The 95th Indianapolis 500 Starting Grid (Race Thread)

[ujoint]

Not sure were you are Jonerz. Here is a radio station that definitely has something to say about Indy everyday from 6Pm until 9PM EST. USA in May. local Indy station. Old WIBC, 1070am the Link: http://www.1070thefan.com/listen/ hope that helps.

[Jacques Rabbit]

It's rare that marketing terms summarize an entity with perfection, yet "the Greatest Spectacle in Racing" does exactly that. The amount of human drama in this race is unrivaled by any sporting event, let alone motor race.

Take Alex Tagliani and Sam Schmidt, longshots when the odds opened and among the favorites after week one. Two men who chose to devote their lives to motor racing when motor racing had given them so much adversity. They have survived the horrors of the worst accidents in this sport, physical and emotional, and now are in prime position to taste the glory. Through their unhidden emotions, they connect the fan to the sport, and take this event far beyond a field of 33 cars going around for 500 miles.

What about the hard-working, family-oriented Sarah Fisher Racing team? It's no surprise Ed Carpenter is thriving within an underdog organization. He's always dealt with detractors well, serving meals of oval track excellence on a regular basis. A true grassroots racer who can step right in to any car and make it quick, a female entrepreneur with a strong connection to the heritage of the sport, and a mutual commitment to doing things the right way makes for the perfect American feel-good story.

And that only covers two of the thirty-three in this fine field, overlooking Simona's fight to qualify, Kanaan's quest to put heartbreak in his rearview mirror, Castroneves' charge from deep as he looks for a momentum-swinging and record-setting fourth win, or one-offs like Wheldon or Rice seeking redemption after falling off the team owners' radars.

The 500 truly is the human race, as told by an auto race, and for 100 years, Indy's been one hell of a raconteur.

11 AM at Sunday means so much to me. It's going to be a great show!

[marcostraz]

How I said in onother topic, I think that will emerge the usual big names...but I think that Tagliani, Servia, Carpenter and Meira showed a good pace during practice that can make me optimistic about their race...I'm curious to see the race that Bell will make...he has always been very strong when he ran with uncompetitive car...now he starts fourth, who knows what he will able to do? At the opposite, I think that Rice and Wheldon will have little chance to stay in front...

[Tim Northcutt]

One thing to watch that may or may not have occured to anyone back here:

Tagliani is on the Pole, but right behind him on the inside of row two is his teammate, Townsend Bell.

Both have been very fast in clean air and in traffic this May.

Bell is in a perfect spot to work with Tagliani as a tandem from the start of the race.

Others may have to compete with "Team SSM" early on, and maybe for a lot of the race, provided they hit their race day setups correctly.

[Jonerz]

Fingers crossed their race day setups are good. Also, they need good pit stops, I trust Tags' crew to do it as they are full-timers, hopefully Bell's guys are on top of it this weekend.

Chris

[Tim Northcutt]

Carb Day practice ended about 2 hours ago.

Here are the speeds from today, which don't mean much, because it is 60(F) here now and will be near 90(F) for the high on Race Day...

1 9 Scott Dixon 225.474
2 77 Alex Tagliani 224.739
3 10 Dario Franchitti 224.658
4 14 Vitor Meira 224.480
5 98 Dan Wheldon 224.439
6 44 Buddy Rice 224.409
7 41 Ryan Hunter-Reay 223.930
8 82 Tony Kanaan 223.868
9 3 Helio Castroneves 223.861
10 43 John Andretti 223.852
11 4 JR Hildebrand 223.830
12 99 Townsend Bell 223.808
13 12 Will Power 223.780
14 38 Graham Rahal 223.422
15 6 Ryan Briscoe 223.373
16 67 Ed Carpenter 223.221
17 23 Paul Tracy 223.211
18 22 Justin Wilson 223.159
19 88 Jay Howard 223.041
20 7 Danica Patrick 222.829
21 19 Alex Lloyd 222.777
22 78 Simona de Silvestro 222.735
23 30 Bertrand Baguette 222.678
24 24 Ana Beatriz 222.600
25 06 James Hinchcliffe 222.434
26 83 Charlie Kimball 222.253
27 11 Davey Hamilton 222.168
28 2 Oriol Servia 222.165
29 26 Marco Andretti 221.826
30 36 Pippa Mann 220.891
31 07 Tomas Scheckter 220.480
32 59 EJ Viso 219.815
33 5 Takuma Sato 207.220

