Tag: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Stefan Wilson Focused on 500, Future Can Wait

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Stefan Wilson enters this year’s 500 with a new association and a new teammate. He is thrilled with his situation. The Cusick Motorsports team has paired with Dreyer & Reibold fror 2023, He also has 2014 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay as a teammate.

“Ryan’san amazing teammate. He has just so much experience, I can rely on it. You know, it’s reassuring, you know, you make a change. And you have read on it. And you’re like, Okay, this is my read. And then you like, wait with bated breath. Like, what’s Ryan gonna say about the same change. And then when he comes in and has the same feedback, it’s like, it’s encouraging. It’s encouraging. It’s reassuring that your feedback is pretty, pretty accurate. Yeah, so it’s like a it’s a nice way to check yourself. Because he knows what’s up. He’s one here. So if my feedback matches, and that’s a good thing,” Wilson said.

Wilson was happy with yesterday’s practice.

“We’re close. I think we’re really close. If we can find a little bit more than will be fine,” he said. Wilson was 15th Wednesday, and Hunter-Reay was eighth.

Today the team will work on qualifying setup.

“We’re just gonna put the ball line set up on, see how fast it is. And then tomorrow, I think the weather is gonna come in late. So I think we might get a couple of runs in tomorrow with the qualifying boost.”

Wilson said they are not thinking about future expansion of the program just yet.

“I think right now, we talked about it, we thought about it, but right now it’s not in my mind. I’m just totally focused on the next two weeks. Next weekend, and trying to make the most of this opportunity. I think after that when the dust settles, we’ll think about okay, what do we need? “

Wilson likes the way the team is setup now ansd wants to continue.

” I think this is such a great combo me and Ryan. If I had my choice would be to just keep the same group together and just hold again next year, so that’d be the goal.”

Day 3 at IMS- The Need for Speed

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Today’s schedule

SCHEDULE (All times local):

10 a.m.-6 p.m.: Public Gates Open

Noon-6 p.m.: NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice Peracock, Indycar Radio

HONORARY STARTER: Gene’o Riley and Krishawn Hogan, NFL Players’ Association

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

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

Another beautiful day is in the forecast for today. Everyone is looking at the Ganassi cars as the ones to beat. Rinus VeeKay turned heads with the quickest no tow speed. In facrt the Ed Carpenter Racing cars were 1,2,and 3 on the no tow chart.

Rinus VeeKay

Callum Ilott’s struggles from the open test continued yesterday. He was 34th fastest and has two days to figure something out. I said in an earlier post that i wouldn’t be surprised to see a full time car bumped. Ilott’s situation is one of the reasons I think bumping when there are 34 cars entered for the race is silly.

What will today bring? Will some slower cars on Wednesday find what they need?

Wednesday’s Results

Sato Tops Wednesday

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Takuma Sato overtook teammate Scott Dixon and paced the first actual practice day for the Indianapolis 500. Dixon set a lap m0f 229.174 in the first nine minutes of the session. Sato beat that late in the day with a 229.439 circuit.

Five cautions for debris halted action at various times, but teams only lost 35 minutes of track time.

Chip Ganasi Racing showed their strength, finishing 1,2, 4(Alex Palou), and 7 (Marcus Ericsson).

Team Penske placed two drivers in the top 10- Scott McLaughlin was fifth and Josef Newgarden had the ninth fastest time.

Andretti Autosport also had two drivers in the top 10. Colton Herta ended the daysixth and Marco Andretti was 10th.

Penske and Andretti have struggled the past couple of years.

David Maluks (L) and Takuma Sato talk about their days

Jack Harvey led Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in 11th. Graham rahal was 13th.

Santino Ferrucci, driving for A. J. Foyt Racing, had the third fastest time, 228.977. Ferrucci said the car was in race trim.

2014 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay put the Dreyer & Reinbold entry into eighth place.

Arrow McLaren struggled today. Alexander rossi and Pato O’Ward were 19th and 20th on the chart.

The weather was perfect for speeds and for the fans. A nice sized crowd was on hand throuf=ghout the day.

It was a great day at IMS, I can’t wait until tomorrow. Practice begins at noon.

IMS Mid Day Report

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Greetings from IMS on a perfect day for running. The track has been busy since openingnat noon. All cars have been on track.The dqay began with R C Enerson taking his Rookie Orientation Program. He completed all but one lap. Enerson is allowed o practice the rest of the day tom complete the lap he needs.

Scott Dixon posted a 229,174 lap early and thta is still the mark to beat. Alex Palou is second at 227,760 mph.

There have been three cautions for debris.

The top five at 3:10 pm:

Dixon

Palou

Will Power

Scott McLaughlin

David Malukas

The Dreyer and Reinbold cars of Ryan Hiunter-Reay and Stefan Wilson are sixth and seventh resectively.

Felix Rosenqvist is the nfastest Arrow McLaren driver at 16th fastest.

Colton Herta leads the Andretti squad in eighth.

As I drove down 16th Street just bafter noon the inside line to enter Gate 2 stretched beyond the bridge. The concession lnes wer also quite long.

It is so good to see and hear cars on the oval again!

I’ll be back after 6 pm with a wrap up of the day.

Day 2 at IMS- Let’s Try Again

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SCHEDULE (All times local):

10 a.m.-6 p.m.: Public Gates Open

10-10:05 a.m.: Installation Laps, All Cars

10:15 a.m.-noon: Rookie Orientation Program, driver RC Enerson

Noon-6 p.m.: Practice, All Cars

All sessions on Peacock and Indycar Radio

HONORARY STARTER: Ball State Men’s Basketball Head Coach Michael Lewis, noon

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

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

Notes

Today should be a busy day. With just two days towork on race setups before qualifying boost is added on Friday, smaller teams have a lot of work to do.

