May 13, 2009
Helio Castroneves, Team Penske. Finally free of his massive legal difficulties that consumed his every waking hour for months, Helio Castroneves (No. 3 Team Penske Dallara/Honda/Firestone), who turned 34 on Sunday, captured his third Indianapolis 500 pole position and Roger Penske's record 15th pole position on Saturday afternoon with a four-lap average speed of 224.864 mph (2 minutes, 40.0967 seconds cumulative time) on the historic 2.5-mile oval. It was the Brazilian's 27th career IndyCar Series pole and his first of the season. Teammate Ryan Briscoe (No. 6 Team Penske D/H/F) made a late and risky attempt to knock Castroneves off of the pole late during the six-hour session, withdrawing his second-best qualifying time to do it, but came up short at 224.083 mph. Briscoe fortunately stayed in the middle of Row 1, while 2007 Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti, (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing D/H/F) delivered a four-lap average of 224.010 to claim the outside posision of the front row. The first 11 spots of the 33-car field were set on Pole Day. Graham Rahal, making his second start, qualified fourth in the No. 02 McDonald's Racing D/H/F Team car for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing. Reigning Indy 500 and IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing D/H/F), the '08 pole sitter, and Andretti Green Racing's Tony Kanaan (No. 11 Team 7-Eleven D/H/F) also will join Rahal on Row 2. Kanaan, whose initial attempt was disqualified because of a post-qualifying technical inspection infraction, bumped his way into the field with an hour left. He's never started lower than sixth in his eight 500 Mile Races. Mariao Moraes (223.331), driving the No. 5 KV Racing Technology-Votorantim D/H/F car, qualified sixth, with Marco Andretti, No. 26 AGR Team Venom Energy D/H/F (223.114) and Will Power, No. 12 Team Penske Verizon Wireless D/H/F (223.078) also on Row 3. Danica Patrick, No. 7 AGR Boost Mobile/Motorola D/H/F (222.882) will start 10th and Alex Lloyd, No. 99 HER CGR/SSM Racing D/H/F, 11th. Lloyd bumped Hideki Mutoh from the field with an attempt that ended one minute before the end of the day. 2008 Firestone Indy Lights champion Raphael Matos led the day's 112nd-day qualifiers with a four-lap average of 223.429 mph in the No. 2 US Air Force Luczo Dragon car to become the first Chase Rookie of the Year candidate to qualify for the May 24 race. Paul Tracy, (No. 15 GEICO/KV Racing Technology D/H/F got in at 223.111 mph, Vitor Meira (No. 14 ABC Supply Co. AJ Foyt Racing D/H/F) at 223.054 and Justin Wilson (No. 18 Z-Line Designs D/H/F) 222.903 mph, make up Row 5, while Hideki Mutoh (No. 27 AGR Formula Dream D/H/F) at 222.805 mph, Ed Carpenter (No. 20 Menards/Vision Racing D/H/F) 222.780, and Dan Wheldon (No. 4 National Guard Panther Racing D/H/F) at 222.777 make up the sixth row. A.J. Foyt IV (No. 41 ABC Supply/Foyt-Greer Racing D/H/F), Sarah Fisher (222.082 mph) and Davey Hamilton (221.956 mph) rounded out Sundday's qualifiers.1996 IndyCar Series co-champion Scott Sharp (No. 16 Tequila Patrón Panther Racing D/H/F) qualified for the 2009 Indianapolis 500 on his final attempt on Sunday with a dramatic last-minute run that bumped E.J. Viso out of the provisional grid of 22 cars. Sharp withdrew his first run and was bumped out of the field by A.J. Foyt IV with roughly 10 minutes to go, qualified 20th with a four-lap average of 222.162 mph in his No. 16 Tequila Patrón Panther Racing Honda-powered Dallara. The final 11 spots of the 33-car field will be set on May 16 with Bump Day following on May 17. Helio had this to say afterwards: "It's just incredible. Again, for me, once again, I have to thank Roger and (Tim) Cindric to believe in me, to be behind me all the way. Like I said, you guys gave my life back just being in the race car and for me that means a lot. That's what I know to do, you know, since I was 11 years old, that's what I love, it's racing. This place is magic, man. I tell you, it's something that's just amazing...but today it was about finding the edge, the first attempt. I said to many people it was a little easy, and you don't want to go around easy; that means you're not going fast enough. Again, we work a little bit, make a little bit tough and certainly that 225.4 was something that, I don't know what happened. But definitely it was a great job for Roger Penske and the entire crew, No. 3. They did get all the bits on the car to make sure that we could squeeze every speed out there. And it did help."
