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lewisthegreat2

Greatest Spectacle In Auto Racing

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Leaving you guys a radio feed: http://www.1070thefa...ther/player.htm

It rained.

Ana ran a high 223, Rahal a low 224. Then it rained. Both slower than Simona so I suspect 10-24 are locked even if we get back to qualifying, which we will. Because it isn't raining anymore. Sun's back. Track being dried.

No 57 in line. Too bad...but for the best. Ed's a great driver, but bad luck can hit anyone at Indy, and you'd hate to think he'd need the T car and it's been qualified as the 57.

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Drama as the rain returns! All but one car not locked in has set a time today; Danica Patrick is the lone driver to have not had a chance. The rules state that if there are 33 spots filled (and there are; in fact, there are 38 drivers on the board) on the second day, even if there are cars that had zero attempts on the second day, the field stands. What does that mean? If they can't get back to qualifying, Danica Patrick will fail to qualify, even though she had zero attempts today.

As it stands, drivers like Mike Conway, Raphael Matos, Sebastián Saavedra, Pippa Mann, James Jakes, and Danica Patrick would be going home, leaving two of the five Andretti cars out of the race.

They have until 6:00 PM. It's expected that they will go back, but for how long, I don't know. Danica is next in line for her first run; then drivers will go out for second runs if they want to, and obviously the six left in the FTQ position would desire to do so (if Danica goes out and is able to set a time good enough for P25-33, she would bump Alex Lloyd out of the field. Depending on track conditions, it is very likely Danica would be quick enough to qualify).

Ryan Briscoe, with injured knees and in the T car, sits on top of the drivers who have gone today, in P25 with a time good enough to be a few spots ahead of that (but those positions are unavailable). All smiles and very complimentary of Sam Schmidt, Alex Tagliani, and all the underdogs who flat-out beat him yesterday. A great attitude there; still in jeopardy of FTQing and he seems genuinely content that the little guys beat him fair and square, and really happy for the success of them. Unfortunately, Scott Dixon's coming across as a bit of a sore loser in most of his interviews, taking shots whenever he can, and perhaps bending the truth about when he ran out of fuel (whether it was during his fourth lap or on the cool-down).

Very dramatic day even though no cars are on the track right now. Plenty of tension as the rules and the weather may leave a legitimate competitor out of the running for the 95th Indianapolis 500-Mile Race.

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An important factor to consider in the drama is that Danica may have gotten out in time had James Jakes and Sebastián Saavedra flagged their runs. It is considered good sportsmanship for a team to request a yellow flag midway in the run if the driver has no chance. Both drivers were running well below the speed they'd need such that they would have need laps around 225 just to average it out to a P33 pace. However, neither team waved the driver, and instead chose to dawdle around for a full four laps, which stalled time and may be the difference. They broke no rules, and I doubt they intentionally were thinking of ways they could screw someone over (as they wouldn't gain from it; they FTQ either way), but it does go against what would be considered proper sportsmanship throughout Indy 500 history. They knew rain was coming, and they gain nothing by preventing anyone else from going out as they are out of the show, so it would have been classy to wave the runs as would be the standard of good competitors.

It's also important to consider that Danica did not pass inspection, and that's why she was at the end of the line. Not sure what the violation was.

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John Andretti will not give up his seat if a teammate DNQs, as Conway likely will and any of the others might.

Qualifying could resume around 4:45 my time (23 minutes from now).

I hope they avoid rain for the rest of the day. Watching the Andretti cars bump each other would be really bizarre, and quite possible with Marco on the bubble to be on the bubble, and Hunter-Reay one slot ahead in P31. Next bump knocks Lloyd out.

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Wow! That was exciting! Alex Lloyd bumps Marco Andretti out!

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Andretti gets one last run and bumps out Ryan Hunter-Reay. I don't particularly like either driver, so meh. :P

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A brilliant day of qualifications once more!

Mike Conway the first to take his third, biting early, knowing they needed to save time for his teammates. It wasn't meant to be and the fight to return from last year's wreck goes for naught. Indy will do that to you. It'll take and take and take and you have to just keep getting back at it.

