IndyCar: Fast Friday Morning Report from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Good morning from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Fast Friday.  The sun is shining this morning and it should be a hot day.  Temperatures are predicted in the high 80s with a bit of wind this afternoon.  It is not windy or raining this morning but a possible storm could move through later this afternoon.

Today is the day the engine is increased by almost 90 more horsepower, making the cars faster.  The talk yesterday was doing speeds of 240 MPH today.

Many of the teams yesterday were not working on showing their speed but worked on qualifying sims.  AR1 spoke with a team member of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing this morning and I commented on their drivers not being towards the front of the timing chart.  He responded that the team’s drivers Graham Rahal, Jack Harvey, and rookie Christian Lundgaard have not shown their true  speed yet.  Today will show what they have for tomorrow’s qualifying.

Jimmie Johnson, driver of the no 48 Carvana Chip Ganassi Racing entry, is making his first run at the Indy 500.  After running the most laps yesterday, the 46-year-old commented about his day.  ” The first lesson that I was reminded of is just because you had a good setup on Tuesday doesn’t mean you’re going to have a good setup on Thursday. ”

“This track, in a Cup car and certainly I’m learning in an INDYCAR, it’s very temperamental, and you’ve just got to be on top of it. You can’t put your guard down. Things change, and I’m trying to understand why there was a difference, because obviously race day when you go to race, you don’t get a practice session beforehand to see where your balance is.
But all in all a great day. A lot of lessons learned, a lot of  laps in the car, a lot of running in the pack, so just a successful day.”

The final 6 hours of practice before qualifying starts at noon today.  Check back for updates as the day unfolds.

Lucille Dust reporting live from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway