Tag: NTT Indycar Series

Pole Day-Will Marco Stay on Top?

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Photo: Indycar, Walt Kuhn

Today’s schedule:

11-11:30 am – Fast 9 Practice NBC Gold

1:15-2:15 pm – Fast 9 Shootout NBC (1-3 pm coverage)

3:30-6 pm – Practice (NBCSN at 4 pm)

Good morning from the IMS northwest media center annex. This is an interesting and talented Fast Nine, and definitely one of the most unusual ones since the beginning of the pole shootout.  The field has four former race winners, two rookies, two former pole winners, and drivers from five different teams. Andretti Autosport has four drivers who advanced to today and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has two.

The odds of having a first time polesitter are good. Marco Andretti showed yesterday that he is fast regardless of the time of day and the track conditions. While Scott Dixon’s late run yesterday was simply a show of strength, he won’t be running with the shadows on the track.

Rinus VeeKay is a rookie driving for Ed Carpenter Racing. VeeKay loves to go fast. The ECR team  has been a perennial member of the Fast Nine.  I look for the only Chevy in the Fast Nine to be on the front row.

As for predictions, I hate to jinx someone, but this is Marco’s pole to lose.

Notes:

What’s missing from today’s shootout? Penske cars. Josef Newgarden was the fastes on the team in 13th. Will Power  is 22nd, Simon Pagenaud is 25th and Helio Castroneves is 28th.  Pagenaud has been a poor qualifier all season, but has come from the back to contend for the win.  I am puzzled by Chevrolet’s overall lack of speed.

Scott Dixon will increase his points lead today by at least 1 point and as many as 9. he currently leads Pagenaud by49 points and Newgarden by 51.

I think the fastest driver on Saturday should receive at least a point.

James Hinchcliffe’s mask is creepy.

I saw a lot of anger on social media toward Takuma Sato and Scott Dixon for their late day runs. While I wished they hadn’t done it and given drivers who needed a shot a chance, these late day qualifying games have been played for the last 70 years. Watch film of Bump Days in the past and see what went on in the last 90 minutes or so. You’ll see pretty much what you saw yesterday.  They were playing by the rules they were given.

Qualifying Results-104th Indianapolis 500

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For Immediate Release
Indianapolis 500 Day 1 Qualifying Results
Click HERE to view the official qualifying results from qualifying for the 104th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.

INDIANAPOLIS – Results of qualifying Saturday for the 104th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge NTT INDYCAR SERIES event on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with rank, car number in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, time and average speed for four laps in parentheses:

1. (98) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 2:35.6078 (231.351 mph)
2. (28) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 2:35.6217 (231.330)
3. (27) Alexander Rossi, Dallara-Honda, 2:35.6638 (231.268)
4. (29) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Honda, 2:35.7126 (231.195)
5. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 2:35.7396 (231.155)
6. (21) Rinus VeeKay, Dallara-Chevy, 2:35.7674 (231.114)
7. (55) Alex Palou, Dallara-Honda, 2:35.8213 (231.034)
8. (15) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 2:35.9641 (230.822)
9. (30) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 2:35.9844 (230.792)
10. (88) Colton Herta, Dallara-Honda, 2:35.9962 (230.775)
11. (8) Marcus Ericsson, Dallara-Honda, 2:36.1374 (230.566)
12. (45) Spencer Pigot, Dallara-Honda, 2:36.1557 (230.539)
13. (1) Josef Newgarden, Dallara-Chevy, 2:36.3203 (230.296)
14. (10) Felix Rosenqvist, Dallara-Honda, 2:36.3491 (230.254)
15. (5) Pato O’Ward, Dallara-Chevy, 2:36.3769 (230.213)
16. (20) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Chevy, 2:36.3781 (230.211)
17. (26) Zach Veach, Dallara-Honda, 2:36.5484 (229.961)
18. (47) Conor Daly, Dallara-Chevy, 2:36.5525 (229.955)
19. (18) Santino Ferrucci, Dallara-Honda, 2:36.5736 (229.924)
20. (60) Jack Harvey, Dallara-Honda, 2:36.6161 (229.861)
21. (7) Oliver Askew, Dallara-Chevy, 2:36.6852 (229.760)
22. (12) Will Power, Dallara-Chevy, 2:36.7252 (229.701)
23. (14) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Chevy, 2:37.0993 (229.154)
24. (41) Dalton Kellett, Dallara-Chevy, 2:37.2880 (228.880)
25. (22) Simon Pagenaud, Dallara-Chevy, 2:37.3180 (228.836)
26. (66) Fernando Alonso, Dallara-Chevy, 2:37.3646 (228.768)
27. (51) James Davison, Dallara-Honda, 2:37.3789 (228.747)
28. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Chevy, 2:37.6368 (228.373)
29. (4) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Chevy, 2:38.0625 (227.758)
30. (59) Max Chilton, Dallara-Chevy, 2:38.3789 (227.303)
31. (24) Sage Karam, Dallara-Chevy, 2:38.5210 (227.099)
32. (67) JR Hildebrand, Dallara-Chevy, 2:39.0518 (226.341)
33. (81) Ben Hanley, Dallara-Chevy, 2:41.4948 (222.917)

