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| 2010 INDIANAPOLIS 500 LIVE UPDATES Saturday, May 22, 2010 POLE DAY |
8:00 AM
POLE DAY at Indy! One of the best days of the year in racing! It's going to be
sunny, warm and fast all day today.
Cars are now on track for practice from 8-10AM, then a break, then qualifications
start for the top-24 from 11AM-4PM. At 4PM, the top-9 in that group will have
their speeds thrown out, they'll re-draw for re-qualifying, and go out for 90
minutes starting at 4:30PM to compete for the Pole Position. Each car in the
Pole Shootout MUST take at least one qualifying attempt, but after that attempt,
they can go out as many times as they wish (they do not have to discard their
previous top-9 speed to try again). Each car will get at least one new set of
Firestone Firehawks for their one mandatory qualification attempt after 4:30PM,
but they'll also receive one more set if they want during that 90 minutes.
Drivers have mixed reviews of this new qualifying format, being a bit nervous
about being forced to "hang it out" not only once (a dangerous feat), but twice
in order to maintain a spot in the top-9 here at Indy. Although they'll have to
make a second run after 4:30, we just might see a few who know they can't
compete for the pole take it a bit easy on their second run, settling for the third
row instead of risking crashing a top-9 qualified car. The new format will be
great for fans - just hope we can get through today without it causing big
problems for these teams after an already hectic "week of May."
Will Power said yesterday he's confident he can go for the pole today, and he's
not kidding, posting a 227.6 mph lap early in AM practice today - the fastest lap
of the month. Alex Tagliani also topped 227 mph this AM.
8:50AM
Takuma Sato just crashed pretty hard in AM practice. His AM speed put him 23rd
on the chart, just inside the locked-in group for today. Definitely NOT what you
want to have happen just hours before you are supposed to qualify.
Watch the entire day of qualifying from 11AM-6PM on Versus (look it up)!
2:00PM
HUGE Pole Day crowd - the biggest I've seen in years. Great weather this
afternoon, too!
KV Racing successfully crashed all three of their cars this month - the only cars
crashed at all. Viso, Sato this AM, and now Mario Moraes in quals.
Oops...with the exception of now Tony Kanaan, a favorite to win this race (or the
one people most hope for at this point). You could almost hear a collective "Oh
NO" from the crowd when he crashed on what I believe was his first green flag
lap today. He, along with Mario Moraes, are cleared to drive.
Bad news for a favorite here at Indy. But it's good news for some teams, as it
eliminates one member of a "big three team" from the top-9 positions today,
opening up a slot for a smaller team's driver to slip into those coveted spots.
The first big move of the day came after most drivers had taken at least one shot
at qualifying. Helio was solidly in the top-9, but pulled his car and speed to
requalify, and it paid off, as he claimed the No. 1 spot heading into the final hour
of the first segment of qualifying. Lots of driver who should be doing better are
in trouble mid-afternoon.
Danica is not happy with her car or her team, and she made that abundantly clear
by stating in her press conference that it's not her fault that she's so slow. On
the other hand, Simona DeSilvestro was quite classy in her interview. Then
again, the rookie (in the series, on an oval) has been faster than Danica all
month.
POLE DAY at Indy! One of the best days of the year in racing! It's going to be
sunny, warm and fast all day today.
Cars are now on track for practice from 8-10AM, then a break, then qualifications
start for the top-24 from 11AM-4PM. At 4PM, the top-9 in that group will have
their speeds thrown out, they'll re-draw for re-qualifying, and go out for 90
minutes starting at 4:30PM to compete for the Pole Position. Each car in the
Pole Shootout MUST take at least one qualifying attempt, but after that attempt,
they can go out as many times as they wish (they do not have to discard their
previous top-9 speed to try again). Each car will get at least one new set of
Firestone Firehawks for their one mandatory qualification attempt after 4:30PM,
but they'll also receive one more set if they want during that 90 minutes.
Drivers have mixed reviews of this new qualifying format, being a bit nervous
about being forced to "hang it out" not only once (a dangerous feat), but twice
in order to maintain a spot in the top-9 here at Indy. Although they'll have to
make a second run after 4:30, we just might see a few who know they can't
compete for the pole take it a bit easy on their second run, settling for the third
row instead of risking crashing a top-9 qualified car. The new format will be
great for fans - just hope we can get through today without it causing big
problems for these teams after an already hectic "week of May."
Will Power said yesterday he's confident he can go for the pole today, and he's
not kidding, posting a 227.6 mph lap early in AM practice today - the fastest lap
of the month. Alex Tagliani also topped 227 mph this AM.
8:50AM
Takuma Sato just crashed pretty hard in AM practice. His AM speed put him 23rd
on the chart, just inside the locked-in group for today. Definitely NOT what you
want to have happen just hours before you are supposed to qualify.
Watch the entire day of qualifying from 11AM-6PM on Versus (look it up)!
2:00PM
HUGE Pole Day crowd - the biggest I've seen in years. Great weather this
afternoon, too!
KV Racing successfully crashed all three of their cars this month - the only cars
crashed at all. Viso, Sato this AM, and now Mario Moraes in quals.
Oops...with the exception of now Tony Kanaan, a favorite to win this race (or the
one people most hope for at this point). You could almost hear a collective "Oh
NO" from the crowd when he crashed on what I believe was his first green flag
lap today. He, along with Mario Moraes, are cleared to drive.
Bad news for a favorite here at Indy. But it's good news for some teams, as it
eliminates one member of a "big three team" from the top-9 positions today,
opening up a slot for a smaller team's driver to slip into those coveted spots.
The first big move of the day came after most drivers had taken at least one shot
at qualifying. Helio was solidly in the top-9, but pulled his car and speed to
requalify, and it paid off, as he claimed the No. 1 spot heading into the final hour
of the first segment of qualifying. Lots of driver who should be doing better are
in trouble mid-afternoon.
Danica is not happy with her car or her team, and she made that abundantly clear
by stating in her press conference that it's not her fault that she's so slow. On
the other hand, Simona DeSilvestro was quite classy in her interview. Then
again, the rookie (in the series, on an oval) has been faster than Danica all
month.