All times Eastern
Friday, May 8
PRACTICE 1Fri, May 8 · 9:00 AM FS2
PRACTICE 2Fri, May 8 · 1:00 PM FS1
QUALIFYING Fri, May 8 · 5:30 PM FS2
Saturday, May 9
WARMUP Sat, May 9 · 11:30 AM FS1
RACE Sat, May 9 · 4:30 PM FOX
Tag: NTT Indycar Series
Doug Boles Statement on Alex Zanardi
IndyCar President Doug Boles issued the following statement on the passing of Alex Zanardi:
Editor’s note:
I never saw Zanardi race in person, but I enjoyed watching the telecast. He was aggressive yet measured in his approach. After his accident at Lausitzring in 2001, he became a paralympic hand cycling champion.
It is a shame that the politics of Open Wheel racing at the time prevented him from racing at Indianapolis. His face would surely have been on the Borg-Warner trophy. Alex Zanardi was a champion in competition and in life.
Merle Bettenhausen, 1943-2026; The Last of the Bettenhausen Line
Some deaths of retired drivers sting more than others, and the passing of Merle Bettenhausen, 82, hurts a lot. Merle was the last surviving member of the Bettenhausen family, one of IndyCar racing’s legendary families. They didn’t have the succeess of the Unsers or the Vukoviches of the world. The Bettenhausen story is one of tough luck, tragedy, and injury.
Patriarch Tony, the 1951 and 1958 national champion, had a second-place finish in the 1955 Indianapolis 500, But he only led a few laps in 1958. He entered May in 1961 mas a heavy favorite to win, but h suffered fatal injuries while test driving a car for his friend Paul Russo the day before Pole Day.
Brother Gary lost the use of his right arm in a racing accident at Syracuse, which prompted Merle to retire soon afterwards. Brother tony, Jr. owned an IndyCar team and died in a plane crash in 2000.
Merle’s story follows the family lineage of setbacks and resiliency. In 1972, after showing promise in USAC dirt champ car races, Merle got a ride at Michigan. Early in the race Bettenhausen tangled with Mike Hiss, his car slammed the wall and caught fire. Bettenhausen lost his right arm below the elbow. He had a prosthetic made with clip at the end so he could still race.
He returned to the track just about one year later, in a midget race. Bettenhausen won his 14th race after his return. H raced for another year, but retired in mid 1974 after Gary’s accident.
Merle stayed active in racing. he started a business selling fuel and tires at sprint and midget races. He mentored some drivers hlped his brothers in their efforts at IMS.
With Merle gone, Unser, Rahal, Andretti, and Foyt are the last legacy families left who have had descendants race in the 500. If you see a member of one of these families, stop, say hello, and thank them for the memories. The foundation of IndyCar racing was built on these families.
Collet Tops Overall Chart; Newgarden Best in Final Practice
Caio Collet had the fastest speed of two day IndyCar Open test in this morning’s session at 226. 381 miles per hour. The speed held through the afternoon round, which was led by Josef Newgarden at 225.617.
Practice began 75 minutes late as the track dried from overnight and morning rain, bvut once things started, the morning session got very busy quickly.
The 24 year old Brazilian rookie driver for A J Foyt Racing was very happy with his run, but a bit surprised.
“No, no, never expected that,” Brazilian driver Collet said. “Obviously, the team has a good background here and has done really, really well the last couple of years, especially last year. As a rookie, I was just trying to learn things and see how everything went. But the team, they did a really good job and got me up to speed quickly, and I got really comfortable.
“Obviously, a lot of things I still have to learn, especially in traffic. I have to understand how to manage traffic and how to get by people. But I think by myself I felt really good, and the team gave me a really good car both days.”
The cool, windy afternoon was not without issues. A caution came out as a fox scampered across the track between turns 1 and 2. IndyCar’s television partner just had to get a plug in.
Katherine Legge completed the two phases of the refresher program with an hour alone on the track and the remainder during the final practice.
Late in the session, Jack Harvey’s car began trailing a large plume of smoke between turns and three and four. The white contrail followed Harvey into the pits where he was greeted by the AMR Safety Team. The wind took the smoke cloud southward through the pits where it lingered for a minute or two.
While a loo at the combined results of the four sessions shows Collet on top, some things stand out. Newgarden and Conor Daly were consistently near the front of the charts. Takuma Sato finished seventh overall but showed consistent lap times.
Alex Palou ranks fourth on the combined sheet driving e the car in which he won Long Beach. How fast will, he be in his speedway car?
I was struck by the /slowness of the Andretti cars- Will Power 18th, Kyle Kirkwood 27th, and Marcus Ericsson 31st.
It was fun to see cars on track in oval trim. Next week’s Sonsio Grand Prix may be a bit anticlimactic..
Notes
Some sad news today as we learned of the death of Merle Bettenhausen. Bettenhausen is the last of the Bettenhausen family, whose patriarch, Tony, won two national titles. He achieved on of his titles without winning a race.
