142 replies to this topic

[lewisthegreat2]

Ed Carpenter goes P1 without a tow!

Small, family-owned Indiana team (and the only owned by a female) with a driver raised on grassroots, short-oval motorsports who has endured so much criticism by putting his head down and transforming into one of the series' best oval racers.

What a story if they can keep this up.  Sarah, Andy, and Ed are a great bunch of hard-workers doing it the right way.  Great to see them so quick out of the box.

[lewisthegreat2]

Practice closes after a lengthy rain-delay and subsequent return to green.  Pretty slow opening day, but they missed a lot of time, so we'll see if the speeds can pick up a bit.

Ed Carpenter ends the session fastest at 224.786 mph with total underdog team Sarah Fisher Racing.  Big accomplishment.  Scott Dixon, J.R. Hildebrand, and Dario Franchitti are the only others over 224, with Marco Andretti taking fifth.  Ryan Briscoe, Vitor Meira, Graham Rahal, Hélio Castroneves, and Justin Wilson comprise the rest of the top ten, making seven (or eight, if you count Rahal's team as a separate entity) teams in the fastest ten.  Paul Tracy, Danica Patrick, John Andretti, Oriol Servià, and Will Power the next five, followed by 2004 Indy 500 champion Buddy Rice in his return to competition.  James Hinchcliffe, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Alex Lloyd, and Takuma Sato round out the top twenty.

Of note: Pippa Mann debuts in a solid twenty-first, while Tony Kanaan struggles to twenty-fifth.  Twenty-eight drivers, the last of which being Mike Conway, broke 220 mph.  Four others turned laps, including Jay Howard, Simona de Silvestro, Sebastián Saavedra, and James Jakes, all of whom need to find more pace this month if they want to race in the Indianapolis 500.

Drivers who did not turn laps today include:
Ho-Pin Tung (SS Dragon Racing)
Davey Hamilton (Dreyer & Reinbold Racing)
Raphael Matos (AFS Racing)
Scott Speed (Dragon Racing)
Alex Tagliani (Sam Schmidt Motorsports)
Charlie Kimball (Chip Ganassi Racing)
Dan Wheldon (Bryan Herta Autosport)
Townsend Bell (Sam Schmidt Motorsports)

Sarah Fisher and Ed Carpenter in the press room now (pretty good interview, actually); the status of the 57 has improved to a "we'll decide on Saturday night" meaning next week.  If Ed qualifies on Saturday (a top 24 run), I suppose they will pull out a 57 for someone.  Not sure who will be around, but I'd expect a Lazier to be in the area, maybe a Foyt of some kind, perhaps a certain auto racing world record-holder is there doing some modeling for IZOD, assuming a Luyendyk could be there...

[lewisthegreat2]

Third Practice today, though really it's the second session...pair of Ganassi boys on top with a little over an hour left.  Dixon, Rahal, Briscoe, Meira, and Franchitti the top five.  Top three over 225 mph.

Castroneves, Power, Servià, Rice, and Patrick the next five, followed by Baguette, Andretti (the NASCAR one), Tracy, Hildebrand, and Tung.

39 of the 40 entries have been out today (though that 57 SFR car is the 41st, but...)

Drivers who didn't run in First Practice:

15. Ho-Pin Tung
17. Alex Tagliani
20. Davey Hamilton
22. Scott Speed
24. Townsend Bell
29. Dan Wheldon
34. Raphael Matos
39. Charlie Kimball (only did an installation lap so far)

Only driver to not go out today is Jay Howard.

[lewisthegreat2]

You want two consecutive sessions without a Ganassi/Penske on top of the charts?

I think most of us do, and it couldn't have happened to two better guys.  Carpenter Saturday, and Alex Tagliani today!

Pretty cool when you consider Tags and all of his teammates missed the first practice for the most part, but not surprising.  Tagliani seems to have taken alright to the Speedway.

His team owner Sam Schmidt is one of those people you must meet if you ever go to an INDYCAR race, by the way.  Really awesome man.

Dixon, Rahal, Briscoe, and Servià the rest of the top five.  How about that for Oriol?  I've been saying for years someone needs to hire this guy...P3 in points and we get to the grand-daddy of motorspeedways and guess what?  He's still steadily at the top.  I'm not encouraging gambling, but...Ed Carpenter at 60-1, Oriol Servià at 100-1...it's not too often you get something as blatantly incorrect as that.

