Indy 500 Qualifying and Practice Updates

Yesterday was the first day that the majority of the Indy 500 competitors actually ran the track. Speedvision reported these times...


1) Greg Ray, No. 2 Johns Manville/Menards Dallara/Aurora, 40.3630sec/222.976mph
2) Arie Luyendyk, No. 5 Meijer GForce/Aurora, 40.6615/221.340
3) Greg Ray, No. 22 Johns Manville/Menards Dallara/Aurora, 40.7000/221.130
4) Eliseo Salazar, No. 14 Harrah’s/A.J. Foyt Racing Dallara/Aurora, 40.7915/220.634
5) Scott Sharp, No. 8 Delphi Automotive Systems Dallara/Aurora, 40.8459/220.340
6) Eddie Cheever Jr., No. 51 Excite@Home Dallara/Infiniti, 40.9022/220.037
7) Robby Gordon, No. 41 Conseco/A.J. Foyt Racing Dallara/Aurora, 40.9038/220.028
8) Billy Boat, No. 98 CURB Records/Beck Dallara/Aurora, 40.9102/219.994
9) Robbie Buhl, No. 24 Team Purex GForce/Infiniti, 40.9797/219.621
10) Jimmy Vasser, No. 44 Target GForce/Aurora, 41.0245/219.381
11) Sam Hornish Jr., No. 4 Pennzoil Panther Dallara/Aurora, 41.0612/219.185
12) Buddy Lazier, No. 91 Tae-Bo/Coors Light Dallara/Aurora, 41.0805/219.082
13) Gil de Ferran, No. 66 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Aurora, 41.1221/218.860
14) Buzz Calkins, No. 12 Bradley Food Marts Dallara/Aurora, 41.1417/218.756
15) Helio Castroneves, No. 68 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Aurora, 41.1817/218.544
16) Mark Dismore, No. 28 Bryant Heating & Cooling Dallara/Aurora, 41.1916/218.491
17) Al Unser Jr., No. 3 Starz Super Pak/Galles GForce/Aurora, 41.2450/218.208
18) Sarah Fisher, No. 15 Walker Racing/Kroger Dallara/Aurora, 41.3426/217.693
19) Michael Andretti, No. 39 Motorola/Archipelago Dallara/Aurora, 41.3534/217.636
20) Jeff Ward, No. 35 Heritage Motorsports/Firestone GForce/Aurora, 41.3652/217.574
21) Felipe Giaffone, No. 21 Hollywood GForce/Aurora, 41.4093/217.342
22) Jaques Lazier, No. 77 Jonathan Byrd’s Cafeteria GForce/Aurora, 41.4641/217.055
23) Jim Guthrie, No. 27 Blueprint Racing Special GForce/Aurora, 41.7321/215.661
24) Jon Herb, No. 6 Tri-Star Motorsports Dallara/Aurora, 41.7521/215.558
25) Tony Stewart, No. 33 Chip Ganassi Racing GForce/Aurora, 41.7684/215.474
26) Casey Mears, No. 31 SportsLine.com/Galles GForce/Aurora, 41.7863/215.382
27) Stan Wattles, No. 92 Hemelgarn Racing Dallara/Aurora, 41.8883/214.857
28) Shigeaki Hattori, No. 55 EPSON Dallara/Aurora, 41.8976/214.809
29) Airton Dare, No. 88 1-800-BAR NONE GForce/Aurora, 41.9376/214.605
30) Scott Goodyear, No. 52 Cheever Indy Racing Dallara/Infiniti, 42.3926/212.301
31) Didier Andre, No. 32 Galles Racing GForce/Aurora, 42.4762/211.883
32) Stephan Gregoire, No. 7 Yellow/Tokheim/Nasa Guides Dallara/Aurora, 42.5045/211.742
33) Cory Witherill, No. 16 WSA Healthcare GForce/Aurora, 42.9161/209.712


Some drivers of note:

