| LIVE UPDATES Friday, May 16 - PRACTICE |
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.
Friday, May 16 PHOTOS
UPDATES:
4:00 pm
The McDonald's Pit Stop Competition participants were just announced. It's held on Carb Day after the morning's
final practice:
Car # Driver Entrant
3 Helio Castroneves Team Penske
6 Ryan Briscoe Team Penske
7 Danica Patrick Andretti Green Racing
8 Will Power KV Racing Technology
9 Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi Racing
10 Dan Wheldon Target Chip Ganassi Racing
11 Tony Kanaan Andretti Green Racing
17 Ryan Hunter-Reay Rahal Letterman Racing
26 Marco Andretti Andretti Green Racing
02 Justin Wilson Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
Danica Patrick formally renewed a partnership with Swiss watch brand Tissot, signing a two-year contract
extension during a press conference today at IMS. Patrick became Tissot's first female "U.S. Ambassador" in
2005.
The winner of the Indy 500 will travel in style to the IndyCar Series event at Texas Motor Speedway, courtesy of
Bombardier Learjet, the official business aircraft solutions provider of the Indy Racing League and the title
sponsor of the Bombardier Learjet 550k. Bombardier will fly the winner of the Indy 500 to the June 7 race at
Texas and back home again in a Learjet 45xr, an eight-passenger jet with a range of more than 2,000 miles.
Today is the 14th annual Bike To Work Day. Earlier this week, E.J. Viso entertained spectators and himself by
riding a unicycle in the garage area.
Bishop Steering Technology's variable ratio rack-and-pinion steering, new to the 92nd Indianapolis 500, received
the 42nd annual Borg Warner Louis Schwitzer Award today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
2:45 pm
Both HVM Racing, with driver E.J. Viso, and KV Racing Technology, with driver Will Power, will be able to repair
their damaged race cars after crashes earlier today. There was concern earlier in the week that teams who
crashed cars might not be able to find parts to fix them with, but - at least for today - that's not the case. Both
teams are working hard to get their drivers back out on track if not late today, then first thing during tomorrow's
practice session. Viso's car is undergoing an engine change this afternoon, at the request of Honda. As of
mid-afternoon, Power's speed of a little over 223 mph early in this practice session, is still good for the top
non-qualified car at fourth on the speed chart, even while sitting on the sidelines for the last two hours.
Vitor Miera, with his Public Relations rep Mike Kitchel, traveled to Washington D.C. last Monday, courtesy of their
sponsor, the National Guard. They met with some Generals, visited the Pentagon, Arlington Cemetery, Jefferson
Memorial and many of the other Washington sites. They were able to relax and enjoy the trip after having
qualified Vitor on Saturday's Pole Day.
NASCAR driver Jason Leffler, who's also an Indy 500 veteran, is walking the garage area today, along with P.J.
Jones.
The garage area is absolutely packed today - it's hard to walk anywhere. The day has turned out to be one of
the best of the month, as far as weather and attendance.
The teams have just turned over 1000 miles of practice this afternoon.
12:45 pm
Will Power just crashed - looks like he just lost it coming out of a turn. He looked to be OK, but will be checked by
the infield medical center. I'll post an update soon.
12:40 pm
E.J. Viso made contact with the wall early in practice today. He has been checked and is cleared to drive. This is
not good for that team, as they did not practice much yesterday, and are not up to speed enough to qualify for
this race.
Firestone Indy Lights team owner Brian Stewart spent May 15 at Quicksilver Golf Club near Pittsburgh caddying
for Canadian golf pro Dan Payton during U.S. Open local qualifying. Payton shot 74 and earned a trip to the
sectional in Columbus, Ohio, on June 2 in a two-hole playoff.
Luczo Dragon Racing, which qualified 11th with driver Tomas Scheckter for the Indy 500, is partnering with 12
champion athletes to raise money and awareness for charity. This year's team of champions is boxer Laila Ali,
swimmer Natalie Coughin, Hall of Fame boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, five-time Pro Bowl quarterback Donovan
McNabb, four-time Indy 500 winner Rick Mears, World Champion skier Bode Miller, four-time Super Bowl winner
Joe Montana, two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash, NHL MVP Joe Thornton, four-time World Series champion Joe
Torre, and tennis greats Serena Williams and Venus Williams. The LDR community development program was
designed to raise money, increase exposure to the sport of auto racing and encourage a philanthropic spirit that
inspires others to make an impact in their communities.
11:00 am
What a beautiful day here at IMS - absolutely perfect weather. Sunny, low 70s, a little wind, but overall perfect
running conditions. There are, once again, a LOT of fans piling into the Speedway, and many of them school
children on field trips - great to see young memories being made.
The teams have logged a total of 6907 laps for the month.
Have heard a rumor (and I stress that word) that one of the IRL's rising stars may be jumping ship, landing with
another team after May's activities. Graham Rahal may join his father's Rahal Letterman team for the Milwaukee
show and the rest of the year. This makes some sense, as his father can certainly support his budding IndyCar
career with good equipment, the shop is near his hometown by Columbus, Ohio, his Newman-Haas-Lanigan #06
is currently sponsorless (title) so there are no huge corporate contracts to break, and I'm sure Bobby Rahal wants
a hand in guiding this young man's career further after developing him into a fast, articulate, and well-liked driver
earlier in his life. If this doesn't happen mid-year this season, it wouldn't surprise me to see a change take place
for '09.
I just added some more photos from late in the day on Thursday to the 5-15-08 link. Check them out!