Sato had gearbox problems and did only 4 laps. Scheckter had a CV joint leak...better to find out today than on Race Day.

Dixon and Dario have been fast in both race and quals trim this May...will Chip drink milk three years in a row?

Two Foyt cars in the Top Ten...both cars have been "Quietly Quick" and in contention all month long...don't count out Meira as a Dark Horse...RHR must be thrilled to be in a quick car for the first time all month.

Buddy Rice is another of those "Quietly Quick" guys who has been under the radar as well. Panther has placed 2nd three straight years at Indy...Will the experienced former Indy 500 winner get them over the hump?

Sunday is going to be a great race.

Enjoy!

BTW...I thought about going to Carb Day, but when it was 52(F) and drizzling this morning, I decided to wait until the Race to get my speed fix...

Boy, do I love living in Indy in May!

[fieldodreams79]

^Nice to see Tags reinforcing his pole speeds. What are his chances on Sunday??

Wouldn't bet against Ganassi or Penske and I think Dario will take his 3rd, if he keeps it clean.

Would love for any "underdog" first time winner...

And 60 degrees and drizzly sound very pleasant compared to the 90 plus temps and no rain for 3 weeks I have been having.

[Paradise City]

I think Franchitti is a favourite but there will be plenty of tears as the Penske and Andretti cars try to burst through from their low starting spots.

The Tags and Bell combo should be interesting. They need the conditions to stay with them and I'm not sure that will happen during the entire duration. They'll hardly have the same endurance levels as Ganassi for example.

[Tim Northcutt]

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

^Nice to see Tags reinforcing his pole speeds. What are his chances on Sunday??

Wouldn't bet against Ganassi or Penske and I think Dario will take his 3rd, if he keeps it clean.

Would love for any "underdog" first time winner...

And 60 degrees and drizzly sound very pleasant compared to the 90 plus temps and no rain for 3 weeks I have been having.

I'll be in 90 temps at the Race..In an aluminum grandstand that, during cautions, empties so people can hit the head or whatever, and when it does it is like sitting in a skillet.

[Yannick]

The Fuzzy Zoeller sponsorship that used to be on the #20 of Scott Speed, a car that did not make it past Bump Day practice, has reportedly returned to Panther Racing where it graced Ed Carpenter's car last year. This year, it will be seen on the #44 of Buddy Rice.

Here's hoping that is a sign of more starts for Buddy in the #44 car this season.

[Tim Northcutt]

Originally Posted by Yannick

The Fuzzy Zoeller sponsorship that used to be on the #20 of Scott Speed, a car that did not make it past Bump Day practice, has reportedly returned to Panther Racing where it graced Ed Carpenter's car last year. This year, it will be seen on the #44 of Buddy Rice.

Here's hoping that is a sign of more starts for Buddy in the #44 car this season.

Buddy has been excellent this month...Keep an eye on him this Sunday.

[ujoint]

Originally Posted by Tim Northcutt

I'll be in 90 temps at the Race..In an aluminum grandstand that, during cautions, empties so people can hit the head or whatever, and when it does it is like sitting in a skillet.

Even the beer gets too hot.

[fieldodreams79]

I wouldn't mind seeing Buddy take his second. Hell, I'll take any American in victory lane this weekend.

Originally Posted by ujoint

Even the beer gets too hot.

Then your not drinking it fast enough.

