The 92nd Indianapolis 500 Thread.............

[mlittle]

After watching the past couple days' worth of practice, here is my pick for who will be on point for the 92nd Indy 500............when the six o'clock gun sounds to end Pole Day Qualifying, Target/Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon will secure the pole. As for my dark horse pick, should any of the Big 3 Teams(Penske, Ganassi or AGR) fail to secure the pole, Panther Racing's Vitor Meira has the best shot of anyone outside the Big 3.

[mlittle]

After watching the past couple days' worth of practice, here is my pick for who will be on point for the 92nd Indy 500............when the six o'clock gun sounds to end Pole Day Qualifying, Target/Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon will secure the pole. As for my dark horse pick, should any of the Big 3 Teams(Penske, Ganassi or AGR) fail to secure the pole, Panther Racing's Vitor Meira has the best shot of anyone outside the Big 3.

Ya' know, I hate to brag..............but for once I finally got a pick RIGHT!!!!! At the end of a very hectic PEAK Pole Day at "the World's Greatest Racecourse", it was the Iceman, Scott Dixon, who captured the pole for the 92nd running of "the Greatest Spectacle in Racing".

[mlittle]

Pole Day Chronology, part 1..................


~~12:04 pm, Ryan Briscoe(#6 Team Penske), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 224.850 mph
Lap 2, 224.896 mph
Lap 3, 224.843 mph
Lap 4, 224.741 mph
4-Lap Average, 224.833 mph

~~12:09 pm, Mario Moraes(#19 Sonny's Real Pit BBQ), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 220.469 mph
Lap 2, 220.447 mph
Lap 3, 219.890 mph
Lap 4, 219.028 mph
4-Lap Average, 219.957 mph

~~12:13 pm, Marco Andretti(#26 Indiana Jones/Blockbuster), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 224.504 mph
Lap 2, 224.253 mph
Lap 3, 224.085 mph
Lap 4, 223.807 mph
4-Lap Average, 224.162 mph

~~12:17 pm, Scott Dixon(#9 Target), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 225.182 mph
Lap 2, 225.169 mph
Lap 3, 225.166 mph
Lap 4, 225.194 mph
4-Lap Average, 225.162 mph
**--Dixon knocks Briscoe from the pole
note..although Dixon's 1st attempt was later withdrawn during the session, his 4-lap average on his 1st attempt set a new record for qualifying consistency(his fastest & slowest laps were separated by 0.049 sec.; the previous record was set in 1992 by Bobby Rahal at 0.06 sec.)

~~12:21 pm, Graham Rahal(#06 Hole in the Wall Camps), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 223.540 mph
Lap 2, 223.417 mph
Lap 3, 223.286 mph
Lap 4, 223.178 mph
4-Lap Average, 223.355 mph

~~12:25 pm, Hideki Mutoh(#27 Formula Dream), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 223.902 mph
Lap 2, 223.828 mph
Lap 3, 223.475 mph
Lap 4, 223.399 mph
4-Lap Average, 223.653 mph

~~12:30 pm, Ryan Hunter-Reay(#17 Ethanol), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 223.485 mph
Lap 2, 223.530 mph
Lap 3, 223.137 mph
Lap 4, 223.262 mph
4-Lap Average, 223.102 mph

~~12:35, Danica Patrick(#7 Motorola), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 225.357 mph
Lap 2, 225.255 mph
Lap 3, 225.050 mph
Lap 4, 225.126 mph
4-Lap Average, 225.197 mph
**--Patrick knocks Dixon from the pole

~~12:39 pm, Darren Manning(#14 ABC Supply Co.), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 222.954 mph
Lap 2.......waved off; Manning has 2 attempts remaining during the session

~~12:41 pm, Oriol Servia(#5 Plantronics), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 222.853 mph
Lap 2, 222.573 mph
Lap 3, 222.593 mph
Lap 4, 222.396 mph
4-lap Average, 222.604 mph

~~12:45 pm, A.J. Foyt IV(#2 Joost/Indy Vision), 1st attempt
Lap 1.......spun between turns 3 and 4 during second warm-up lap; Foyt has 2 attempts remaining during the session

