Rookie Renna tops 230 mph in Indy practice

Friday, May 9, 2003 | 9:38 a.m.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Rookie Tony Renna gained more speed Thursday with pole day looming Saturday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Renna turned in his fastest lap of the month at 230.309 mph in the Cure Autism Now/HomeMed Dallara/Toyota, the eighth-fastest driver among 24 drivers who were preparing for the 87th Indianapolis 500.

"We haven't changed the car a whole lot except for trimming it out and making some fine-tuning adjustments here and there," Renna said after turning 44 laps Thursday. "We made some gains. Obviously we started working toward a qualifying setup and trying to find some speed."

Renna, 26, admitted that he had a little bit of help on his fast lap.

"Our fastest lap of the day obviously was in a bit of a draft," he said. "On our own, I think we're going to be fairly competitive; I don't think we're going to be putting up 230s on our own."

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