Greg Ray contiues to be fastest and will most likely take the pole. He will most likely not finish, but he will most likely be on pole. Arie Luyendyck dusted off his helmet and gloves and went second fastest. Robby Gordon went 7th fastest and apparently there was no blood spilled between him and A.J. Foyt. Jimmy Vasser went 10th fastest. Gil deFerran and Helio Castroneves went 13th and 15th fastest respectively for Penske Motorsports. Michael Andretti went 19th fastest in his KOOL Green/Panther Racing machine. Tony Stewart went 25th fastest of the 33 cars that tested. This is only the first full day and will very likely change for most of the competitors.

Day Two of testing and tuning.

Speedcvision supplied the times and results.

1) Mark Dismore, No. 28 Bryant Heating & Cooling Dallara/Aurora, 40.0315sec/224.823mph
2) Arie Luyendyk, No. 5 Meijer GForce/Aurora, 40.1810/223.986
3) Jeff Ward, No. 35 Heritage Motorsports/Firestone GForce/Aurora, 40.2295/223.716
4) Buddy Lazier, No. 91 Tae-Bo/Coors Light Dallara/Aurora, 40.3019/223.315
5) Eddie Cheever Jr., No. 51 Excite@Home Dallara/Infiniti, 40.3323/223.146
6) Helio Castroneves, No. 68 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Aurora, 40.3592/222.997
7) Jimmy Vasser, No. 44 Target GForce/Aurora, 40.4337/222.587
8) Greg Ray, No. 2 Johns Manville/Menards Dallara/Aurora, 40.4554/222.467
9) Eliseo Salazar, No. 14 Harrah’s/A.J. Foyt Racing Dallara/Aurora, 40.5103/222.166
10) Scott Goodyear, No. 52 Cheever Indy Racing Dallara/Infiniti, 40.5164/222.132
11) Tony Stewart, No. 33 Target GForce/Aurora, 40.5753/221.810
12) Greg Ray, No. 22 Johns Manville/Menards Dallara/Aurora, 40.5957/221.698
13) Jaques Lazier, No. 77 Jonathan Byrd’s Cafeteria GForce/Aurora, 40.6708/221.289
14) Robby Gordon, No. 41 Conseco/A.J. Foyt Racing Dallara/Aurora, 40.6835/221.220
15) Scott Sharp, No. 8 Delphi Automotive Systems Dallara/Aurora, 40.7087/221.083
16) Al Unser Jr., No. 3 Starz Super Pak/Galles GForce/Aurora, 40.7922/220.630
17) Buzz Calkins, No. 12 Bradley Food Marts Dallara/Aurora, 40.8195/220.483
18) Sarah Fisher, No. 15 Walker Racing/Kroger Dallara/Aurora, 40.8323/220.414
19) Sam Hornish Jr., No. 4 Pennzoil Panther Dallara/Aurora, 40.8655/220.235
20) Tyce Carlson, No. 60 Tri-Star Motorsports Dallara/Aurora, 40.8898/220.104
21) Gil de Ferran, No. 66 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Aurora, 40.9381/219.844
22) Billy Boat, No. 98 CURB Records/Beck Dallara/Aurora, 40.9565/219.745
23) Casey Mears, No. 31 SportsLine.com/Galles GForce/Aurora, 40.9591/219.731
24) Michael Andretti, No. 39 Motorola/Archipelago Dallara/Aurora, 40.9602/219.725
25) Felipe Giaffone, No. 21 Hollywood GForce/Aurora, 41.0347/219.327
26) Davey Hamilton, No. 99 Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara/Aurora, 41.0711/219.132
27) Didier Andre, No. 32 Galles Racing GForce/Aurora, 41.1126/218.911
28) Jon Herb, No. 6 Tri-Star Motorsports Dallara/Aurora, 41.2028/218.432
29) Jim Guthrie, No. 27 Blueprint Racing Special GForce/Aurora, 41.2097/218.395
30) Airton Dare, No. 88 1-800-BAR NONE GForce/Aurora, 41.3434/217.689
31) Stan Wattles, No. 92 Hemelgarn Racing Dallara/Aurora, 41.6032/216.330
32) Shigeaki Hattori, No. 55 EPSON Dallara/Aurora, 41.9880/214.347
33) Brandon Erwin, No. 30 WorldsBestBuy GForce/Aurora, 42.0884/213.836
34) Cory Witherill, No. 16 WSA Healthcare GForce/Aurora, 42.1546/213.500
35) Stephan Gregoire, No. 7 Yellow/Tokheim/Nasa Guides Dallara/Aurora, 42.6056/211.240
36) Memo Gidley, No. 61 Team Cure Autism Now Dallara/Aurora, 43.5514/206.652