~~12:50 pm, Vitor Meira(#4 National Guard/Delphi), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 224.405 mph
Lap 2, 224.293 mph
Lap 3, 224.339 mph
Lap 4, 224.348 mph
4-Lap Average, 224.346 mph

~~12:55 pm, Davey Hamilton(#22 HP Computers), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 223.501 mph
Lap 2, 223.486 mph
Lap 3, 223.227 mph
Lap 4, 222.935 mph
4-lap Average, 223.287 mph

~~1:00 pm, Will Power(#8 Aussie Vineyards), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 222.750 mph
Lap 2, 222.636 mph
Lap 3, 222.417 mph
Lap 4, 222.198 mph
4-Lap Average, 222.500 mph
**--Power bumps Moraes from field

~~1:05 pm, Bruno Junquiera(#18 Z-Line Designs), 1st attempts
Lap 1.........spun in turn 1; Junquiera has 2 attempts remaining during the session

~~1:09 pm, Dan Wheldon(#10 Target), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 226.140 mph
Lap 2, 225.923 mph
Lap 3, 225.702 mph
Lap 4, 225.594 mph
4-Lap Average, 225.840 mph
**--Wheldon knocks Patrick from the pole; Wheldon bumps Power from field

~~1:14 pm, Tomas Scheckter(#12 Symantec 360), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 223.909 mph
Lap 2, 223.775 mph
Lap 3, 223.709 mph
Lap 4, 223.725 mph
4-Lap Average, 223.779 mph
**--Scheckter bumps Servia from field

~~1:19 pm, Tony Kanaan(#11 Team 7-11), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 225.322 mph
Lap 2, 224.501 mph
Lap 3, 224.724 mph
Lap 4, 224.733 mph
4-Lap Average, 224.794 mph
**--Kanaan bumps Hunter-Reay from field

~~1:22 pm, Townsend Bell(#99 WilliamRast), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 222.827 mph
Lap 2, 222.671 mph
Lap 3, 222.256 mph
Lap 4, 221.834 mph

~~1:27 pm, Ed Carpenter(#20 Menards/Johns Manville), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 223.893 mph
Lap 2, 223.748 mph
Lap 3, 223.753 mph
Lap 4, 223.948 mph
4-Lap Average, 223.835 mph
**--Carpenter bumps Hamilton from field

[mlittle]

Pole Day Chronology, part 2........................


~~1:31 pm, Justin Wilson(#02 McDonald's), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 222.889 mph
Lap 2, 222.791 mph
Lap 3, 222.722 mph
Lap 4, 222.732 mph
4-Lap Average, 222.783 mph

~~Track officials opened the track for practice at 1:50
~~Buddy Rice(#15 A1 Team USA) reels off 3 consecutive laps at 223+ mph
~~Yellow for debris on track at 2:16 pm
~~Track returns to green for practice
~~2:40 pm, the #27 Formula Dream entry driven by Hideki Mutoh fails post-qualifying tech inspection; his time from his 1st attempt earlier in the day is disallowed; Mutoh still has 2 attempts remaining during the session
~~2:55 pm, track goes yellow for inspection prior to a qualifying attempt


~~3:00 pm, Helio Castroneves(#3 Team Penske), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 225.785 mph
Lap 2, 225.874 mph
Lap 3, 225.635 mph
Lap 4, 225.638 mph
4-Lap Average, 225.733 mph
**---Castroneves bumps Hamilton from field
note....when Mutoh's 1st attempt was disallowed, it returned Hamilton's 1st attempt speed back into 11th on the provisional grid

~~Track officials opened the track for practice at 3:13 pm
~~Course goes yellow at 3:31 for track inspection prior to qualifying attempt


~~3:34 pm, Ryan Briscoe(#6 Team Penske), 2nd attempt
Lap 1, 226.350 mph
Lap 2, 226.077 mph
Lap 3, 225.972 mph
Lap 4, 225.921 mph
4-Lap Average, 226.080 mph
**---Briscoe knocks Wheldon from the pole