Sebastián Saavedra seemed to be the one who could bump Andretti, but he didn't, losing two miles per hour from his second run's opening lap and waving the run. Bullet dodged. Andretti goes to the end of the line behind Lloyd and Jakes.

From no where, Alex Lloyd into the field with unprecedented speed! The Boy Scout Special with Dale Coyne Racing will start the Indianapolis 500, and in doing so, they placed Ryan Hunter-Reay on the bubble with Marco Andretti out of the field.

James Jakes went next, with time running out, and was waved after two. With just seconds on the clock, Andretti went out for one last run, knowing it was either him or his teammate Hunter-Reay going home. With his pace, it was Marco.

It's impossible to watch qualifying and not feel nervous, not feel your pulse increase. Whether it's your favorite driver, your least favorite, or someone you have no feelings for whatsoever, the drama, the agony, the glory...it's all there, it all happens so fast. The strategies, the analysis...nothing can determine anything, nothing predicts who can find that last-minute burst, nothing says what's the perfect plan of action. And there's just nothing you can do. It's a spectacle, and I love it. Your heart rides with Marco, feeling safe only to get bumped, watching the clock and storming off the pit lane, delivering when he had to, and with so much exuberance about his chances come race day. You just know he won't waste his chance because it's so important and it means so much, and it took so much from him, from his team, from everybody to get in the show. And yet your heart rides with Ryan, too, bumped out by his teammate, defenseless with the constraints of time, disappointing his sponsors and his fans.

Only one word can describe Bump Day: Indy.

I love this event so much. Absolutely love it. Those last fifteen minutes of qualifying were thrilling, even though I don't particularly support any of the drivers involved. So much relief, so much excitement, so much heartbreak, and so much of it within one team. Classic Indianapolis.

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Row One

1. Alex Tagliani

2. Scott Dixon

3. Oriol Servià

Row Two

4. Townsend Bell

5. Will Power

6. Dan Wheldon

Row Three

7. Buddy Rice

8. Ed Carpenter

9. Dario Franchitti

Row Four

10. Takuma Sato

11. Vitor Meira

12. J.R. Hildebrand

Row Five

13. James Hinchcliffe

14. Bertrand Baguette

15. Davey Hamilton

Row Six

16. Hélio Castroneves

17. John Andretti

18. E.J. Viso

Row Seven

19. Bruno Junqueira

20. Justin Wilson

21. Jay Howard

Row Eight

22. Tomas Scheckter

23. Tony Kanaan

24. Simona de Silvestro

Row Nine

25. Paul Tracy

26. Danica Patrick

27. Ryan Briscoe

Row Ten

28. Marco Andretti

29. Charlie Kimball

30. Graham Rahal

Row Eleven

31. Alex Lloyd

32. Pippa Mann

33. Ana Beatriz

Failed to Qualify: Ho-Pin Tung, Raphael Matos, James Jakes, Scott Speed, Mike Conway, Sebastián Saavedra, and Ryan Hunter-Reay

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I'm trying hard to get excited by this thread, but it just aint working.

Sorry guys... :P

So I've decided...to take leave b4 you guys decide to lynch me....

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And who is going to win Eric?

It's one of the first years in a long time where I genuinely have no prediction. It's just been that kind of month, and I love to see that. I'm a fan of Dario and Will, for sure, but I really hope Penske or Ganassi don't win. This is one of the best chances the little guys have, and there could be some extraordinary stories out of this one. The other guys can resume winning in a few weeks, but Indy would be something special for so many.

I think Franchitti and Dixon are the safest predictions. Ganassi's always fast and both drivers know what they're doing when it comes to winning a 500-miler. But I can't tell myself they'll win when I'm rooting so hard for a Tagliani or a Carpenter or a Servià or a Danica or any other surprise. And a close finish, too. I like close finishes almost as much as I love the human drama of this event.

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I'm trying hard to get excited by this thread, but it just aint working.

Sorry guys... :P

So I've decided...to take leave b4 you guys decide to lynch me....

