Fast Friday at IMS – Fast, but Arie is safe
The big buzz in today's practice has to do with the two Chevy blowover crashes — one yesterday with Newgarden, and one on Wednesday with Castroneves. First, why did two experienced drivers have their cars snap around at comparatively low speeds? And of course, why did they leave the ground after impact? Rumor has it that Chevy went back to the wind tunnel to investigate both questions. 'Cause rumor has it that, at least in one of the crashes, the team was trying out a qualifying setup where the rear wing would've been laid back to reduce drag. And of course, the Honda people hope that the Chevy teams won't be able to do much of a custom setup for qualification, giving them a better chance at the Pole.
– Walking wounded report…. Josef Newgarden has turned 24 laps already today, and is going fast enough to be safe from bump hazards tomorrow. Pippa Mann's team, however is still thrashing — her team picked up the replacement tub from the painter this morning at 3 am, and has been thrashing ever since to put her car back together. She has yet to make an appearance on the track.
– Also not yet appearing is the team of Buddy Lazier. Bob Lazier, the team owner, was enthusiastic that they'd make the race despite lack of practice time (their effort is severely limited by the terms of the engine lease). And Alex Tagliani has not appeared on track yet today, probably also due to engine lease constraints.
— Lucille Dust and Tim Wohlford, reporting from IMS