~~3:39 pm, Scott Dixon(#9 Target), 2nd attempt
Lap 1, 226.598 mph
Lap 2, 226.505 mph
Lap 3, 226.303 mph
Lap 4, 226.058 mph
4-Lap Average, 226.366 mph
**---Dixon knocks Briscoe from the pole


~~Track officials open the track for practice at 3:41 pm
~~Course goes yellow at 4:30 pm for track inspection prior to qualifying attempt


~~4:34 pm, Marco Andretti(#26 Indiana Jones/Blockbuster), 2nd attempt
Lap 1, 224.587 mph
Lap 2, 224.263 mph
Lap 3, 224.619 mph
Lap 4, 224.600 mph
4-Lap Average, 224.417 mph

~~Between 4:38 pm to the 6 pm starter's gun, several drivers made attempts to re-enter the provisional grid or improved their position on the provisional grid
--Will Power, waved off 2nd attempt during lap 3
--Graham Rahal, waved off 2nd attempt during lap 4
--Hideki Mutoh, re-entered provisional grid w/4-lap average of 223.887 mph
--Tomas Scheckter re-entered provisional grid w/4-lap average of 223.496 mph(team withdrew 1st attempt)
--Ryan Hunter-Reay, crashed in turn 3, 2nd lap

[mlittle]

Update from the Brickyard..................

Once again, it is raining; track and series officials are hoping to get some qualifying and practice time in today..........

[mlittle]

TracksideOnline is reporting that on-track activities have been cacelled for the day; series officials were hoping for about a 3-hour window today, but weather reports indicate that more rain is indeed headed to the Brickyard......

The long and the short.......for the 11 qualified into the grid, another day to work on raceday setup(full-fuel runs, raceday setups, etc.) while the rest of the teams will still continue on qualifying runs(low-fuel runs, low downforce settings on the car, etc).....it should be an interesting week at the Brickyard.

[mlittle]

Practice Session #5 top-10.............................
1} Marco Andretti, #26 Indiana Jones/Blockbuster, 39.419 sec/228.318 mph*
2} Dan Wheldon, #10 Target, 39.609 sec/227.223 mph*
3} Ryan Briscoe, #6 Team Penske, 39.619 sec/227.055 mph*
4} Scott Dixon, #9 Target, 39.638 sec/227.055 mph*
5} Tomas Scheckter, #12 Symantec 360, 39.645 sec/227.015 mph*
6} Danica Patrick, #7 Motorola, 39.697 sec/226.717 mph*
t-7}[7]Helio Castroneves, #3 Team Penske, 39.739 sec/226.476 mph*
t-7}[8]Tony Kanaan, #11 Team 7-11, 39.739 sec/226.476 mph*
9} Hideki Mutoh, #27 Formula Dream, 39.809 sec/226.081 mph*
10} Vitor Meira, #4 National Guard/Delphi, 39.932 sec/225.383 mph*
*--currently on provisional grid


Combined Practice Top-10...........................
1} Marco Andretti, #26 Indiana Jones/Blockbuster, 39.419 sec/228.318 mph(5)
2} Dan Wheldon, #10 Target, 39.609 sec/227.223 mph(5)
3} Ryan Briscoe, #6 Team Penske, 39.619 sec/227.163 mph(5)
4} Scott Dixon, #9 Target, 39.638 sec/227.055 mph(5)
5} Tomas Scheckter, #12 Symantec 360, 39.645 sec/227.015 mph(5)
6} Danica Patrick, #7 Motorola, 39.697 sec/226.717 mph(5)
7} Tony Kanaan, #11 Team 7-11, 39.702 sec/226.688 mph(4)
8} Helio Castroneves, #3 Team Penske, 39.739 sec/226.476 mph(5)
9} Hideki Mutoh, #27 Formula Dream, 39.809 sec/226.081 mph(5)
10} Vitor Meira, #4 National Guard/Delphi, 39.932 sec/225.383 mph(5)

[mlittle]

Total Laps Completed as of 13 May 2008....................


