No bumping on Bump Day, Indy 500 grid set
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| Sebastian Bourdais was the fastest qualifier on Bump Day |
| IndyCar/LAT USA |
Three Honda-powered entries, Four Chevrolet-powered entries and two Lotus Dallaras made successful qualifying runs on Sunday to complete the 33-car starting field. The 2012 Indianapolis 500, the first with engine manufacturer competition since 2005, includes 15 Honda-powered drivers, 16 from Chevrolet and the remaining two using Lotus engines. Sebastien Bourdais was fastest of all nine qualifiers on Sunday with a 4 Lap Average: 223.760 mph. There were no bumping attempts.
Bryan Clauson, Ed Carpenter and Oriol Servia were back in the qualification line less than 24 hours after aspirations of reaching the top-nine shootout were scattered across the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Their crews put in multiple hours rebuilding their cars and, in Carpenter's case, preparing the backup after crashes on Pole Day. Servia's No. 22 Panther/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing car was quickest (223.752 mph) of the nine non-qualified cars in the morning practice session, while Carpenter tested the No. 20 Fuzzy's Ultra Premium Vodka car after the track opened for time trials.
Servia, the fourth to make a qualifying attempt on Bump Day, recorded a four-lap average speed of 222.393 mph. Clauson's No. 39 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing car posted an average of 214.455 mph, while Carpenter was the final qualifier at 2 p.m. and turned a 222.324 mph average.
All three allowed themselves a few moments to decompress before returning to the 2.5-mile oval to apply their race set-ups on a humid afternoon that is forecast to be matched on Race Day May 27.
Sebastien Bourdais, who was bumped from the top 24 set on Pole Day, was the fastest qualifier on Bump Day with a four-lap average time of 223.760 mph. He'll be joined on Row 9 by Indy 500 rookie Wade Cunningham (223.258) and Servia (222.393).
Carpenter is on the inside of Row 10, alongside Mike Conway (222.319) and Katherine Legge (221.624). On Row 11 are Clauson (214.455), Simona de Silvestro (213.393) and Indy 500 rookie Jean Alesi (210.094).
There will be no on track action until Carburetion Day on Friday, May 25 when drivers will get one hour of final practice time. The Indianapolis 500 will be broadcast live on ABC beginning at 12:00 p.m. (ET) (tape delayed at 7:00 p.m. ET in Indianapolis).
Quotes follow the 96th Indy 500 lineup below.
| Row | ST | Car | Driver | Hometown | Car Name | Entrant | Total Time | Speed |
| Row 1 | 1 | 2 | Ryan Briscoe | Sydney, Australia | IZOD Team Penske Chevrolet | Team Penske | 02:38.9514 | 226.484 |
| Row 1 | 2 | 27 | James Hinchcliffe | Toronto | Team GoDaddy.com Chevrolet | Andretti Autosport | 02:38.9537 | 226.481 |
| Row 1 | 3 | 28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Fort Lauderdale, Fla. | Team DHL/Sun Drop Citrus Soda Chevrolet | Andretti Autosport | 02:39.1233 | 226.240 |
| Row 2 | 4 | 26 | Marco Andretti | Nazareth, Pa. | Team RC Cola Chevrolet | Andretti Autosport | 02:39.6766 | 225.456 |
| Row 2 | 5 | 12 | Will Power | Toowoomba, Australia | Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet | Team Penske | 02:39.7004 | 225.422 |
| Row 2 | 6 | 3 | Helio Castroneves (W) | Sao Paulo, Brazil | Shell V-Power/Pennzoil Ultra Team Penske Chevrolet | Team Penske | 02:39.8780 | 225.172 |
| Row 3 | 7 | 67 | Josef Newgarden (R) | Hendersonville, Tenn. | Sarah Fisher Hartman/Dollar General Honda | Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing | 02:40.6879 | 224.037 |
| Row 3 | 8 | 11 | Tony Kanaan | Sao Paulo, Brazil | GEICO-Mouser Electronics KVRT Chevrolet | KV Racing Technology | 02:40.1775 | 224.751 |
| Row 3 | 9 | 5 | E.J. Viso | Caracas, Venezuela | CITGO/PDVSA KV Racing Technology Chevrolet | KV Racing Technology | 02:40.4119 | 224.422 |
| Row 4 | 10 | 8 | Rubens Barrichello (R) | Sao Paulo, Brazil | BMC/Embrase KV Racing Technology Chevrolet | KV Racing Technology | 02:40.5253 | 224.264 |
| Row 4 | 11 | 98 | Alex Tagliani | Lechenaie, Canada | Team Barracuda-BHA Honda | Bryan Herta Autosport w/Curb Agajanian | 02:40.7144 | 224.000 |
| Row 4 | 12 | 38 | Graham Rahal | New Albany, Ohio | Service Central Honda | Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing | 02:40.7437 | 223.959 |
| Row 5 | 13 | 25 | Ana Beatriz | Sao Paulo, Brazil | Team Ipiranga Chevrolet | Andretti Autosport/Conquest Racing | 02:40.7720 | 223.920 |
| Row 5 | 14 | 83 | Charlie Kimball | Camarillo, Calif. | NovoLog FlexPen Honda | Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing | 02:40.8093 | 223.868 |
| Row 5 | 15 | 9 | Scott Dixon (W) | Auckland, New Zealand | Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda | Target Chip Ganassi Racing | 02:40.9413 | 223.684 |