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.
Friday, May 16 PHOTOS
UPDATES:
4:00 pm
The McDonald's Pit Stop Competition participants were just announced. It's held on Carb Day after the morning's
final practice:
Car # Driver Entrant
3 Helio Castroneves Team Penske
6 Ryan Briscoe Team Penske
7 Danica Patrick Andretti Green Racing
8 Will Power KV Racing Technology
9 Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi Racing
10 Dan Wheldon Target Chip Ganassi Racing
11 Tony Kanaan Andretti Green Racing
17 Ryan Hunter-Reay Rahal Letterman Racing
26 Marco Andretti Andretti Green Racing
02 Justin Wilson Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
Danica Patrick formally renewed a partnership with Swiss watch brand Tissot, signing a two-year contract
extension during a press conference today at IMS. Patrick became Tissot's first female "U.S. Ambassador" in
2005.
The winner of the Indy 500 will travel in style to the IndyCar Series event at Texas Motor Speedway, courtesy of
Bombardier Learjet, the official business aircraft solutions provider of the Indy Racing League and the title
sponsor of the Bombardier Learjet 550k. Bombardier will fly the winner of the Indy 500 to the June 7 race at
Texas and back home again in a Learjet 45xr, an eight-passenger jet with a range of more than 2,000 miles.
Today is the 14th annual Bike To Work Day. Earlier this week, E.J. Viso entertained spectators and himself by
riding a unicycle in the garage area.
Bishop Steering Technology's variable ratio rack-and-pinion steering, new to the 92nd Indianapolis 500, received
the 42nd annual Borg Warner Louis Schwitzer Award today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
2:45 pm
Both HVM Racing, with driver E.J. Viso, and KV Racing Technology, with driver Will Power, will be able to repair
their damaged race cars after crashes earlier today. There was concern earlier in the week that teams who
crashed cars might not be able to find parts to fix them with, but - at least for today - that's not the case. Both
teams are working hard to get their drivers back out on track if not late today, then first thing during tomorrow's
practice session. Viso's car is undergoing an engine change this afternoon, at the request of Honda. As of
mid-afternoon, Power's speed of a little over 223 mph early in this practice session, is still good for the top
non-qualified car at fourth on the speed chart, even while sitting on the sidelines for the last two hours.
Vitor Miera, with his Public Relations rep Mike Kitchel, traveled to Washington D.C. last Monday, courtesy of their
sponsor, the National Guard. They met with some Generals, visited the Pentagon, Arlington Cemetery, Jefferson
Memorial and many of the other Washington sites. They were able to relax and enjoy the trip after having
qualified Vitor on Saturday's Pole Day.
NASCAR driver Jason Leffler, who's also an Indy 500 veteran, is walking the garage area today, along with P.J.
Jones.
The garage area is absolutely packed today - it's hard to walk anywhere. The day has turned out to be one of
the best of the month, as far as weather and attendance.
The teams have just turned over 1000 miles of practice this afternoon.
12:45 pm
Will Power just crashed - looks like he just lost it coming out of a turn. He looked to be OK, but will be checked by
the infield medical center. I'll post an update soon.
12:40 pm
E.J. Viso made contact with the wall early in practice today. He has been checked and is cleared to drive. This is
not good for that team, as they did not practice much yesterday, and are not up to speed enough to qualify for
this race.
Firestone Indy Lights team owner Brian Stewart spent May 15 at Quicksilver Golf Club near Pittsburgh caddying
for Canadian golf pro Dan Payton during U.S. Open local qualifying. Payton shot 74 and earned a trip to the
sectional in Columbus, Ohio, on June 2 in a two-hole playoff.
Luczo Dragon Racing, which qualified 11th with driver Tomas Scheckter for the Indy 500, is partnering with 12
champion athletes to raise money and awareness for charity. This year's team of champions is boxer Laila Ali,
swimmer Natalie Coughin, Hall of Fame boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, five-time Pro Bowl quarterback Donovan
McNabb, four-time Indy 500 winner Rick Mears, World Champion skier Bode Miller, four-time Super Bowl winner
Joe Montana, two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash, NHL MVP Joe Thornton, four-time World Series champion Joe
Torre, and tennis greats Serena Williams and Venus Williams. The LDR community development program was
designed to raise money, increase exposure to the sport of auto racing and encourage a philanthropic spirit that
inspires others to make an impact in their communities.
11:00 am
What a beautiful day here at IMS - absolutely perfect weather. Sunny, low 70s, a little wind, but overall perfect
running conditions. There are, once again, a LOT of fans piling into the Speedway, and many of them school
children on field trips - great to see young memories being made.
The teams have logged a total of 6907 laps for the month.
Have heard a rumor (and I stress that word) that one of the IRL's rising stars may be jumping ship, landing with
another team after May's activities. Graham Rahal may join his father's Rahal Letterman team for the Milwaukee
show and the rest of the year. This makes some sense, as his father can certainly support his budding IndyCar
career with good equipment, the shop is near his hometown by Columbus, Ohio, his Newman-Haas-Lanigan #06
is currently sponsorless (title) so there are no huge corporate contracts to break, and I'm sure Bobby Rahal wants
a hand in guiding this young man's career further after developing him into a fast, articulate, and well-liked driver
earlier in his life. If this doesn't happen mid-year this season, it wouldn't surprise me to see a change take place
for '09.
I just added some more photos from late in the day on Thursday to the 5-15-08 link. Check them out!