Meira, Franchitti, Castroneves, Marco, and Dubya were the rest of the top ten, with Carpenter, Tracy, Rice, Matos, and Patrick 11-15.  Wilson, Baguette, John, Bell, and Hildebrand filled out the fastest 20.

Other notables:

TF1's most popular Indy driver James Hinchcliffe (by virtue of a 2-1 vote against Handy's Man) was 23rd.  When you're a rookie, a great run means completing 200 laps.  Anything more is legendary.  Qualify on Pole Day, keep the nose clean, and see where that takes you.  Not to mention his strategist is one of the best, and 500 miles give you a lot to play with...

Scott Speed debuts at P29, slower than Ho-Pin Tung.  Is he the first driver to ever suck in F1, suck in NASCAR, and suck in Indy?  I'd have to check that but I'm pretty confident he is.  I know he's the only one to suck at IMS in all three.

Simona, Chuck, and Dan 30-32.  If any of them fail to qualify it would hurt.  It sucks to see Wheldon in such a slow car because he's the second best driver I've ever seen race at the Speedway (first 500 was 1999).  Really tough, but we have a whole week ahead of us until qualifying, which you have to watch (after all, you should be following all of my keys to maximizing enjoyment.  It's too bad they're using the public address for the audio on the streams of practice so you don't get the IMS Radio Network with MIKE ALL CAPS KING and the gang.

Qualifying goes by the average of four consecutive laps, so the data of fastest overall lap can be misleading, but some guys who ought to worry are the under-222 crowd:

Simona de Silvestro, 2010 Chase Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year
Charlie Kimball, 2010 Freedom 100 runner-up
Dan Wheldon, 2005 Indianapolis 500 champion
Tomas Scheckter, 2002 Indianapolis 500 Co-Rookie of the Year after leading the most laps only to crash while leading with 27 left
E.J. Viso, Danica doesn't even know who that is, so I don't care either
Sebastián Saavedra, qualified for the 2010 race while in the back of an ambulance
Pippa Mann, 2010 Freedom 100 pole winner
Alex Lloyd, fourth in a Coyne car in the 2010 Indianapolis 500
Mike Conway, the fourth Brit on the list, led laps at Indy last year only to launch (it's not too soon anymore) IndyCar onto BBC News
James Jakes, may as well add a fifth, meet the new Milka, same as the old Milka

Edited by lewisthegreat2, 16 May 2011 - 11:04 PM.

[JHS]

Silvestro has a sizable shunt in practice.

[lewisthegreat2]

Practice is live at the usual place (racecontrol.indycar.com).  The Schmidt cars continue to be fast with Tagliani in first and Townsend Bell in fifth.  Dan Wheldon, who is receiving some support from SSM, has also cracked the top ten, in eighth at the moment.  Tagliani only did four laps, too, which is really impressive.

Follow-up on the Simona stuff: I think her month is going to be pretty short.  They didn't have the pace this year, and the lost practice time won't help.  And going to a backup car is a lot tougher for a small team like HVM, obviously, and who knows how much older/heavier that car may be (if it's the one they had last year after the Texas fire, it's going to be the worst car entered).  She's going to have a tough time qualifying, unfortunately, and second-degree burns on her hands will only make that worse.

Results thus far:

1. Alex Tagliani
2. J.R. Hildebrand
3. Scott Dixon
4. Danica Patrick
5. Townsend Bell
6. Hélio Castroneves
7. Vitor Meira
8. Dan Wheldon
9. Dario Franchitti
10. Will Power

Cars not looking so strong:
28. Ana Beatriz
29. Raphael Matos
30. Ho-Pin Tung
31. Charlie Kimball
32. E.J. Viso
33. Davey Hamilton
34. Simona de Silvestro
35. Alex Lloyd
36. Scott Speed
37. Jay Howard
38. Sebastián Saavedra
39. Mike Conway (absolute slowest today)

Yet to turn laps:
James Jakes

Marco Andretti was in Conway's car a few days ago and it was still pretty slow, and he seems to have a huge push out there.  Without Tony Kanaan, it seems to me that Danica Patrick's finding her own really well this month.  Everyone was nervous about her setup abilities (as well as Marco's), but I think we're seeing them both validated this month.  Last year, Kanaan practiced all five Andretti entries.  Seems to me he didn't need to.  Danica can do her own job on the ovals (and the other three seem to lead on the road/street) and having Marco assess Conway's car shows the team's confidence in his abilities to do the setup.  Glad to see Danica stepping up to the plate this month.

[lewisthegreat2]

Backup car isn't fitted with the specialized components needed to run Indy, and it won't be without a lot more time and a lot more money.  It's entirely possible that, if they cannot get another team's T car, HVM Racing will not even go out for qualifying, and if they do so with their own car, they'll be hideously slow.

That's Indy for you.

[lewisthegreat2]

First lap over a 227 is a 227.652 by Alex Tagliani!  Did not see that coming at all!

Teammate Townsend Bell is second with a 226.741.  Problem, Chip and Roger?  Not a single practice session has gone to the big guys yet.  Still 37 minutes in this one, but a 227.652?  Not touching that, I don't think.

Hildebrand, Servià, and Dixon the rest of the fast five, with Danica, Rahal, Tracy, Power, and Wheldon completing the top ten.

All 40 cars have been out.  Jakes slowest.

I love Indy.

[lewisthegreat2]

Spoke too soon.  Buzz Killington tops at 277.778 over Tagliani, Briscoe, Castroneves, and Bell.  Still, it's been really competitive, and with all the "who had a tow and who didn't" stuff, qualifying's going to be really unpredictable.  And then the race...should be awesome.

Simona's out of the hospital.  If the T car is ready to qualify, she likely won't be; HVM expect to need another driver for the weekend.  If that driver can qualify, I assume de Silvestro will race, but that's so far in the future and honestly, I think they know their month really ended today.  If they qualify in a field of 40-41 with a T car and a replacement driver, I'd be stunned.

[lewisthegreat2]

Rain delays.

http://jalopnik.com/...y-500/gallery/1

[lewisthegreat2]

I typed out a wicked transcript of today's great press conference and guess what?

For some reason, without hitting anything on the keyboard, or clicking anything, the page decided to go back, and when I went forward, it was all gone.

This has been happening a lot on this forum and this forum only.  It seems if I spend too long typing a reply, the forum ****s itself.

Fix the problem and I'll post something interesting beyond a rundown of practice times you could get on your own.  I'm not wasting my time typing out good **** here only to have it get axed, and I'd love to say it's on my end, but it happens here and only here, so I can't really believe that's the case.  It's frustrating to have lost about three good posts in this thread, and there were some wicked quotes from the presser today with Power, Hildebrand, and Bell.

[lewisthegreat2]

Found a video of the presser since my notes from watching it live won't make it here.  It's 20 minutes long, though you really start at 4:00 anyway.  But that's still pretty long and it would have been nice to be able to give people the option to read the highlights if they don't have 15-20 minutes to kill to watch everything, whether it's worth watching or one of the less exciting parts.

http://www.livestrea...a6-3b94a27dd719

Quotes, cussing, controversy, and plenty of banter if you have the time for it.

[lewisthegreat2]

Video with sound:



End result:

http://desmond.yfrog...e=640&ysize=640

[HandyNZL]

Bummer for Simona...looks like a suspension failure through the corner...certainly just bottomed and that was all she wrote.

I would say the Target boys are just biding their time...why press for the fast time in practice? Only counts for good in qually, and after 500-miles, it's not always the fastest car crossing the line first.

Getting closer to race day though.

Can't wait

[lewisthegreat2]

Simona de Silvestro is not cleared to drive by IndyCar.

Timing and scoring is crapping all over the place, but I know Tagliani, Carpenter, and Wheldon are the top three.  Tagliani and Wheldon both did over 227 without a tow, so I strongly suspect they'll contend for pole.  Tagliani and Carpenter were both over 228 officially; I assume those were with tows.  First over 228 of the month, though.

Being first in practice pays a cash prize; each practice the cash prize increases.  And then there's pride etc.  I'm sure the Ganassi cars will be contenders tomorrow for pole and, like everyone else, have worked on race trim etc, but you're not going to see them blow these underdogs out of the water.  A 227-and-change without a tow is going to be really hard for Ganassi or Penske to beat, so I hope Tagliani can replicate that.  I don't really know why, but after he FTQ-ed as a rookie, this place has just been great to him.  Came from last place to be ROTY with some great passes in 2009, surprise of the month in 2010, and one of the strongest period this year.  I like the guy; hope he stays fast.  Hell, I like most of the guys who have been competitive, and I love that.