| Row 6 | 16 | 50 | Dario Franchitti (W) | Edinburgh, Scotland | Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda | Target Chip Ganassi Racing | 02:41.0144 | 223.582 |
| Row 6 | 17 | 19 | James Jakes (R) | Leeds, England | Boy Scouts of America Honda | Dale Coyne Racing | 02:41.0866 | 223.482 |
| Row 6 | 18 | 4 | JR Hildebrand | Sausalito, Calif. | National Guard Panther Racing Chevrolet | Panther Racing | 02:41.1299 | 223.422 |
| Row 7 | 19 | 15 | Takuma Sato | Tokyo | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda | Rahal Letterman Lanigan | 02:41.1517 | 223.392 |
| Row 7 | 20 | 99 | Townsend Bell | San Luis Obispo, Calif. | BraunAbility-Schmidt Pelfrey Motorsports Honda | Sam Schmidt Motorsports | 02:41.3377 | 223.134 |
| Row 7 | 21 | 18 | Justin Wilson | Sheffield, England | Sonny's BBQ Honda | Dale Coyne Racing | 02:41.4865 | 222.929 |
| Row 8 | 22 | 30 | Michel Jourdain | Mexico City | Office Depot/RLL Racing Honda | Rahal Letterman Lanigan | 02:41.5124 | 222.893 |
| Row 8 | 23 | 77 | Simon Pagenaud (R) | Poitiers, France | Schmidt Hamilton HP Motorsports Honda | Schmidt Hamilton Racing | 02:41.5138 | 222.891 |
| Row 8 | 24 | 17 | Sebastian Saavedra | Bogata, Colombia | Team AFS Chevrolet | AFS Racing/Andretti Autosport | 02:41.5720 | 222.811 |
| Row 9 | 25 | 7 | Sebastien Bourdais | Le Mans, France | Dragon Racing Chevrolet | Dragon Racing | 02:40.8866 | 223.760 |
| Row 9 | 26 | 41 | Wade Cunningham (R) | Auckland, New Zealand | ECat/ABC Supply Honda | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | 02:41.2484 | 223.258 |
| Row 9 | 27 | 22 | Oriol Servia | Pals, Spain | Panther/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet | Panther/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | 02:41.8754 | 222.393 |
| Row 10 | 28 | 20T Ed Carpenter | Indianapolis | Fuzzy's Vodka/Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet | Ed Carpenter Racing | 02:41.9262 | 222.324 | |
| Row 10 | 29 | 14 | Mike Conway | Bromley, England | ABC Supply Co./A.J. Foyt Racing Honda | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | 02:41.9293 | 222.319 |
| Row 10 | 30 | 6 | Katherine Legge (R) | Guildford, England | TrueCar-Dragon Racing Chevrolet | Dragon Racing | 02:42.4374 | 221.624 |
| Row 11 | 31 | 39 | Bryan Clauson (R) | Noblesville, Ind. | Sarah Fisher Hartman/Curb-Agajanian Chevrolet | Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing/Curb-Agajanian | 02:47.8671 | 214.455 |
| Row 11 | 32 | 78 | Simona De Silvestro | Thun, Switzerland | Nuclear Clean Air Energy Lotus HVM Racing Lotus | Lotus – HVM Racing | 02:47.9162 | 214.393 |
| Row 11 | 33 | 46 | Jean Alesi (R) | Avignon, France | Lotus – FP Journe – Fan Force United Lotus | Lotus – FP Journe – Fan Force United Lotus | 02:51.3516 | 210.094 |
BUMP DAY QUALIFYING QUOTES
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO (No. 78 Nuclear Clean Air Energy Lotus HVM Racing Lotus): "It was all right. Not the speed we want for the month, but I think we're in the show, so that's a really good thing. We just have to focus on our program with the Lotus engine. We don't have the speed we want, but we've been creeping up to the other manufacturers, so that's a really positive sign. The Nuclear Clean Air Energy car was really good, really comfortable to drive. We just have to find a little more power, and then we should be all right. I think those were the most consistent laps I've done here at the Speedway. We're pretty down on horsepower now with our engine, but we've made improvements. At the beginning of the season, we knew it was going to be difficult. But we've been improving, so that is the positive thing. We know, even for the race, it's going to be difficult, so we just have to focus on what we have to do and learn as much as we can. Hopefully, toward the end of the season we're going to be really competitive. It's the first time I've had to qualify (for the Indianapolis 500) on Day 2. We don't have the speed to be in the first 24, so we're just focused on today, and we had really consistent lap times. We're quite a bit slower than the other cars, so we'll see what happens during the week. I think we found some speed, but it's still slower. We'll just try to focus on our car and what I have to do." (About Race Day): "I'll try to be as much out of the way as possible because I know when you have a fast car it's annoying when somebody is that much slower. We all respect each other, and I just have to do my job to be quick and not try to be in the way, too. That's kind of our goal for the race. The Indy 500 is the greatest spectacle on Earth, and everybody knows about it. It's just so special to see all of the people here and all of the history behind it. And I can say that I have raced in the Indy 500. It's really a special feeling."
