Rain forced cancellation of the sixth day of practice May 14 for the 88th Indianapolis 500 at 3:45 p.m. (EDT). Four cars totaled six laps before the rain came just after noon (EDT).
Teams have a two-hour window to fine-tune their cars May 15 before Pole Qualifying begins at noon (EDT). The forecast is for clear skies and a temperature in the low 70s.
Tony Kanaan, in the No. 11 Team 7-Eleven Dallara/Honda/Firestone, has the top speed of the month at 222.668 mph (40.4189 seconds). Helio Castroneves (221.156 mph) led practice on May 13.
MBNA POLE QUALIFYING ORDER
Car - Driver
52 Ed Carpenter
70 Robby Gordon
11T Tony Kanaan
36T Bruno Junqueira
16 Roger Yasukawa
6 Sam Hornish Jr.
70T Robby Gordon
3 Helio Castroneves
8T Scott Sharp
7 Bryan Herta
8 Scott Sharp
16T Roger Yasukawa
26 Dan Wheldon
10 Darren Manning
41 Larry Foyt
7T Bryan Herta
13 Greg Ray
4T Tomas Scheckter
15T Buddy Rice
6T Sam Hornish Jr.
27T Dario Franchitti
12 Tora Takagi
5 Adrian Fernandez
14 A.J. Foyt IV
20T Al Unser Jr.
25 Marty Roth
26T Dan Wheldon
51T Alex Barron
39T Sarah Fisher
14T A.J. Foyt IV
24 Felipe Giaffone
1 Scott Dixon
12T Tora Takagi
5T Adrian Fernandez
3T Helio Castroneves
51 Alex Barron
10T Darren Manning
27 Dario Franchitti
52T Ed Carpenter
36 Bruno Junqueira
1T Scott Dixon
2 Mark Taylor
15 Buddy Rice
20 Al Unser Jr.
4 Tomas Scheckter
55 Kosuke Matsuura
11 Tony Kanaan
39 Sarah Fisher
55T Kosuke Matsuura
17 Vitor Meira
2T Mark Taylor
24T Felipe Giaffone
“FAST FRIDAY” RAINOUT QUOTES:
ED CARPENTER (No. 52 Red Bull Cheever Racing Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone): “It’s a shame that we didn’t have a full day to try things with the car, but I’m confident in the direction the team is headed. Tomorrow we have two hours to prepare so we’ll focus on making the best use of our time. Everyone is dealing with the same conditions, so we’re all in the same boat.”
ALEX BARRON (No. 51 Red Bull Cheever Racing Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone): “I’m disappointed that we didn’t get to run because we worked on some things last night that we wanted to try out today. It would have been nice to know if our adjustments were going to work for qualifications. It just leaves a bigger question mark for tomorrow.”
ADRIAN FERNANDEZ (No. 5 Quaker State/Telmex/Tecate Panoz G Force/Honda/ Firestone): "It has been a good week for us so far with both cars, and the whole team is working really well. Obviously, the truth is going to come out tomorrow and it is a matter of weather, who has the right stuff for the right time and things like that, but I think that one way or the other, we are going to be pretty competitive with both cars. It has been a good experience so far and our setup is good. It's been fun to hang out with Kosuke (Matsuura) and everyone here in the garage and in the pits and see a lot of good friends. Now we just have to focus on tomorrow and have a good qualifying. I think our chances are very good to get the pole."
KOSUKE MATSUURA (No. 55 Panasonic ARTA Panoz G Force/Honda/Firestone): "I think we found a lot of good things this week, and we are ready to try for the front row tomorrow. Our car is very quick, but we prepared under hotter conditions, not as cool as yesterday. I think our car is probably better under hotter conditions, but it doesn't matter. I have to concentrate on those four laps, and I have confidence for the qualifying – at least second row."
MARK TAYLOR (No. 2 Menards/Johns Manville Racing Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone): "We had a feeling yesterday we wouldn't get much work in today. I was walking with (race engineer) Brent Harvey out to pit lane, and we made it to Gasoline Alley before the rain hit. It would have been nice to get some track time, but we knew it was going to be tough to get out there today. I'm ready to qualify. Our Chevrolet is going to be quick tomorrow, and I'm looking to get the Menards/Johns Manville car to the front. It would be hard to predict the pole speed, but it will really depend on the weather."
DAN WHELDON (No. 26 Klein Tools/Jim Beam Dallara/Honda/Firestone): "Tomorrow is a big day for the Klein Tools/Jim Beam team. The closer to the front we start, the better I think we will be. There are going to be a lot of contenders for the pole because everyone has shown a lot of speed this week. This field is so close. It will be difficult, but I think this Klein Tools/Jim Beam car has a chance at the front row."
