After Saturday’s Bump Day drama, drivers were relieved to be only qualifying for their starting position and not a spot in next Sunday’s Indianapolis 500. The first hour of the session was designated to the drivers that filled positions 10-33 on Saturday and the remaining time was dedicated to the “Fast 9.”
The fastest car outside of the “Fast 9” was 2013 Indy 500 champion Tony Kanaan. Alongside Kanaan will be his 19-year-old teammate Matheus Leist who is the youngest driver in the field this year. The two AJ Foyt drivers flashed speed that they had not shown on Saturday that will likely give them some momentum going into Sunday’s race.
Kanaan was jubilant about his result on Sunday for him and his teammate, “I’m happy for A.J. (Foyt), and I’m happy for the team. Matheus (Leist) did a great job, the fastest rookie. So we accomplished what we needed to accomplish today. We’re one-two today.”
Hometown hero, Butler University graduate, and two-time pole winner Ed Carpenter had the second fastest time on Saturday and knew that he would have a chance at the pole on Sunday. Going out second to last, Carpenter had prime track conditions to post the best 4-lap average of the month at 229.629. Carpenter won his 3 career Indy 500 pole and will lead the field to green on Sunday.
“I’ve really just got to thank my team. That first lap blew my mind. I figured we could run a 229 based on last night. My run last night wasn’t very good. The car wasn’t nearly as good as we have been. I knew we had more left, but I wasn’t expecting a 230. The whole ECR team, especially the guys on the 20 car, they put so much love into this car. It means everything to me to put us in a position like this.”
Everyone’s also had their attention on the “Fast 9” drivers that are not currently full-time drivers: Danica Patrick and Helio Castroneves. Patrick was the first out for the “Fast 9” session and posted a 228.090 4-lap average which was good enough for the 7th starting position.
Patrick reflected on her car during her run after and seemed optimistic. “It comes down to nailing the balance more than anything. I think that’s the main thing to going fast. There were some turns that seemed easy out there. There are many corners that felt easy, and as you trim and trim and trim until you have to achieve that balance.”
Helio Castroneves had a chance to knock Carpenter off the pole by being the last driver out Sunday, but never came close to challenging Carpenter’s time and inevitably qualifying 8th. Castroneves was disappointed with the run but very optimistic about Sunday.
“This is exciting for the fans. It’s exciting for us – for the teams and the drivers. When I saw that 230, I was like, ‘Do we have enough to go that fast?’ and the guys were like, ‘Well, if we have a little help from the wind we might.’ But it’s all about being there in the end. I had to take that chance, otherwise I would be thinking, ‘I should have done it.’ Right now we are happy to be competitive, but let’s see what’s going to happen in the race.”
The attention once again turns to the race and teams will have a quick turn around to prepare for the race with one practice session Monday and final practice Friday afternoon. It is now less than a week until the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” and the drivers will now be switching from the mindset of fastest 4 laps to the fastest 200 laps.