Quick Thoughts- Qualifying

thepitwindow

Photo: Indycar, Walt Kuhn

A Fast Nine with no Team Penske cars is something I never thought I would see.

Today was a complete rout for Honda. I’m pretty sure Chevy will be better in the race, but they have a lot of ground to make up.

Congratulations to Marco Andretti on an outstanding run.

Was Dixon just sending a warning shot for tomorrow?

Sato played some pretty good defense at the end of qualifying.

Dixon’s and Sato’s late runs really show the flaws of this qualifying format. Indycar needs to get rid of the keep your last time if you don’t beat it rule. If a car goes out to qualify it should withdraw its time.

Qualifying with no fans in the stands really took a lot of the excitement out of what was an interesting day.

Gusty northwest winds tomorrow could make fast nine qualifying interesting.

I wonder how many of the Fast Nine will actually use the practice time tomorrow morning? Today a total of six cars, all Chevys, practiced. All the cars were in group 2.

What outstanding debuts for Rinus VeeKay and Alex Palou. VeeKay has the only Chevy in the Fast Nine. Palou put a Dale Coyne entry in the Fast Nine.  After Sebastien Bourdais and Craig Hampson left the team, I wasn’t sure how well they would fare this year.

I wish NBC would stop those “Different Month, Same Feeling” spots. It’s not the same feeling at all.

I will be back tomorrow morning and then again after the Fast Nine. Have a great evening and thanks for following along.

 

 

Qualifying Day

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Today’s schedule:

8:30-9   Group 1 Practice  NBC Gold

9-9:30 Group 2 Pracrice  NBC Gold

11-4:50 Qualifying  NBC Gold (NBC 3-5)

The 3earlier someone qualifies, the better chance they will have of making the Fast Nine. Weather conditions should be similar to yesterday when the fastest laps came early in the day. Heat made the track slippery later, and even the cooling shadow on the front stretch in the final hour didn’t help speeds improve.

Qualifying ends a n hour earlier today as well, meaning drivers can’t take advantage of the late day shade on the front straight.

The qualifying order:
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Honda powered cars have dominated the practice days. Could they fill the first three rows?  Team Penske cars have looked down on power, with Will Power finally improving to eleventh fastest late yesterday.  Andretti Autosport, particularly Marco Andretti, have looked strong so far. Marco drew what many consider to be an unfavorable qualifying spot at 28. Usually some cars step out of line and give up their slot, but with the heat and the way the track slowed yesterday, i don’t look for anyone ahead of the 98 to do that.

On Friday, the fastest four lap averages were:

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Fast Friday Thoughts

thepitwindow

Photo: Indycar, Walt Kuhn

We got the high speeds we expected. Marco Andretti’s 233.491 mph lap was the fastest lap turned since 1996. Will he back it up in qualifying tomorrow?

I was surprised to see the Penske cars struggle so much today. They seemed to find some speed late in the day, but still couldn’t crack the top ten.

Graham Rahal and Helio Castroneves had some close calls with the walls late in the day.

Could we see an all Honda Fast Nine? Conor Daly was the only Chevy in the top ten, but was in the 20s with a four lap average. the next quickest Chevy was Will Power in 11th.

It’s a shame that the draw for qualifying order can put a fast driver in an unfavorable spot for qualifying. Tomorrow the first ten or twelve drivers to qualify should have a big advantage. Maybe it’s time to use Fast Friday speeds as the order of qualifying or maybe let the top ten choose their spots then draw for the rest.

The qualifying order

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I would like to see the fastest driver on Saturday get a point.