TONY KANAAN (No. 11 Team 7-Eleven Dallara/Honda/Firestone): "It is going to be an interesting day tomorrow. We'll have a few qualifying attempts plus some practice in the morning, so I'm excited. The whole Team 7-Eleven crew has worked hard all week, and I’m hoping tomorrow is going to be really good."
DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 27 Arca/Ex Dallara/Honda/Firestone): "The weather wasn't a help today for the ArcaEx team. We still had a little bit of work to do on the qualifying car because we have spent the majority of the week working on our race setup. Hopefully, we'll do well tomorrow morning, and we'll go out and throw some big numbers up in qualifying."
BRYAN HERTA (No. 7 XM Satellite Radio Dallara/Honda/Firestone): "The rain today hurt us a little bit. We spent most of the week working on the race setup for the XM Satellite Radio car. Yesterday was the only work we did with our qualifying package, so we will need to make good use of tomorrow morning's practice. But then again, sometimes if you run too much, you get lost, and the weather may have kept us from doing that today."
AL UNSER JR. (No. 20 Patrick Racing Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone): (About new sponsor): "As I sit here today, we just signed a deal with Stacker 2, which is an ephedra-free energy pill. We're happy to announce that right now." (About returning to IndyCar Series competition): "It was just a matter of time. We just kept trying, kept our head down and kept talking with the car owner, Pat Patrick, to put something together." (About the rain delay): "We definitely could have used more time. We were looking forward to today's running, but each day we got a mile an hour out of the car. We'll just keep working with it. We know from past races that I've been in that it's not over until it's over. As long as we can get it in the show real good tomorrow and get somewhere up near the front, then we'll go racing." (About qualifying for the Indianapolis 500): "Qualifying hasn't changed for me, at all. It's still tough to run in the top 15 or top 20. This year, with the way the rules are and the way the engines are, it's the most competitive and closest field that I've ever seen. For me, it's twice as tough now as it used to be. As for the crowds and so on, I really feel that it's just a turning point. With the way single-seat, open-wheel racing has been the last five years, it's been hard on our sport, but I really feel that the tide is turning and that the IRL is going to be the most popular series in the country."
DARREN MANNING (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Panoz G Force/Toyota/ Firestone): “Qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 is completely different than anything I have ever experienced, but I’m lucky to be with a team that has plenty of experience and success at this track. I’m relying on them to get me through my first Pole Day. It is quite exciting, and I am looking forward to it. I know we’re ready for it, but everyone has been running all week under the same weather conditions and the forecast for Pole Day will be somewhat different with cooler temperatures, so that adds an extra measure of challenge to achieving success.”
SCOTT DIXON (No. 1 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Panoz G Force/Toyota/Firestone): “Pole Day will be a bit easier for me this year since I now know what to expect, having been through it for the first time last year. I think aiming for a top five is realistic. It’s a shame we didn’t get to run a few more qualifying simulations today because of the rain, but we’ve done a lot of work this week, found some things we liked and feel pretty positive about qualifying.”
LARRY FOYT (No. 41 A.J. Foyt Racing Panoz G Force/Toyota/Firestone): (About the decision to compete in the Indianapolis 500): “It surprised me a little bit, too. Of course, it was a very good surprise. I'm very excited. It's always been my childhood dream to come here to Indy. It's just the way everything worked out. On the NASCAR side, with us not having a sponsor, it freed up my schedule. My father has known how badly I've wanted to do it. When he kind of pushed me over to the stock car side, I kind of reluctantly went with it, and I'm glad I did it. I had a great time over there, and I still feel like I have a home over there in NASCAR if we can get things rolling. This has always been my dream, so I've been very lucky to have this opportunity.” (What is your situation in NASCAR?): “Right now, I'm kind of in the unemployed driver seat right now. I've got to take whatever I can get. Hopefully, we can get a sponsor on the NASCAR side. It's very tough right now, as it is on the IRL side, all the big forms of motorsports. It's very tough right now with the dollars it takes to go racing at a competitive level. I'm having a blast here. It's been a great experience, everything I thought it would be. I’d love running in the IRL full time. I’d love running NASCAR full time. Whatever the best opportunity, I'd certainly take it.” (About his experience driving at Indianapolis Motor Speedway): “This kind of takes me back to my roots more than stock car did. I think that was a bigger adjustment for me. Growing up, I raced go-karts and Formula 2000, tested an IRL car. My whole grassroots of racing for me was in open-wheel cars. For me, I've been really comfortable. It's a little bit different line, obviously, a different feel for a driver. The car is much more responsive, much more under you feeling than a stock car, and that's what I'm used to.” (About qualifying): “I've kept the setup pretty conservative. We haven't run any great speeds, but I think that's because he (A.J. Foyt) didn't want me to make a mistake or get over my head too soon. Hopefully, we can get a little more speed for qualifying, but I think that's kind of been my dad's plan for me.”
