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Practice 5 Times..........
*--indicates driver yet to qualify


1. 5 Mario Moraes KV Racing Technology 40.406 222.739
2. 6T Ryan Briscoe Team Penske 40.467 0.061 0.061 222.406
3. 3T Helio Castroneves Team Penske 40.468 0.001 0.062 222.395
4. 9 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing 40.472 0.004 0.066 222.374
5. 11T Tony Kanaan Andretti Green Racing 40.561 0.089 0.155 221.890
6. 10 Dario Franchitti Chip Ganassi Racing 40.629 0.068 0.223 221.516
*7. 17 Oriol Servia Rahal Letterman Racing 40.659 0.030 0.253 221.353
8. 02 Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing 40.667 0.008 0.261 221.311
9. 26 Marco Andretti Andretti Green Racing 40.687 0.020 0.281 221.202
*10. 8 Townsend Bell KV Racing Technology 40.736 0.049 0.330 220.938

Might just have a couple of shillings on Briscoe for a podium....................

Well, it finally had to happen..............The mighty Brickyard has withstood the ravages of weather, World War I and II and the Great Depression; but today she was brought down by a single, wobbly brick.

Practice was halted at Indianapolis Motor Speedway at approximately 5:50 PM EDT when racecar driver Mario Moraes detected something amiss as he sailed over the venerable three feet of brick that sit at the start/finish line of the 2.5-mile oval.

"Today was another very productive day for the KV Racing Technology -- Votorantim team. We worked on different race setups again today and the car felt solid. Only once did we have a problem with the rear. Unfortunately, on my last lap, I went across the start/finish line and sucked up a brick, which damaged my car and ended my day," said Moraes. "I feel bad for the crew because they are going to have to do some extra work tonight."

Within minutes IMS and Indy Racing League officials were crouched on their knees, pondering the loose brick that, like a wayward tooth, was struggling to stay in place in the vacuum created over it by the whizzing cars.

"It was kind of cool, in a way," said KV Racing Technology's Townsend Bell who was lapping the track at the time the problem was discovered, "but kind of dangerous too."

Speedway officials predicted repairs could be made in time for Saturday's next-to-last day of qualifying for the 93rd Indianapolis 500 on May 24th.

Eleven positions remain available in the 33 car field. At the top of the list of yet unqualified drivers was Bell whose best lap of 222.139 mph was faster than the slowest qualifier now in the field and good enough for third-quick on the day.

"I'm pretty happy where we are. The car's obviously quick and I'm really excited about getting it in the field tomorrow," said Bell. "It's really cool to be part of a team that's running well here. It's a great team, full of good people and great equipment. We have two other cars that already have run quick and qualified well. That makes it a lot of fun."

Teams which qualified on the first weekend of qualifying May 9th and 10th worked on race setups and tested the warm, humid conditions at the track. Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing paced the six hour practice session with a fastest lap at 222.799 mph. Dixon was followed by KV Racing Technology's Moraes on a best lap at 222.530 mph.

Driver Mike Conway, injured in a hard impact with the wall in Turn 2 on Sunday, returned to the Speedway and put in 25 laps. His top speed of 219.234 mph was 26th of 31 cars to see action on Friday afternoon.

Tomas Scheckter sealed a deal to drive Dale Coyne's No. 19 entry and will attempt to qualify for his eighth consecutive start. Scheckter will be reunited with engineer Bill Pappas, with whom he worked while driving for Target Chip Ganassi Racing. Scheckter's best finish at the 500 was a fourth place in 2003 while driving a Ganassi Panoz G Force/Toyota.

"We were working on several things in the offseason and talking to him for a while," said team owner Dale Coyne. "This kind of came together late, but we have a good second car, and Tomas knows how to get around this place, so we should be fine. Tomas and Justin (Wilson) will be a nice combination."

Scheckter turned a total 37 laps today with his best of 220.516 mph coming on his 35th tour of the track.

HVM Racing's EJ Viso is first in line to qualify when the track reopens at Noon on Saturday, followed by Vision Racing's Ed Carpenter.

Official qualifying will be proceeded by one hour of practice starting at 10:15 am.

The weather forecast for the Indianapolis area on Saturday calls for temperatures in the 70's and a forty percent chance of rain.

A towel of quick set concrete, 16:1 mix..............No probs.

Julian Mayo wrote:A towel of quick set concrete, 16:1 mix..............No probs.

I want to throw a Sado-Max joke into this one, but.................

Imagine what the drivers felt going over the Yard of Bricks...........

mlittle wrote:

Julian Mayo wrote:A towel of quick set concrete, 16:1 mix..............No probs.

I want to throw a Sado-Max joke into this one, but.................

Imagine what the drivers felt going over the Yard of Bricks...........

Hmmmm...........Max........concrete...............nah, better not

One or two drivers might have been reaching for the denture glue tho'........

Holland's Robert Doornbos made good on his promise to return from his two practice crashes last week in a stronger state of mind, and the Newman/Haas/Lanigan driver delivered on Saturday, setting the fastest qualifying average of the day. With positions 23-33 now filled, "Bobby D" used a 4-lap average of 221.692 to claim 23rd position.

I can't say it's been a boring month. It started off good. I arrived here with Arie (Luyendyk), and inspecting the track, he scared me to death in the Pace Car ride. And then I got going in my IndyCar, and I was really quick the first day and the next day, as well. I think we got a little bit too excited because Arie said I probably didn't need him anymore, and then we took off too much downforce and we crashed. We had no spare parts, so I missed the first two qualifying days, and then there is a lot of pressure on these four laps to make the show. The race car is good, but if you're not in the show, you don't need the race car. I am very happy and proud to be here now. In Kansas, (qualifying) was easier. I qualified second. Here it's such a long track, and with the wind picking up, you feel like every lap is a new adventure. Every corner is an adventure because the wind is coming from different angles. It's a tough four laps, but I'm very proud to do them on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Doornbos, like the rest of Saturday's qualifiers, was forced to wait until 3:30pm ET, three hours into the five and a half hour session, before the the track could be dried after showers started to fall just minutes into the session. With E.J. Viso staged to take his qualifying run at 12:30pm ET, his HVM team grabbed an umbrella to shield the Venezuelan from the initial drops of rain. By 1pm, pit lane was empty as teams returned to their garages as the rain drops tuned into showers.

Saturday's qualifying was originally scheduled for a 12pm start, but with overnight showers pushing the morning warm up back, the planned six hour qualifying was also pushed back, losing thirty minutes in the process. HVM's E.J. Viso was first out when the session resumed, posting a 219.971 average, which would eventually turn into a 29th starting position.

I'm satisfied because were in, but we need to be faster. This morning I went a little bit faster. We know we have a couple miles an hour more in the car. We went out with a very conservative setup and a lot of downforce in the car. It was pretty windy. The wind was in another direction, so it was affecting us a little bit in the back straight. The wind was a bit stronger (than this morning). The car was a little bit loose in corner 1. The track lost a little bit of grip between the hours of rain, and it cooled down a lot. Its been a drama with my qualifying situation. I need to say that its been very fun. But it is a long month, and it brings some spice into the month.

Viso was followed by KV Racing's Townsend Bell, whose Herbalife car posted a run of 221.195, the second fastest of the day. "The car felt good. It was consistent, which is the most important thing. I can't thank Herbalife and the guys enough for giving me such great effort this month. I got in and the thing was just flying, so it's a great car, good team. I'm happy to be here. If the tank feels good, I'm going to put my foot down, so it just gave me a lot of confidence. You got to just drive what you have, and in this case I have a really good car. There's no place I'd rather be than Indianapolis during the month of May. Last year I came in thinking I want to have a spot and finish. This year we're aiming a little higher."

Doornbos' time, set at 3:58pm, was made just prior to gusting winds came and went randomly for a number of qualifiers. Oriol Servia's run ten minutes later would make him third fastest, with an average speed of 220.984. "I knew we were going to be in the race. We actually were hoping to the fastest car today. We didn't do that, but the car still feels great, and I'm sure we'll be even better for Sunday."

The two surprises of the day came in the form of a motivated Mike Conway, grabbing 28th with an impressive run of 220.124. After his bruised lung and ringing headache from last weeks practice crash, the 2007 British Formula Three champion showed great poise in making the show with a solid run. "I wasn't sure what to expect in qualifying. Those were some of the best laps we laid down all day. The car felt more comfortable, and it was good to run a good average. I was trying to get the rear end stable. The wind was quite sharp in Turn 2; I had a lot of understeer. Going into Turns 3 and 4, I was losing grip. I had to work the weight-jacker to keep up the average speed. I was able to keep it pretty much flat all the way around. When you're out there by yourself in qualifying, it's a pretty big place. It was good to see the green flag, so I could get on with it. We're in the field. I'm happy and looking forward to what comes next."

Dale Coyne Racing's Tomas Scheckter used his track experience and long relationship with team engineer Bill Pappas to come 27th with an average speed of 220.212.

Conquest Racing's Alex Tagliani waited until the end of the day to take a shot at making the filed and it was worth the wait. His 220.533 average was 4th fastest on Saturday, placing him 26th in the field.

"We left something on the table there on the last lap in Turn 2. I'm very proud of the Conquest team. We didn't have the most consistent day today. We had a lot of issues with the car. I guess we set the car up for conditions that were much different than they were today, and on top of that, the track temperature and the wind changed, so we had to revisit that. This track is known for that. Qualifying day, it's not the easiest to do. It took us all day until the last minute to put the car in qualifying. We even made a change without trying to test it. I went out in qualifying, and the car was not necessarily better. With the wind and what we did on the car required me to play with the weight-jacker a little bit. So, I was playing with the weight-jacker on the exit of Turn 1and exit of Turn 2 before (Turn) 3. It's good when you have to do it on the long straightaway, but between (Turns) 1 and 2 there's not a lot of time. So on the last lap I picked up a lot more push than I was expecting in (Turn) 1, and I was cranked with the wheel. When I tried to hit the weight-jacker to give me some more front grip in Turn 2, I missed the button and then I got into Turn 2 and knew I was going to get a push. I had to downshift in fifth gear. We did a 219-something on the last lap, and it brought our average down. So it was a little bit disappointing for us because we thought we had a better. Under the circumstances, we did very good and the team recovered well from two different incidents this month. I'm very proud of them, and the engineer did an awesome job for what we were going through today."

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing made wholesale qualifying runs in the last twenty minutes of the day, getting all three of their remaining cars in the field. John Andretti made the first move at 5:40pm, followed by Conway at 5:46pm and Milka Duno at 5:56pm. Including their fourth car for Davey Hamilton, D&R hold 22nd, 28th, 31st and 32nd in the field of 33.

HVM's Nelson Phillipe was Saturday's slowest qualifier, averaging 218.032. Duno's successful run bumped Hemelgarn's Buddy Lazier from the field -- the only person to be bumped today. Stanton Barrett beat the clock to get out before the session ended at 6pm and hoped to knock Phillippe from the top-33, but a small loos of speed in the final corner on the final lap by Barrett kept the young Frenchman in the field. Barrett's speed of 217.998 was surprisingly strong for the Indy rookie, but Phillippe's 218.032 stood.

"There is more speed in the car, and we just need to work with it and figure out how to get the speed out of it. The car is comfortable, maybe a little too comfortable. The conditions weren't all that great today, but we will be back out (Sunday) and try again. It's supposed to be a better day."

93rd Indianapolis 500 Starting Grid............
note 1.....grid to be updated following this weekend's qualifying sessions
note 2.....positions 1-11 set on May 9, positions 12-22 set on May 10, positions 23-33 set on May 16


1}(W)Helio Castroneves, #3 Team Penske, 224.308 mph
2} Ryan Briscoe, #6 Team Penske, 223.821 mph
3}(W)Dario Franchitti, #10 Target, 223.705 mph

4} Graham Rahal, #02 McDonald's, 223.690 mph
5}(W)Scott Dixon, #9 Target, 223.744 mph
6} Tony Kanaan, #11 Team 7-11, 223.470 mph

7} Mario Moraes, #5 KV Racing/Votorantim, 223.331 mph
8} Marco Andretti, #26 Venom Energy Drink, 223.114 mph
9} Will Power, #12 Verizon Wireless, 223.028 mph

10} Danica Patrick, #7 Boost Mobile/Motorola, 222.882 mph
11} Alex Lloyd, #99 HER Energy Drink, 222.622 mph
12}(R)Raphael Matos, #2 United States Air Force, 223.429 mph