It's just so different from F1. It's more about the human race than the auto race. That's why I love it so much, but at the same time, I think that's what makes it harder to appreciate for people from the F1 side of things. The stories aren't the show in F1; it's the cars and the drivers and all that. None of those factors are absent from Indy, and there's plenty of great action in the races (it may look easy, but some of the best overtakes really do occur there. The cars run so loose, and for drivers to get through those corners at those speeds and make a pass takes tremendous balls, tremendous feel for the car, tremendous everything really. A lot of the road course guys learn about oval racing and it's difficulties the hard way), but there's definitely a lot of spectacle to it. It attracts some (me) and likely deters others. I get chills when I think about the Indy 500 and the great moments I've seen in my decade-and-change watching.

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It's just so different from F1. It's more about the human race than the auto race. That's why I love it so much, but at the same time, I think that's what makes it harder to appreciate for people from the F1 side of things. The stories aren't the show in F1; it's the cars and the drivers and all that. None of those factors are absent from Indy, and there's plenty of great action in the races (it may look easy, but some of the best overtakes really do occur there. The cars run so loose, and for drivers to get through those corners at those speeds and make a pass takes tremendous balls, tremendous feel for the car, tremendous everything really. A lot of the road course guys learn about oval racing and it's difficulties the hard way), but there's definitely a lot of spectacle to it. It attracts some (me) and likely deters others. I get chills when I think about the Indy 500 and the great moments I've seen in my decade-and-change watching.

Well I can see the passion you have for this particular racing is undeniable, I'm glad you enjoy it as much as you do for it shows in your post...

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Didn't have time to post the quotes from day two, so here they are. Huge block for Danica because her interviews yesterday were her most mature yet and among her best ever. She gets it.

That's Indy. I've always said that this place is its own person. It reads you when you're nervous. It reads you when you're not confident. It reads you when you are. It throws a lot at you, but that's why this is the greatest racetrack in the world.

I feel like I need a drink. That's really how I feel. I might know after about two of those.

You learn to never take it for granted. That's definitely one thing. I don't know. Maybe you need to go work on the car constantly to narrow down what you need in the car. Every time I come here, it's a different situation, a different story, a different field out there. But every time I get to participate in the race, I learn more for the next race, and that's all I can do as a driver is take in as many situations on the track as possible and go on to the next one. And that's all I can do, as far as getting the car right and knowing what I need. You would think after seven years I'd be better off, but I'm worse than ever. I mean, not ignoring the fact that the competition has only gotten more difficult. A lot of people have said in their opinions this is the hardest they have ever seen the field. It's as competitive as they've ever seen it. I would have to agree.

This place can whip you into shape - or out of shape. But I was talking to Hunter-Reay the other day, and he said: 'Bump Day is just where I am. I'm experienced with Bump Day." And that's when I told him: 'You know what? It is the good memories that make me love this place so much, and it's unfortunate for anyone who hasn't had those really good days or really good moments here.' The relief that comes with it, because the highs are what we go for here. So the lows are really low, which means that the highs are really high here. And until you've experienced them, you've never really experienced Indy for all it can be for you. And I've been there. I feel lucky for that. Hopefully, I can continue to finish well, and I think our goal will have to be just stay on the lead lap until the first yellow comes out and go from there.

I was speechless. I can't believe this was happening. But it is exciting.

But I had to lift so badly in 3, I thought there's no way we can do this now. I saw the time for the first lap and thought you know what? Maybe, maybe. At that point I'm holding it flat, or I'm in the wall. There's not going to be a lift. The only lift that I am going to be doing is when I'm backward flying into the SAFER Barrier. So it was all or nothing, and that's what Indy's about. You know, it's just all credit to the guys. They work so hard and it's a never-give-up attitude that I think we all have, and we all kept the faith, what little of it was left at the end there. But we didn't stop believing. We had a tough run there, not just the fact of trying to hold it off the wall for those four laps, the oil temperature went sky high and on the third lap the engine was vibrating so much, by the fourth lap I couldn't see where I was going. I was absolutely convinced the thing was going to blow up. I thought there's no way this thing will last. I've never felt this way; I was looking in the mirror to see if I could see smoke. But it held on, and we made it happen. When we saw the crew guys' face when I pulled up and you see not just what it means for myself but what it means for the whole team, for the crew guys, for their families, all the effort they put in all year long, for Dale over there, it felt better than finishing fourth place.
I wonder if the track just got better, or what. I knew we were going to be hanging it out at the end there. Our approach was we're going home anyway. Really, I mean, the way we went out, it was either stick it in the fence or stick it in the show. So luckily we were on the upside of that

