Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Rain adds pole pressure

By Jamie Little

Las Vegas native and Green Valley High graduate Jamie Little will again serve as a pit reporter for the ABC Sports telecast of the Indianapolis 500 on May 28. This is the second of four columns by Little on her thoughts going into the 90th running of the historic auto race.

And the soggy saga at Indianapolis continues. Pole Day has been postponed until next Saturday. We had a small window at the track Sunday in which the rain subsided long enough to get in about 40 minutes of practice.

The practice sessions were divided into two groups. The first group managed its full 30 minutes, while the second group only had about 10 minutes of track time before the downpour began. Until that time, the drivers were overjoyed with the track conditions.

The temperature was about 55 degrees while the track was about 77 degrees. Cold temperatures lead to fast times.

And it was again the powerhouses of Target Chip Ganassi Racing and Marlboro Team Penske who took the top spots.

Despite only having eight laps under his belt, defending champion Dan Wheldon was the first to top 228 mph. The Target-Ganassi veteran posted a fast lap of 228.663 mph - good enough to put him at the top of the speed charts not only for this practice session but for the month of May as well.

Marlboro Team Penske driver Sam Hornish Jr., who had been the fastest on the first three days of practice, also turned his fast lap of the month at 228.663.

Ganassi drivers Wheldon and Scott Dixon seem to think they have what it takes to win the pole next Saturday. During the downpour following practice, Wheldon sat under the Honda Racing tent next to Dario Franchitti's wife, actress Ashley Judd, and commented about the decision to postpone qualifying.

"This is going to be difficult for the teams," he said. "Not only do they have to worry about qualifying setup (still) but work on race setup, too."

Twenty two cars were hoping to have their places in the 90th running of the Indianapolis 500 already secured so they could concentrate solely on race setup. Although it creates more hassle for some, it does create some interesting scenarios for others.

Contrary to the new qualifying format of taking 11 drivers per day, all 33 drivers will be qualified on Saturday, weather permitting. This means the fastest car will be on the pole.

Sounds funny, but just last year Kenny Brack, who was filling in for the injured Buddy Rice in the No. 15 Rahal Letterman car, was actually the fastest. At 227.59 mph he only managed to qualify 23rd because he qualified on the final day.

So the drivers who didn't feel they were ready or fast enough to qualify in the top 22 during the first two days now have a chance to get their car higher on the grid.

On Saturday, if their cars turn a speed good enough for 10th, that is where they will start. In other words, it brings more hope to some teams while bringing more uncertainty to other teams.

After covering eight hours of live television the last two days on ESPN2 and ABC Sports, without a single car qualifying, we will gladly welcome qualifying on Saturday. Cars on the track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the month of May are always a welcome sight!

The track is scheduled to open again for practice Wednesday through Thursday from noon until 6 p.m. (EST). Pole qualifying will take place 12-6 p.m. on Saturday and will be broadcast live on ESPN2.

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