Indianapolis Qualifying: Bump Day thoughts

On a day that promised to bring high drama to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Bump Day for the 2011 Indianapolis 500 lived up to its billing and was suspenseful until the very last moment.

By late morning, it was apparent that rain was going to play an important part in the day’s proceedings.  Sure enough, after only two qualifiers, the skies opened and fans were cleared from the stands as a torrential downpour engulfed the facility.  Rain came down so hard at some points that it was almost impossible to see the grandstands on the opposite side of the track.  Luckily, the rain passed fairly quickly, and even though the track was completely drenched, the sun reappeared and the track dried quite quickly.

Upon the resumption of qualifications at around 2:30, the field was quickly filled. Should rain have washed out the remainder of the day, the qualifications would have been concluded at 6:00 with the field as it stood.  When veteran Paul Tracy put his #23 Wix Filters Dallara in the field for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing by posting the day’s fastest qualifying speed, his final laps came as the first sprinkles of another impending rain shower began to fall on the Speedway.  This interruption led to one of the biggest stories throughout a large portion of the afternoon.

Early in the qualifying session, the #7 GoDaddy.com Andretti Autosport car of Danica Patrick was withdrawn from the qualification line because of what was later revealed to have been a technical inspection failure involving out-of-spec brake ducts.  As it turned out, Danica would not make it to the head of the line again before the field was filled, and a second rain fell on the 2.5 mile oval at around 3:30.  When INDYCAR officials halted qualifications for a second time, Patrick was sitting in her car at the head of the qualifying line without a spot in the field.  Rumors immediately began to swirl (some of them serious, sadly) about whether INDYCAR would extend the qualification session to give Danica one more chance to make the field.  Thankfully, it was a moot point as IMS track crews were again able to quickly dry the surface and the track was reopened for qualifications at around 4:45.  With this opportunity, Danica put her car safely in the field with the second fastest run of the day.

Unfortunately for Andretti Autosport, their day did not get much easier once Danica qualified.  As several drivers were bumped in and out of the field, it became apparent that at least one Andretti car was going to be left on the sidelines, and at several points it looked like as many as three could miss the show.  Mike Conway, returning to Indianapolis after his vicious accident last year, was never even close to having enough speed to make the field, and by 5:40 his #27 car had exhausted all three of his allotted attempts for the day and was officially eliminated from competition.

As hopefuls such as Rafa Matos, Sebastian Saavedra, and James Jakes tried their best to post times that failed to reach the necessary speed, Andretti drivers Ryan Hunter-Reay and Marco Andretti found themselves in the unenvious position of being on the bubble.  Finally, after two attempts that weren’t nearly fast enough to get into the field, 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year Alex Lloyd took to the track for his final attempt of the day.  In an attempt that was reminiscent of John Andretti’s miraculous run in the waning moments of the 2009 Indianapolis 500 qualifications, Alex Lloyd somehow, somewhere, found another mile per hour and was able to securely put his car in the field in dramatic, last-minute fashion.  Making the run even more remarkable was that Alex reported a problem with his Honda engine starting on the third lap that caused the oil temperatures to rise and a vibration to set in, making it difficult for Alex to even focus on the track.  He admitted that he was afraid the engine was going to blow during the run, but it held together long enough to get the #19 Boy Scouts of America car into this year’s starting lineup.  Sadly for Dale Coyne Racing, Lloyd’s stablemate, rookie James Jakes, was never able to find the speed necessary and will have to wait until next year to try again.

Following Lloyd’s sensational run, Marco Andretti, having just been bumped, took to the track with less than a minute to spare in an attempt to bump his way back into the field.  On the bubble now was none other than teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay.  Lloyd’s bump had ensured that two Andretti Autosport cars would be left out of the lineup for next Sunday’s race.  Marco, who had practiced at over 226 mph earlier in the day, had plenty of speed to spare and easily bumped Hunter-Reay from the field.  After surviving a bump day nightmare in 2009, Hunter-Reay was not as fortunate this year and will spend next weekend as a spectator rather than a participant.  It is notable that the two drivers most involved in the last-lap incident in last year’s race failed to qualify this year.  The third driver involved in that accident, Ana Beatriz, ended qualifying this year on the bubble.

The debate will rage for days to come over whether Michael Andretti should have withdrawn the qualified cars of Marco Andretti and Ryan Hunter-Reay to give them time to post better speeds.  Of course, hindsight is 20/20, and the fact that his decision not to withdraw the cars resulted in RHR not making the field makes second-guessing Michael seem easy.  However, after Sarah Fisher tried the maneuver a year ago with Jay Howard, it’s understandable why Michael decided to stick by the times that were already posted and in the field.  Had it not been for Alex Lloyd finding speed at the last possible minute, Michael’s decision would have paid off perfectly well.  However, Alex did find the speed, and young Marco was forced to make an attempt that would ultimately bump his teammate from the field.  In my opinion, Michael absolutely made the right decision in the moment.  When a driver turns in a gutsy performance like Alex Lloyd’s, sometimes all you can do is tip your hat and admit defeat.