13} Paul Tracy, #15 GEICO, 223.111 mph
14} Vitor Meira, #14 ABC Supply Co., 223.054 mph
15} Justin Wilson, #18 Z-Line Designs, 222.903 mph

16} Hideki Mutoh, #27 Formula Dream, 222.805 mph
17} Ed Carpenter, #20 Menards, 222.780 mph
18} Dan Wheldon, #4 National Guard, 222.777 mph

19} A.J. Foyt, IV, #41 ABC Supply Co., 222.586 mph
20} Scott Sharp, #16 Patron Tequila, 222.162 mph
21} Sarah Fisher, #67 Dollar General, 222.082 mph

22} Davey Hamilton, #44 HP/Kingdom Racing, 221.956 mph
23}(R)Robert Doornbos, #06 NHLR/Muremans, 221.692 mph
24} Townsend Bell, #8 Herbalife/KV Racing, 221.195 mph

25} Oriol Servia, #17 DAFCA Special, 220.984 mph
26}(R)Alex Tagliani, #34 Rexall Edmonton Indy/King Tut, 220.553 mph
27} Tomas Scheckter, #19 MonaVie Energy, 220.212 mph

28}(R)Mike Conway, #24 Purex, 220.124 mph
29} E.J. Viso, #13 PDVSA, 219.971 mph
30} Ryan Hunter-Reay, #21 IZOD/WilliamRast, 219.502 mph

31} John Andretti, #43 WindowWorld, 219.442 mph
32} Milka Duno, #23 CITGO, 218.040 mph
33}(R)Nelson Phillipe, #00 I Drive Green, 218.032 mph