MIKE CONWAY (No. 14 ABC Supply Co./A.J. Foyt Racing Honda): "I would have loved to have put it in the show yesterday. We would have been better off. We're in the race. The car has been very similar all month in terms of handling, it's been very good. We weren't looking to blow the world away with speed today. It was a case of getting in (the race) comfortably and not doing anything stupid. Our second lap was slower. We had a slight boost issue, but it went away. We wanted to be sensible. We haven't been working on race stuff much this month because we've been trying to find speed. We can go out and focus on getting the car in race trim and get it comfortable. I just want to thank A.J. Foyt Racing and ABC Supply for hanging in there all week."
ORIOL SERVIA (No. 22 Panther/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet): "We just wanted to make sure we had a solid effort to get it into the race. Obviously, to win the race, you have to be in it first. We wanted to accomplish that. Now we just work on the race car. This race, especially, has been won from the back many times. If you have a good car, you can definitely go forward. So that's what we're going to focus on. To win this thing, a lot of things have to go your way, no matter if you start in the front or the back. Probably more than any other race, the guy that's on pole doesn't win it. We would prefer to start on the front row like last year. It makes your race a lot easier, especially the first half. But we're going to make it interesting. We're going to start at the back and move forward." (On driving the day after crashing his car on Pole Day): "The crash looked bad, but the car didn't get too damaged. All my guys were working late last night and got it back together. If you think of things bad, it can get a lot worse if you crash again. Today is the last day to get into the race. At least now, no matter what happens the rest of the day, you know you're in the race. It's a big relief. There was not much to gain and a lot to lose if something went wrong today."
ED CARPENTER (No. 20 Fuzzy's Vodka/Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet): "The whole month hasn't gone as you script them. I think I've been lucky for quite a few years to have a pretty seamless month of May. You never know with Indianapolis, when it is going to decide it's your turn for a bad month. Things change quickly around here. One thing that doesn't change for me is my confidence. I love racing here, and I love this race. As long as I'm in the field, I'm going to feel like I have a chance. More than anything, I'm just really proud of the effort that the team put in. It's been an ugly month, but they've stuck behind me and stuck together and built a pretty good T-car for me. I think the track is getting more difficult with how many days we've had of no rain. There's a lot of rubber on the racetrack. I think that all of that rubber and grip, it's not necessarily a good thing because there is so much rubber down, it makes it a little more inconsistent. The car makes a lot of downforce, and it can be deceivingly comfortable. But it's a little finicky, too. I think all of us were maybe getting a little too comfortable with it, and now things are about to happen. As the week has gone on, it's gotten a lot hotter, a lot of rubber down, and I think the conditions are just challenging. It's still a new car. Everyone has a lot to learn. Thankfully, everybody has been OK that's been in accidents so far. Nobody had seen one of these cars really crash at speed until this month, so I know Dallara is studying every accident they see and making things better when they can." (How did you feel after your accident yesterday and how did your team respond?): "I give the team very high marks. They've done a great job. The effort that they've given me all week long has been outstanding. By the time I actually went to sleep, I was pretty exhausted. It was a long day. I was really, really mad for probably three hours, and then the anger starts to go away, and you just have to figure out what you have to do for the next day – what works need to get done, what you need to do to get the car right and handle better. Once you get back in that mode and get back to work, you calm down and start focusing on the job at hand." (What were you specifically mad at?): "I was mad at myself and anybody that came in contact with me and pretty much the whole situation. I was mad that the car got destroyed, mad that setup wasn't better and mad that I was stubborn and insisted on keeping my foot in it when I knew it wasn't any good. You name it, I was just mad at the whole situation."
JEAN ALESI (No. 64 Lotus-FP Journe-Fan Force United Lotus): "It's a big relief for me to finally get into this race. We've had all week to work on it, and obviously we now have the car in the race. I'm glad, but I really was expecting more speed from the car . That was all we could get, and we took it. We have to work now on the race situation. We know we cannot really gain much from the qualifying setup in practice this afternoon. We will just have to work for the best result from the race." (About his Indianapolis 500 debut): "This is an amazing experience for me. I'm 47 years old, and I have learned more in one week here than I did in my entire Formula One career."
WADE CUNNINGHAM (No. 41 ECat/ABC Supply Honda): "It was nice to go out and get in the field. It's disappointing because, from my side, instead of doing the maximum, we're basically doing the minimum to get in, and that's not how I enjoy racing. We didn't come here to be field-fillers. We are safely in the field, and we can start working on race setup. We had a lot of downforce in qualifying trim, so we could have gone significantly faster if we had to. I would have liked to have been at the limit because that's what were supposed to do here, right? I'm happy to be here. We'll change gears, go back out and simulate race conditions. We'll find out what kind of race car we have."