Ma. Andretti--94
Wheldon--133
Briscoe--143
Dixon--136
Scheckter--141
Patrick--107
Kanaan--103
Castroneves--148
Mutoh--107
Meira--103
Carpenter--124
Bell--88
Rice--93
Hunter-Reay--146
Wilson--159
Fisher--79
Rahal--150
Foyt, IV--103
Manning--102
Power--132
Lloyd--81
Hamilton--101
Servia--122
Viso--98
Junquiera--98
Roth--153
Duno--99
Papis--163
Bernoldi--125
Moraes--117
J. Andretti--34
Dominguez--137
Camara--96
Howard--34

[mlittle]

Even though that ever-fickle........wench(....... .........), o/k/a Mother Nature, tried to ruin the day's activities at the Brickyard, teams managed to get in around 30 or so minutes of track time; times were slow, but they did get laps in.........

Practice Session #7 top-10..................
note.......** indicates drivers yet to qualify for the 500

1} Scott Dixon, #9 Target, 40.389 sec/222.834 mph(17)
2} Dan Wheldon, #10 Target, 40.393 sec/222.810 mph(22)
3} Marco Andretti, #26 Indiana Jones/Blockbuster, 40.395 sec/222.801 mph[18]
4} Hideki Mutoh, #27 Formula Dream, 40.565 sec/221.868 mph(26)
5} Danica Patrick, #7 Motorola, 40.599 sec/221.683 mph[8]
6} John Andretti, #24 Cirrus Aircraft, 40.653 sec/221.386 mph(13)**
7} Buddy Rice, #15 A1 Team USA, 40.858 sec/220.277 mph(6)**
8} Enrique Bernoldi, #36 Sangari, 40.890 sec/220.105 mph(17)**
9} Townsend Bell, #99 WilliamRast, 40.905 sec/220.020 mph(12)**
10} Bruno Junquiera, #18 Z-Line Designs, 40.913 sec/219.981 mph(6)**


~~Driver Announcements/Changes...............several teams made driver announcements or driver changes between this past Friday and today.......
--Roth Racing has tapped veteran driver John Andretti to drive the #24 Cirrus Aircraft D/H for the 500; regular driver Jay Howard will return for the remainder of the season
--American Dream Motorsports(formerly Playa del Racing) tapped Phil Giebler to drive the #88 Gardner Trucking P/H(currently the one AND only Panoz in the field at the moment)
--Beck Motorsports tapped Roger Yasukawa to drive the #98 CURB Records/Real Power D/H

[mlittle]

Although the rains came with about 15-20 minutes left in the session, teams still got in a full day's practice earlier today at the Brickyard......

Practice Session #8 Top-10........................
note........** indicates drivers yet to qualify for the 500

1} Ryan Briscoe, #6 Team Penske, 40.231 sec/223.708 mph[74]
2} Helio Castroneves, #3 Team Penske, 40.308 sec/223.284 mph[94]
3} Scott Dixon, #9 Target, 40.324 sec/223.192 mph[88]
4} Tony Kanaan, #11 Team 7-11, 40.381 sec/222.880 mph[97]
5} Tomas Scheckter, #12 Symantec 360, 40.394 sec/222.804 mph[95]
6} Will Power, #8 Aussie Vineyards, 40.421 sec/222.657 mph[73]**
7} John Andretti, #24 Cirrus Aircraft, 40.454 sec/222.474 mph[55]**
8} Hideki Mutoh, #27 Formula Dream, 40.466 sec/222.411 mph[105]
9} Dan Wheldon, #10 Target, 40.472 sec/222.378 mph[109]
10} Bruno Junquiera, #18 Z-Line Designs, 40.485 sec/222.303 mph[47]**


But there were some other interesting snippets of news and notes from the Brickyard on Thursday.........
~~Is that a Hornish I see there? Sam Hornish made a return to the Brickyard......but it was Hornish, Sr., a/k/a the elder Hornish, who visited the track, spending most of the latter half of the session in the Team Penske area, the team his son, 3-time IndyCar Series champion/2006 Indy 500 champion Sam Hornish, Jr. drove for from 2004-2007(the younger Hornish currently drives for Penske's NASCAR Sprint Cup team).