I think the pair of them [Mike Conway and Ryan Hunter-Reay] are two of the best in the business. Ryan has had terrible luck this year. Fortunately, Mike got a win, but Ryan has been in a position to win a lot of races this year and came short for whatever reason. I was just so fortunate to be on the upside of the circumstances.

[in] 1995 it wasn't this competitive, in my mind. I just feel that the team and the quality that was out there this year was just unmatched in the history of this Speedway, in my mind, from the drivers to the teams. I think this was the toughest it's ever been.
The event is awesome, and this is a great show. Hopefully I can be a part of it next year.

All quotes courtesy IMS PR through Pressdog, one of the best Indy sites around.

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Ryan Hunter-Reay and his sponsors bought the 41 car. Bruno Junqueira will not race.

I'm really just not going to comment. I mean...it's happened before (hell, it's happened to Junqueira before), and drivers I like have done it. Scott Goodyear nearly won the thing in 1992 in someone else's car. So, to be consistent, well, it's something I don't like but it happens. A bit of a downer after the drama of yesterday only to find out that...it didn't mean much, I guess. Sucks. But it's how it goes.

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Hunter-Reay will race.

Can't say I'm a huge fan of that rule. A driver who qualified on merit deserves to be in the race much more than someone who didn't. It's like letting Narain Karthikeyan drive Massa's Ferrari after HRT don't make the 107% rule.

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Yeah I agree with James. But why Ferrari would put a better driver in their car instead of Massa is beyond me :P

I guess its an historical rule, and part of the uniqueness of the race. So I'll live with it.

As for the winner myself, I am thinking Dixon has a better chance than Franchitti - it's a bit of a reversal from last year in terms of grid spots, and seems to me Dixon has been quiet and just plodded along and made his car work. I think he may not have the one lap pace (well, 4 lap pace, but then he did coast off the last corner), but I think the race pace will be there (so long as there is fuel in the car).

I'd like to see TK get up there...here's a guy, dumped by Andretti, gets a last minute deal with an arguably not that good of a team, and he has been racing the nuts off in all the races thus far and batting above that teams weight. If he can make it up to the podium, I'll be happy :D

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A lot of drivers are upset about it, but I see both sides (i.e. the sponsors) as much as I don't want to. Randy Bernard took the right approach in that the rule is the rule, and while it should have been changed 40 years ago (his words, not mine), it wasn't, so it is what it is. He also said if it were a case of a driver who did not belong in the race (i.e. if I showed up with a check) he would take a different stance. Fair enough.

It's happened for quite some time. Scott Goodyear's near-win in 1992, for example. Foyt's done it before, too, to put Tim Richmond in. Tagliani and Junqueira a few years ago. Not sure why all the outrage now when there really wasn't then.

Besides, the Speedway never forgets who disrespected it. Scott Goodyear got paid back in 1995, for example. Tim Richmond's open-wheel career went so well he became a NASCAR driver (back when NASCAR was obscure and Indy was the place to be). Tagliani did the classy thing and gave Junqueira a ride the following year, so he'll avoid all that...

...I hope. ;)

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Mike Conway's 2010 crash through ESPN:

  • Car went 5 feet into the air.
  • Impact with fence was 261 Gs.
  • Total from start to finish was over 400 Gs.

And people still insist the Dallara wasn't a safe car.

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There is no podium at the Indianapolis 500. Or at the Firestone Twin 275s. You should know better. :P

You know what I mean you smart alec.

But I'll spell it out just in case....

I hope he can make it into the top 3.

Happy now?

:P

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