Among the happier stories of the day was that of Pippa Mann.  After battling a scary loose race car all week but slowly working her way up to a respectable and safe speed by Thursday, Mann and her Conquest Racing crew saw much of their speed disappear on Friday and Saturday.  Nearly in tears on Saturday evening, a despondent Pippa admitted that she didn’t know where the speed had disappeared to or how they would be able to get it back.  Their last hopes were a rebuilt gearbox and a new Honda engine that was installed following Saturday’s conclusion.  When she returned to the track for the morning practice session, the speed still didn’t seem to be in the car as she was barely able to clear the 220 mph hurdle in seven laps.  The team continued to make changes as her spot in the qualifying line drew nearer.  Finally, Pippa took to the track, still not confident that the speed was in the car or of the changes that had been made to her setup.  Nonetheless, she drove flat into turn one and when she came out safely on the other side, she knew the setup changes were going to work.  Posting three consistent laps of 223.9 and a fourth at 224.0, she was one of only a few drivers to post their fastest speed on the final lap, and by qualifying in the 32nd position, Pippa was the only one-off rookie to make the race.

Of course, for every Pippa Mann and Alex Lloyd, there were several that felt the sting of Indianapolis’s heartbreak.  For the seven entered drivers who failed to make the race, the coming days will be painfully long.  Of those seven drivers, four of them are IZOD IndyCar Series regulars: Conway, Hunter-Reay, Saavedra, and Jakes.  A fifth, Rafa Matos, has competed full time thus far in the season and expects to participate in the remaining road course events in 2011.

The twists and turns of this weekend led to this year’s Indianapolis 500 starting lineup being one of the most jumbled and unpredictable fields in the race’s history.  Nobody would have guessed Dario Franchitti would be starting ninth.  Even more difficult to believe is that Team Penske holds down positions 5, 16, and 27 for Will Power, Helio Castroneves, and Ryan Briscoe respectively.  What was expected to be the turning point for Team Penske’s season following a tumultuous first four races for Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves has suddenly turned into a giant question mark as that team has looked significantly more mortal during the past week.  Helio will gun for his record-tying fourth Indianapolis victory from the same position that Englishman Dan Wheldon won from in 2005.  Unfortunately for Ryan Briscoe, nobody has won the 500 from the 27th starting position since Fred Frame did so in 1932.  If Will Power shows strongly during next weekend’s race (which I fully expect him to do), he will crush any remaining doubt about who the top driver is at Team Penske in 2011.

The other big story from the starting lineup is the abundance of little teams starting near the front.  Sam Schmidt, of course, has his cars in positions one and four, and Dan Wheldon, entered by Bryan Herta Autosport but with an association with Sam Schmidt, will roll off from the outside of row two.  Panther Racing, the runners-up for the past three years, will send one-off driver Buddy Rice away in the ninth position, while Series oval regular Ed Carpenter will start his Sarah Fisher Racing ride next to Rice in the middle of row three.  And then there is journeyman Oriol Servia, who seems to have finally found a home at Newman/Haas Racing.  He’ll start from the outside of row one and will be a great driver to wager on next weekend.

If any fans weren’t entertained at Indianapolis this weekend, there is truly no hope for them to ever enjoy qualifying.  There were so many good stories, strange stories, and sad stories throughout the weekend that it was nearly impossible to keep track of them all.  From the stellar runs of Alex Tagliani and Alex Lloyd to the crushing heartbreak of Ryan Hunter-Reay and Mike Conway and the inexplicable situation of Target Chip Ganassi Racing running Dario Franchitti out of fuel, there was never a dull moment.  Even the usual boring downtimes of Sunday afternoon’s rain delays were intriguing as we all wondered if the Indianapolis 500 Telecast Presented by GoDaddy.com would actually run without the GoDaddy.com car in the field!  A great crown turned out all weekend long and was rewarded by superb action on and off the track.

I also couldn’t help but notice how many families were in attendance throughout the weekend.  Much more so than in the past couple of years, it really seemed like younger families with young children were enjoying the day at the Speedway and taking in all the many various activities that took place, including those having absolutely nothing to do with the cars on track.  It is so important to get the younger generation appreciating the Indianapolis 500 again, and based on what I saw this weekend, it seems that INDYCAR and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway are really beginning to reap the rewards of that emphasis.

This week will see the starting 33 drivers scattered to media markets throughout the country to promote this weekend’s Indianapolis 500 and all the remaining races on the IZOD IndyCar Series season schedule.  Here are More Front Wing, we will keep you up to date with the latest news and information on the 95th Running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.  Stay tuned as we wrap up our Centennial Interview Series this week with four-time Indianapolis 500 champions.  We will also review qualifying and preview the race on this week’s podcast, and we’ll kick off full race weekend coverage with both Paul and Steph on-site beginning on Thursday night.  For the latest, be sure to stay tuned here, on Facebook and on Twitter.

Once again, we at More Front Wing send a big thank you to all of our fans and listeners who have continued to support us and send kind words and comments.  We hope you enjoyed our coverage of Indianapolis qualifications this weekend, and we truly look forward to bringing you more coverage next weekend.  As always, please feel free to drop us a line by using the Contact Us link above, shooting us an e-mail at feedback@morefrontwing.com, or by sending us a message on Twitter.