Arie Luyendyck remains quick after two days. helio castroneves vaulted upwards and was the fastets if the CART regulars with Vasser a close second.

Practise Times 5/9/01
c=chassis e=engine T=tires

Rank No Driver C/E/T Best Time Best Speed Best Lap Total Laps
1 8 Sharp, Scott D/O/F 39.7988 226.137 51 52
2 33 Stewart, Tony G/O/F 39.9993 225.004 63 63
3 2T Ray, Greg D/O/F 40.2058 223.848 6 7
4 5 Luyendyk, Arie G/O/F 40.2686 223.499 34 36
5 77 Lazier, Jaques G/O/F 40.3027 223.310 53 54
6 41 Gordon, Robby D/O/F 40.3529 223.032 37 39
7 44T Vasser, Jimmy G/O/F 40.3756 222.907 35 42
8 68 Castroneves, Helio D/O/F 40.4446 222.527 39 47
9 66T de Ferran, Gil D/O/F 40.4912 222.271 70 70
10 21 Giaffone, Felipe G/O/F 40.5305 222.055 74 75
11 51T Cheever Jr, Eddie D/I/F 40.5626 221.879 16 18
12 14 Salazar, Eliseo D/O/F 40.5653 221.864 6 42
13 52 Goodyear, Scott D/I/F 40.5704 221.837 50 51
14 91 Lazier, Buddy D/O/F 40.5882 221.739 16 48
15 39 Andretti, Michael D/O/F 40.6012 221.668 89 90
16 28T Dismore, Mark D/O/F 40.6107 221.616 9 22
17 98 Boat, Billy D/O/F 40.6517 221.393 29 54
18 24T Buhl, Robbie G/I/F 40.6568 221.365 31 44
19 15T Fisher, Sarah D/O/F 40.7343 220.944 75 76
20 9 Schroeder, Jeret D/O/F 40.7506 220.856 50 51
21 12T Calkins, Buzz D/O/F 40.7890 220.648 16 27
22 51 Cheever Jr, Eddie D/I/F 40.7981 220.599 28 37
23 4 Hornish Jr, Sam D/O/F 40.9087 220.002 14 70
24 27 Guthrie, Jim G/O/F 40.9527 219.766 28 50
25 99T Hamilton, Davey D/O/F 40.9728 219.658 47 49
26 92 Wattles, Stan D/O/F 40.9951 219.538 60 64
27 6 Herb, Jon D/O/F 41.0670 219.154 43 47
28 60 Carlson, Tyce D/O/F 41.1762 218.573 23 31
29 68T Castroneves, Helio D/O/F 41.1878 218.511 29 36
30 88T Dare, Airton G/O/F 41.2170 218.357 16 27
31 55T Hattori, Shigeaki D/O/F 41.2909 217.966 68 69
32 28 Dismore, Mark D/O/F 41.3436 217.688 4 19
33 16 Witherill, Cory G/O/F 41.7454 215.593 41 58
34 10 McGehee, Robbie D/O/F 41.9481 214.551 20 22
35 30 Erwin, Brandon G/O/F 41.9518 214.532 27 35
36 3 Unser Jr, Al G/O/F 41.9873 214.351 10 22
37 7 Gregoire, Stephan D/O/F 42.0004 214.284 24 33
38 61 Gidley, Memo D/O/F 42.4847 211.841 23 36

The fast guys are becoming prevalent at the front. Scott Sharp was the first driver to average 226 mph since the CART/IRL split. Tony Stewart has moved forwards by quite a bit. Greg Ray and Arie Luyendyck remain quick at the front as well. The CART regulars are rapidly becoming fixtures near the front and Michael Andretti has moved from the back to 15th.