~~AGP purchases Toronto GP assets......as posted over on my blog, The Open Wheel, Andretti-Green Promotions issued a press release confirming that they had purchased the assets of the Grand Prix Association of Toronto(GPAT), which now becomes a Canadian subsidiary of Andretti-Green Promotions known as Andretti-Green Toronto. The move means, barring disaster, that there is a very strong chance Toronto will be back on the calendar in 2009.

~~That Crazy Viso........While CTE-HVM Racing's Ernesto Viso is one of the newer IndyCar Series drivers this season, he's already made a mark for his.....interesting on-track driving style......
Just ask TGR's Dan Wheldon,

The craziest by far is Ernesto Viso. Dude, he looks nuts. You can tell he hasn't hit the wall yet. When he does, you will know because he will pull out slowly from the car in front and move back nicely. You can tell he hasn't hit (the wall) yet.

....well, don't jinx him, Danny boy....I seem to remember back in 2002 everyone thought you were a crazy driver and you were....until you crashed and landed upside down(isn't that one of the things they show during the race intros' on ABC and ESPN?........ .....)

[mlittle]

They say at Indy,

There are drivers who have hit the wall at Indy.......and there are those who will hit the wall at Indy.

Add a couple of names to the list: Will Power, Graham Rahal, Ryan Briscoe and Ernesto Viso, all of whom met the walls at one point during today's full 6-hr. session. Rahal's was the lightest, as he merely white-walled the right side of his #06 Hole in the Wall Camps D/H.....the others got to visit the wall up close and personal.


Practice Session #9 Top-10.................................
note.....** means driver has yet to qualify for the 500

1} Scott Dixon, #9 Target, 40.230 sec/223.713 mph
2} Helio Castroneves, #3 Team Penske, 40.285 sec/223.411 mph
3} Ryan Briscoe, #6 Team Penske, 40.292 sec/223.372 mph
4} Will Power, #8 Aussie Vineyards, 40.352 sec/223.039 mph**
5} Graham Rahal, #06 Hole in the Wall Camps, 40.366 sec/222.959 mph**
6} John Andretti, #24 Cirrus Aircraft, 40.384 sec/222.860 mph**
7} Marco Andretti, #26 Indiana Jones/Blockbuster, 40.402 sec/222.764 mph
8} Dan Wheldon, #10 Target, 40.417 sec/222.680 mph
9} Oriol Servia, #5 Plantronics, 40.458 sec/222.456 mph**
10} Danica Patrick, #7 Motorola, 40.470 sec/222.388 mph

[mlittle]

Event Chronology...................................


~~10 am, Track opens for practice prior to qualifying
~~10:15 am, first cars on track are those of Will Power(#8 Aussie Vineyards D/H) and E.J. Viso(#33 PDVSA D/H)
~~10:50 am, CAUTION...........crash in turn 1 involving the #96 of Mario Dominguez; Dominguez exits the car unassisted and is taken to the Clarian EMC(infield care center at IMS)
~~11:15 am, CHECKERED.......track closed until 12pm for qualifying


~~Noon, Will Power(#8 Aussie Vineyards), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 221.844 mph
Lap 2, 221.850 mph
Lap 3, 221.204 mph
Lap 4, 219.661 mph
4-Lap Average, 221.136 mph

~~12:05 pm, Bruno Junquiera(#18 Z-Line Designs), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 222.448 mph
Lap 2, 222.329 mph
Lap 3, 222.274 mph
Lap 4, 222.269 mph
4-Lap Average, 222.330 mph

~~12:09 pm, Graham Rahal(#06 Hole in the Wall Camps), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 223.440 mph
Lap 2, 222.190 mph
Lap 3, 222.269 mph
Lap 4, 222.531 mph
4-Lap Average, 222.531 mph

~~12:13 pm, Oriol Servia(#5 Plantronics), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 221.667 mph
Lap 2, 220.090 mph
Lap 3, 219.310 mph
Lap 4.........called to pit lane by track officials after reports of rain in turns 1 and 3 during his 3rd q-lap; Servia will not be charged for a qualifying attempt and will be first out following the delay

~~12:33 pm, Oriol Servia(#5 Plantronics), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 221.307 mph
Lap 2, 221.051 mph
Lap 3, 220.705 mph
Lap 4, 220.007 mph
4-Lap Average, 220.767 mph