Today’s top speeds:

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Fast Friday- Added Boost =Higher Speeds?

thepitwindow

Photo: Indycar, Chris Owens

Today’s Schedule:

11-5:30 Practice NBC Gold

5:45 Draw for qualifying order

Records won’t be broken, but there should be a lot laps in the 230 mph range today, and possibly a pole average Sunday above 230.  Cars will get added boost today and for qualifying this weekend. In the past each car received an extra 20.3 psi of boost for qualifying weekend. For 2020, the increased boost rises to 21.7 psi. The increase is to compensate for the extra weight, approximately 58 pounds, of the aeroscreen.

In theory it should keep the speeds the same. Today with cars in traffic we could see some high speeds. The pole winner has not averaged more than 230 mph since Scott Dixon in 2017. We could see that mark again this weekend.

The pole should come down to a duel between the Penske cars and Ed Carpenter’s team. Andretti Autosport has shown some strength the first two days of practice, but Fast Friday is a completely different day.

Follow along on Twitter @Pitwindowtoo for updates on the speed charts.

Notes

Fernando Alonso was checked and released from the infield care center.

Ben Hanley did complete his refresher test and can practice tomorrow.

I went to Gate 1 for a couple of hours today. The sound from outside is a bit muffled, but it was nice to hear the cars running. About a dozen people in small groups had settled in with lawn chairs.

The track PA is on and regular announcements are made as if fans were inside the track.

From the Inside

I chatted with a friend who is allowed inside yesterday morning.

He said the atmosphere is like a test day.

People  are only allowed to be in  designated spots in the garage are and the pits, but are free to roam the rest of the grounds.

Seats  which fans were not allowed to occupy had stickers applied. He believes they were applied after seats were assigned. That makes sense when you look at the pattern of the stickers.

Practice Day 2- Andretti Team Looks to Stay Up Front; More Race Set Up Work

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Photo: Fernando Alonso. Photo by Joe Skibinski, Indycar

Good morning from the northwest media center annex. Practice day 2 should see more than the 2, 444 laps turned yesterday as there will be no break for Rookie and refresher tests. Ben Hanley still needs to complete his refresher. He will get time before the track opens for practice this morning. Hanley needs 15 laps run between 205 and 210 mph followed by 15 laps above 210.

Most teams will probably work on race setups today. there is no qualifying pressure for two reasons. The most obvious one is that no one will be bumped. Keep your car together and run a decent speed and you are in the race.  Second, tomorrow the cars get the extra boost for qualifying so there is really no need to worry about a qualifying setup today.

Will the Andretti cars be up front again today? Can Rossi, Herta, and Veach join their teammates at the front? Scott Dixon looked strong yesterday as well. Dixon struggled at IMS last year.

Tony Kanaan took Dalton Kellett’s car out for six laps to help the rookie get u to speed to complete his rookie test. I think TK has a future as a driver coach.

I’ll be back with a wrap up this evening. If something newsworthy happens during the day, I will keep you informed.

First Day Thoughts

thepitwindow

Photo: Indycar, James Black

It was a strange feeling to be watching from just a few miles away. The track looked to be in good shape, but it was very odd to see the stands empty.  I think the weekend will just emphasize the emptiness, especially when someone runs a really quick lap.

Conor Daly’s car looks amazing coming down the front stretch. It is I think the most telegenic car in the field. It really pops.

I found it hard to get used to Fernando Alonso in a black, white, and green livery. I also forgot Ruoff was his sponsor.

Andretti Autosport had their best first day at a track this year. Let’s see if they are still near the top on Friday.

Ben Hanley will have a busy day tomorrow. he was given 30 minutes on track after practice ended, but only ran a few laps. He needs to complete his refresher test first.

It seemed as if most of the rookies were feeling out the track today. Alex Palou finished in the top 10, but the others were near the bottom of the charts.  I don’t put much stock in the first practice. I look for more speed from this talented group tomorrow.

This is certainly one of the more colorful fields in a while. There is a lot red/orange, some yellow, and some blue. The pace laps should look great with the red Corvette leading the pack.

I know the media that is onsite means well, but their photos this morning before practice were difficult to see. I do appreciate that they are there to keep us up to date. I hope to be back next year.

Tomorrow on The Pit Window is the debut of Pole Tales. I will share some of the more dramatic pole runs in 500 history.  The good news is there will be no Bump Tales this year. No bumping does have its advantages.

The time sheet from today

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