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS (No. 7 Dragon Racing Chevrolet): "The run was good. I just wish it had been yesterday, and we'd be quite a bit higher up on the grid. We haven't really changed the car at all. The balance has been good. The speed varied a lot from Saturday, and we can't quite figure out why. I'm just happy that the TrueCar-McAfee entry is in the show. I'm glad to be with Chevrolet and looking forward to the rest of the season."
BRYAN CLAUSON (No. 39 Sarah Fisher Hartman/Curb Agajanian Honda): "It's exciting. You know, obviously when you have a run like we did yesterday at 223 and a half or so and come back today and go run that, you're not excited. But it's a product of just needing to get four laps in and putting something that was safe on the car and making sure we didn't have another incident like we did yesterday. It kind of snuck up on us yesterday. The car had been comfortable the whole run. If you would have stopped me at the flag stand on the third lap, I probably wouldn't have changed a thing. It just got away from us there in Turn 1 and kind of put us in a little bit of a bind. But it's exciting to get in. Those four laps were a heck of a lot easier before I messed them up yesterday. I was bummed, I guess, but it was neat to see all the hard work that went into getting the thing back out there. Those guys worked until 2, 3 in the morning to get us back out there. So to get out there and put it in the show and be able to go and work on race stuff is what it's about." (On Josef Newgarden saying he felt Clauson was simply unlucky): "Honestly, I was watching the video and hoping I'd see something I did different or something. I felt like I mirrored Turn 1 the other three laps. It just stepped out. I didn't sleep much last night. It makes it tough, especially for a small team like Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing. If we did it again today, we were done. So we just had to go out there and put in a conservative run and get four laps down." (On a former INDYCAR champion saying after Clauson lost it yesterday, he looked like an INDYCAR driver as opposed to a dirt track driver; that he did the right thing): "Yeah, I chased it as long as I could. I don't think I got my hand up quick enough because I didn't get it tucked away and hit it on something and hurt it a little bit. Other than that, I don't know what I could have done different. I chased it up the track. It kind of caught me by surprise, really. I ran through it a hundred times and don't know what I would have done different, other than lift, I guess. I stand firm that my first three laps were easy flat, and it never wiggled on me, so there was no real reason to expect it. Obviously, I would have liked to have gone out there and run 223 and a half like I did yesterday, and we'd be starting 16th or 17th or wherever that would have put us. But we don't have any more cars. There's 33 (spots), and we don't have any sitting at the shop ready to go, so we've just got to put four laps down. What there was to gain by trimming out and trying to run 25th quick? Whether you start 25th or 31st, it really doesn't matter. I guess will get a little bit of a head start on the Hard Charger Award starting a little bit further back. Us short-track guys like that." (If you start in the last row, you'll have a heck of a party to go to): "Sweet, nice, perfect. See, I didn't know that. Now I have something to cheer about. We might have to withdraw and try and go a little slower if we have to. Trust me, those four laps are a heck of a lot easier before you mess them up. I was happy that that last one was over." (On whether sprint cars are a better preparation for Indy cars than other formulas): "I don't know. What we have over here in the ladder system, I'm sure, is fairly similar to the preparation they have over there (Europe). It seems to be working pretty well. What you learn from the USAC side of things in sprint car and midget is you have to be pretty darn versatile to be getting in those cars. You see a lot of different situations, track layouts and a lot of different type of tracks. You learn to adapt and be able to adjust. It's just a different way of coming up. I won't take anything away from the formula ranks. That system seems to be working." (How many laps does it take to get your confidence back?): "I'm not sure I have all of my confidence back, yet. We did two runs this morning, close to 10 laps. We had a couple issues on the first run with some things, so we only had four or five at speed laps to get a feel for it." (On the Band-Aid decal the team put on the top of the sidepod): "That kind of explains the night. They got a Band-Aid to put over the half blue, half carbon on the left side of the car. They put a Band-Aid right in the middle to kind of transition it, I think. That's what got them through the night, I guess, knowing that when I walked in in the morning I was going to see that and laugh. It was cool. This is such a pressure-packed month; sometimes the little things go a long way." (On the support he feels and the weight he feels of the USAC community on his shoulders): "The support from everybody has been amazing. Yesterday – this is the young guy in me – I was trending on Twitter, which I thought was pretty cool. I'd never had that happen before. There's a lot of people watching, and a lot of people are cheering for us and rooting for us to be successful because of the background I have. It's been a while since a guy has made the jump successfully and that the fans felt like they had somebody to cheer for in the Indianapolis 500. Right, wrong, indifferent, you can look at it several different ways. A lot of them still feel like they don't have one of their own in INDYCAR, and that's what we bring with myself and USAC, in general. There's this fan base that feels like they're lost in watching the '500.' They're very passionate about the '500,' but just don't have a common interest. Hopefully, on Carb Day and Sunday there will be a lot of sprint car shirts in the stands and a lot of people cheering for us. It's been pretty humbling, really, the support we've gotten."
