| LIVE UPDATES Saturday, May 10 - POLE DAY |
NOTES: Updates are listed with most recent post at the top. If you have any specific questions that I can
answer regarding activities at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, please e-mail them to me HERE and I'll do
my best to post a response below.
Saturday, May 10 - Pole Day PHOTOS
Saturday, May 10 - STARTING GRID AFTER POLE DAY (top-11 cars qualified)
POLE DAY SCHEDULE AND INFORMATION QUALIFYING PROCEDURE
UPDATES:
6:30 p.m.
Congratulations to Scott Dixon for winning the Indy 500 Pole! And what a performance by Target Chip Ganassi
Racing, placing Dan Wheldon next to him on the front row! Dominance!
That was an interesting Pole Day "Happy Hour." Interesting in that there were a lot of drivers who desperately
wanted to be qualified in the top-11; Interesting (but oh so unfortunate) that Ryan Hunter-Reay crashed with
about 35 minutes left in the session (he got out of his wrecked Ethanol-sponsored machine under his own power,
was checked at the medical center and is cleared to drive) which drastically changed the strategy of the teams
playing out their plan for when to enter the tech/qualification line; Interesting that the weather changed in a big
way as the 6:00 pm gun was approaching - virtually the coolest temps of the qualifying session, but the wind
picked up, negating any advantage that might have given the racers. What wasn't interesting was the lack of true
drama in the final minutes - no one who had a chance at the Pole, won by Scott Dixon, took an attempt to stick it
on the pole in the waning minutes. I was expecting at least Castroneves to give it a shot, as his teammate - Ryan
Briscoe - sat third in back of the two Ganassi machines of Dixon and Wheldon. Wheldon withdrew his #10 during
Happy Hour and moved up a position to second in attempt to bump his teammate off of the pole. Apparently
Castroneves' crew knew they didn't have enough to bump for the pole, so why take a chance on withdrawing and
then possibly crashing?
Great crowd, great day.
Current and former drivers - including a former Indy 500 winner - are here wandering the pits and Gasoline Alley:
P.J. Jones, Jimmy Kite, Stephan Gregoire, Gil de Ferran and Stephan Johansson were welcome sights. I'm sure
there'll be more as the days wind down, as most drivers looking for rides know that anything that might be
available won't be open until next weekend.
Had a chance to speak with former Indy 500 winner Gil de Ferran briefly and asked him how what he thought
about the day's activities so far, after not being to IMS since 2004. His response: "I love the tension, as long as
I'm not a part of it."
Medical Update on Dale Coyne Racing chief mechanic Chuck Buckman: Chuck will be transferred out of the
Intensive Care Unit and into a standard care room at Methodist Hospital today. Buckman suffered a traumatic
subarachnoid hemorrhage and a skull fracture in an accident on pit lane yesterday. His repeat CT scan today
was unchanged.
Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing team co-owner Paul Newman is at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway today for the
first time in several years. Here's a quote:
"(Reunificaiton) was absolutely necessary for both groups. It's tragic that it didn't happen sooner, but it's good
that it hat least happened when it did. I think it's going to be a great boost for both groups. It's good to be back
at Indianapolis. It brings back a lot of fond memories. We've won eight championships and come in second twice
at Indianapolis but never won the '500.' It's wonderful to be running against Roger (Penske) and Bobby (Rahal)
and Michael (Andretti) and all those guys. It's comfortable. My favorite tradition was that it took a whole month.
Indy started at the first of May, and you had your reservation at the (Speedway) motel. If you wanted (the room)
for two days, you took it for the whole month or you wouldn't get it, and we're going to work hard to get it back to
that."
Schedule for Sunday, May 11th - 2nd Day of Qualifications:
8:00 am - Public Gates Open
10:15-11:15 am - IndyCar Series Practice (all cars)
Noon-6:00 pm - Second Day Qualifying
6:15 pm - Third Day Qualifying Draw
Sunday's Television Schedule
Noon-2:00 pm - ESPN2
5:00-6:30 pm - ESPN2
4:00 p.m.
Back to the media center to upload more than 100 pictures from the qualifying line and pit lane.
Had a chance to briefly visit with Antron Brown, the NHRA driver who switched this year from bikes to Top Fuel,
and has already won two times under the leadership of veteran tuner Lee Beard, who was accompanying Brown.
I had a chance to sit with Antron last year at a race at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis. He impressed me
then, and continues to do so. He's VERY approachable, a great interview, and is completely into other forms of
racing. He said he'd love to try an IndyCar some day, but didn't like the idea of riding in a two-seater as it would
just "tease" him too much. Beard spoke of the cautious way they acclimated Brown to Top Fuel racing, taking it
stage by stage and little by little, starting out with just a burn out, then just a bit down the track, then to half-track -
it took a while before the team let him do a full pass, but by then he was confident in himself enough to do it.
Apparently that approach paid off as he's one of the guys to beat every week now.