Merle’s brother Gary was a talented driver popular with fans in the 80s. Another brother, Tony, drove and then owned a champ car team until his death in a plane crash.
I will have a more detailed story about Merle and his family on Friday.
Happier stuff
IMS looked race weekend ready this week. The grounds crew obviously has worked hard to make the facility almost sparkle.
Saturday the Month of May kicks off with the Mini Marathon in the morning and the REV event at IMS at night. Preparations for REV were underway this we3ek.
It appears that the track is about 10 days away from selling out the grandstands.
The 2028 car may be revealed sometime this month.
Thanks for following along the past two deays. I’m justb getting started.
Collet Tops Morning Session
Caio Collet turned the fastest speed of the two-day open test at IMS in the just completed first practice period of the day.
The top six:
- Collet 226.381 mph
- Newgarden 226.223 mph
- Daly 224.785 mph
- Malukas 224.377 mph
- Sato 224.130 mph
- Rosenqvist 224.104 mph
- It’s nice to see an A. J. Foyt Racing car ahead of the field,
Overnight and early morning rain pushed the sstart of the first round to 11:15 am Eastern time. Katherine Legge has the track to herself to complete the refresher program.
The next all car session is scheduled to begin at 2:15 pm and run until 5 pm.
The pace car for the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 will be revealed tomorrow morning. The pace car announcement used to be o I looked forward to, but since it has become exclusively a Chevrolet product, it’s just not that big a deal to me. I loved the anticipation of seeing which car company would lead the field to then green flag. Another fun tradition assigned to the dustbin of history.
I will have a wrap-up this evening.
From earlier:
Daly Paces Day as Part Timers Take Top 3 Spots
On a perfect day for running, Conor Daly led the opening test day at IMS with a speed of 225.394 mph. Helio Castroneves and Takuma Sato were second and third quickest. Sato, in third, was just 0.1 seconds behind Daly. The trio are all part time drivers. Sato and Castroneves drive only in the 500.
Daly cautioned everyone to not read too much into the results.
“There are several cars that aren’t running their race cars yet,” Daly said. “It’s just testing; we can’t overreact to test results. But honestly, every time we went out there, we did seem to be pretty quick, which is good. Our mission this month (May) is one day at a time.”
Daly led the pack for a while in the morning session as well. The fast times were with a tow. Kyle Kirkwood was the fastest without a tow on Tuesday.
The day started under a cloud cover with a bit of a chill in the air, but by noon blue sky and sunshine broke through. While the temperature didn’t rise much, it was pleasant and great for running. Wednesday’ s forecast calls for even cooler temperatures. Rain starting tonight could continue into the morning, possibly delaying the 10 am scheduled start.
All rooki3es- Dennis Hauger, Jacob Abel, Mick Schumacher, and Caio Collet- passed the Rookie Orientation Program.
Ryan Hunter-Reay, Helio Castroneves, Jack Harvey, and Ed Carpenter completed their refresher laps. Katherine Legge had gearbox control issues and did not turn a lap. She will have an opportunity Wednesday during the noon-1 pm lunch break to complete the refresher phases.
Notes
There is always something special about the first spring day of practice at IMS. For me it marks the official end of winter, and a promise of warm days and race cars ahead. It is part of the circadian rhythms of anyone born n Central Indiana.
I don’t know what Arrow McLaren was aiming for with this look, but it appeared to be some sort of camo. Each car had the words “Test Spec” on the side.
In addition to Daly, the Team Penske cars looked strong today. It was nice to see Will Power on top of the pylon for a bit this afternoon, but Andretti looked a little off pace. Chip Ganassi racing did not run their speedway cars today.
Tomorrow, I will be on site in the afternoon. Look for a story mid-morning about 1956 500 in honor of its 70th anniversary.
Newgarden Paces Morning Session; Two Drivers Need to Complete ROP/Refreshers
In a clean dat=y to date, cars are running at IMS as preparations begin for the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500. The tops ix this morning:
- Newgarden 223.415 mph
- Sato 222.850 mph
- O’Ward 221.842 mph
- McLaughlin 221.715 mph
- Ferrucci 221.449 mph
- Malukas 221.441 mph
The ROP/Refresher session saw all but two drivers complete their tests. Four time winner Helio Castroneves, 2014 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay, Ed Carpenter, Jack Harvey completed the refresher program. Katherine Legge had a gearbox issue. She went out for an install lap with a minute left in the allotted time period. Legge is not eligible to participate in this afternoon’s practice.
Caio Collet, Mick Schumacher, and Jacob Abel completed the rookie orientation program. Dennis Hauger has completed phase 2 of the rookie program and is eligible to run this afternoon.
A cool cloudy morning has turned unto a partly sunny afternoon with pleasant temperatures.
I’ll be back with a wrap-up of the day’s acivities this evening.