J R Hildebrand caused quite a buz when he appeared inn Gasoline Alley. I heard he was here to replace a drive, but the issue with that driver has been resolved. Hildebtandwill stay here through the weekend in case a ride opens for some reason.

Please keep my friend Steve Chiccone in your thoughts. Steve will miss coming to the 500 this year because of a medical issue. He is going to be fine, but I miss sseing him in the paddock.Can’y wait to see you back at the track, Steve.

Day One Wash Out

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What was scheduled to be Day one of practice the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500 fell victim to Mother Nature. A rainy, chilly morning gave way to a dry period.Track drying efforts were almost complete.

Indycar announced that pit lane would open at 1:50 pm and that the track wou;d go green at 2:15. I walked out of the medai center to heqad to the grandstand. I met two of my favorite bloggers, George Phillips, of Oilpressure fame, and Patti Nolen,whi writes Ikissedthebricks.

Raind drops began falling again as we talked. Aroun 4 pm tactivity was cancelled for the day.

Tomorrow’s schedule has RC Enerson going through the ROP program at 10 am after all entries get an installation lap. Practice begins at noon and runs until 6.

I still enjoyed the day. I took a leisurely walk through the garages and met several friends. Teams were taking their cars through tech, anticipating some track time.

Tomorrow and Thursday look to be great days for running with no weather issues.

here are some phots I took in the garage area.

Katherine Legge’s car
R C Enerson’s car
Romain Grosjean
Apparently Huski makes more than chocolate
The Wing and Wheel can adorn your lawn for only $200

107th 500- A Clash of Generations

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As we await the start of practice day one for the Indianapolis 500, here is a look at some of the stories to follow.

Generations Collide

On one end of the spectrum, the field has 48 year old Tony Kanaan and Helio Castroneves, 44 year old Takuma Sato, and three drivers in ntheir early 40s- Scott dixon, Will Power, and Simon Pagenaud.

At the other end we have 21 year okd Davibd Malukas, 24 year old Pato O’Ward, and 22 year old Kyle Kirkwood. The middle group of drivers range inage from 25- 39.

Marco Andretti is the only driver who is a descendant of a former driver. The third generation driverb only runs the 500 these days, but I think we’re close to a 500 without an Andretti soon.

Brazilian Farewell?

Tony Kanaan will be racing for the fnal time May 28. Helio Castroneves may be back next year, if only for this race. Drivers from Brazil have been a big part of Indycar and the 500 for more than 20 years. They have given us many great memories and they have eight 500 victories- Helio has 4, Emerson Fittipaldi 2, Kanaan and Gil de Ferran one each.

Will Andretti and Penske Return to Form?

Andretti Autosport and Team Penske are looking to get back to their winning ways at IMS. Andretto’s last 500 win was in 2017 with Takuma Sato. Penske last visitied Victory Lane in 2019 with Simon Pagenaud.

Both teams have been less competeitive the last three years. Andretti and Penske teams have gotten off tom a strong startnthis season. Josef Newgarden was fastest inn the IMS open test in April.

A stronger showing by these two teams will add more intrigue to the month.

Who Gets Left Out?

One car and driver will go home after qualifying ends May 22. I would prefer all cars get in the race this year. Bumping one car simply isn’t worth it. But once again, no one asked me to set the rules.

Who is likely to be sitting on the sidelines? I would look at the one offs first. Katherine Legge, Marco Andretti, and R. C. Enerson would be my first three picks.

I would not be surprised if a series regular misses the race either. Will Power almost missed the race in 2021.

Back Again

Katherine Legge returns to IMS for the first time in 10 years. I’m glad she is back, but it is a shame that she hasn’t had a chance to race in the 500 more.Legge is a good driver who g=has been hampered by a lack of quality equipment.

2014 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay is back with Dreyer and Reinbold Racing. He has been out of a car for two years. How long will it take him to get back up to speed? D&R usually come to IMS with decent cars. Hunter-Reay may be a dark horse.

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500 Practice Begins

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Good morning race fans!

Today’s schedule: All Times Eastern

8 a.m.-6 p.m.: Public Gates Open

9:15-11:15 a.m.: Practice, Veterans

1-3 p.m.: Practice, Rookie Orientation Program & Refresher Tests

3-6 p.m.: Practice, All Cars

HONORARY STARTER: Purdue University head football coach Ryan Walters, 9 a.m.

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

PUBLIC GATES OPEN (8 a.m.-6 p.m.): Gate 1, Gate 2, Gate 4, Gate 6S, Gate 7, Gate 7S, Gate 10, Gate 10A and 11A.

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 for ADA parking.

CASHLESS OPERATIONS: All IMS concession stands and merchandise locations are cashless this year. Tap-to-pay phone payments will be accepted, as will credit and debit transactions. Cash-to-Card machines, which convert paper money onto a temporary debit card, will be located throughout the facility. These funds can be spent inside the venue, outside the venue, online or anywhere in the world where Mastercard/Visa debit cards are accepted. Parking and gate locations.

INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY MUSEUM HOURS: (8 a.m.-5 p.m.): Admission is $15 for adults, $14 for guests over the age of 62 and $8 for guests ages 6-15. Free Museum shuttles will run during IMS gate hours between the Museum and the corner of 6th Street and Hulman Boulevard in the Speedway’s infield. Museum guests must possess an event ticket or credential to the Indianapolis 500 Practice days and purchase a Museum admission ticket at the Museum to visit. Visitors should park in open IMS parking lots and use the 6th Street and Hulman Boulevard shuttles to access the Museum.