It's going to be a hell of a qualifying tomorrow.  Watch it.

[lewisthegreat2]

Classic drama at the Speedway today:

Scott Speed gets into a verbal altercation with the team over his car being too loose and quits!  He walked right out!

Jaques Lazier is getting ready to take the Fuzzy's special for it's fastest laps of the month.

I find this hilarious.  Speed said for years how "easy" these cars are to drive (without having ever driven one), and trashing the sport about how he'd never go there, how NASCAR was the place to be, etc.  How easy were they to drive again, eh, Speed?  Speedway did what it does best: kicked your ***.  Tested his character, and the results weren't pretty.

It's great, too, that he had a ride for the Nationwide race this weekend in Harvick's 33, one of the best cars out there by far.  Rather than have a chance to revive his NASCAR career with a quality performance, he chose to do this, and the end result was making a complete douchebag of himself.  Team owners in all levels of all disciplines will take notice.

Franz Tost was in the wrong for how he handled Speed, but I'm embarrassed to have defend this gutless bag of immaturity.  Sack up and drive faster, little *****.

[lewisthegreat2]

Fast lap so far is a 228.611.  Fast single-car times without a tow are in the high 227s.  Tagliani, Wheldon, Rahal, and Bell are all very fast without a tow.

Despite increased heat, the cars are about 2 mph faster than last year; pole time could hit 230 in the Shootout, which would be rather nice.  You might need to hit 225 to even qualify for this one.  It's going to be one hell of a Bump Day Sunday (after what should be a great Pole Day tomorrow).

[JHS]

lewisthegreat2, on 20 May 2011 - 09:31 PM, said:

Classic drama at the Speedway today:

Scott Speed gets into a verbal altercation with the team over his car being too loose and quits!  He walked right out!

Jaques Lazier is getting ready to take the Fuzzy's special for it's fastest laps of the month.

I find this hilarious.  Speed said for years how "easy" these cars are to drive (without having ever driven one), and trashing the sport about how he'd never go there, how NASCAR was the place to be, etc.  How easy were they to drive again, eh, Speed?  Speedway did what it does best: kicked your ***.  Tested his character, and the results weren't pretty.

It's great, too, that he had a ride for the Nationwide race this weekend in Harvick's 33, one of the best cars out there by far.  Rather than have a chance to revive his NASCAR career with a quality performance, he chose to do this, and the end result was making a complete douchebag of himself.  Team owners in all levels of all disciplines will take notice.

Franz Tost was in the wrong for how he handled Speed, but I'm embarrassed to have defend this gutless bag of immaturity.  Sack up and drive faster, little *****.

Good. Deserves it if he acts like that. Hopefully he's now learned one of life's most important lessons. To keep your mouth shut.

I'll see if I can watch qualifying, what time is it on?

Edited by JHS, 20 May 2011 - 10:43 PM.

[Caesar]

i am not into nascar or indycar, but if speed is quitting  Dragon Racing’s Fuzzy’s Vodka cari think i know who could be his replacement. he would have to be an exception and privileged to go directly to indycar, but it happened once when he was coming to f1,so why not do it again and start Dragon Racing’s Kimmi's Vodka car?

[lewisthegreat2]

78T is entered on the qualifying roster, so I guess they plan to go out with somebody.  Simona still needs to be approved.

JHS, on 20 May 2011 - 10:43 PM, said:

Good. Deserves it if he acts like that. Hopefully he's now learned one of life's most important lessons. To keep your mouth shut.

I'll see if I can watch qualifying, what time is it on?

Hopefully it teaches him to have some talent.

Cool story: he didn't actually win the Red Bull shootout.  He was just the only finalist who would sign such a binding contract!  I know Patrick Long, A.J. Allmendinger, and Ryan Hunter-Reay were all offered to join the program along with Speed.  I think the first two would have done better, personally.

Qualifying...gah, if only you knew how hard it was for me to tell you that.   You see, VERSUS, the channel airing it, was owned by Comcast, which bought NBC, and is in the process of becoming NBC Sports, so their website just redirects to NBC Sports' website, which doesn't have VERSUS TV listings unless you really dig, and trust me, I dug...

Qualifying runs from 11:00 AM my time to 6:30 PM my time.  TV coverage is 11:00 AM to 2:30 PM (still my time) and then picks up again from 4:30 PM to close (still my time).  Shootout for pole will be toward the end.  There will be periods of nothing happening at times. and periods of practice when no cars want to go out.