TORA TAKAGI (No. 12 Pioneer Mo Nunn Racing Dallara/Toyota/Firestone): “While the bad weather was not a surprise, it was disappointing. We certainly could have used another day to catch up after our slow start earlier in the week. At least we have a guaranteed 30 minutes tomorrow morning to fine-tune the car before Pole Day qualifying begins. I am anticipating that the heavy rains today will dramatically alter the track conditions for qualifying tomorrow. Because of that, I would expect that many drivers will pass on their initial runs tomorrow, possibly providing more time for the Pioneer/Mo Nunn team to be on track. We had a solid qualifying effort last year on Pole Day and look forward to the big day tomorrow.”
SCOTT SHARP (No. 8 Delphi Dallara/Toyota/Firestone): “We would have really liked to get a couple of hours in today, just to get the car back to where we were yesterday before the crash happened, as opposed to trying to sort things out in an hour of practice session tomorrow morning. If the weather forecast holds like it says it will, tomorrow looks to be a more consistent day, and we’re going to go give it everything we’ve got. As for the crash really setting us back, I don’t think that is the case. We didn’t have a front-row car to begin with, and both the No. 8 and No. 8T cars have been pretty equal in speed. Our focus when we arrived was on the race, and that has not changed.”
SARAH FISHER (No. 39 Bryant Heating & Cooling/Cure Autism Now Dallara/Toyota/ Firestone): “You can’t have too many laps here, especially after having been out of a car for seven months. You can’t have too many days for practice. Having the rain come into play, it disappoints me, but if I were going to be negative about it, I’d never be happy. We’re dealing with it the best we can and trying to restrategize and work on a different game plan. It’s been a great month for me so far. To join with Kelley Racing, they have a reputation for doing well here at the Speedway, so I’m very privileged.” (Are you frustrated with the progress of your month so far?): “It hasn’t been frustrating. Just like Al (Unser Jr.), we’ve gained a mile an hour a day, and we keep working at it. We set ourselves back on purpose the day before yesterday and did some Race Day setups to make sure we had the consistency we wanted. Yesterday, we had to go down for an engine change, and by the time we got out, my teammate took a spill, so we didn’t get to run yesterday either. We’re happy with where we are. We wish we could have gotten more out of it, but certainly, we’re not disappointed with what we’ve gotten from what we have.” (Is there interest in keeping the program together for the rest of the year?): “There’s certainly interest on behalf of Kelley Racing and myself. I have a home at Kelley Racing for the rest of the season if we can put a program together, and it really just boils down to sponsorship dollars. There are a lot of opportunities that we have sought after and that are getting close, so we’ll see. There is some interest, and Tom Kelley has been good to me, so we’ll see what happens.” (What have you learned from your other four Indy starts?): “I think I’ve taken more from running the (IndyCar) Series, period, than my four other starts here. Coming from short tracks, sprint cars and Midgets, I had no patience. I was on the go, on the gas right away. This being my fifth year in an (IndyCar Series) car, I’ve learned how to manage that. I’m really looking forward to the “500” because I have the confidence that I know how much aggression to have up front, when to hold it back and when to present it.”
ROGER YASUKAWA (No. 16 Rahal-Letterman Sammy Panoz G Force/Honda/Firestone): “We’ll be going out early Saturday, and I like that. I think we’ll have a shot for the pole at that time of the day. Today’s rain doesn’t hurt us. We got a head start on our qualifying program during the middle of the week. I think our speeds showed that the last two days. We were in the top three on Wednesday and Thursday. I feel confident about our car and the speed we have reached. It will take all four elements to win the pole Saturday. That includes the conditions, the car, the driver driving well and being able to put it on the limit. I think we can do that with our Sammy car. It feels very good going into qualifying.”
BUDDY RICE (No. 15 Rahal-Letterman Argent/Pioneer Panoz G Force/Honda/Firestone): “The conditions are going to be the difference on Saturday. I think the pole will be around 221.5 (mph) if conditions don’t improve in the afternoon, but a 222 (mph lap)) is possible later in the day. I don’t think today hurts. We are set with our qualifying trim. We weren’t going to make many changes Friday, plus we’ll get the chance to test those changes on Saturday morning. I feel good about our car right now. The Honda engine feels very good, and I will be surprised if a Honda doesn’t win the pole.”
