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| MONTH OF MAY - INDIANAPOLIS 500 2011 LIVE UPDATES |
FRIDAY, MAY 20 UPDATES
FAST FRIDAY
Friday Photos
Fast Friday Schedule Highlights
Fast Friday Practice
$10
Kids 12 and under free.
8 a.m. - 6 p.m -- Public Gates Open
10 a.m. -- USPS Stamp Unveiling (Plaza)
11 a.m. -- Holmatro Pin Distribution (Plaza)
Noon - 6 p.m. -- Indianapolis 500 Practice - Fast Friday
2 p.m. -- Team Owner Q&A (Plaza)
6:15 p.m. -- Live Qual Draw (Plaza)
4:30 pm
Had a nice talk with IndyCar team owner Greg Beck this afternoon, not
fielding a car here for the first time in a long time. Said it feels very strange
to drive into the Speedway in the afternoon (still getting stuck in a huge
traffic jam), and not really have a specific place to go or thing to do. He
said he's got something going in the IndyCar Series for later this year that
will expand to a full program next year - great!
Hope I'm not speaking too soon, but it's been a really active but safe day
so far - let's keep it up!
Ran into former USAC President Rollie Helmling on pit lane. He is now
working for the Indiana Governor as the Director for Automotive and
Motorsports Initiatives for the Indiana Economic Development
Corporation. When asked how he enjoyed his new role, he didn't say
much except that he really misses being involved with racing.
2:45 pm
Former Indy 500 veteran Stephan Gregoire just stopped by my spot in the
media center to tell me about an announcement he'll have this coming
Wednesday about a partnership he's formed with IMS to put on teen
driving schools starting at the end of 2011. Very cool!
Wow! Already a total off 1170 laps taken around the Speedway today - lots
of action!
2:30 pm
Alex Tagliani looks like a legitimate contender for the Pole Position,
holding the No. 1 spot on the speed chart most of this afternoon at 228.3 -
the fastest lap of the month so far. Ed Carpenter set the bar high early
with a lap over 228 mph, too (now 2nd-fast). Great to see Dan Wheldon, in
a car furnished by Bryan Herta's stable, in 3rd at more than 227 mph! This
is a reunion of sorts for this pair, as they were teammates at Andretti
Autosport a few years ago.
As of this moment, if this was Bump Day, here are the drivers who would
NOT be in the field for this historic 100th event, based on their speed
today:
1) Marco Andretti; 2) Raphael Matos; 3) John Andretti; 4) Scott Speed; 5)
Mike Conway; 6) James Jakes
Great crowd here today - and enthusiastic about those fast laps!
HVM has confirmed that they will NOT put another driver in their back-up
car for today. Obviously they are hoping Simona gets medically cleared to
drive over this weekend. Team still feverishly working on the back-up car
in the garage area!
12:30 pm
Ed Carpenter laying down the gauntlet with an early lap of over 228 mph!!
Vitor Miera right behind him in 2nd with consistent laps over 226 mph!
This is gonna be a fun day! The crowd is loving the sun and the speeds!
Watching the HVM/Simona situation closely today. She is not medially
cleared to drive, and qualifications start tomorrow. That team will have to
get another driver in the car TODAY if they hope to qualify it tomorrow (she
can still attempt to qualify this weekend if she's cleared by medical staff).
What a bummer for her and the entire team - she's incredibly talented and
was going to be fun to watch for the remainder of the month.
Simona's car she crashed, specifically built for IMS, is a write-off. The
HVM team has a back-up car, but it was not built to specifically run in the
Indy 500 and most likely won't be as quick as the primary car.
Ray Harroun, winner of the first Indianapolis 500, begins racing his
Marmon "Wasp" through the nation's mail stream today in the form of 50
million First-Class Mail Forever stamps to celebrate 100 years of racing at
the iconic brickyard. The first-day-of-issue dedication ceremony took
place at the Speedway as a prelude to Fast Friday. U.S. Postmaster
General Patrick R. Donahoe waved the green flag to start today's practice.
Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Bruce P. Crandall has been
named honorary starter for the 100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500-Mile
Race on Sunday, May 29, waving the green flag to begin racing for the
field of 33 drivers at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
A total of 58 cars are at the Speedway, and 53 have passed technical
inspection.
11:30 am
Perfect temperatures (80s +), sunny skies and fast speeds are all causing
race-day-like traffic back-ups entering the track! Fast Friday is here!
Simona De Silvestro is NOT medically cleared to drive today after
yesterday's horrific accident. She's still sporting protective gloves on her
hands after receiving 2nd-degree burns in the incident yesterday.