Those drivers who are currently either on the bubble or near the bubble.............


~~~Phillipe, 218.032 mph(day 3)
~~~Duno, 218.040 mph(day 3)
~~~Andretti, 219.442 mph(day 3)
~~~Hunter-Reay, 219.502 mph(day 3)
~~~Viso, 219.972 mph(day 3)
~~~Conway, 220.124 mph(day 3)
~~~Scheckter, 220.212 mph(day 3)
~~~Tagliani, 220.553 mph(day 3)
~~~Servia, 220.984 mph(day 3)

Depending on weather/track conditions, estimated bump speed should be in the high-219's(219.5+ mph); there are, at the moment, three drivers yet to make qualifying runs...............
~~(R)Stanton Barrett, #98 Interush/CURB
~~(W)Buddy Lazier, #91 Hemelgarn/Johnson Ctrls.
~~Bruno Junquiera, #36 Conquest Racing

Bump Day Update
(1:09pm 17 May 2009)
note.......once the field of 33 is provisionally set, cars can be bumped from the field in order of speed, form the slowest upward regardless of what day they intitially qualified on

---12:05pm: Phillipe withdraws his time from Saturday, puts himself back in the show w/a speed of 220.754 mph
---12:26pm: Duno withdraws her time from Saturday, puts herself back in the show w/a speed of 221.106 mph
Andretti now on the bubble @ 219.442 mph

Bump Day Update
(as of 3:27pm 17 May 2009)


---1:07pm, Junquiera qualifies w/a speed of 221.115 mph
bumps Andretti from the field; Hunter-Reay now sits on the bubble w/a 219.502 mph
---3:26pm, Hunter-Reay withdraws previous speed and re-qualifies w/a 220.413 mph
Viso on the bubble w/a 219.972 mph

Current slowest 5 speeds..............
Viso, 219.972 mph
Conway, 220.124 mph
Scheckter, 220.212 mph
Hunter-Reay, 220.413 mph
Tagliani, 220.553 mph

Bump Day Update
(as of 4:27pm 17 May 2009)


---3:37pm, Conway withdraw previous speed of 220.124 and requalifies in 29th w/a speed of 221.417 mph
Viso remains on bubble w/a speed of 219.972

Slowest 5 speeds...............
Viso, 219.972 mph(28th)
Scheckter, 220.212 mph(27th)
Hunter-Reay, 220.413 mph(33rd)
Tagliani, 220.553 mph(26th)
Phillipe, 220.754 mph(32nd)

Bump Day Update
(4:31pm, 17 May 2009)


---4:34pm, Viso withdraws previous speed of 219.972 mph and re-qualifies w/a speed of 221.164 mph; provisionally 30th on the grid
Scheckter now on the bubble w/a speed of 220.212 mph

Slowest 5 speeds.............
Scheckter, 220.212 mph(27th)
Hunter-Reay, 220.413 mph(33rd)
Tagliani, 220.553 mph(26th)
Phillipe, 220.754 mph(32nd)
Servia, 220.984 mph(25th)

There are no gimmes here.

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing director of competition Larry Curry uttered that truth in the waning moments of Bump Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. You don't have to tell that to Alex Tagliani, Stanton Barrett or even 1996 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Lazier, who will be watching the 500-Mile Race on May 24 after not putting up the necessary speed for four timed laps on the 2.5-mile course. You don't have to remind John Andretti and Ryan Hunter-Reay, who posted consistent and quick runs in the final 10 minutes of the session to qualify for the 33-car field.

Bump Day, which reached into Row 9 to put qualified times from May 16 in jeopardy, accentuated the close competition. The starting grid is the closest by time in the history of four-lap qualifying for the 500-Mile Race -- 3.0967 seconds separate pole sitter Helio Castroneves and slowest qualifier Hunter-Reay.

"It was the hairiest day in my life," said Hunter-Reay, the final qualifier who averaged 220.597 mph (2 minutes, 43.1934 seconds total) in the No. 21T Vision Racing car to bump Tagliani by 0.0324 of a second. "We're running downforce as low as you wouldn't believe. It was so trimmed out. Now, hopefully we can go make up all those spots in the race."

Hunter-Reay, who was bumped by Andretti five minutes earlier, received a $50,000 award from Firestone for being the final driver to qualify. He'll start on Row 11 with Milka Duno (221.106 mph average) and rookie Nelson Philippe (220.754), who both improved their speeds earlier on the sunny and crisp day.


a disconsolable Alex Tagliani after hearing he would not be able to attempt another qual. run when time ran out Sunday

Hunter-Reay left the qualification line at 5:57 p.m., shutting out Tagliani from making an attempt (which would have been his first of the day; 220.553 mph average on May 16 for 26th on the grid) in the No. 34 Rexall Edmonton Indy entry of Conquest Racing.

"I feel so bad for Tag and the Conquest Racing team," Indy Racing League president of competition and operations Brian Barnhart said. "Leaning into the cockpit and telling them they weren't get to go because we're out of time was one of the hardest things I've ever done. It was just a devastating look in his eyes. I know how hard he and the team had worked. From a field standpoint it's what makes Indianapolis special. It's the 33 best drivers and teams under the conditions of what we had. Tightest field speaks volumes about how tight the competition is."

Andretti, bumped earlier in the session, was down to his final Bump Day attempt (he waived off on one at 3:53 p.m. and a 220.282 mph average nine minutes earlier didn't knock out Hunter-Reay) to make it 10-for-10 qualifying for the '500,' and wondering how he would tell Richard Petty not to bother traveling to Indianapolis to watch the No. 43 Window World car for Richard Petty Motorsports/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.

"It's not as big as what Helio did, but to us it's bigger," said Andretti, who recorded a four-lap average of 221.316 mph (2:42.6635 cumulative) after working with Curry and crew through much of the afternoon to find the aerodynamic balance for both ends of the racing ribbon. "I told Larry in his next life he's going to be a psychologist. You would think after 30 years of racing I wouldn't need a coach, but he's great getting the most out of people and kept me thinking the right way."

Bruno Junqueira, who was named May 16 to drive the No. 36 ALL SPORT/BIG RED car for Conquest Racing, had 15 laps of practice before putting it in the show (221.115 mph) early in the session. He'll be on Row 10 with Andretti and E.J. Viso, who withdrew his May 16 qualified time, and improved his speed to 221.164 mph in the No. 13 PDVSA HVM Racing car.

Mike Conway, driving the No. 24 Purex Dreyer & Reinbold Racing car, and Tomas Scheckter in the No. 19 MonaVie car for Dale Coyne Racing, also withdrew qualified times as they were potential bump candidates. They'll share Row 9 with Oriol Servia in the No. 17 Rahal Letterman DAFCA Special.

All those guys who were bumped can console themselves with the thought".............nothing was ever handed to Michael easy.................."