3:00 p.m.
There was a flurry of qualifying activity from noon to 1:30 pm, with the 16 cars taking times, five being bumped as
only the top-11 spots will fill today. It was exciting, and the crowd was really into it, especially when Danica Patrick
stuck her #7 on the pole...briefly. Dan Wheldon quickly erased that starting spot, but she has looked strong all
week and should have a good race no matter where she starts.
Both Ed Carpenter and Helio Castroneves pulled out of the qualifying line right before they were supposed to go
out. Ed said their team found "something" in the setup that wasn't right and they didn't want to waste a qualifying
attempt.
Medical Update on Alex Lloyd: Lloyd has been released form Methodist Hospital, but he has not been cleared to
drive. He will be re-evaluated by IRL medical staff next week.
After a strong run, #27 Hideki Mutoh failed post-qualifying technical inspection. His time was disallowed.
1:45 p.m.
There is a HUGE crowd here today - there's really a "buzz" to the atmosphere, I'm sure helped by the great
weather. Driving into the track today, the traffic reminded me of race day! It's hard to walk anywhere around the
track due to all of the fans in attendance, and pit lane is impossible to maneuver, which tells me that (hopefully)
corporate sponsorship is up this year as that's where hospitality folks send their supporters.
Two drivers had an eventful warmup lap to their qualification attempt. Both A.J. Foyt, IV and Bruno Junqueira
spun on their initial lap out, but neither hit anything - a rare thing here at Indy.
11:30 a.m.
NHRA driver Ron Capps is here at IMS today and is making the rounds through the media center.
John Andretti has replaced Jay Howard in the Roth Racing #24. It is believed that if John can stick the car in the
field solidly, Jay will get another chance in a backup machine.
Jaques Lazier and Roger Yasukawa are the only other drivers I've seen walking around here that do not have a
rides.
If you want to tune into Pole Day activities, the television schedule for today is as follows:
Noon-2:00 pm - ESPN2
3:00-6:00 pm - ABC
6:00-7:00 pm - ESPN2
Pole Day quals about ready to start - looks like Penske driver Ryan Briscoe will be first on the track.
9:45 a.m.
This morning's practice was delayed from 9:00 a.m. until just now - 9:45 - to allow the Speedway to dry the track
completely after overnight rains.
It is an absolutely PERFECT day here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway - sunny, and temps are supposed to
reach 70 degrees with NO rain in sight.
Practice will be divided into two groups, with each group getting equal track time, although there's no guaranteed
amount of green flag time.
answer regarding activities at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, please e-mail them to me HERE and I'll do
my best to post a response below.
Saturday, May 10 - Pole Day PHOTOS
Saturday, May 10 - STARTING GRID AFTER POLE DAY (top-11 cars qualified)
POLE DAY SCHEDULE AND INFORMATION QUALIFYING PROCEDURE
UPDATES:
6:30 p.m.
Congratulations to Scott Dixon for winning the Indy 500 Pole! And what a performance by Target Chip Ganassi
Racing, placing Dan Wheldon next to him on the front row! Dominance!
That was an interesting Pole Day "Happy Hour." Interesting in that there were a lot of drivers who desperately
wanted to be qualified in the top-11; Interesting (but oh so unfortunate) that Ryan Hunter-Reay crashed with
about 35 minutes left in the session (he got out of his wrecked Ethanol-sponsored machine under his own power,
was checked at the medical center and is cleared to drive) which drastically changed the strategy of the teams
playing out their plan for when to enter the tech/qualification line; Interesting that the weather changed in a big
way as the 6:00 pm gun was approaching - virtually the coolest temps of the qualifying session, but the wind
picked up, negating any advantage that might have given the racers. What wasn't interesting was the lack of true
drama in the final minutes - no one who had a chance at the Pole, won by Scott Dixon, took an attempt to stick it
on the pole in the waning minutes. I was expecting at least Castroneves to give it a shot, as his teammate - Ryan
Briscoe - sat third in back of the two Ganassi machines of Dixon and Wheldon. Wheldon withdrew his #10 during
Happy Hour and moved up a position to second in attempt to bump his teammate off of the pole. Apparently
Castroneves' crew knew they didn't have enough to bump for the pole, so why take a chance on withdrawing and
then possibly crashing?
Great crowd, great day.
Current and former drivers - including a former Indy 500 winner - are here wandering the pits and Gasoline Alley:
P.J. Jones, Jimmy Kite, Stephan Gregoire, Gil de Ferran and Stephan Johansson were welcome sights. I'm sure
there'll be more as the days wind down, as most drivers looking for rides know that anything that might be
available won't be open until next weekend.
Had a chance to speak with former Indy 500 winner Gil de Ferran briefly and asked him how what he thought
about the day's activities so far, after not being to IMS since 2004. His response: "I love the tension, as long as
I'm not a part of it."