Bump Day is Sunday...noon to 6:30 PM my time.  As always, the action picks up at the end.

And as a side note, because you asked earlier: http://www.indycar.c...potter_web1.pdf

A few corrections: Speed isn't in the 20 anymore (obviously), Tung has a sponsor on his sidepod, and the Hildebeast (or is it Captain America?  Or General J.R.?) has more of a desert camo feel to the car than the normal green (maybe something to possibly do with something that was kind of sort of in the news over the last weeks and still is, albeit a different division of the armed forces, but still).  The rest looks good to me.

Caesar, on 21 May 2011 - 12:07 AM, said:

i am not into nascar or indycar, but if speed is quitting  Dragon Racing’s Fuzzy’s Vodka car i think i know who could be his replacement. he would have to be an exception and privileged to go directly to indycar, but it happened once when he was coming to f1,so why not do it againand start Dragon Racing’s Kimmi's Vodka car?

Well, he is in the Perky Jerky truck tonight, so perhaps he has gone full Montoya in the food department.  If it were jerky made from kippers, I'd see it, but beef and turkey?  Nah.

[lewisthegreat2]

And of course now there's information out that Scott Speed will be back in the 20.  I wonder if there was sponsor pressure of some sort, because you can't just quit, change your mind, and expect to come back.  Unless Jay Penske is one hell of a pushover.

Drivers looking to be in the 78 if Simona can't:
Roger Yasukawa
Jimmy Kite
P.J. Chesson (spotting the 07)
Jaques Lazier (if not in the 20)
Buddy Lazier (if not in the 57)
Alex Barron (maybe)

Obviously, there's one guy on that list who could actually get the car in the show on Bump Day, and I'll give you a hint: he won an Indy 500 with a broken back.  He finished second in a junker...twice.  He finished fifth after having to change his nosecone and then getting his wing taken off by Scott Sharp.  He qualified a total sled last minute in 2008.  He's done a lot with a little and while he's not much good elsewhere, Indy just seems to be his place.  But if I'm Sarah Fisher, I'm putting him in my 57...

By the way, did I not mention Bertrand Baguette?  Well, now I have.  It's so competitive this year and I love it.

[lewisthegreat2]

It's Pole Day!  Practice this morning for another hour and change.

Simona de Silvestro has been cleared to drive in practice; she will be re-evaluated after that.

racecontrol.indycar.com will have coverage of Pole Day qualifying from 2:30 to 4:30 (my time) when VERSUS isn't televising it.

Scott Speed is in the 20 car still.  One more comment and Jimmy Kite or Jaques Lazier take over.

Taglinai, Rice, and Bell the top three so far.  Tagliani the only one over 228.

Briscoe had a hard crash today, so Penske were really going for it.

[JHS]

I've got it on. I'm going out later, so I'll see how much I can catch.

[lewisthegreat2]

John Andretti sneaks in there in the 43 and it starts raining.

His four teammates, however, are out of the top 24.  Andretti Autosport are awful.  I'm surprised that Danica didn't even make it; she'd done well all week.  She was mature about it in her interview, though, and I think she's learned that from NASCAR.  She just said "that's Indy, you have to earn it."  Indeed.

I'm sure that if one of the Andretti guys fail to qualify on Bump Day tomorrow they'll take John's seat, which sucks big ones, but...

The big story, of course, is Simona de Silvestro.

She comes out in a 2003 chassis that's 15-25 lbs heavier than a modern one, second-degree burns on both of her hands, and very little time in the car following that wreck, and you know what?  She's all smiles about everything, great attitude, and lays down a 223.9 on her first lap.  Not quick enough that time over the four-lap average, but she came back out just about 20 minutes ago.  And she got it.

Simona de Silvestro is, as of right now, with the rain falling, P24.  She's in on Pole Day if that stands.  She was a lock to FTQ this morning, and she was likely to not even drive yesterday.  What a champ.  This doesn't guarantee she'll race, but it's a good start.