KATHERINE LEGGE (No. 6 TrueCar-Dragon Racing Chevrolet): "It's definitely a massive relief after the week or two that we've had. We basically qualified our race car. We haven't had time on track to work on qualifying setup or anything like that, so we needed to find a car that was easy to drive at this stage. I am a rookie, and the team did a good job of giving me a very solid, very stable race car. I'm pretty sure that it's very close to the car that we will race. I finished my rookie orientation on Fast Friday, and we haven't had any real testing time, so it's been difficult. But we're here, and we've made the best of it. As my engineer would say, there are no ifs in racing." (About racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway): "At the end of the day, it's a racetrack. You drive around it in race car, and we are all professionals. But it's a very special place with all of the tradition and everything else that surrounds it. All I have to do is go out, put my foot to the floor, and drive around four laps right? But you still get nervous. It's the Indy 500, for goodness sake! I watched Michael Andretti and Nigel Mansell and those guys when I was a kid. I wanted to do that, and now I'm getting the opportunity to. Not many people do, and I'm hugely thankful."
BUMP DAY NOTEBOOK:
The Ed Carpenter Racing team moved quickly to action to prepare the backup No. 20T Fuzzy's Vodka/Ed Carpenter Racing Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone after Carpenter crashed at 3:30 p.m. Saturday during Pole Day qualifying.
Construction of the backup car began around 4 p.m. A timeline of activity Saturday and Sunday:
7:30 p.m.: Team wired the car and adds parts.
10 p.m.: Team worked on rear-end assembly and gearbox.
11:17 p.m.: Chevrolet engine bolted to chassis.
11:25 p.m.: Decals added to car.
11:31 p.m.: Gearbox added to engine.
12:10 a.m.: Car prepared to go on setup pad.
12:30 a.m.: Team left garage for some sleep, returned at 6 a.m.
6:10 a.m.: Team returned to garage, preparing car for setup pad.
8:21 a.m.: Car on setup pad, ready for morning practice.
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Indianapolis 500 veteran Jay Howard will serve as a social media correspondent for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Race Day, interacting with fans through his Twitter account, @JayHowardRacing.
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A Band-Aid decal was placed across a seam between body parts on the #39 car of Bryan Clauson as a symbol of the work Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing completed to rebuild the car after Clauson crashed Saturday in qualifying.
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Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing co-owner Sarah Fisher and general manager Andy O'Gara – husband and wife – described the work the team completed to rebuild the No. 39 Sarah Fisher Hartman/Curb Agajanian Honda that was damaged Saturday when rookie Bryan Clauson crashed in qualifying.
SARAH FISHER (Co-owner, Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing): "I think it's another testament as to how great our group is. They're all very talented; they think outside the box, and they have the ability to contribute in more ways than their job titles. They are a very passionate group. They want to see Bryan have a very successful month of May. Some of the guys just went home, took showers and came back. It was a very long night."
ANDY O'GARA (General Manager, Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing): "We just got it on the high stand as soon as we could (Saturday afternoon) and tried to assess the race car to the best of our ability. We got some parts from Dallara and from Honda and went back to the race shop to get the necessary parts to put it back together. We went from the middle of the afternoon until the middle of the night, probably 3 to 4 a.m. We got most of it done here. I'm really happy with the effort that the team has put forth here. I couldn't be more proud to be associated with SFHR and the Honda family. I'm excited to get this car in the field nice and safe today, but it's definitely going to be a stressful 24 hours. We made several trips back and forth to the shop to get some parts off our third car." (When were those trips?): "You name it: We were doing that all day long and up through the middle of the night. We had some parts here, but most of the big stuff came off the third car. We were fortunate that Dallara is here, very close to the shop and the track. We went to Dallara to get parts – new side pods, new underwing, new engine cowling, and other body pieces and mechanical bits. We went through tech around 9 o'clock this morning. The car was damaged pretty badly; it's a $200,000 hit. It was a big hit – left-side body work, left-side suspension, front and rear wings, engine, gear box, side covers, drive line, radiators, exhaust – big hit."
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Panther/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing co-owner Robbie Buhl described the work the team completed to rebuild the No. 22 Panther Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet that was damaged Saturday when Oriol Servia crashed in qualifying.
ROBBIE BUHL: "It's just proof that you never take this place for granted. It looked a lot worse than it was, probably, but we didn't get into the side pods of the car. The undertray wasn't too bad. The guys had the car back together by 11 last night, and we were out of here. I would say we were pretty lucky, all things considered." (Was working through this situation any different with this particular car compared to the previous Dallara?): "The fact that we were able to get the car back together in a real timely manner I think; the gearbox held up, it's the same gearbox. All is pretty good. But this is a new car, and we haven't seen many crashes with them, so you've just got to learn where the strengths and weaknesses are with them. From what we had yesterday, we were lucky, and everything held up very well. We had to make up some parts last night at our shop. We had to do something on our Hurco CNC. But all in all, we gathered up all the parts."