As pole day is near, the teasm and drivers are starting to settle in to the unique rhythm of the square oval and the speeds have dopped off a little as the they seek a fast but efficient lap time. These times are from Speedvision....

1) Greg Ray, No. 2 Johns Manville/Menards Dallara/Aurora, 40.0815sec/224.542mph
2) Gil de Ferran, No. 66 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Aurora, 40.2542/223.579
3) Jeff Ward, No. 35 Heritage Motorsports/Firestone GForce/Aurora, 40.2808/223.432
4) Tony Stewart, No. 33 Target GForce/Aurora, 40.3247/223.188
5) Arie Luyendyk, No. 5 Meijer GForce/Aurora, 40.3571/223.009
6) Michael Andretti, No. 39 Motorola/Archipelago Dallara/Aurora, 40.3720/222.927
7) Eddie Cheever Jr., No. 51 Excite@Home Dallara/Infiniti, 40.5367/222.021
8) Helio Castroneves, No. 68 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Aurora, 40.5413/221.996
9) Jimmy Vasser, No. 44 Target GForce/Aurora, 40.5428/221.988
10) Eliseo Salazar, No. 14 Harrah’s/A.J. Foyt Racing Dallara/Aurora, 40.5456/221.972
11) Robby Gordon, No. 41 Conseco/A.J. Foyt Racing Dallara/Aurora, 40.5819/221.774
12) Jaques Lazier, No. 77 Jonathan Byrd’s Cafeteria GForce/Aurora, 40.6508/221.398
13) Robbie Buhl, No. 24 Team Purex GForce/Infiniti, 40.6990/221.136
14) Buddy Lazier, No. 93 Hemelgarn Racing Dallara/Aurora, 40.7556/220.829
15) Robby McGehee, No. 10 Cahill Racing Dallara/Aurora, 40.7884/220.651
16) Scott Goodyear, No. 52 Cheever Indy Racing Dallara/Infiniti, 40.8311/220.420
17) Buzz Calkins, No. 12 Bradley Food Marts Dallara/Aurora, 40.8410/220.367
18) Felipe Giaffone, No. 21 Hollywood GForce/Aurora, 40.8474/220.332
19) Sarah Fisher, No. 15 Walker Racing/Kroger Dallara/Aurora, 40.8539/220.297
20) Al Unser Jr., No. 3 Starz Super Pak/Galles GForce/Aurora, 40.9059/220.017
21) Didier Andre, No. 32 Galles Racing GForce/Aurora, 41.0095/219.461
22) Airton Dare, No. 88 1-800-BAR NONE GForce/Aurora, 41.1241/218.850
23) Davey Hamilton, No. 99 Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara/Aurora, 41.1880/218.510
24) Sam Hornish Jr., No. 4 Pennzoil Panther Dallara/Aurora, 41.2257/218.310
25) Jeret Schroeder, No. 9 Purity Products/PDM Racing Dallara/Aurora, 41.2424/218.222
26) Buddy Lazier, No. 91 Tae-Bo/Coors Light Dallara/Aurora, 41.3257/217.782
27) Shigeaki Hattori, No. 55 EPSON Dallara/Aurora, 41.3413/217.700
28) Billy Boat, No. 98 CURB Records/Beck Dallara/Aurora, 41.3722/217.537
29) Memo Gidley, No. 61 Team Cure Autism Now Dallara/Aurora, 41.5767/216.467
30) Cory Witherill, No. 16 WSA Healthcare GForce/Aurora, 41.6801/215.930
31) Stan Wattles, No. 92 Hemelgarn Racing Dallara/Aurora, 41.8835/214.882
32) Brandon Erwin, No. 30 WorldsBestBuy GForce/Aurora, 41.8897/214.850
33) Jim Guthrie, No. 27 Blueprint Racing Special GForce/Aurora, 42.2338/213.099
34) Tyce Carlson, No. 60 Tri-Star Motorsports Dallara/Aurora, 42.4731/211.899
35) Stephan Gregoire, No. 7 Yellow/Tokheim/Nasa Guides Dallara/Aurora, 43.9317/204.863

