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| INDIANAPOLIS 500 POLE DAY Saturday, May 9 UPDATES |
4:00 PM
It was just announced that Tony Kanaan, who had qualified earlier, failed tech
inspection due to not meeting weight.
Nelson Phillipe has just crashed during practice. He is moving around and the
safety crew is getting him out of the car. He appears to be fine, as he's
examining the car.
2:30 PM
Dan Wheldon just crashed his Panther Racing National Guard-sponsored car
while practicing this afternoon. He is fine and cleared to drive, but the car's
going to need some work. Looks like he just lost it and the back end of the car
hit the wall and rode it a ways down the track.
The Penske boys have looked quick all week, and Ryan Briscoe is currently on
top of the speed chart (deservedly so). But Dario Franchitti spoiled a Penske
1-2 start by sticking his Target machine in the second slot. It would not surprise
me to see either Franchitti or Castroneves (currently 3rd) pull that effort off of
the board and try for the Pole later on this afternoon during "happy hour" (the
wind will play a big factor in that decision, I'm sure).
Danica did not look very good in her qualifying attempt (slow), and I expect her
to take at least one more shot this afternoon in order to improve her position.
1:00 PM
POLE DAY - one of the best days of the entire month! Every single year I post
myself in the exact same spot for qualifications...at the very front of the line,
right where the cars pull up and stop right before they go out to qualify. I love
watching the interaction between the crew, driver and IRL officials, and I LOVE
the pictures I get of the concentration on the drivers' faces right before they
start their engines.
It is VERY windy today, and chilly, but no rain is in the forecast, so we should get
an entire day of quals in!
Robert Doornbos crashed again this morning - the second crash in as many
days. I expect he won't be the last today, though, as this track is tricky on a calm
day, let alone any interference from winds buffering the cars around.
With 32 car/driver combinations at the track, and the top-11 spots to fill today,
this is going to be exciting. The qualification line was filled with about 12-13 cars
initially, but a few pulled out. Justin Wilson in Dale Coyne's entry was first out,
but he had a little trouble escaping pit lane after stalling it initially (first qualifier
jitters, I guess). And that wasn't his only trouble of the day - he was disqualified
later after failing the post-qualifying tech inspection.
Richard Petty is here today observing his new IndyCar team and driver John
Andretti.
There is a VERY good crowd here today for Pole Day - one of the largest Pole
Day crowds I've seen in recent years.
It was just announced that Tony Kanaan, who had qualified earlier, failed tech
inspection due to not meeting weight.
Nelson Phillipe has just crashed during practice. He is moving around and the
safety crew is getting him out of the car. He appears to be fine, as he's
examining the car.
2:30 PM
Dan Wheldon just crashed his Panther Racing National Guard-sponsored car
while practicing this afternoon. He is fine and cleared to drive, but the car's
going to need some work. Looks like he just lost it and the back end of the car
hit the wall and rode it a ways down the track.
The Penske boys have looked quick all week, and Ryan Briscoe is currently on
top of the speed chart (deservedly so). But Dario Franchitti spoiled a Penske
1-2 start by sticking his Target machine in the second slot. It would not surprise
me to see either Franchitti or Castroneves (currently 3rd) pull that effort off of
the board and try for the Pole later on this afternoon during "happy hour" (the
wind will play a big factor in that decision, I'm sure).
Danica did not look very good in her qualifying attempt (slow), and I expect her
to take at least one more shot this afternoon in order to improve her position.
1:00 PM
POLE DAY - one of the best days of the entire month! Every single year I post
myself in the exact same spot for qualifications...at the very front of the line,
right where the cars pull up and stop right before they go out to qualify. I love
watching the interaction between the crew, driver and IRL officials, and I LOVE
the pictures I get of the concentration on the drivers' faces right before they
start their engines.
It is VERY windy today, and chilly, but no rain is in the forecast, so we should get
an entire day of quals in!
Robert Doornbos crashed again this morning - the second crash in as many
days. I expect he won't be the last today, though, as this track is tricky on a calm
day, let alone any interference from winds buffering the cars around.
With 32 car/driver combinations at the track, and the top-11 spots to fill today,
this is going to be exciting. The qualification line was filled with about 12-13 cars
initially, but a few pulled out. Justin Wilson in Dale Coyne's entry was first out,
but he had a little trouble escaping pit lane after stalling it initially (first qualifier
jitters, I guess). And that wasn't his only trouble of the day - he was disqualified
later after failing the post-qualifying tech inspection.
Richard Petty is here today observing his new IndyCar team and driver John
Andretti.
There is a VERY good crowd here today for Pole Day - one of the largest Pole
Day crowds I've seen in recent years.