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Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) performed the traditional Armed Forces military swearing-in ceremony this morning, as he has done at IMS for more than 30 years. This will be Lugar's last swearing-in ceremony as a U.S. Senator at IMS, as he lost a Republican primary May 8. He has served as U.S. Senator since January 1977, the longest-serving Senator in Indiana history.
SEN. RICHARD LUGAR: "We started this with Tony Hulman's blessing 35 years ago, but he died before we had our first swearing-in ceremony. The first two were without the Armed Services breakfasts. They were small gatherings. For the last 30 years, we've had breakfast with all the Armed Services, all the recruiters, the American Legion, the veterans' groups and the Hulman family. It has become a tradition that has become so very important, and as we saw with 75 new recruits today, it has taken hold in a very patriotic day. I have looked forward to it every year, first of all, to congratulate all those who are serving. Only one out of every 10 Americans has served in the Armed Forces, and as I mentioned here today, only one in every 100 are volunteering to do so now. Only 25 members of Congress have served in the Armed Forces. This is something we all celebrate, to encourage people to think about such a career, to think about the needs of our nation." (About his future attendance at IMS): "I feel like I'm a plank-owner in this event, and I hope we will have an opportunity to participate for many years to come. We won't be able to be here on Race Day, but we've had some great experiences here on Race Day. We'll be watching it on television this time and keeping track of all the excitement."
Charlie Kimball talked about his accident today in the No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen Honda.
CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen Honda): "It's really disappointing to go out today and crash the car. Fortunately, the chassis is OK, and the guys have plenty of time and are well into fixing it already. I just feel bad for the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing crew because we have been having a very good month. We still have a really good race car, and I just made a mistake. I learned my lesson, and we'll go out and have a really good race next weekend."
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Indianapolis 500 veteran John Andretti was in Gasoline Alley today.
JOHN ANDRETTI (About whether he'll continue to pursue future opportunities for the "500"): "I'd love to. It's tough being here this month, because, really, I've got the time, I've got the energy, and I've got the desire to be here, but unfortunately that didn't happen. But I'm really happy for Andretti Autosport and that group, because they've bounced back nicely qualifying right at the front. I think they're really competitive. Who knows, we may see another Andretti in victory lane here. It's been a long time since my uncle (Mario won, in 1969). I'm just really excited about that. I have good reasons to still cheer people on and be here, but again, it's not the same as getting to drive one of the cars around the Speedway and being in the Indianapolis 500. Next year, who knows? Hopefully I get a chance to pull out the boxing gloves and fight my way back in."
***
Third-generation racer Jarett Andretti is visiting the Andretti Autosport team today with his dad, John, today. Andretti, 19, aspires to follow in his family's tire tracks. He and his dad were teammates in the 50th Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona this year.
JARETT ANDRETTI: "I'm disappointed that I don't have a ride for next weekend's Night Before the 500, but maybe next year my dad can run the '500' and I can run the Night Before. That would be cool. Right now I'm racing a 410 non-winged sprint car and hopefully will be running some super-modifieds and pavement midgets this year, too. I would really like to be here in July to run the GRAND-AM Rolex Series race with my dad. I think there's a good chance for us in a Mazda RX-8 again. Obviously, Indianapolis is where you want to race, and I think there's support for us to do that." (Do you want to race the Indianapolis 500?): "Absolutely. Every young driver dreams of racing here, especially in an Indy car. Doing it in a stock car would be great, but to be here in an Indy car, that's what I aspire to. I want to be out there running like these guys on track now in a couple of years."
***
Today is Armed Forces Day at IMS, saluting America's military. The military swearing-in ceremony and military displays around the grounds at IMS are part of the festivities.
***
JOHN FERBER (First Lieutenant, Indiana Army National Guard – Aviation): "It's exciting to be here. There's a great crowd. The people are really excited to see our aircraft. The kids get to ask a bunch of questions. It really gets the community involved with the local guys that are out there every day overseas. I've lived in Indiana most of my life. This is my first trip out here, and I love it. These new cars are great. Even though I haven't gotten out here before now, I follow the sport pretty well. The cars look they're moving really well out there. It's a great time. A couple of drivers are going to come out and check out our aircraft. We're going to give them the tour of what we do because they already showed us some of the things around their garages. It's going to be exciting to build up some camaraderie."
***
Gary Rovazzini, facilities manager at Target Chip Ganassi Racing, was presented the IMIS/C&R Racing "True Grit" Award today in Gasoline Alley by officials from C&R Racing Inc., and the International Motorsports Industry Show (IMIS).
The $5,000 award is annually given to a veteran INDYCAR team member who has achieved success, overcome adversity, excelled in preparation and has exemplified dedication to the highly skilled trade of building and maintaining IZOD IndyCar Series cars.
During Ganassi's driving career in the early 1980's, Rovazzini worked as a mechanic on many of his cars and was then one of the first people employed with Target Chip Ganassi Racing when it was formed in 1990.