The 2009 Indianapolis 500 starting grid (so far) with the first 22 qualifiers listed. The top 11 qualifiers were "locked-in" on Saturday, even though some 2nd day qualifiers on Sunday were faster. (Note Raphael Matos' top 2nd day qualifying speed, for instance, which would have put him in 7th starting position had he done it on Saturday):
1. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 224.864
2. (6) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 224.083
3. (10) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 224.010
4. (02) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 223.954
5. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 223.867
6. (11T) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 223.612
7. (5) Mario Moraes, Dallara-Honda, 223.331
8. (26) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 223.114
9. (12) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 223.028
10. (7) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 222.882
11. (99) Alex Lloyd, Dallara-Honda, 222.622
12. (2) Raphael Matos, Dallara-Honda, 223.429
13. (15) Paul Tracy, Dallara-Honda, 223.111
14. (14) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 223.054
15. (18) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 222.903
16. (27) Hideki Mutoh, Dallara-Honda, 222.805
17. (20) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 222.780
18. (4) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 222.777
19. (41) A.J. Foyt IV, Dallara-Honda, 222.586
20. (16) Scott Sharp, Dallara-Honda, 222.162
21. (67) Sarah Fisher, Dallara-Honda, 222.082
22. (44) Davey Hamilton, Dallara-Honda, 221.956
(Chris Jones/IRL)
Dario Franchitti, Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe, the front row qualifiers for the 2009 Indianapolis 500. Briscoe had this to say about not winning the Pole: "No, it was definitely a great day. Helio put in four very strong laps to get the pole. I really felt as though I had the car to match that. We just ran out of time at the end of the day and weren't able to get the practice run in to truly be prepared 100 percent. But, you know, we thought we had a shot at it and were in line and it just would have been, you know, distasteful, I guess, to not go and at least have a go at it. So we tried and didn't work out, but it was a lot of fun all day long." And Dario commented on his run: "Yeah, it's very satisfying to be on the front row here. It is a great feeling, especially Race Day to get in the car and have a clear view in front of you. But, you know, I think I kind of got my expectations up a bit little bit in the morning thinking we had more in the car and we didn't, so that was slightly disappointing. It would have been, we were pushing for the pole, what can I say? And these guys did a better job as a team, and we're back there now just making sure when we come here for the race, we've got everything we need."
(Jim Haines/IMS)
Helio Castroneves is all smiles at the traditional early Sunday morning photo shoot after capturing the Peak Performance Pole for the 2009 Indianapolis 500 on Saturday afternoon.
(Shawn Payne/IMS)
Roger Penske, Gil de Ferran and Helio Castroneves chat before his Pole run.
(Dana Garrett/IMS)
Graham Rahal's trick driving shoes.
(Dana Garrett/IMS)
Raphael Matos being interviewed after being fastest of the 2nd day qualifiers.
(Chris Jones/IMS)
Danica Patrick about to go out for her second qualifying attempt on Saturday.
(Chris Jones/IMS)
George Clinton performs on the Coke Zero Stage as part of the opening day of qualifying on Saturday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The 2009 Indianapolis 500 Centennial Era Program is simply a must have for any racing fan who is appreciative of the history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500. The program's 260 Pages are jam-packed with information and worthwhile reading, including a special Centennial Era section of 100 pages complete with replicated historical documents. We especially liked the profile of famed track historian Donald Davidson written by one of his sons. The double pane cover is by artist Thomas Kinkade. For those ordering the program before the race itself, the final driver lineup will be mailed after the starting field is set next weekend. All for just $12.00. Click here for more info.
(BMW)
As part of the celebration of its participation in the classic Mille Miglia road race and in conjunction with the 2009 event, BMW brought some of its cars to Italy just for the hell of it. Here's one, the BMW 328 Berlin-Rome Touring Roadster. The company says: "In the hope of competing in the Berlin-Rome race scheduled for 1941, Germany's National Sports Authority had three existing BMW Roadsters fitted with more advanced aerodynamic roadster bodies by Carrozzeria Touring of Milan. What ultimately emerged were racing cars that boasted an outstandingly good drag coefficient for the time. The events of the Second World War, however, put paid to any further motor racing events with German involvement."
Year of construction: 1937 chassis, 1941 body
Engine: 6-cylinder in-line
Displacement: 1971 cc
Bore x Stroke: 66 x 96 mm
Power output: 136 bhp at 6000 rpm
Gearbox: 4-speed
Brakes: Alfin drums, vented brake back plates
Weight: 780 kg
Max. speed: 200 km/h (125 mph)
Oriol Servia, Rahal Letterman Racing. Veteran driver Oriol Servia will partner with Rahal Letterman Racing to pursue a qualifying spot for the 2009 Indianapolis 500 this weekend. "We all know it's not ideal to jump in the car for Thursday and Friday," said Servia, who will drive the No. 17 Rahal Letterman Racing entry with backing from DAFCA, a company dedicated to protecting the supply chain of micro electronic goods from acts of cyber terrorism. "We have two days to prepare for qualifying and one for the race." Servia finished ninth in the IndyCar Series in points last year, recording seven top-10 finishes with KV Racing Technology. He finished 11th in the Indianapolis 500 after starting 25th. Rahal Letterman Racing won the 2004 Indianapolis 500 with driver Buddy Rice and fielded cars for Chase Rookies of the Year Danica Patrick in 2005 and Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2008. This one-race entry for Rahal Letterman Racing is hopefully a test-run for a full season return in 2010.
See another live episode of "Autoline After Hours" hosted by Autoline Detroit's John McElroy, with Peter De Lorenzo and auto industry PR veteran Jason Vines this Thursday evening, May 14, at 7:00PM EDT at www.autolinedetroit.tv. By the way, if you'd like to subscribe to the Autoline After Hours podcasts, click on the following links:
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