~~12:37 pm, E.J. Viso(#33 PDVSA), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 220.359 mph
Lap 2, 220.331 mph
Lap 3, 220.401 mph
Lap 4, 220.334 mph
4-Lap Average, 220.356 mph

~~12:42 pm, Mario Moraes(#19 Sonny's Real Pit BBQ), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 220.718 mph
Lap 2, 217.836 mph
Lap 4, 220.231 mph
Lap 4, 220.101 mph
4-Lap Average, 219.716 mph

~~12:46 pm, Milka Duno(#23 CITGO), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 220.012 mph
Lap 2, 220.850 mph
Lap 3, 220.386 mph
Lap 4, 219.976 mph
4-Lap Average, 220.305 mph

~~12:51 pm, Townsend Bell(#99 WilliamRast), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 222.839 mph
Lap 2, 222.605 mph
Lap 3, 222.522 mph
Lap 4, 222.198 mph
4-Lap Average, 222.539 mph

~~12:56 pm, Buddy Rice(#15 A1 Team USA), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 222.574 mph
Lap 2, 222.209 mph
Lap 3, 221.999 mph
Lap 4, 221.625 mph
4-Lap Average, 222.101 mph

~~1 pm, Justin Wilson(#02 McDonald's), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 223.158 mph
Lap 2, 222.175 mph
Lap 3, 221.507 mph
Lap 4, 222.233 mph
4-Lap Average, 222.267 mph

~~1:04 pm, Jaime Camara(#36 Sangari), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 216.600 mph
Lap 2, 217.373 mph
Lap 3...........waved off; Camara has 2 attempts remaining in the session

~~1:08 pm, John Andretti(#24 Cirrus Aircraft), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 221.837 mph
Lap 2, 222.163 mph
Lap 3, 221.764 mph
Lap 4, 220.445 mph
4-Lap Average, 221.550 mph

~~1:13 pm, Alex Lloyd(#16 Wii Fit), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 221.177 mph
Lap 2, 221.699 mph
Lap 3, 221.960 mph
Lap 4, 222.319 mph
4-Lap Average, 221.788 mph

~~1:17 pm, Marty Roth(#25 Cirrus Aircraft), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 218.923 mph
Lap 2, 218.472 mph
Lap 3..............waved off; Roth has 2 attempts remaining in the session

~~1:21 pm, Ryan Hunter-Reay(#17 Ethanol), 1st attempt
note.....Hunter-Reay had previously qualified back on 10 May 2008 but crashed his primary car during a late qualifying attempt; his attempts today are in the #17T backup
Lap 1, 221.390 mph
Lap 2, 221.805 mph
Lap 3, 221.618 mph
Lap 4, 221.504 mph
4-Lap Average, 221.579 mph

~~1:25 pm, Enrique Bernoldi(#34 Sangari), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 219.569 mph
Lap 2, 219,453 mph
Lap 3, 219.433 mph
Lap 4, 219.232 mph
4-lap Average, 219.422 mph

~~1:30 pm, A.J. Foyt, IV(#2 Joost/Indy Vision), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 220.972 mph
Lap 2.......waved off; Foyt reported encountering loose conditions exiting turn 2. Foyt has 2 attempts remaining in the session

~~1:34 pm, Davey Hamilton(#22 HP Computers), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 222.109 mph
Lap 2, 222.008 mph
Lap 3, 221.971 mph
Lap 4, 221.981 mph
4-Lap Average, 222.017 mph

~~1:39 pm, Buddy Lazier(#91 Hemelgarn/Johnson Controls), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 218.335 mph
Lap 2, 217.973 mph
Lap 3, 217.751 mph
Lap 4, 217.698 mph
4-Lap Average, 217.939 mph

~~1:43 pm, Sarah Fisher(#67 Direct Supply), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 221.725 mph
Lap 2, 220.900 mph
Lap 3, 221.236 mph
Lap 4, 221.126 mph
4-Lap Average, 221.246 mph