If the rain holds, they won't do the Shootout, and Alex Tagliani, driving for Sam Schmidt, will win a huge pole position.  His teammate, Townsend Bell, is also up there in fifth.  Sam Schmidt was paralyzed in an accident in 2000.  What he's done since, not the least of which is being alive after that wreck, has been really impressive, and it is so great to see two guys who really could have fallen out of love with auto racing on top in a city arguably more synonymous with the sport than any other.  Wanting a life in racing when it nearly took your own, and having the courage to get back behind the wheel after an emotionally dark period following the Alex Zanardi wreck...two guys who really deserve what they're getting this month.  They're both people you need to meet if you're at the Speedway, or any other IZOD IndyCar Series event.

A lot goes out to Ed and Sarah doing it for the sprint/midget racers of the world.  Short trackers getting it done on a tight budget and with a lot of grit.  That's good stuff.  Watch for the yellow car on race day.  Ed's going to be a factor in this one, and throughout the season at the oval races.  He's here on hard work, determination, and results, whether or not he's Tony George's step-son.  He's earned.

Penske just didn't have the pace today.  Ryan Briscoe's T car had the wing so far back that you could only read the "IZOD" logo from a rear-shot.  Head-on and all you saw was the bottom.  Radical setup, but it didn't work.  Someone got more from her T car than Briscoe, though if it weren't for rain...

But c'est la Indy.  It rains every month.  You got have a little luck sometimes.  This has been a glorious day of qualifications if it ends here, and if it continues, even better.  I love this race so much.  It may be a marketing term, but the Greatest Spectacle in Auto Racing truly applies.  We have underdogs at the top, favorites scrambling for speed on Bump Day, and a healthy dose of stories about overcoming adversity.  A great American sporting event, I'd say.

[lewisthegreat2]

Worth mentioning:

The first is procedures.  Only positions 1-9 are locked in as they are.  10-24 have their times stand tomorrow.  25-end have their times erased.  In theory, someone 10-24 can FTQ.  It's not likely unless weather is radically different.  Essentially, if ten drivers qualify faster than position 24, the P24 driver better get back out there.  So Simona isn't guaranteed in, but her P24 time stands, meaning it will be hard to knock her and those ahead of her up to P10 out.  Hard, but not impossible, and if some of these guys show the speed we'd expect from them...

Speaking of Simona, her T car (the one she qualified), Pork Chop, is Tweeting.

http://twitter.com/#!/78_PORKCHOP

Ho-Pin Tung is a very likable guy and easily had the field made until his huge wreck.  Looks like a concussion, which would obviously have him out.  It was a vicious hit.  Dragon's month has been terrible and I hate to see it happen to Tung.  He was a surprise, for sure, and just a nice guy.  He did nothing wrong until the money lap.  I hope he'll be back sometime.  I was wrong about his ability.

[HandyNZL]

Driving Indy with burnt hands is not without precedent, Eric...so hopefully the commentators are not making a deal over it as if it was the first time ever.

Denny Hulme wrecked it in and burnt the tips off his fingers - back in those days they were using methonal and it burnt clear....the marshalls were busy extinguishing the car whilst Denny was actually on fire and rolling about on the track.  He raced with bandages on, and literally had his hands pried off the wheel after the race.  His finger tips were skinless and it took several years for the charred bone to finally drop off.

[lewisthegreat2]

Nope, no commentator said it was the first ever, and to be quite honest, most are making a bigger deal about her doing it in the T car and the work she and the team put in to get the car to speed rather than the fact her hands have some ouchies.  Her attitude's the thing that gets me.

But no one mentioned the Hulme story either, so thanks for sharing that.

The tough guy of the modern era, to me at least, is Buddy Lazier.  Won it in 1996.  With a broken back.

[lewisthegreat2]

TV coverage is back; drying track for Shootout.  Still a way to go...

[lewisthegreat2]

Hearing 30 minutes until the Shootout begins.  Jet dryers off.

John Andretti found the problem with the balance of the Andretti cars; they expect them to be back on pace tomorrow so the other four can qualify.  I still think Mike Conway's going to FTQ.  I just hope that if any Andretti driver does, they don't reward John for finding the problem by replacing him with someone else.

Should be fun.  Shootout will be interesting.  The participants are:

Alex Tagliani
Scott Dixon
Dario Franchitti
Dan Wheldon
Townsend Bell
Ed Carpenter
Will Power
Oriol Servià
Buddy Rice

I'm really hoping for a Tagliani, Wheldon, Bell, Carpenter, or Servià pole today.  That would be awesome.

[HandyNZL]

Go Scotty!   (No, not that Italian Scot, neither)