Speedway Sightings

INDIANAPOLIS (May 16, 2014) — Ed Carpenter, in his own No. 20 Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka Chevrolet, laid down the quickest lap of the month, during a brief break in the rainy weather here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on “Fast Friday”.

Carpenter became the first driver since Scott Dixon in 2003 to top the 230 mph mark in Indianapolis 500 practice with his speed of 230.522 mile per hour and won the  $10,000. F.E. Harding Asphalt Corporation “Fast Friday” Lap of the Day Award.

For “Fast Friday” practice, IndyCar teams utilized the Verizon IndyCar Series’ mandated boost level increase from 130 kPa to 140 kPa.  They will continue with the higher boost levels throughout the 2-day weekend qualifications; Saturday, May 17 and Sunday, May 18.  The change in pressure adds an estimated 40-horsepower boost to the engines produced by Chevrolet (twin-turbocharged Chevy IndyCar V6) and Honda (twin turbo-charged Honda HI14TT).  Boost levels will return to 130 kPa for final practice on Coors Light Carb Day on Friday, May 23 and the 500-mile race on Sunday, May 25.

Carpenter addressed the increase in boost by saying: “You can definitely feel the speed difference with the added horsepower now.  They never give us the horsepower numbers.  It’s a graph to show what they have added for qualifying trim. It is fun when you are going fast.”

Four different teams were represented in the top five, seven entries posted a lap speed above 229 mph, and 10 more bettered the month’s previous best of 227.166 mph set a day earlier by three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves in the No. 3 Pennzoil Ultra Platinum Team Penske Chevrolet.

Castroneves was second fast (229.843 mph) in the session. Marco Andretti was third (229.419) in the No. 25 Snapple Honda for Andretti Autosport, while Carpenter’s teammate, JR Hildebrand, was fourth (229.384) in the No. 21 Preferred Freezer Services Chevrolet and Josef Newgarden of Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing was fifth (229.276).

On the day, the 19 minute-long session, was all the practice the teams could get in because of the cold, windy and rainy conditions throughout the afternoon.

Rank	Car	Driver Name	C/E/T	Time	Speed	Diff	Gap	Best Lap	Total Laps
1	20	Carpenter,Ed	D/C/F	00:39.0418	230.522	–.—-	–.—-	5	8
2	3	Castroneves,Helio	D/C/F	00:39.1571	229.843	0.1153	0.1153	7	9
3	25	Andretti,Marco	D/H/F	00:39.2296	229.419	0.1878	0.0725	3	4
4	21	Hildebrand,JR	D/C/F	00:39.2355	229.384	0.1937	0.0059	4	8
5	67	Newgarden,Josef	D/H/F	00:39.2540	229.276	0.2122	0.0185	5	6
6	2	Montoya,Juan	D/C/F	00:39.2662	229.205	0.2244	0.0122	3	7
7	9	Dixon,Scott	D/C/F	00:39.2907	229.062	0.2489	0.0245	8	11
8	28	Hunter-Reay,Ryan	D/H/F	00:39.3695	228.603	0.3277	0.0788	3	7
9	77	Pagenaud,Simon	D/H/F	00:39.3798	228.544	0.3380	0.0103	2	8
10	98	Hawksworth,Jack (R)	D/H/F	00:39.4432	228.176	0.4014	0.0634	4	6

 

The first round of qualifications will take place Saturday from 11 a.m.-5:50 p.m. (ET), with the 33 starting positions, including the Verizon P1 Award, determined May 18

Qualifying gets underway Saturday at 11 a.m. and runs until 5:50 p.m. for spots in the 33-driver field. On Sunday, the pole position and the entire field will be determined including the electrifying “Fast Nine Shootout” from 1-3 p.m.  Carpenter captured the 2013 pole in a late run in the Fast Nine Shootout.

Saturday qualifying format is as follows:

* All entries are guaranteed one attempt to qualify between 11 a.m. and 5:50 p.m.

* Fastest 33 cars make up the provisional field for the 98th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race based on the fastest four-lap average time.

* All 33 cars must re-qualify on Sunday to determine final starting positions.

* The fastest nine cars advance to a shootout on Sunday to determine the Verizon P1 Award.

Complete Indy 500 Practice Timesheet … Click Here 

Photos Courtesy of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway & Indycar