~~1:48 pm, Roger Yasukawa(#98 CURB Records/Real Power), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 218.073 mph
Lap 2, 218.046 mph
Lap 3, 218.011 mph
Lap 4, 217.980 mph
4-Lap Average, 218.010 mph

~~1:52 pm, Darren Manning(#14 ABC Supply Co.), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 222.445 mph
Lap 2, 222.724 mph
Lap 3, 222.549 mph
Lap 4, 222.003 mph
4-Lap Average, 222.430 mph

~~1:57 pm, Jeff Simmons(#41 ABC Supply Co.), 1st attempt
~~was unable to make a qualifying run because a member of A.J. Foyt Racing did not give the green flag signal to track spotters prior to his 1st q-lap; Simmons still has 3 attempts remaining in the session

~~1:59 pm, Jaime Camara(#36 Sangari), 2nd attempt
Lap 1, 219.350 mph
Lap 2, 219.501 mph
Lap 3, 219.434 mph
Lap 4, 219.098 mph
4-Lap Average, 219.345 mph

~~2:15 pm, Jeff Simmons(#41 ABC Supply Co.), 1st attempt
Lap 1, 221.417 mph
Lap 2, 221.599 mph
Lap 3, 220.820 mph
Lap 4, 220.576 mph
4-Lap Average, 221.103 mph


~~2:30 pm, GREEN, track opened for practice
~~3:58 pm, YELLOW, Hideki Mutoh(#27 Formula Dream), makes contact with the turn 2 wall on the right side
~~4:08 pm, GREEN, track opened for practice
~~4:20 pm, YELLOW, Phil Giebler(#98 Gardner Trucking P/H), makes contact with the turn 1 wall in the left rear after doing a qtr.-turn prior to the crash; he is assisted from his car and taken to Clarian EMC for examination

~~4:43 pm, GREEN, track opened for practice
~~5:46 pm, YELLOW, track closed for inspection prior to qualifying

~~5:47 pm, A.J. Foyt, IV(#2 Joost/Indy Vision), 2nd attempt
Lap 1.........returned to pit lane prior to green flag; Foyt, IV has 1 attempt remaining in the session

~~5:51 pm, Marty Roth(#25 Cirrus Aircraft), 2nd attempt
Lap 1, 216.058 mph
Lap 2, 215.886 mph
Lap 3, 215.807 mph
Lap 4, 214.283 mph
4-lap Average, 215.506 mph

[mlittle]

92nd Indianapolis 500 Starting Grid.................................


1st} Scott Dixon, #9 Target...............................................226.366 mph
2nd}(W)Dan Wheldon, #10 Target......................................226.110 mph
3rd} Ryan Briscoe, #6 Team Penske...................................226.080 mph

4th}(W)Helio Castroneves, #3 Team Penske........................225.733 mph
5th} Danica Patrick, #7 Motorola.........................................225.197 mph
6th} Tony Kanaan, #11 Team 7-11......................................224.794 mph

7th} Marco Andretti, #26 Indiana Jones/Blockbuster..............224.417 mph
8th} Vitor Meira, #4 National Guard/Delphi...........................224.346 mph
9th}(R)Hideki Mutoh, #27 Formula Dream............................223.887 mph

10th} Ed Carpenter, #20 Menards/Johns Manville..................223.835 mph
11th} Tomas Scheckter, #12 Symantec 360.........................223.496 mph
12th} Townsend Bell, #99 WilliamRast.................................222.539 mph

13th}(R)Graham Rahal, #06 Hole in the Wall Camps.............222.533 mph
14th} Darren Manning, #14 ABC Supply Co..........................222.430 mph
15th} Bruno Junquiera, #18 Z-Line Designs..........................222.330 mph

16th}(R)Justin Wilson, #02 McDonald's................................222.267 mph
17th}(W)Buddy Rice, #15 A1 Team USA..............................222.101 mph
18th} Davey Hamilton, #22 HP Computers...........................222.017 mph

19th}(R)Alex Lloyd, #16 Wii Fit............................................221.788 mph
20th}(R)Ryan Hunter-Reay, #17 Ethanol..............................221.579 mph
21st} John Andretti, #24 1-800-Las-Vegas............................221.550 mph

