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| INDIANAPOLIS 500 CARB DAY Friday, May 22 UPDATES |
3:30 PM
What a GREAT day here at IMS! The morning's practice went smooth, with lots of
speed being shown by the Penske trio of pole-sitter Helio Castroneves, and
teammates Will Power and Ryan Briscoe, with a little spice at the top of the chart
being provided by darkhorse picks Mario Moraes and Dan Wheldon. The race is
going to be fast and competitive, for sure, as the hour-long session was filled
with lots of daring passes and bold moves.
The Indy Lights race was a good one as well - with constant frontrunners Wade
Cunningham, Sebastian Saavedra and J.R. Hildebrand dicing for the top
positions almost the entire show. However, everyone always complains that the
race is too short - 40 laps (100 miles). But today showed why it's that distance,
because the ever-present yellow flags in that series drag it out. If they added
more laps, we'd run out of time for the rest of the activities in the afternoon
(plus, a longer race would most likely require pit stops, and the Indy Lights
Series does not want to require that of teams, as it adds cost). All drivers in the
four incidents were fine.
There was controversy right at the beginning of the Indy Lights race, as Jesse
Mason, a Canadian product driving for the Guthrie Meyer team, was not on the
grid. Observing from turn inside turn one, I saw the team pull him out from the
garage area to the pit exit, and they seemed to be having mechanical problems.
Just before the command to start engines, a team member ran to the car and
said something to Butch Meyer, owner of the team, and the driver, and the car
started, to cheers from the team. I questioned the crew chief later and asked
what happened, and he said only two words..."Jim Guthrie." I didn't understand
- did Guthrie put a hex on the car from afar, as he's been suspended from the
IRL, along with son Sean (driver of the #4 in Indy Lights), indefinitely, so he
wasn't at the track. I found out later that Guthrie and Meyer are separating
businesses, and Butch will now run under Meyer Racing, but the separation
must not be going so smoothly, as Guthrie filed notice for bankruptcy for
Guthrie Meyer racing THIRTY MINUTES before the start of the race, effectively
freezing any efforts by Butch and the team to compete in the most important
race of the year. I was told it took three lawyers and a judge to get the
bankruptcy filing thrown out, and just before the command to start engines, the
team got word to roll onto the track. I don't think we'll be seeing either Guthrie
competing in the IRL for a very long time after that stunt.
Now sports car driver Didier Theys was seen at the track today, along with
former IndyCar shoe and barrier-breaker Willy T. Ribbs, and legendary drag
racer (and now owner) Don Prudhomme.
Ana Beatriz, once again, proved why she's the real deal, by qualifying and racing
up front all day, until she was involved in one of the four incidents. Me thinks
we'll see her in IndyCar competition soon.
The number one rule for team cars is you DON'T take each other out of a race,
but Panther Racing drivers Pippa Mann and Martin Plowman apparently did not
get the memo, as they were the first two casualties of the race.
Can Helio Castroneves do anything wrong here? He apparently wants to take
home all of the money after winning today's prestigious Pit Stop Challenge.
Congrats to the entire Penske organization for, once again, a flawless
performance.
10:00 AM
CARB DAY! And what a day it will be. Got stuck in what seemed to be race day
traffic this AM coming into the track, which has not happened for a very long
time. Sunny, temps in the 80s, a HUGE crowd, practice, Pit Stop Competition, 3
Doors Down concert, Indy Lights race - what more could any race fan ask
for??!!! This is easily one of my most favorite days of the year.
There was just a really nice tribute to Mike Harris, the Associated Press' national
motorsports writer who is retiring, here in the media center. He will be sorely
missed, not only for his communication skills, but for his friendly demeanor
every single time he's at the race track.
What a GREAT day here at IMS! The morning's practice went smooth, with lots of
speed being shown by the Penske trio of pole-sitter Helio Castroneves, and
teammates Will Power and Ryan Briscoe, with a little spice at the top of the chart
being provided by darkhorse picks Mario Moraes and Dan Wheldon. The race is
going to be fast and competitive, for sure, as the hour-long session was filled
with lots of daring passes and bold moves.
The Indy Lights race was a good one as well - with constant frontrunners Wade
Cunningham, Sebastian Saavedra and J.R. Hildebrand dicing for the top
positions almost the entire show. However, everyone always complains that the
race is too short - 40 laps (100 miles). But today showed why it's that distance,
because the ever-present yellow flags in that series drag it out. If they added
more laps, we'd run out of time for the rest of the activities in the afternoon
(plus, a longer race would most likely require pit stops, and the Indy Lights
Series does not want to require that of teams, as it adds cost). All drivers in the
four incidents were fine.
There was controversy right at the beginning of the Indy Lights race, as Jesse
Mason, a Canadian product driving for the Guthrie Meyer team, was not on the
grid. Observing from turn inside turn one, I saw the team pull him out from the
garage area to the pit exit, and they seemed to be having mechanical problems.
Just before the command to start engines, a team member ran to the car and
said something to Butch Meyer, owner of the team, and the driver, and the car
started, to cheers from the team. I questioned the crew chief later and asked
what happened, and he said only two words..."Jim Guthrie." I didn't understand
- did Guthrie put a hex on the car from afar, as he's been suspended from the
IRL, along with son Sean (driver of the #4 in Indy Lights), indefinitely, so he
wasn't at the track. I found out later that Guthrie and Meyer are separating
businesses, and Butch will now run under Meyer Racing, but the separation
must not be going so smoothly, as Guthrie filed notice for bankruptcy for
Guthrie Meyer racing THIRTY MINUTES before the start of the race, effectively
freezing any efforts by Butch and the team to compete in the most important
race of the year. I was told it took three lawyers and a judge to get the
bankruptcy filing thrown out, and just before the command to start engines, the
team got word to roll onto the track. I don't think we'll be seeing either Guthrie
competing in the IRL for a very long time after that stunt.
Now sports car driver Didier Theys was seen at the track today, along with
former IndyCar shoe and barrier-breaker Willy T. Ribbs, and legendary drag
racer (and now owner) Don Prudhomme.
Ana Beatriz, once again, proved why she's the real deal, by qualifying and racing
up front all day, until she was involved in one of the four incidents. Me thinks
we'll see her in IndyCar competition soon.
The number one rule for team cars is you DON'T take each other out of a race,
but Panther Racing drivers Pippa Mann and Martin Plowman apparently did not
get the memo, as they were the first two casualties of the race.
Can Helio Castroneves do anything wrong here? He apparently wants to take
home all of the money after winning today's prestigious Pit Stop Challenge.
Congrats to the entire Penske organization for, once again, a flawless
performance.
10:00 AM
CARB DAY! And what a day it will be. Got stuck in what seemed to be race day
traffic this AM coming into the track, which has not happened for a very long
time. Sunny, temps in the 80s, a HUGE crowd, practice, Pit Stop Competition, 3
Doors Down concert, Indy Lights race - what more could any race fan ask
for??!!! This is easily one of my most favorite days of the year.
There was just a really nice tribute to Mike Harris, the Associated Press' national
motorsports writer who is retiring, here in the media center. He will be sorely
missed, not only for his communication skills, but for his friendly demeanor
every single time he's at the race track.