| LIVE UPDATES Friday, May 23 - CARB 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.
Friday, May 23 PHOTOS - CARB DAY
UPDATES:
4:10 pm
All track activity for Carb Day has officially been cancelled, including the Pit Stop Competition and the Freedom
100. The Freedom 100 has been rescheduled for Saturday at 12:10 pm (green flag).
3:40 pm
Dan Wheldon, Scott Dixon and Alex Lloyd are here on the fourth floor of the media center demonstrating the new
Wii Fit system (see today's photos). None of them had used it before, so it was pretty entertaining. Dan
eventually commandeered a microphone and proceeded to comment on Scott's lack of skill at first, but then had
to concede, once Scott caught on and was quite good, that "that's why he's the pole sitter. Should any of us
even bother to show up on Sunday?" Pretty funny stuff on a dreary day here at IMS.
3:30 pm
It was just announced that Practice for the IndyCar Series has been cancelled for today - there will be no more
practice for the IndyCars before the start of the Indy 500 on Sunday. There are trucks on the track trying to get it
dry in hopes that they can still get the Freedom 100 Firestone Indy Lights race in today.
3:00 pm
Still raining, but a HUGE crowd here at IMS that is having a lot of fun (and getting well-lubricated waiting for
something to happen). By all accounts and after taking an informal poll, this is one of the largest Carb Day
crowds in recent years (which makes it all the more disappointing that the day is mostly ruined).
Anyone see the logic in moving Carb Day back to Thursday to allow some wiggle room for a rainout? I know it's
better on Friday as more people plan to travel for the whole weekend and/or can take a Friday off of work to
make a long weekend, but is it worth it if the whole day is a wash? For fans? For teams? It might be something
to think about as the series grows more after reuinification and fans once again flock to the Speedway for any
reason.
There will be an official announcement about a new schedule for today/tomorrow at 4:00. My best guess - and
this is only a guess - is that the Stone Temple Pilots will play as scheduled at or near 3:30 pm today (they're
under cover and the fans are already wet, so "on with the show"), the Pit Stop Competition will be cancelled, and
if they can get the track dry yet today (unlikely), they might run the rest of the IndyCar practice. Unfortunately, I
believe the Firestone Indy Lights Freedom 100 race will be postponed until tomorrow morning or afternoon. Too
bad for those teams and drivers, as this is their biggest race of the year and no one will be around to see it. A
complication in moving things to tomorrow is that there's a pre-scheduled IndyCar Public Driver's Meeting at
10:30 am, before the drivers leave for their mandatory appearance in the 500 Festival Parade downtown.
This poor race seems to be doomed to rain almost every year: Rain has forced postponement of tonight's
(Friday) 56th "Hoosier Hundred" USAC K & N Silver Crown Championship race at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in
Indianapolis, Ind. Track and USAC officials are discussing possible dates for rescheduling. The new date for the
race will be announced when firm.
Ran into JR Hildebrand in the Honda hospitality area. The Indy Lights standout who is one of the bright stars to
watch in this year's Series. He was in his driver's suit when, clearly, they are not racing today. He said he was
just trying to stay warm. I asked him about his qualifying effort yesterday. He was fastest in the first practice, but
had an engine gremlin plague his racecar for qualifying, so he'll start 21st. Very nice and quiet young man, and
someone I'm looking forward to watching this year.
1:30 pm
The popular "Mike & Mike in the Morning" radio show broadcast from a specially designed set in the garage area
this morning (their first time here).
The crew from Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing car #02 was named the winner of the 2008 True Grit Award
presented by C&R Racing, Inc. The crew includes Tim Coffeen, chief mechanic, Tim Hornburg, tire specialist,
John Tzouanakis, team manager, and Davey Evans, who passed away earlier this month.
Andy O'Gara, chief mechanic for the #67 Sarah Fisher Racing entry, was named the winner of the 22nd Clint
Brawner Mechanical Excellence Award. Presented annually since 1987 by the Clint Brawner Foundation and
underwritten by Firestone Racing, the award pays tribute to the memory of the late Clint Brawner, chief mechanic
on six national champion cars in AAA- and USAC-sanctioned series. It rewards a chief mechanic at Indy each
May who "exemplifies the mechanical and scientific creativity, ingenuity, perseverance, dedication, enthusiasm
and expertise" of Brawner.
