for the pole iws going to be very close, but the real tension inolves the runs for the last row.

Three drivers from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and one driver rfrom Dale Coyne Racing, will battle for the final three spot. Graham Rahal, Christian Lungarard, and Jack Harvey will go against rookie Sting Ray Robb for a spot on row 11.

Rahal was the slowest car yesterday by a significant amount. Robb, a rookie, has the disadvanbtage of inexperience. My pick for missing the race is Graham Rahal. based on the entire week of practice, Rahal has ben consistently behind. I don’t see speed magically appearing today.

Robb’s teammate, david Malukas, found enough speed to get the 23rd starting spot late in the day. I think what the team learned from the 18 car will transfer to the 51 and put him in the field.

The pole is a different story. I enjoyed the battle between Chevy and Honda for the front row yesterday. I think we will see iot again. I am going with Alexander rossi for the pole, with teammate Felix Rosenqvist and Scott Dixon nipping closely at his heels.

Abel Motorsports

A story that was drowned out by the rama at Rahal was Abel Motorsports and driver R C Enerson making the field in the 28th spot. The team came together ;ate, and Saturday was their fourth day on track. Enersonhasn’t driven since 2021. It was easy to dismissw them as the team that would go home.

I had a sense Thursday that this team would make the field. It is great to see a small operation like this come rogether and get in the race. We used to see similar stories in the 60s.

Abel’s Indy NXT experience was helpful in making this possible. I hope they have a good race.

Notes

Some milestones from yesterday:

84 quaklification attempts set a single day record for a qualifying day.

Katherine Legge is now the fastest female driver in Speedway history.

Felix Rosenqvist had the third fastestqualifying time ever.

Agustin Canapino is the fastest rookie qualifier in history.

Agustin Canapino

Qualifications Wrap Up- Rosenqvist Leads; RLL Struggles

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Photo by Kyle McInnes

Drama abounded at both ends of the field at IMS today. Alexander Rossi led for most of the day after first hour runwith a 233.528 mph run. In mid afternoon Felix Rosenqvist ran a 233.947 average to take the top spot.Rosenqvist’s average is the third fastest average in Speedway history.

The fast 12 who have a shot at the pole tomorrow:

Rosenqvist

Rossi

Alex Palou

Rinus VeeKay

Scott Dixon

Tony Kanaan

Takuma Sato

Pato O’Ward

Santino Ferrucci

Marcus Ericsson

Benjamin Pedersen

Will Power

Thre entire teams- Ganassi, McLaren, and Foyt- will try for the pole tomorrow.

Perhaps a bigger surprise than two Foyt cars making the second nround s that only car from Team Penske and just one from Carpenter advance.

Ate the end of the field, the Rahal cars struggled to reach the 230 mph mark needed to crack the fastest 30. With Katherine Legge and Christian Lundgaard 29th and 30th, the team cars would be knocking each other out. In the end, only Legge survived.

The Coyne team also struggled, with David Malukas and Sting Ray Robb on the outside for the majority of the day. Malukas finally found nthe speed in the last 30 minutes and ended in the 23rd spot.

The last chance shootout features three Rahal cars- Lundgaard, Jack Harvey, and Graham Rahal- and Coyb=ne rookie StingRay Robb. It could be a tough day for RLL.

Where Is Andretti

Kyle Kirkwood in 15th was the fastest for Andretti Autosport. Romain Grosjean and Colton Herta bookend Row7. The bteam has been great on street and road courses, but their oval program is lacking. T\Andretti dominated IMS in the mid teens. Now they struggle to be competitive.

Notes

Today saw a record number of first day qualification attempts. The field made 82 runs.

Attendance looked to be one of the larger fist day qualifications crowds in a few years.

Tomorrow’s weather should be much warmer.

Today made me a fan of this format. There was continuous action and lots of drama on both ends of the grid. I still think some tweaks can be made, but today held my interest,

Two teams deserve special recognition. A. J. Foytb Racing for getting both cars int eh second round, Juncos Hollinger Racing for preparing the new chassi for Callum I,ott in time for the morning practice and making the field.

500 Qualifications Update

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All cars have nade at least one qualifying run. Alexander Rossi has the fastest average at 233.528 mph. The highlight of the top 12 is Santino Ferrucci in the A J Foyt car 14 in fifth place. benjamin pedersen, in the other Foyt car, is also in the top 12, sitting ninth currently. Three Arrow McLaren cars and three Chip Ganassi cars are in the pole eligibkle group. Josef newgarden is currently 12th, the only Team Penske car in the top 12.

At the other end of the grid, the preeicted troubles for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racinbg team are showing. Currently Graham Rahal and Jack Harvey are outside the 30 cars who will be locked in at the end of the day. Rahal mjust made a second attempt but did not improve his time. Christian Lundgaard is now in 30th place. Kartherine Legge has qualified 28th. I think Legge is safe, but if Rahal gets bumped tomorrow, does she start the race?

Outside the top 30 right now- Harvey, Sting Ray Robb, Rahal, Callum Ilott.

Qualification day is sunny but cool with a wind making the temperature feel even lower. Another large crowd is on hand. This weekmis arguably the best attended pre race week in several years.

I’ll be ba back later with another update.

Kanaan Leads Small Practice Group

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Under sunny skies and 55 degree temperatures.just 10 cars took advantage of the practice time prior to qualifications. Tony Kanaan turned the fastest lap at 233.026 mph.

The best story of the session was the new nmber 77 of Callum Ilott getting on track after the team decided to switch chassis at 3 pm yesterday afternoon. Ilott ran 14 laps. His best was 230.126 mph.

Kyle Kirkwood turned the most laps, 19, as only five drivers turned more than 10 laps.

With less than an hour to go before qualifying, the air temperature is 58 degrees and the track is 77 degrees.

Th qualifying order:

1 23 Ryan Hunter-Reay
2 26 Colton Herta
3 12 Will Power
4 06 Helio Castroneves
5 98 Marco Andretti
6 8 Marcus Ericsson
7 45 Christian Lundgaard
8 7 Alexander Rossi
9 9 Scott Dixon
10 60 Simon Pagenaud
11 55 Benjamin Pedersen (R)
12 51 Sting Ray Robb (R)
13 6 Felix Rosenqvist
14 66 Tony Kanaan
15 33 Ed Carpenter
16 50 RC Enerson (R)
17 30 Jack Harvey
18 20 Conor Daly
19 29 Devlin DeFrancesco
20 15 Graham Rahal
21 21 Rinus VeeKay
22 5 Pato O’Ward
23 77 Callum Ilott
24 24 Stefan Wilson
25 11 Takuma Sato
26 18 David Malukas
27 14 Santino Ferrucci
28 10 Alex Palou
29 28 Romain Grosjean
30 27 Kyle Kirkwood
31 44 Katherine Legge
32 3 Scott McLaughlin
33 78 Agustin Canapino (R)
34 2 Josef Newgarden