Saturday, May 10, 2008 Pole Day - The 92nd Indianapolis 500
Round 5 of 18 in the IndyCar Series
HOLE IN THE WALL CAMPS DRIVER RAHAL AND McDONALD’S DRIVER WILSON AIM TO QUALIFY FOR THE INDY 500 ON DAY 2 AFTER EACH MAKE TWO ATTEMPTS; TOP 11 SET
Fastest lap time/speed:
POLE: Scott Dixon 4-lap avg. speed of 226.366 mph (L1: 226.598, L2: 226.505, L3: 226.303, L4: 226.058)
12th: Graham Rahal 4-lap avg. speed of 223.355 mph (L1: 223.540, L2: 223.417, L3: 223.286, L4: 223.178)
19th: Justin Wilson 4-lap avg. speed of 222.783 mph (L1: 222.889, L2: 222.791, L3: 222.722, L4: 222.732)
Justin Wilson, No. 02 McDonald’s Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “The first qualifying run the McDonald’s car did was the quickest we’ve run all week outside of a tow so I was quite pleased with that. That made us pretty positive but it wasn’t quite there so we made some changes and went back out to test them. We did a run in practice and it still wasn’t quite quick enough but we thought ‘What have we got to lose? Let’s go for it.’ We went out and just couldn’t quite get the speed and I think it had cooled off enough that we picked up enough downforce that we went one-tenth of a mile an hour slower on each lap. It just dropped away. It was disappointing because I thought for a second we had a chance. That is obviously what was happening to everyone else as well. The pace just slowed down. The plan now is to wake up in the morning, look out the window and see what type of weather we have. If its raining we’ll wait until next weekend. The McDonald’s car has been very quick. Barring any problems we should be okay for next weekend if it gets rolled over and the set the 22. We’ll take it as it comes.”
FAST FACTS: Will be his second race at IMS and first in the IndyCar Series (ICS) after having competed here with Jaguar in 2003 where he earned his first Formula One point in the USGP with an eighth place finish after running as high as third. He started 16th…He has competed on an oval track seven times…Qualified 17th but started 15th in the season-opener in Homestead due to two cars having their qualifying speeds disallowed. Dropped one lap down when he was hit by Will Power on a restart after approx. 22 laps and had to pit to replace a deflated tire but rallied to finish 15th…Started third in his street course ICS debut in St. Pete but alternate fuel and tire strategies dictated by intermittent rain led to a ninth place finish after he led a total of 18 of 83 laps…Was the pole winner on Friday and Saturday in the Long Beach Champ Car finale and dropped to second on the start but engine failure on Lap 13 ended his race and he finished 19th … Gained valuable experience after he was first to qualify and started 22nd in Kansas, led five laps after staying on track while others pit and finished ninth…Is ranked 17 in the point standings with 71 and is sixth in ROY…Finished runner up in the Champ Car championship to the driver he recently replaced, four-time champion Sebastien Bourdais, in 2006 and 2007. Was a championship contender until the conclusion of the penultimate race of each season.
Graham Rahal, No. 06 Hole in the Wall Camps Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “The disappointing part of the day is that we had the pace. At the end we just couldn’t go out and make a third run because we didn’t have tires. On the second run I think I ran a gear too high. It’s just one of those things and we waived off. With these cars it’s all about momentum since they don’t have a ton of power. I think the gear was just a touch too long and I couldn’t get the revs to go up. We got back in line to get a position for tomorrow’s qualifying and didn’t think we would get to run again since the line was long but everyone ahead of us pulled out. We got to the front and didn’t have tires to run. I understand the circumstances but it’s tough. This team is one that is always prepared for any situation so I figured we would be okay. They said tires would be coming but we didn’t think we would get to the front. Everyone pulled out so they told me to get ready. I pulled my helmet on and got suited up and was told we didn’t have tires when I went to get in the car. It’s tough because when Scheckter lowered the time I thought ‘We can do this.’ It’s disappointing that we didn’t get to make another attempt and put it in the show today. It would have given the guys a chance to get some rest and it would have been nice to get it behind us.”
FAST FACTS: Will be his first Indy 500 and only his second on an oval track after having finished 12th at Kansas Speedway last weekend. He previously ran in a junior formula, Star Mazda event in 2005 at the Pikes Peak oval. In his IndyCar Series debut on a road/street course he became the youngest winner in major open-wheel racing in North America after winning in St. Pete on 4-6-08 at 19 years, 93 days old…He is ranked 10th in series points with 88 points.
1 POLE (1987) & TWO SECONDS AT IMS: The 2008 entry will mark the 16th year for NHR/NHLR in the event and the third since 1995. Prior to 2008, the team prepared a total of 23 entries for drivers such as Mario and Michael Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Paul Tracy, Bruno Junqueira and Sebastien Bourdais. The entry of Justin Wilson and Graham Rahal in 2008 will bring the total to 25. NHR’s highest finish in the Indy 500 is second place with Mario Andretti in 1985 and Michael Andretti in 1991 although team drivers have led many laps here. Mario Andretti also brought the team its highest start in the event when he won the pole position in 1987. NHR’s 2004 entry of Junqueira marked the first time for the team to compete here since 1995 and they returned in 2005 with Junqueira and IMS rookie Bourdais. They have earned Rookie of the Year once, with Mansell in 1993 when he finished third.
