Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Rookie has top speed so far in Indy 500 practice

Wednesday, May 8, 2002 | 9:55 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at bh@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4089.

Rookie Laurent Redon on Tuesday posted the fastest speed of the first three days of practice for the Indianapolis 500 with a lap of 229.808 mph at the famed 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Tuesday's practice session was cut short by 20 minutes when another rookie -- P.J. Jones -- crashed in Turn 1 late in the day. Jones was held overnight at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis with a fracture of the C-6 vertebrae, said Dr. Henry Bock, director of medical services for the Indy Racing League and IMS.

Jones is listed in good condition and is expected to be released today, but is facing a six-week recovery period. Team Menard has not named a replacement driver for the Indy 500.

Redon's best lap in the No. 34 Mi-Jack Dallara/Infiniti came during the final hour of practice.

"I knew it would be a quick lap, but I was surprised to see a 229," Redon said. "I had a tow, but a tow doesn't help you in the turns and I am sure we would have had a fast lap without the tow -- not a 229, but still fast.

"The good thing is that the track has been different every day and we have been fast. The first day was sunny, (Monday) was a short session and we got up to speed quickly, and today we were fast with the wind blowing from a different direction. That is really what I am happy about today."

Bruno Junqueira was second fastest at 228.566 in the No. 33 Target Chip Ganassi G Force/Chevrolet and Scott Sharp was third fastest at 228.135 in the No. 8 Delphi Dallara/Chevrolet. Defending Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves was fourth at 227.637 in the No. 3 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet.

Mark Dismore, driving a Dallara/Chevrolet for team owner Sam Schmidt of Henderson, was eighth fastest Tuesday at 226.521.

"Today went really well," Dismore said. "Every day we just keep progressing and learning. We just have to keep doing what we're doing, just keep taking baby steps. Hopefully by Saturday we'll be up and walking."

Anthony Lazzaro, piloting Schmidt's other entry, was 31st with a speed of 219.878.

"Today the guys gave me a car that I have confidence in," Lazzaro said. "I don't think the speed on the charts represents what we're capable of.

"We've played with a variety of setups over the last three days. Now we can concentrate on making the small changes and I can focus on my driving."

Al Unser Jr., a part-time Henderson resident, was 11th fastest in a Kelley Racing Dallara/Chevrolet at 226.400.

Jimmy Vasser of Las Vegas was 24th fastest in a Dallara/Chevrolet fielded by Rahal Letterman Racing.

"The lap times are not where we want them to be right now, but the cars really feel good," Vasser said. "We do have some tricks coming later in the week that should help our speed.

"It seems like we always found ourselves out on the track by ourselves where there was no chance to get a tow or draft. Certainly, we have gone quicker with a tow, but I'm really happy with how the Miller Lite car feels at this point. It's just a matter of squeezing a little more speed out of them."

Las Vegas resident Paul Tracy was 32nd fastest on Tuesday in limited track time in his Dallara/Chevrolet for Team Green 7-Eleven Racing.

"Today was really tough," Tracy said. "We had to wait out the rain for several hours, and then just four laps into my first run I hit the wall. It damaged the right side of the car, and we weren't able to go back out.

"The car had a lot of understeer and I did all I could to get through turn one, but it just kept tracking to the wall. The Team Green 7-Eleven crew is still learning the car and trying to find a good setup; it's either loose or pushing right now, and we don't have a handle on it yet. To be fast at Indy, your car has to handle well and right now ours isn't."

John de Vries of Las Vegas posted the 35th fastest speed at 214.727 in a Dallara/Chevrolet for Brayton Racing.

"Today's practice was quite brief," de Vries said. "I had less than 20 laps under my belt, but the car just didn't feel right. "I've learned here that patience is a must, and we'll just iron out the kinks one at a time."