VITOR MEIRA (No. 17 Rahal-Letterman Team Centrix Panoz G Force/Honda/Firestone): “It would have been nice to run today, but our team has been fast in qualifying trim. We have 90 minutes to run on Saturday morning, and that is plenty of time to get the car ready for qualifying. We are in the back of the line, so we might even get more time to practice, but I feel good about our chances Saturday since (teammates) Roger (Yasukawa) and Buddy (Rice) have been very good the last couple of days. The history shows that most poles are won in the 11 a.m. hour, but last year, Helio (Castroneves) won late in the day. For us to have a shot at the pole, we’ll have to go late in the day.”
HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Toyota/Firestone): “It’s too bad we got rained out today because it is always good to get some last-minute practice before Pole Day. But that’s what Indy is all about – you never know what is going to happen. Marlboro Team Penske has been working hard on the qualifying setup all week, and I think we are in good shape for tomorrow. Obviously, we’re going for the pole, but if we’re in the first two rows, I’ll be happy. I’m expecting the pole speed to be around 222 mph.”
SAM HORNISH JR. (No. 6 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Toyota/Firestone): “Marlboro Team Penske did a lot of work on the qualifying setup yesterday anticipating it might rain today. I think if we hit the gears right and are able to make our run at the right time, we should be in good shape. Everyone’s had a different agenda this week, so you don’t really know where you stack up against the competition. The wind has been out of the south, and tomorrow it’s supposed to be out of the north, which will affect speeds. My guess for the pole is high 221’s (mph) or low 222’s (mph). I would have thought it would be a bit faster coming out of the Open Test, but speeds have been slower than I would have thought over the last few days.”
BRUNO JUNQUEIRA (No. 36 PacifiCare/Secure Horizons Honda/Panoz G Force/ Firestone: “I think it's a big shame that the rain came today. Unfortunately, we had no time to run a low-downforce setup on the PacifiCare car. We had worked on getting a good setup for the race, since that is the most important thing, and we were planning on working on the qualifying setup today. We are going to have to guess a little for qualifying. I believe that Newman/Haas Racing's engineering department will come up with a good downforce/drag ratio, and I am going to keep it flat during qualifying.”
INDIANAPOLIS 500 QUALIFYING PROCEDURE:
1. In order to alleviate possible congestion or misunderstandings when qualifications begin, the IRL requires that each team designate a representative to participate in a blind drawing to determine the initial qualifications order.
2. A completed qualifying attempt consists of four consecutively timed laps. A car may make a maximum of three attempts, provided that neither the first nor second attempts have been run to completion. Once a car has posted its four-lap average speed, no further attempt may be made by that CAR. However, the DRIVER may attempt to qualify another car provided that the first car has been “bumped” from the field by a faster car or the first car has been withdrawn.
3. The starting field is made up of the 33 fastest qualifiers, regardless of the day on which a car has qualified. Cars are lined up according to their speed ranking on EACH DAY with the fastest qualifier on the first day occupying the pole position. The successful second-day qualifiers line up behind the successful first day qualifiers in order of speed with the fastest qualifier of the second day always starting behind the slowest successful qualifier of the first day, regardless of overall speed, followed by the successful qualifiers of the third day, in order of speed, etc.
4. Once a total of 33 cars have qualified and the time allotted for qualifications has not run out, other cars may make qualification attempts, placing the car with the 33rd fastest speed in the position of being “bumped” from the field by a faster qualifier, regardless of the day on which the original qualifier posted his/her time and speed.
5. Each car participating in the pre-qualifications draw is guaranteed a qualifying attempt provided the car is properly presented at all times. In the event of delays due to weather, etc., the “first day” qualifiers could conceivably not be determined until the second or even the third day. The original line may “run out” (“break in the line”) before the end of the first day. In that case, any subsequent qualifier is still considered a first-day qualifier and is still eligible for the pole position until the track is closed for the day.
6. Each car must take two warm-up laps. The decision either to take the green flag to start the attempt or to “wave off” the attempt must be made before the car completed the second warm-up lap.
7. If the team representative does not display the green flag to signal the start of a qualification attempt, the car will not be charged with an attempt and must return to the pit lane. A car may depart from the line an unlimited number of times, provided the team representative has not displayed the green flag.
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SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE (all times local):
7 a.m. Public Gates Open
8-10 a.m. IndyCar Series Practice
11 a.m-6 p.m. MBNA Pole Qualifications
6 p.m. Track Closes
6 p.m. MBNA Pole Award, Toro Tractor presentation, Victory Podium
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