The Weatherman Fooled Us Again
Thursday dawned with promise that we would be able to get in a full eight hours of running with no interruptions for rain. The blue skies this morning assured me of that.
I was so certain of a dry day, I sent out the following Tweet, when I arrived at the track at 9:30 this morning.
I guess I jinxed the day to some extent, at least enough to prove me wrong. Cars took to the track at 10:00 am, but after about thirty minutes of running, only twelve cars had turned laps. The top speed of the day we set early, by Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’ Ward, who turned a lap at 228.861 mph. The fastest “No-Tow” speed was set by Colton Herta, with a speed of 224.182 mph.
Today saw two crashes – both by Swedish drivers. Around 11:30, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Linus Lundqvist lost the rear of the car and smacked the SAFER Barrier exiting Turn Two. Then around 3:45, Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson, the 2022 Indianapolis 500 champion, lost it coming out of Turn Four. He hit the outside wall, then shot across the track to hit the inside wall just before the pit entrance. Fortunately both drivers walked away. I was able to get a photo of the damaged Ericsson car, as it was taken back to the garage area.
By the time the track was cleaned up, there was moisture in Turn Three. It was green for three minutes before a light shower hit The Speedway. The yellow lasted for about an hour and ten minutes, before the track went green at 5:35 pm. The track went yellow with a few minutes remaining, when Conor Daly had a mechanical issue and was slowed on the track. By the time he coasted in, there were more sprinkles. So, technically – another day finished prematurely due to rain.
I was hoping since so much time has been lost, and the forecast for Friday afternoon is looking a little iffy – that they would start Fast Friday early at 10:00 am. But as I write this a little after 7:00 pm on Thursday, they have not announced anything.
A Noon start time will suit us fine anyway. Susan was to arrive tonight at 9:20, but weather has delayed it to a 1:07 am arrival. It’s going to be a late night. I just hope they don’t cancel it.
That’ll do it for me for tonight. I’m not even sure where I am going to eat tonight, as I am about to leave the track, but I will probably take a nap before I have to go to the airport. Thanks for following along today and please go back and read my review on the Aramark concessions at the track. Also, don’t forget to send in your Trivia answers. They are due on Tuesday May 21. Once again, I’ll close with a few photos of the day.
George Phillips
Oilpressure 
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