Past Indianapolis 500 "True Grit" Award winners include: Kyle Moyer (Andretti Green Racing), Mitch Davis (Target Chip Ganassi Racing), Rick Long (Speedway Engines), Clive Howell (Penske Racing), Rick Rinaman (Penske Racing), Owen Snyder Jr., (Eddie Cheever Racing), Dennis Lacava (Hemelgarn Racing), John O'Gara (A.J. Foyt Enterprises), Craig Baranouski (A.J. Foyt Enterprises), John King (A.J. Foyt Enterprises) Tim Coffeen (Newman/Haas/Lanigan), Tim Homberg (Newman/Haas/Lanigan), John Tzouanakis (Newman/Haas/Lanigan), Paul "Ziggy" Harcus (Andretti Autosport) and the late Davey Evans (Newman/Haas/Lanigan).
GARY ROVAZZINI: "I'd like to thank my peers. I appreciate it very much. If it wasn't for my wife, I probably wouldn't be here today. She said, 'Let's go to the racetrack.' I thought, 'Why?' She said, 'We've got to see what's going on.' I wanted to come, but I didn't think she did. I'm glad she brought me. I didn't realize this at all until about five minutes ago. I just want to thank all of my peers, C&R. Thank you very much."
INDIANAPOLIS 500 BUMP DAY QUALIFYING CHRONOLOGY:
At noon, the ambient temperature was 85 degrees with variable winds at 5 mph. Skies were partly cloudy. The track temperature was 118 degrees, according to Firestone engineers.
Each qualifying attempt will start on the second time past the flag stand.
|
12:06 p.m. |
#78 |
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO/Thun, Switzerland |
||
|
Nuclear Clean Air Energy Lotus HVM Racing Lotus |
||||
|
QA-1 |
1 – 41.9530 – 214.526 |
Q – 41 |
||
|
2 – 41.9743 – 214.417 |
||||
|
3 – 41.9855 – 214.360 |
||||
|
4 – 42.0034 – 214.268 |
||||
|
T 2:47.9162 – 214.393 |
||||
|
12:13 p.m. |
#14 |
MIKE CONWAY/Bromley, England |
||
|
ABC Supply Co./A.J. Foyt Racing Honda |
||||
|
QA-1(QE-3) |
1 – 40.4456 – 222.521 |
Q – 42 |
||
|
2 – 40.5542 – 221.925 |
||||
|
3 – 40.4863 – 222.297 |
||||
|
4 – 40.4432 – 222.534 |
||||
|
T 2:41.9293 – 222.319 |
||||
|
12:19 p.m. |
#7 |
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS/Le Mans, France |
||
|
Dragon Racing Chevrolet |
||||
|
QA-1(QE-3) |
1 – 40.1469 – 224.177 |
Q – 43 |
||
|
2 – 40.2109 – 223.820 |
||||
|
3 – 40.2574 – 223.561 |
||||
|
4 – 40.2714 – 223.484 |
||||
|
T 2:40.8866 – 223.760 |
||||
(More)
DAY 9 – SUNDAY, MAY 20, 2012 – BUMP DAY
Page 3
INDIANAPOLIS 500 BUMP DAY QUALIFYING CHRONOLOGY (cont.):
|
12:27 p.m. |
#6 |
KATHERINE LEGGE/Guildford, England |
||
|
TrueCar-Dragon Racing Chevrolet |
||||
|
QA-1 |
1 – 40.5287 – 222.065 |
Q – 44 |
||
|
2 – 40.6125 – 221.607 |
||||
|
3 – 40.6579 – 221.359 |
||||
|
4 – 40.6383 – 221.466 |
||||
|
T 2:42.4374 – 221.624 |
||||
|
12:35 p.m. |
#22 |
ORIOL SERVIA/Pals, Spain |
||
|
Panther/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet |
||||
|
QA-1 |
1 – 40.4302 – 222.606 |
Q – 45 |
||
|
2 – 40.4578 – 222.454 |
||||
|
3 – 40.4878 – 222.289 |
||||
|
4 – 40.4996 – 222.224 |
||||
|
T 2:41.8754 – 222.393 |
||||
|
12:42 p.m. |
#41 |
WADE CUNNINGHAM/Auckland, New Zealand |
||
|
ECat/ABC Supply Honda |
||||
|
QA-1(QE-3) |
1 – 40.3273 – 223.174 |
Q – 46 |
||
|
2 – 40.3219 – 223.204 |
||||
|
3 – 40.2825 – 223.422 |
||||
|
4 – 40.3167 – 223.233 |
||||
|
T 2:41.2484 – 223.258 |
||||
|
12:49 p.m. |
#64 |
JEAN ALESI/Avignon, France |
||
|
Lotus – FP Journe – Fan Force United Lotus |
||||
|
QA-1 |
1 – 42.9097 – 209.743 |
Q – 47 |
||
|
2 – 42.8349 – 210.109 |
||||
|
3 – 42.8298 – 210.134 |
||||
|
4 – 42.7772 – 210.392 |
||||
|
T 2:51.3516 – 210.094 |
||||
***
|
12:56 p.m. |
#39 |
BRYAN CLAUSON/Noblesville, Ind. |
|
|
Sarah Fisher Hartman/Curb Agajanian Honda |
#39 Clauson pulls into deceleration lane in Turn 4 on first warm-up lap, pulls into pit lane due to mechanical problem.