Scott Dixon was presented the $5,000 Mi-Jack Top Performance Award for recording the fastest single qualifying
lap. Dixon's fastest qualifying lap was 226.598 mph.
1:00 pm
Still no sign of on-track activity. I believe the rain has stopped, though - but it still doesn't look good for the rest of
the day. I went to the media center window to try to assess whether it's still raining, and couldn't tell, so I asked
an IMS staffer what he thought, and he said, "The only drops I've seen lately are from spilled beers or from an
occasional margarita that missed its mark." Ha! At least the fans are still determined to have fun today, an
unofficial state holiday here in Indiana where no one ever goes to work - it doesn't matter if it's raining or not.
Bad part of this is time: We should have finished the AM practice, and be at least half-way through the Firestone
Indy Lights Freedom 100 race, and we've yet to see more than 30 minutes of on-track activity. They can delay
stuff for a bit, but IMS does not have lights, so things will have to be moved around eventually (no word on an
official contingency plan, or what will happen to the scheduled 3:30 pm Stone Temple Pilots concert).
As of the stoppage in practice, Dan Wheldon was the speed chart leader, with a lap of 223.534 mph.
12:00 pm
After a total of 189 laps turned by 32 of 33 drivers (Ryan Briscoe was the only one not on track - team says
there's no problems), sprinkles came at 11:27 am, then rain came to shut down on-track practice. As the light
rain fell in turn 3, but not initially in the pits, the cars came to a stop under red-flag conditions and most of the
drivers stayed in their racing machines under the protection of an umbrella. After 15 minutes of this, most got out
of their cars, only to have harder rain fall at around noon - enough to wet the track and cause a complete halt to
any near-future practice. While fans ran for cover, drivers scurried to their garages or buses, and teams
efficiently threw protection over their qualified cars and pushed them back to Gasoline Alley.
For a rainy and somewhat chilly day, I have to say that this is one of the bigger Carb Day crowds I've seen in
quite a while. No one seems daunted by the weather, that's for sure. Big lines of cars to get into the track this
morning, and everyone seemed to be in a celebratory mood.
Along with the fans in the stands, I don't think I've ever seen a bigger crowd of onlookers in the pit area for Carb
Day morning practice. That means one thing to me: More corporate supporters using their signed-out pit passes
from the suites. That's a great thing for this race and the IRL. The only bad thing about it is that teams, which
are using this morning's practice to simulate race-day conditions (complete with the wearing of firesuits and
helmets and full gear), have a really bad time doing their job as there are so many people clogging the narrow
walking lane. People that are not used to being in an active pit area, or people here for the first time, have no
awareness of the dangers of being in that restricted area, and are usually completely clueless as to whether they
are in the way of working crew or not.
Many teams took the 30-minute downtime when they were still on pit lane but unable to get on track to practice pit
stops, much to the delight of the pitside onlookers. Saw lots of folks simply holding up cell phones to capture the
sounds of race cars for their assumingly jealous friends on the other line who couldn't be here.
11:16 am
IndyCars have officially started their hour practice.
There have been 11,946 laps turned at IMS during the month of May before today.
10:15 am
There's a Honda press conference going on right now on the fourth floor of the media center. Honda
Performance Development (HPD), American Honda's headquarters for professional auto racing operations, has
extended its relationship with the Indy Racing League and plans to supply engines to the IndyCar Series for the
next five years. IMS President and IRL Founder Tony George, Erik Berkman, president of HPD, Terry Angstadt,
President, commercial division for the IRL, and Brian Barnhart, President, competition and operations division for
the IRL, are making the joint announcement right now.
9:00 am
CARB DAY! One of the best day's of the month! It's damp and cold this morning, having rained earlier in the day
quite a bit. IndyCars are scheduled for their hour final practice starting at 11:00 am, but I doubt they'll have the
track dried by then - it's still pretty wet, and the cool air is not helping. Although no one at the IRL will confirm this,
I suspect we'll just delay all portions of today's activities the amount of time the IndyCars get delayed for their
practice. It should be noted that there is NO guarantee from the IRL's top brass that the IndyCar teams get any
track time today, but obviously, it's in everyone's best interest to try to get them some on-track time today - and
the fans will demand it, I believe. There's plenty of time throughout the afternoon to accommodate things if we
get delayed.