Medical Update on Dale Coyne Racing chief mechanic Chuck Buckman: Chuck will be transferred out of the
Intensive Care Unit and into a standard care room at Methodist Hospital today. Buckman suffered a traumatic
subarachnoid hemorrhage and a skull fracture in an accident on pit lane yesterday. His repeat CT scan today
was unchanged.
Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing team co-owner Paul Newman is at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway today for the
first time in several years. Here's a quote:
"(Reunificaiton) was absolutely necessary for both groups. It's tragic that it didn't happen sooner, but it's good
that it hat least happened when it did. I think it's going to be a great boost for both groups. It's good to be back
at Indianapolis. It brings back a lot of fond memories. We've won eight championships and come in second twice
at Indianapolis but never won the '500.' It's wonderful to be running against Roger (Penske) and Bobby (Rahal)
and Michael (Andretti) and all those guys. It's comfortable. My favorite tradition was that it took a whole month.
Indy started at the first of May, and you had your reservation at the (Speedway) motel. If you wanted (the room)
for two days, you took it for the whole month or you wouldn't get it, and we're going to work hard to get it back to
that."
Schedule for Sunday, May 11th - 2nd Day of Qualifications:
8:00 am - Public Gates Open
10:15-11:15 am - IndyCar Series Practice (all cars)
Noon-6:00 pm - Second Day Qualifying
6:15 pm - Third Day Qualifying Draw
Sunday's Television Schedule
Noon-2:00 pm - ESPN2
5:00-6:30 pm - ESPN2
4:00 p.m.
Back to the media center to upload more than 100 pictures from the qualifying line and pit lane.
Had a chance to briefly visit with Antron Brown, the NHRA driver who switched this year from bikes to Top Fuel,
and has already won two times under the leadership of veteran tuner Lee Beard, who was accompanying Brown.
I had a chance to sit with Antron last year at a race at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis. He impressed me
then, and continues to do so. He's VERY approachable, a great interview, and is completely into other forms of
racing. He said he'd love to try an IndyCar some day, but didn't like the idea of riding in a two-seater as it would
just "tease" him too much. Beard spoke of the cautious way they acclimated Brown to Top Fuel racing, taking it
stage by stage and little by little, starting out with just a burn out, then just a bit down the track, then to half-track -
it took a while before the team let him do a full pass, but by then he was confident in himself enough to do it.
Apparently that approach paid off as he's one of the guys to beat every week now.
3:00 p.m.
There was a flurry of qualifying activity from noon to 1:30 pm, with the 16 cars taking times, five being bumped as
only the top-11 spots will fill today. It was exciting, and the crowd was really into it, especially when Danica Patrick
stuck her #7 on the pole...briefly. Dan Wheldon quickly erased that starting spot, but she has looked strong all
week and should have a good race no matter where she starts.
Both Ed Carpenter and Helio Castroneves pulled out of the qualifying line right before they were supposed to go
out. Ed said their team found "something" in the setup that wasn't right and they didn't want to waste a qualifying
attempt.
Medical Update on Alex Lloyd: Lloyd has been released form Methodist Hospital, but he has not been cleared to
drive. He will be re-evaluated by IRL medical staff next week.
After a strong run, #27 Hideki Mutoh failed post-qualifying technical inspection. His time was disallowed.
1:45 p.m.
There is a HUGE crowd here today - there's really a "buzz" to the atmosphere, I'm sure helped by the great
weather. Driving into the track today, the traffic reminded me of race day! It's hard to walk anywhere around the
track due to all of the fans in attendance, and pit lane is impossible to maneuver, which tells me that (hopefully)
corporate sponsorship is up this year as that's where hospitality folks send their supporters.
Two drivers had an eventful warmup lap to their qualification attempt. Both A.J. Foyt, IV and Bruno Junqueira
spun on their initial lap out, but neither hit anything - a rare thing here at Indy.
11:30 a.m.
NHRA driver Ron Capps is here at IMS today and is making the rounds through the media center.
John Andretti has replaced Jay Howard in the Roth Racing #24. It is believed that if John can stick the car in the
field solidly, Jay will get another chance in a backup machine.
Jaques Lazier and Roger Yasukawa are the only other drivers I've seen walking around here that do not have a
rides.
If you want to tune into Pole Day activities, the television schedule for today is as follows:
Noon-2:00 pm - ESPN2
3:00-6:00 pm - ABC
6:00-7:00 pm - ESPN2
Pole Day quals about ready to start - looks like Penske driver Ryan Briscoe will be first on the track.
9:45 a.m.
This morning's practice was delayed from 9:00 a.m. until just now - 9:45 - to allow the Speedway to dry the track
completely after overnight rains.
It is an absolutely PERFECT day here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway - sunny, and temps are supposed to
reach 70 degrees with NO rain in sight.
Practice will be divided into two groups, with each group getting equal track time, although there's no guaranteed
amount of green flag time.