I see our Champ Car boys are holding their own (FORZA GIL!) in the mix and hope it continues. Thanks for the update, KC.

thanks, kc.
but i'm not looking really. not since cheep went and did the dirty on nicolas and bruno.
may his next sh*t be a hadgehog.

but yes, forca gil and helio. but va lentamente michael... (hope i just didn;t invent a word there)

yeah.....greg ray on pole.

recalls just a year ago when mr ray tried to race with jpm and got dusted.

indy 500 r.i.p.

Greg Ray is one of those guys who can rip off some spectacular laps but frequently does not finish. My prediction is that he will be on pole but not make it to half distance.

Why not just check out the www.indyracing site for live information ... we are updating timing and scoring info now..

The qualifying so far....

Four-lap average speeds for Indianapolis 500 qualifying:

1) Scott Sharp, No. 8 Delphi Automotive Systems Dallara/Aurora, 226.037mph
2) Greg Ray, No. 2 Johns Manville/Menards Dallara/Aurora, 225.194
3) Robby Gordon, No. 41 Conseco/A.J. Foyt Racing Dallara/Aurora, 224.994
4) Mark Dismore, No. 28 Bryant Heating & Cooling Dallara/Aurora, 224.964
5) Gil de Ferran, No. 66 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Aurora, 224.406
6) Arie Luyendyk, No. 5 Meijer GForce/Aurora, 224.257
7) Tony Stewart, No. 33 Target GForce/Aurora, 224.248
8) Jeff Ward, No. 35 Heritage Motorsports/Firestone GForce/Aurora, 224.222
9) Robbie Buhl, No. 24 Team Purex GForce/Infiniti, 224.213
10) Buddy Lazier, No. 91 Tae-Bo/Coors Light Dallara/Aurora, 224.190
11) Helio Castroneves, No. 68 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Aurora, 224.142
12) Jimmy Vasser, No. 44 Target GForce/Aurora, 223.455
13) Sam Hornish Jr., No. 4 Pennzoil Panther Dallara/Aurora, 223.333
14) Robby McGehee, No. 10 Cahill Racing Dallara/Aurora, 222.607
15) Sarah Fisher, No. 15 Walker Racing/Kroger Dallara/Aurora, 222.548
16) Scott Goodyear, No. 52 Cheever Indy Racing Dallara/Infiniti, 222.529
17) Jaques Lazier, No. 77 Jonathan Byrd’s Cafeteria GForce/Aurora, 222.145
18) Jon Herb, No. 6 Tri-Star Motorsports Dallara/Aurora, 222.015
19) Al Unser Jr., No. 3 Starz Super Pak/Galles GForce/Aurora, 221.615
20) Felipe Giaffone, No. 21 Hollywood GForce/Aurora, 221.100
21) Shigeaki Hattori, No. 55 EPSON Dallara/Aurora, 221.098
22) Didier Andre, No. 32 Galles Racing GForce/Aurora, 220.985
23) Airton Dare, No. 88 1-800-BAR NONE GForce/Aurora, 220.966
24) Roberto Guerrero, No. 7 Yellow/Tokheim/Nasa Guides Dallara/Aurora, 220.054
25) Bruno Junqueira, No. 44T Target GForce/Aurora, 224.208
26) Michael Andretti, No. 39 Motorola/Archipelago Dallara/Aurora, 223.441
27) Nicolas Minassian, No. 33T Target GForce/Aurora, 223.006
28) Jeret Schroeder, No. 9T Purity Products Summit Packaging Dallara/Aurora, 222.786
29) Buzz Calkins, No. 12 Bradley Food Marts Dallara/Aurora, 222.467
30) Eddie Cheever Jr., No. 51 Excite@Home Dallara/Infiniti, 222.152
31) Davey Hamilton, No. 99T Sam Schmidt Motorsports Racing Special Dallara/Aurora, 221.696
32) Tyce Carlson, No. 60 Tri Star Motorsports