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IMS Open Test Days Begin
The schedule:
Streaming on the IndyCar YouTube channel.
Tuesdsay:
10:00am-10:05 Install laps
10:05- Noon Veterans
Noon-2 pm Rookies/refreshers tests
2-6 pm All eligible cars
Entry list:
Weather- Forecasted high of 64 degrees this afternoon after a stormy night. Rain should not be a factor during the test.
Today and tomorrow mark the unofficial opening of the track for May. Given the IndyCar schedule this year, I wonder why this test couldn’t have been conducted early next week, you know, when it is actually MAY. .IIn the years when the race id on the 24th I always feel like we get gypped out of a whole week of May. Fortunately, t5his occurs occasionally, and the following year the Indianapolis 500 assumes its rightful and proper date on the calendar of May 30.
I would not read too much into the speeds over the next two days. conditions will be cooler than they will be in three weeks, and we don’t know what each team is looking for this week.
Juncos Hollinger, Dreyer & Reinbold Form Partnership
A technical alliance and co entry arrangement was announced yesterday between full time team Juncos Hollinger Racing and Indy only team Dreyer &Reinbold. The link to the full story is here:
Rinus VeeKay’s car will carry Wedbush sponsorship. Wedbush was on the DRR cars last byear.
I wonder how many cars will be in their 500 liveries the next two days. I will try to get as many photos as I can.
I’ll have a report after the rookie/refresher test and a wrap-up at the end of the day.
IndyCar: Sorry, No Vacancies
There is a limerick by Edward Lear with the line, “…It is just as I feared,” and I recalled it Saturday when i saw the following blurb from Adam Stern:
“Beginning with the 2027 IndyCar Series season, entry fields at all races outside of the Indianapolis 500 will be limited to chartered teams only. This decision was reached after thoughtful consideration with key stakeholders and, in particular, series suppliers who are making plans for the upcoming season as all parties look to build the series’ health and on-track competition.”
This scenario was one of my first concerns when IndyCar announced its charter system which took effect with the 2025 season. I had a feeling that charters would eventually lead to a closed shop and here we are, beginning next year
If a team doesn’t have a charter, they will not be allowed to race at any event other than the Indianapolis 500. The team known as Prema will likely not be seen again, unless its new owners decide to enter the 111th running of the 500.
Dreyer and Reinbold’s plans of someday entering races other than Indianapolis have been dashed. They will remain an Indy only team for as long as they wish, but no more. It’s a hollow reward for a team that has been loyal to the series and previously ran full time.
Non charter teams entering the Indianapolis 500 receive only $100,000 for making the race unless their car does extremely well in the race. How many will reconsider since they will take a loss?
I’m not sure this move adds value to the charters as IndyCar believes it will. Charter teams are guaranteed a spot in every race other than Indianapolis. Leaders’ Circle money won’t increase, and an owner who really wants out will probably take a lower price just to be done with it.
Othe unintended consequences I see:
Third OEM Less Likely
Chevy and Honda were each granted a charter beginning in 2028 and will pair with an existing two car team. A third OEM would want the same deal, raising the grid to 28. Does engine number three take a charter from the worst performing team? Does IndyCar ask for volunteers?
I don’t see this situation as attractive to another brand. The brevity of the IndyCar statement leaves a lot of contingencies unanswered.
New Blood
IndyCar could lose a generation of young drivers under the new policy. Does this undermine the value of an Indy NXT championship? There is very little room the champion of the top ladder series to enter the grid now. Linus Lundqvist still hasn’t found a full time home. Andretti Global has had to loan out its last two Ondy NXT champs, Kyle Kirkwood and Dennis Hauger, to other teams until the team had an opening.
Safer cars, which I am grateful for, have prolonged careers. I can see two former Indianapolis 500 winners driving in their final race May 24.
Current drivers aren’t getting any younger. Will Power and Scott Dixon are 45 years old, and Romain Grosjean is 38,
Five of the eight one-off drivers in this year’s 500 are receiving adds for their AARP cards. Helio Castroneves will be 50 by race day, Takuma Sato is 49, and Ryan Hunter-Reay, Ed Carpenter, and Katherine Legge are 45 years old,
With no seats available, the younger drivers will turn to other series, and likely will not return to IndyCar.
Adding Charter Value While Keeping Things Open
As my three readers know, I enjoy spending IndyCar’s money. Here I go again with some ideas to make the charters more valuable while allowing open entries all season.
For the 500: A minimum of $200,00 for one-off entries; a minimum of$300,000 for charter teams.
For the season: Expand the leaders’ Circle to include all charter teams and give performance bonuses based on the season standings. Pay any non-charter entrants who qualify for a race a minimum amount.
The Indianapolis 500 has always been an open event except for the IRL years. IndyCar has always welcomed all comers to their events. The open philosophy is something the series should embrace, not try to eliminate.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 