INDIANAPOLIS —
Fast Friday lived up to its name at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as drivers tuned up for Pole Day runs today for the Indianapolis 500.
The fastest speeds of the week were run with Marco Andretti being fastest of the field with a top lap of 227.540 miles per hour turned around 4:30 p.m. for the top speed of the week.
Ryan Briscoe was second with his mark of 226.835 followed by Helio Castroneves 226.716, Ryan Hunter-Reay 226.400 and Scott Dixon 226.224.
Twenty-four spots will be filled in today’s qualifying with the final slots filled Sunday followed by bumping if the need exists for that action. Qualifying begins at 11 a.m. following practice time for all drivers. Gates open at 6:30 a.m.
Pole Day is a bit different these days with all drivers attempting to qualify with four-lap runs following warmups. Each driver may have as many as three attempts each day.
At 4:30 p.m., the drivers with the nine fastest times will run again in reverse order of speed average to determine the pole winner and the first nine spots in the race. Alex Tagliano was the pole man a year ago and was joined on the front row by Dixon and Oriol Servia.
For the first time this week, drivers had a boost in power for Friday's practice; it will remain in effect today and Sunday for qualifying but not for the race.
With the boost in speed, many speed averages were about three miles faster than the fastest lap turned earlier in the week in practice.
“Our car woke up today . . . and we’ve been working hard to get fast. Consistency will be the difference in qualifying,” he said.
He said it would mean “the world to him” to be on the pole. He has started in the third row in four races.
“Last year, we were just trying to get in the show. Now, we have a chance to be on the pole. I will just try to do the same thing I did today,” he said.
He recalled that his grandfather [Mario Andretti] started on the pole in 1987.
Briscoe said he could make a run for the pole. “I feel we’re making progress,” said the Team Penske driver who will be in his seventh race.
He said it is hard to really know where drivers ranked because it was difficult to get a clean run. Andretti said the added boost made tows less relevant.
Simona de Silvestro had the slowest speed of 212.516 and Jean Alesi was a tad faster at 213.423.
More than 1,200 laps were run in Friday’s practice and more than 1,200 have been run in practice.
Pit passes – Curb/Agajanian has been a sponsor and entrant of cars in the race for 40 years, and has signed on as associate sponsor for the No. 39 Fisher Hartman Racing car to be driven by Bryce Clauson.
• Parnelli Jones, winner of the 1963 race, was at the track. This year marks the 50th anniversary of his being the first driver to run a 150-mile lap in 1962 when he won the pole.
• U.S. Auto Club sprint cars ran at Bloomington Speedway on Friday in the Larry Rice Classic. Silver Crown cars will be on the track at Indianpolis Raceway Park at Clermont tonight.
USAC sprint cars will be in Terre Haute next week for the Hulman Classic.
Auto Racing
Fast Friday lives up to its name at Speedway
- Auto Racing
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TRACKSIDE: Local drivers, owners looking to have strong night at Tony Hulman Classic
In its rich 43-year history, the Tony Hulman Sprint Car Classic has long carried on a strong local racing tradition.
From its early beginnings starting in 1971, the U.S. Auto Club-sanctioned event has been the annual centerpiece of the racing calendar at the Terre Haute Action Track as well as a key stop on the USAC sprint schedule and one of the most sought after wins in big league sprint-car racing. -
Carpenter arrives as Indy 500 threat
And the crowd went wild.
Not only did Ed Carpenter win the pole for the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500, he is the hometown son. Carpenter, the stepson of Tony George, completed his rookie orientation in 2004 and has spent the last several years, proving he deserved to be the IZOD IndyCar Series. There is no questioning his credentials now. -
Carpenter wins Indy 500 pole
Ed Carpenter is on the pole for the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500.
The native of Marshall, Ill., earned the No. 1 spot for the May 26 race with a strong run in the Fast Nine competition at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday. He is the first American driver on the pole since 2006. -
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TRACKSIDE: Tough to rise from sprint-car racing, especially in challenging financial times
Open-wheel sprint-car racing, whether it be at the national or local level, has earned a reputation over the years of generating its share of thrills and excitement for its fans and a valuable training ground for drivers seeking to hone their skills that someday might elevate them to the “major leagues” of their sport.
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METRO ROUNDUP: Rose baseball wins another thriller
Rose-Hulman earned its third victory in its last at-bat in the last five days with a 6-5 win over Franklin in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball Tuesday night at Art Nehf Field.
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East gets jump at SUMAR Classic
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Hurtubise, Sumar races on Action Track slate this weekend
Championship racing is scheduled this weekend at the Terre Haute Action Track with U.S. Auto Club features set for today and Saturday.
One USAC championship will be decided and the spread in the other division could widen or tighten up as a result of the races.