[ujoint]

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

I wouldn't mind seeing Buddy take his second. Hell, I'll take any American in victory lane this weekend.



Then your not drinking it fast enough.

Usually I am, but, you have been there done that. It is a miracle that I am alive on race day at the track after partying straight thru the last 48 hours w no sleep. lol. Just sayin. You know that long walk from the stands to the nearest beer reload stands. Not makin a lot of sense here. Not supposed to on the day before THE RACE. lol. Just countin the minutes til "Back Home Again in Indiana". Lone bugler playing TAPs. Million balloons. Flyover. Babes, Babes, Babes. Oh yeah, the race. Who's in it this year?

Mike, dedicated indycar fan. ha ha ha

[FordCosworthPanoz]

Id really love to see Newman Haas (lifetime fan) and Servia take the win tomorrow but I dont see how anybody is going to beat the Target cars, even if they arent the fastest they always pull something out of their arse towards the end like Chicagoland last year.

[Tim Northcutt]

Originally Posted by ujoint

Usually I am, but, you have been there done that. It is a miracle that I am alive on race day at the track after partying straight thru the last 48 hours w no sleep. lol. Just sayin. You know that long walk from the stands to the nearest beer reload stands. Not makin a lot of sense here. Not supposed to on the day before THE RACE. lol. Just countin the minutes til "Back Home Again in Indiana". Lone bugler playing TAPs. Million balloons. Flyover. Babes, Babes, Babes. Oh yeah, the race. Who's in it this year?

Mike, dedicated indycar fan. ha ha ha

As a guy who has missed only 5 Indy 500s since my first in 1967 as an 8-year-old boy, I can echo every one of your sentiments, ujoint...But the 100th Anniversary celebration will be very special indeed.

[jondownunder]

Robin Miller reports a late compromise between drivers and the series will now see restarts take place between Turns 3 and 4.

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/artic...-file-debates/

[Jonerz]

So effectively we get faster single file restarts...

Well, I can't say for sure, we'll see how it works out. Hopefully there will be a lot of passing into turn three, and a lot of passes lined up for turn one.

Chris

[racer69]

Originally Posted by ujoint

Usually I am, but, you have been there done that. It is a miracle that I am alive on race day at the track after partying straight thru the last 48 hours w no sleep. lol. Just sayin. You know that long walk from the stands to the nearest beer reload stands. Not makin a lot of sense here. Not supposed to on the day before THE RACE. lol. Just countin the minutes til "Back Home Again in Indiana". Lone bugler playing TAPs. Million balloons. Flyover. Babes, Babes, Babes. Oh yeah, the race. Who's in it this year?

Mike, dedicated indycar fan. ha ha ha

Originally Posted by Tim Northcutt

As a guy who has missed only 5 Indy 500s since my first in 1967 as an 8-year-old boy, I can echo every one of your sentiments, ujoint...But the 100th Anniversary celebration will be very special indeed.

My first this year, and based on the experience, will be the first of very many!

Where are you guys sitting? I'm up in turn 4, will give me an interesting view of the 'çompromise' restarts

[marcus]

just hours to go , any update on what the weather is like ?

[ujoint]

i ain't there in person, but i got my official indy 500 100th anniversary coffee mug in my hand right now. made sure it came from the Official Indy gift shop at the track.
connected. locked and loaded waitin for all the ceremonies. Respect for our fallen soldiers and the living one who help make things possible in this world. thank you.

oh yeah, wearing my official signed Nigel Mansell hat (when he was an indycar driver).

MARCUS. weather for indy, clear and a million (pilot talk for real good), maybe 90 plus degrees.

[Andy77]

Don't forget to join 10 Tenth Chatroom

[bjohnsonsmith]

That was a ragged start. Dixon had a clear advantage.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

That was a ragged start. Dixon had a clear advantage.

In my excitement I posted on the wrong thread, .

[cds_uk]

That was bloody unreal!!!