Good morning from a sun-drenched, but cool Indianapolis Motor Speedway. As predicted, just as we were packing up to leave around 7:00 last night, A downpour came. The rains were so heavy that we could hardly see the grandstands across the track from the media center. What does that mean, other than we had a very soggy drive to Dawson’s? It means that all the rubber from the past three days has been washed off of the race track, and those hitting practice at 8:30 this morning will be faced with a very green track.
It’s Qualifying Day at IMS
Posted in Indianapolis 500 on May 20, 2023 by OilpressureFast Friday Wrap-up
Posted in Indianapolis 500 on May 19, 2023 by Oilpressure
I thought we were going to have more answers from today and we got them. As if we didn’t already know, we had it confirmed that the Ganassi cars are fast. Once again, a Ganassi car was listed atop the scoring pylon when the checkered flag flew at 6:00 pm. Takuma Sato turned a lap of 234.753 mph early in the day, on a run where he got as close to hitting the wall without actually hitting it as I think I’ve ever seen. As the late Bobby Unser would’ve said – you couldn’t slip a sheet of paper in between the car and the wall.
My Favorite Weekend of the Month
Posted in Indianapolis 500 on May 19, 2023 by Oilpressure
By Susan Phillips
My flight last night was not as harrowing as we feared. I got in only 15 minutes late. We slept in some this morning and I feel fairly well rested. Last year at this time, I was struggling through qualifying weekend. I had planned to stay home for the Grand Prix weekend last year. I knew I was in bad shape and I thought three weekends in a row up here would do me in. Of course, I planned to go to the race, but I really wanted to go to qualifying weekend. We went to fast Friday and I managed to get around slowly, but IMS is a big place. What walking I did took its toll.
Qualifying Preview
Posted in Indianapolis 500 on May 19, 2023 by Oilpressure
Today is Fast Friday – the day that IndyCar allows an extra amount of turbocharger boost for extra horsepower for Qualifying Weekend. Reportedly, it will give the cars about one-hundred more horsepower. This is my annual chance to rant on how contrived I feel this is. If you are going to allow extra boost for three days, why not do it for the entire month? If that puts too much stress on the engines; how about just leaving it alone?
Thursday Practice Wrap-up
Posted in Indianapolis 500 on May 18, 2023 by Oilpressure
Practice Two for the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500 is in the books. It was another glorious day at the track. After a cool start to the day (46° when I woke up), the bright sunshine warmed things up quickly. I don’t think there was a single cloud in the sky all day, as the temperature reached a very pleasant 77° this afternoon.
Remembering Fifty Years Ago
Posted in Indianapolis 500 on May 18, 2023 by Oilpressure
A couple of weeks ago, Gordon Johncock was presented with a “Baby Borg”, a miniature version of the Borg-Warner trophy. It symbolizes Johncock’s two Indianapolis 500 victories, in 1973 and 1982. I don’t know if this is accurate or not, but I have heard that even the Baby Borgs cost around $50,000 because they are made of silver. That could be an urban legend, but that’s what I’ve heard.
Day Two at IMS–That’s More Like It
Posted in Indianapolis 500 on May 17, 2023 by Oilpressure
It didn’t take long for Scott Dixon to make a statement. The first official practice got underway at Noon today, and I think by about 12:06 – Scott Dixon put up a time of 229.174 mph. It was reported later that that speed was the fourth-highest speed on Opening Day in history.
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