The Jim Hurtubise Classic for sprint cars is today. Only 26 points separate three drivers in the point totals. -
TRACKSIDE: Chase Stockon hopes momentum stays with him in Terre Haute
Momentum, an element that can be as elusive to a race driver as that perfect setup, can spell the difference in winning or running at the rear of the pack.
It’s a force difficult to achieve and maybe even harder to maintain. One learns quickly to make the most of the opportunity when it comes his way.
It’s something Chase Stockon will carry with him coming into today’s Jim Hurtubise Classic at the Terre Haute Action Track.
Only days following the biggest victory of his young and promising career, the $10,000-to-win USAC feature at Lawrenceburg, Stockon followed that up with another rich payday this past weekend at Tri-State Speedway. -
IndyCar celebrates return to Pocono
IndyCar driver Ed Carpenter had the chance to take a drive around Pocono Raceway, and promptly handed the car keys to racing great Mario Andretti.
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METRO ROUNDUP: Rain forces postponement of Jim Hurtubise Classic
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METRO ROUNDUP: USAC points leader Levi Jones out for season
Levi Jones, the five-time and reigning United States Auto Club (USAC) National Sprint Car champion, will undergo season-ending surgery on Tuesday to repair two herniated discs in his neck. While a full recovery is expected, the 12-week rehabilitation period will not allow for Jones to finish out the 2012 season, where he has competed in the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car and TRAXXAS Silver Crown divisions for Tony Stewart Racing (TSR).
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TRACKSIDE: Stockon takes giant step forward in USAC
One of the more impressive and welcomed storylines of the recently completed Indiana Sprint Week was the emergence of area driver Chase Stockon on the national sprint car scene.
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JJ joins hero Mears among four-time winners of Brickyard
Love him or hate him, there is no denying that Jimmie Johnson is a master at the Brickyard.
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Hamlin wins Brickyard 400 pole position
Denny Hamlin captured his first ever pole for the Curtiss Shaver 400 at the Brickyard at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday.
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Keselowski gives Penske first stock-car win at IMS
Brad Keselowski made history Saturday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as he took the checkered flag at the inaugural Indy 250 NASCAR Nationwide race.
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Bordais, Popow take checkered flag after downpour
While it never rained a drop during the month of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Super Weekend at the Brickyard certainly saw its share Friday as both the inaugural Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge and the Rolex Sports Car Series met with the wet stuff.
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TRACKSIDE: Indiana Sprint Week rises above heat, rain, poor economy
The 25th annual version of Indiana Sprint Week is now officially in the record books and the latest chapter will go down as one of the most successful in recent years.
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Red-hot Hunter-Reay goes for fourth straight at Edmonton
Ryan Hunter-Reay goes for his fourth straight victory Sunday in IZOD IndyCar Series action in Canada.
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Clayton wins at Don Smith Classic
They call Daron Clayton, “The Modern Day Cowboy.”
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The King of Speed
Born in Terre Haute, Roger Curtis grew up on Franklin Street, moved to Riley with his family when he was in sixth grade and attended Thornton Elementary School and Honey Creek Junior High before graduating from Terre Haute South High School in 1985.
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Jones occupies driver’s seat: Six-time THAT winner leads Sprint Week series
When you think of USAC’s Indiana Sprint Week, thoughts of Levi Jones shouldn’t be far behind.
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TRACKSIDE: Late models may have no long-term future in Indiana
Reflecting on what was billed as the biggest week of the summer for dirt-track stock-car racing … while preparing to shift gears for the busiest week of the year for non-wing sprint-car racing in the Wabash Valley.
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Kenny Wallace realizes Action Track dream
Kenny Wallace won the UMP modified feature, leading flag-to-flag for the victory on Thursday night at the Terre Haute Action Track.
Wallace, a NASCAR Sprint Cup driver from 1990-2008, couldn’t have more thrilled to become part of a racing revival at the venerable dirt oval. -
TRACKSIDE: Summer heat has made this ‘The Hell Tour’
It is fittingly billed as “The Hell Tour” for many of the Midwest’s leading late model stock car drivers and their crews.
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Franchitti mired in post-Indy 500 slump
Dario Franchitti hopes to get back on track in IndyCar Series action Sunday in Canada.
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TRACKSIDE: Retired driver LaJoie spreads the word of safety
In his roles as past driving champion and television analyst, Randy LaJoie has rightfully earned the reputation as a major contributor to the sport of auto racing.
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Trackside: Stanbrough on track at midseason
When veteran driver Jon Stanbrough ushered in a new season in Florida back in February, he found himself facing a pair of unfamiliar challenges.
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Atchison, Virgilio win weekend races at Crossroads Dragway
Troy Atchison and Tony Virgilio won feature races in weekend racing at Crossroads Dragway.
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TRACKSIDE: Clauson bucks the IndyCar trend
On the surface, the distance from the dirt oval at Lincoln Park Speedway to the massive, paved Indianapolis Motor Speedway may appear only a few miles apart.
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