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 23 PHOTOS - CARB DAY
UPDATES:
4:10 pm
All track activity for Carb Day has officially been cancelled, including the Pit Stop Competition and the Freedom
100. The Freedom 100 has been rescheduled for Saturday at 12:10 pm (green flag).
3:40 pm
Dan Wheldon, Scott Dixon and Alex Lloyd are here on the fourth floor of the media center demonstrating the new
Wii Fit system (see today's photos). None of them had used it before, so it was pretty entertaining. Dan
eventually commandeered a microphone and proceeded to comment on Scott's lack of skill at first, but then had
to concede, once Scott caught on and was quite good, that "that's why he's the pole sitter. Should any of us
even bother to show up on Sunday?" Pretty funny stuff on a dreary day here at IMS.
3:30 pm
It was just announced that Practice for the IndyCar Series has been cancelled for today - there will be no more
practice for the IndyCars before the start of the Indy 500 on Sunday. There are trucks on the track trying to get it
dry in hopes that they can still get the Freedom 100 Firestone Indy Lights race in today.
3:00 pm
Still raining, but a HUGE crowd here at IMS that is having a lot of fun (and getting well-lubricated waiting for
something to happen). By all accounts and after taking an informal poll, this is one of the largest Carb Day
crowds in recent years (which makes it all the more disappointing that the day is mostly ruined).
Anyone see the logic in moving Carb Day back to Thursday to allow some wiggle room for a rainout? I know it's
better on Friday as more people plan to travel for the whole weekend and/or can take a Friday off of work to
make a long weekend, but is it worth it if the whole day is a wash? For fans? For teams? It might be something
to think about as the series grows more after reuinification and fans once again flock to the Speedway for any
reason.
There will be an official announcement about a new schedule for today/tomorrow at 4:00. My best guess - and
this is only a guess - is that the Stone Temple Pilots will play as scheduled at or near 3:30 pm today (they're
under cover and the fans are already wet, so "on with the show"), the Pit Stop Competition will be cancelled, and
if they can get the track dry yet today (unlikely), they might run the rest of the IndyCar practice. Unfortunately, I
believe the Firestone Indy Lights Freedom 100 race will be postponed until tomorrow morning or afternoon. Too
bad for those teams and drivers, as this is their biggest race of the year and no one will be around to see it. A
complication in moving things to tomorrow is that there's a pre-scheduled IndyCar Public Driver's Meeting at
10:30 am, before the drivers leave for their mandatory appearance in the 500 Festival Parade downtown.
This poor race seems to be doomed to rain almost every year: Rain has forced postponement of tonight's
(Friday) 56th "Hoosier Hundred" USAC K & N Silver Crown Championship race at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in
Indianapolis, Ind. Track and USAC officials are discussing possible dates for rescheduling. The new date for the
race will be announced when firm.
Ran into JR Hildebrand in the Honda hospitality area. The Indy Lights standout who is one of the bright stars to
watch in this year's Series. He was in his driver's suit when, clearly, they are not racing today. He said he was
just trying to stay warm. I asked him about his qualifying effort yesterday. He was fastest in the first practice, but
had an engine gremlin plague his racecar for qualifying, so he'll start 21st. Very nice and quiet young man, and
someone I'm looking forward to watching this year.
1:30 pm
The popular "Mike & Mike in the Morning" radio show broadcast from a specially designed set in the garage area
this morning (their first time here).
The crew from Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing car #02 was named the winner of the 2008 True Grit Award
presented by C&R Racing, Inc. The crew includes Tim Coffeen, chief mechanic, Tim Hornburg, tire specialist,
John Tzouanakis, team manager, and Davey Evans, who passed away earlier this month.
Andy O'Gara, chief mechanic for the #67 Sarah Fisher Racing entry, was named the winner of the 22nd Clint
Brawner Mechanical Excellence Award. Presented annually since 1987 by the Clint Brawner Foundation and
underwritten by Firestone Racing, the award pays tribute to the memory of the late Clint Brawner, chief mechanic
on six national champion cars in AAA- and USAC-sanctioned series. It rewards a chief mechanic at Indy each
May who "exemplifies the mechanical and scientific creativity, ingenuity, perseverance, dedication, enthusiasm
and expertise" of Brawner.