FAST FRIDAY
Friday Photos
Fast Friday Schedule Highlights
Fast Friday Practice
$10
Kids 12 and under free.
8 a.m. - 6 p.m -- Public Gates Open
10 a.m. -- USPS Stamp Unveiling (Plaza)
11 a.m. -- Holmatro Pin Distribution (Plaza)
Noon - 6 p.m. -- Indianapolis 500 Practice - Fast Friday
2 p.m. -- Team Owner Q&A (Plaza)
6:15 p.m. -- Live Qual Draw (Plaza)
4:30 pm
Had a nice talk with IndyCar team owner Greg Beck this afternoon, not
fielding a car here for the first time in a long time. Said it feels very strange
to drive into the Speedway in the afternoon (still getting stuck in a huge
traffic jam), and not really have a specific place to go or thing to do. He
said he's got something going in the IndyCar Series for later this year that
will expand to a full program next year - great!
Hope I'm not speaking too soon, but it's been a really active but safe day
so far - let's keep it up!
Ran into former USAC President Rollie Helmling on pit lane. He is now
working for the Indiana Governor as the Director for Automotive and
Motorsports Initiatives for the Indiana Economic Development
Corporation. When asked how he enjoyed his new role, he didn't say
much except that he really misses being involved with racing.
2:45 pm
Former Indy 500 veteran Stephan Gregoire just stopped by my spot in the
media center to tell me about an announcement he'll have this coming
Wednesday about a partnership he's formed with IMS to put on teen
driving schools starting at the end of 2011. Very cool!
Wow! Already a total off 1170 laps taken around the Speedway today - lots
of action!
2:30 pm
Alex Tagliani looks like a legitimate contender for the Pole Position,
holding the No. 1 spot on the speed chart most of this afternoon at 228.3 -
the fastest lap of the month so far. Ed Carpenter set the bar high early
with a lap over 228 mph, too (now 2nd-fast). Great to see Dan Wheldon, in
a car furnished by Bryan Herta's stable, in 3rd at more than 227 mph! This
is a reunion of sorts for this pair, as they were teammates at Andretti
Autosport a few years ago.
As of this moment, if this was Bump Day, here are the drivers who would
NOT be in the field for this historic 100th event, based on their speed
today:
1) Marco Andretti; 2) Raphael Matos; 3) John Andretti; 4) Scott Speed; 5)
Mike Conway; 6) James Jakes
Great crowd here today - and enthusiastic about those fast laps!
HVM has confirmed that they will NOT put another driver in their back-up
car for today. Obviously they are hoping Simona gets medically cleared to
drive over this weekend. Team still feverishly working on the back-up car
in the garage area!
12:30 pm
Ed Carpenter laying down the gauntlet with an early lap of over 228 mph!!
Vitor Miera right behind him in 2nd with consistent laps over 226 mph!
This is gonna be a fun day! The crowd is loving the sun and the speeds!
Watching the HVM/Simona situation closely today. She is not medially
cleared to drive, and qualifications start tomorrow. That team will have to
get another driver in the car TODAY if they hope to qualify it tomorrow (she
can still attempt to qualify this weekend if she's cleared by medical staff).
What a bummer for her and the entire team - she's incredibly talented and
was going to be fun to watch for the remainder of the month.
Simona's car she crashed, specifically built for IMS, is a write-off. The
HVM team has a back-up car, but it was not built to specifically run in the
Indy 500 and most likely won't be as quick as the primary car.
Ray Harroun, winner of the first Indianapolis 500, begins racing his
Marmon "Wasp" through the nation's mail stream today in the form of 50
million First-Class Mail Forever stamps to celebrate 100 years of racing at
the iconic brickyard. The first-day-of-issue dedication ceremony took
place at the Speedway as a prelude to Fast Friday. U.S. Postmaster
General Patrick R. Donahoe waved the green flag to start today's practice.
Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Bruce P. Crandall has been
named honorary starter for the 100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500-Mile
Race on Sunday, May 29, waving the green flag to begin racing for the
field of 33 drivers at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
A total of 58 cars are at the Speedway, and 53 have passed technical
inspection.
11:30 am
Perfect temperatures (80s +), sunny skies and fast speeds are all causing
race-day-like traffic back-ups entering the track! Fast Friday is here!
Simona De Silvestro is NOT medically cleared to drive today after
yesterday's horrific accident. She's still sporting protective gloves on her
hands after receiving 2nd-degree burns in the incident yesterday.