Why are the late arrivals behind slower cars? This seems a trifle unfair to me.

Just another of the Brand X Racing League's silly rules.

Seems to me that it would be dangerous to have faster cars behind the slower ones. But then, maybe the Brand X Racing League thought "Driven" was a documentary.

Just one of the many Indy traditions still maintained.The 2nd and subsequent days quailifiers go behind.Also spare cars have to be entered for the race.I never can work out how many separate car /driver teams actually prectice.

Is anyone able to explain the rules for us in English please, because I don't understand Autosport's 'simple explanation'

The first day of qualifying, there are a set number of positions to be filled. Every team has the same shot on that day to go for the pole. You can run as many times as you like, but your previous time will be thrown out if you atempt to make another qualifying pass. A qualifying run is the average speed over 4 laps of the car.

No matter how fast a driver is, or how good conditions are, the following qualifying days are only to fill the rest of the grid. The pole has already been set and will not change. A driver can and regularly do qualify multiple cars for the owner. Should a driver crash his car during last day practice and it is not able to be repaired, he can get into the other chassis that was qualified. Also, since the car is qualified, the team owner can place another driver in that car as well.

The track is long and difficult to set up for that even a 5 degree change in temperature can result in a 3 mph change in speed. A slight breeze can cost a driver the pole, a cloud overhead can cool the track surface enough to gain a pole position, that is why we see drivers waiting until the last minutes to go out and claima spot in the field.

Thanks, I understand now (I think)

whaaaaaaat? i never noticed that before! *shiggy* is ahead of the boy minassian (and bruno).
oh no! can't call *him* any more!

erm, as you were...

So if a car is qualified at 10th place, for example - any pilot the owner puts in that car starts 10th?

You often see owners qualify their car simply to sell it off to a team that didn't make the cut. Remember the dilema Penske had in 95 when they failed to qualify?

Right. It's the CAR that qualifies, not the driver. It gets weirder too. There was actually a driver way back that led the race in the car he qualified, blew the engine, took over a different car during a pit stop & led in that car as well becoming the first driver to lead the same race in 2 seperate vehicles. I don't believe he won however. This makes for an interesting stragegy possibility for Ganassi. Maybe he could shuffle the drivers amongst the cars at the start of the race so nobody would know just who the heck is in which car!

Actually, if a driver that starts the car is not the same driver that qualified it, he must start in last place. Mario had someone else qualify his car and started last at Indy a few times when he was running F1 full time in the late 70's and early 80's.

Didn't Danny Ongais get drafted into Scott Brayton's seat after his unfortunate passing, and had to start on last position?

That's correct, merely being flip. Otherwise the door would be open for a whole sub-set like a wealthy team running a qualifying driver & a seperate race driver. What a farce that would be.

I'm pretty sure I understand now, but the question remains: WHY?

I guess its that way now because it was that way for a long time. How they came up with it probably lost in history now. I would imagine the emphasis on the car comes from the fact that when it all began it was all about the the car and not the driver. Then after we started to see real characters and daredevils of the day as racing drivers, it started to be more about the dirver and less about the car.

Thanx KC I really appreciate having this info so handy.