22nd} Sarah Fisher, #67 Text4Cars.com..............................221.246 mph
23rd}(R)Will Power, #8 Aussie Vineyards.............................221.136 mph
24th} Jeff Simmons, #41 ABC Supply Co.............................221.103 mph

25th}(R)Oriol Servia, #5 Angie's List...................................220.767 mph
26th}(R)E.J. Viso, #33 PDVSA............................................220.356 mph
27th} Milka Duno, #23 CITGO............................................220.305 mph

28th}(R)Mario Moraes, #19 Sonny's Real Pit BBQ.................219.716 mph
29th}(R)Enrique Bernoldi, #34 Sangari................................219.422 mph
30th}(R)Jaime Camara, #36 Sangari..................................219.345 mph

31st} A.J. Foyt, IV, #2 Vision Wellness................................219.184 mph
32nd}(W)Buddy Lazier, #91 Hemelgarn/Johnson Controls.....219.019 mph
33rd} Marty Roth, #25 Cirrus Aircraft..................................218.965 mph

(R)--denotes 2008 Indy 500 rookie entrant
(W)--denotes past Indy 500 winner
Positions 1-11 set on 10 May 2008
Positions 12-30 set on 17 May 2008
Positions 31-33 set on 18 May 2008

[mlittle]

For about the first 5 hours or so, there wasn't nuch drama at 16th and Georgetown; A.J. Foyt, IV had bumped Marty Roth out of the field, cars had gone out to practice, then Marty Roth somehow managed to get back into the field, knocking Buddy Lazier from the field for the time being.....and then the 5'o'clock hour arrived......HAPPY HOUR! (...no, not the drinking kind, but very close...... )

Event chronology.......................
~~5:05 pm, Dominguez goes out on a simulated qualifying run, putting up lap speeds of 218.285 mph, 219.086 mph, 219.093 mph and 218.286 mph(avg. 218.688 mph)
~~5:13 pm, Yasukawa goes out on a simulated qualifying run, putting up lap speeds of 219.305 mph, 219.449 mph, 219.445 mph, 219.360 mph(avg. 219.390 mph)
~~5:30, Buddy Lazier goes out for his first attempt of the session, but waves off after 3 of 4 laps
~~5:34 pm, Dominguez goes out for his second attempt and puts up a 4-lap average of 218.620 mph, bumping Yasukawa from the field
~~5:38 pm, Yasukawa goes out for his first attempt of the session and for three of the four laps, has a faster average than Dominguez but fails to bump back in by less than 0.05 seconds(2:44.716 for Yasukawa to 2:44.669 for Dominguez)
~~5:47 pm, Buddy Lazier goes out for his second attempt of the session and puts up a 4-lap average of 219.015 mph, bumping Dominguez from the field and putting Roth on the bubble
~~5:52 pm, Yasukawa goes out on his seocnd attempt but is unable to bump Roth from the field
~~5:58 pm, Dominguez goes out on his third and final attempt, having as much downforce taken off the car as is legally possible and for the first of four laps, it worked as he put up a lap of 219.780 mph......as he entered turn 1 on lap 2, the lap swaps ends and crashes into the wall, ending his qualifying run and the session as the starter's gun went off moments before

...............and that, everyone, was that! The field for "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing is now set. Good luck to all 33 competitors as they now have one objective in mind.....winning the Indinapolis 500 next week!

[mlittle]

1992 Olympic Gold Medalist and recent "Dancing With the Stars" champion Kristi Yamaguchi was named honorary starter for this year's Indianapolis 500 when current honorary starter, boxing legend Floyd Mayweather, Jr., was forced to relinquish his spot as starter due to a death in the family. Mayweather was quoted as saying,

Unfortunately I will not able to attend this year's race due to the loss of my uncle. I wish all the drivers the best, and I hope everyone has a safe race.

In addition to her 1992 gold medal performance at the Olympics, Yamaguchi is a 2-time World Figure Skating Champion, a U.S. Nationals Champion(1992) and a four-time World Professional Figure Skating Champion. She was also the first to compete in both pairs' and singles' competition during championship events; recently she was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in December 2005.