Scott Dixon was presented the $5,000 Mi-Jack Top Performance Award for recording the fastest single qualifying
lap. Dixon's fastest qualifying lap was 226.598 mph.
1:00 pm
Still no sign of on-track activity. I believe the rain has stopped, though - but it still doesn't look good for the rest of
the day. I went to the media center window to try to assess whether it's still raining, and couldn't tell, so I asked
an IMS staffer what he thought, and he said, "The only drops I've seen lately are from spilled beers or from an
occasional margarita that missed its mark." Ha! At least the fans are still determined to have fun today, an
unofficial state holiday here in Indiana where no one ever goes to work - it doesn't matter if it's raining or not.
Bad part of this is time: We should have finished the AM practice, and be at least half-way through the Firestone
Indy Lights Freedom 100 race, and we've yet to see more than 30 minutes of on-track activity. They can delay
stuff for a bit, but IMS does not have lights, so things will have to be moved around eventually (no word on an
official contingency plan, or what will happen to the scheduled 3:30 pm Stone Temple Pilots concert).
As of the stoppage in practice, Dan Wheldon was the speed chart leader, with a lap of 223.534 mph.
12:00 pm
After a total of 189 laps turned by 32 of 33 drivers (Ryan Briscoe was the only one not on track - team says
there's no problems), sprinkles came at 11:27 am, then rain came to shut down on-track practice. As the light
rain fell in turn 3, but not initially in the pits, the cars came to a stop under red-flag conditions and most of the
drivers stayed in their racing machines under the protection of an umbrella. After 15 minutes of this, most got out
of their cars, only to have harder rain fall at around noon - enough to wet the track and cause a complete halt to
any near-future practice. While fans ran for cover, drivers scurried to their garages or buses, and teams
efficiently threw protection over their qualified cars and pushed them back to Gasoline Alley.
For a rainy and somewhat chilly day, I have to say that this is one of the bigger Carb Day crowds I've seen in
quite a while. No one seems daunted by the weather, that's for sure. Big lines of cars to get into the track this
morning, and everyone seemed to be in a celebratory mood.
Along with the fans in the stands, I don't think I've ever seen a bigger crowd of onlookers in the pit area for Carb
Day morning practice. That means one thing to me: More corporate supporters using their signed-out pit passes
from the suites. That's a great thing for this race and the IRL. The only bad thing about it is that teams, which
are using this morning's practice to simulate race-day conditions (complete with the wearing of firesuits and
helmets and full gear), have a really bad time doing their job as there are so many people clogging the narrow
walking lane. People that are not used to being in an active pit area, or people here for the first time, have no
awareness of the dangers of being in that restricted area, and are usually completely clueless as to whether they
are in the way of working crew or not.
Many teams took the 30-minute downtime when they were still on pit lane but unable to get on track to practice pit
stops, much to the delight of the pitside onlookers. Saw lots of folks simply holding up cell phones to capture the
sounds of race cars for their assumingly jealous friends on the other line who couldn't be here.
11:16 am
IndyCars have officially started their hour practice.
There have been 11,946 laps turned at IMS during the month of May before today.
10:15 am
There's a Honda press conference going on right now on the fourth floor of the media center. Honda
Performance Development (HPD), American Honda's headquarters for professional auto racing operations, has
extended its relationship with the Indy Racing League and plans to supply engines to the IndyCar Series for the
next five years. IMS President and IRL Founder Tony George, Erik Berkman, president of HPD, Terry Angstadt,
President, commercial division for the IRL, and Brian Barnhart, President, competition and operations division for
the IRL, are making the joint announcement right now.
9:00 am
CARB DAY! One of the best day's of the month! It's damp and cold this morning, having rained earlier in the day
quite a bit. IndyCars are scheduled for their hour final practice starting at 11:00 am, but I doubt they'll have the
track dried by then - it's still pretty wet, and the cool air is not helping. Although no one at the IRL will confirm this,
I suspect we'll just delay all portions of today's activities the amount of time the IndyCars get delayed for their
practice. It should be noted that there is NO guarantee from the IRL's top brass that the IndyCar teams get any
track time today, but obviously, it's in everyone's best interest to try to get them some on-track time today - and
the fans will demand it, I believe. There's plenty of time throughout the afternoon to accommodate things if we
get delayed.
