Good afternoon from the beautiful grounds of Road America! We have actually been here for a while, but it was just before Practice Two started. We immediately grabbed the golf cart and went out to watch from a few different vantage points; including Canada Corner, Turn Five and the Carousel – after watching Friday’s Practice One from the pits.
It’s another perfect day here, but it rained again last night. I think today is supposed to be a carbon copy of yesterday, but maybe just a tad bit warmer. Tomorrow is going to be where everything changes. It will be dry, but cloudy skies and much cooler. I think the high will be maybe 65° with a low of 48° – at least that’s what the TV said this morning. Based on what the weather is like at home – I’ll take it.
One thing I forgot to mention yesterday was the healthy crowd that was here. It was more like a crowd we would see on a Saturday here in past years. This morning’s crowd is rivaling what we would see on some Race Day mornings here a decade ago. While I’m glad to see this event continuing to grow, selfishly I hope it doesn’t become too big in the years to come.
As usual, there were some drivers making a big move on the speed charts in Practice Two, and there were others left scratching their heads looking for more speed. Pato O’Ward led the session with a time of 1:44.029, which was almost three-tenths of a second quicker than the quick time of Marcus Armstrong yesterday, who happened to be the second quickest this morning. Don’t be too surprised if Armstrong picks up his first career win tomorrow.
Two of the Penske cars found some speed overnight. Scott McLaughlin was third quick this morning, after being only nineteenth quick of Friday. David Malukas was twelfth quick yesterday, but worked his way up to fourth quick this morning. However, Josef Newgarden moved up only one slot to thirteenth quick this morning. That suggests to me that the left foot is still giving him problems with the heavy braking required at this massive track. Don’t forget, Felipe Nasr is here this weekend on standby, in case Newgarden can’t go. But I can’t believe that having not been in an Indy car all season, that he would be more effective than Newgarden.
We learned this morning that there are two six-spot grid penalties issued this weekend for an unapproved engine change. The two drivers affected are Santino Ferrucci and Alexander Rossi – both Chevrolets.
The Indy NXT cars are running their first race of the weekend as I type. We are going to get something to eat, then head to either the pits or Turn Five to watch qualifying which starts at 1:00 (local time). I’ll close with a few photos that Susan took this morning (and one that I took of her taking pictures). Please check back later this afternoon, when I will have a qualifying wrap-up.
George Phillips