|
1:15 p.m. |
#39 |
BRYAN CLAUSON/Noblesville, Ind. |
||
|
Sarah Fisher Hartman/Curb Agajanian Honda |
||||
|
QA-1(QE-2) |
1 – 41.8191 – 215.213 |
Q – 48 |
||
|
2 – 41.8716 – 214.943 |
||||
|
3 – 41.8821 – 214.889 |
||||
|
4 – 42.2943 – 212.795 |
||||
|
T 2:47.8671 – 214.455 |
||||
At 2 p.m., the ambient temperature was 87 degrees with calm winds. Skies were partly cloudy. The track temperature was 119 degrees, according to Firestone engineers.
|
2:04 p.m. |
#20T |
ED CARPENTER/Indianapolis |
||
|
Fuzzy's Vodka/Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet |
||||
|
QA-1(QE-3) |
1 – 40.4099 – 222.718 |
Q – 49 |
||
|
2 – 40.4586 – 222.450 |
||||
|
3 – 40.5515 – 221.940 |
||||
|
4 – 40.5062 – 222.188 |
||||
|
T 2:41.9262 – 222.324 |
||||
***
INDIANAPOLIS 500 FIELD NOTES:
•There are three former Indianapolis 500 winners in the starting field: Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002, 2009), Scott Dixon (2008) and Dario Franchitti (2007, 2010). Between them they have six victories. The record for most former winners in the field is 10, in 1992. The fewest, other than the inaugural race in 1911, is zero in 1912.
•There are eight rookies in the field. This year's rookies are Jean Alesi, Rubens Barrichello, Bryan Clauson, Wade Cunningham, James Jakes, Katherine Legge, Josef Newgarden and Simon Pagenaud. Last year there were five rookies.
•Helio Castroneves is the most experienced driver in the field, with 11 previous Indianapolis 500 starts. The record is 35, set in consecutive years from 1958-92 by A.J. Foyt.
•Dario Franchitti has led 306 career laps in the Indianapolis 500, more than any other driver in this year's field. Other drivers in the field who have led more than 200 laps are Scott Dixon (293), Helio Castroneves (231) and Tony Kanaan (214).
•Thirteen different drivers in this year's field have led a total of 1,156 laps in previous Indianapolis 500 Mile Races.
•There is a combined 103 previous Indianapolis 500 starts among the 33 drivers in this year's field. The record is 260 years of experience, set in 1987 and 1992. There were 142 years of combined experience in last year's field.
•The oldest driver in the starting field is Jean Alesi, 47. The youngest qualifier is Josef Newgarden, 21. Alesi is the oldest rookie to start in the Indianapolis 500. He will be 47 years, 351 days old on Race Day. The previous oldest rookie to start in the Indianapolis 500 was Jack Hewitt at 46 years, 320 days in 1998.
•There are 11 veterans of INDYCAR-sanctioned Firestone Indy Lights competition in the field. They are Marco Andretti, Ana Beatriz, Ed Carpenter, Bryan Clauson, Wade Cunningham, JR Hildebrand, James Hinchcliffe, Charlie Kimball, Josef Newgarden, Graham Rahal and Sebastian Saavedra. Townsend Bell, Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan and Oriol Servia competed in Indy Lights before INDYCAR sanction.
•In addition to the eight rookies in the race, there are four drivers – Sebastien Bourdais, Mike Conway, Michel Jourdain Jr. and Sebastian Saavedra – who did not start in last year's race.
•Sixteen of the 33 drivers in this year's field earned their career-best Indianapolis 500 starting spot: Ryan Briscoe (1st), James Hinchcliffe (2nd), Ryan Hunter-Reay (3rd), Marco Andretti (4th), Josef Newgarden (7th), E.J. Viso (9th), Rubens Barrichello (10th), Ana Beatriz (13th), Charlie Kimball (14th), James Jakes (17th), Simon Pagenaud (23rd), Sebastian Saavedra (24th), Wade Cunningham (26th), Katherine Legge (30th), Bryan Clauson (31st), Jean Alesi (33rd).
•All five Andretti Autosport drivers – James Hinchcliffe, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Marco Andretti, Ana Beatriz and Sebastian Saavedra – achieved career-best Indianapolis 500 starting spots this year.
***
The next day of on-track activity is Thursday, May 24, when practice and qualifying for the Firestone Freedom 100 takes place. Practice is scheduled from 9 a.m.-noon, with qualifying at 1:15 p.m.
***
The next IZOD IndyCar Series race is the Indianapolis 500 Mile on May 27 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race will be televised by ABC at 11a.m. (ET) and broadcast by the IMS Radio Network on SiriusXM (XM 94 and Sirius 212). The next Firestone Indy Lights race is the Firestone Freedom 100 on May 25 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race will be televised live by NBC Sports Network at Noon (ET) and broadcast by the IMS Radio Network.