Sunday, May 11, 2008 Day 2 of Qualifying - The 92nd Indianapolis 500
Round 5 of 18 in the IndyCar Series
DAY 2 OF QUALIFYING FOR THE INDY 500 WAS CANCELLED DUE TO RAIN; WILSON AND RAHAL MAKE ALTERNATE PLANS
Justin Wilson, No. 02 McDonald’s Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It’s quite frustrating not being able to run today but that’s how it is. You can’t change the weather. We (Justin and Graham) both realize how close we came to getting in the top-11 and that’s quite an achievement considering where we started out. We are slowly making progress. We didn’t expect to be able to get in the race on the first day and we were both really close so that is encouraging. As far as our agenda this week, I presume we will validate a couple of little things we have changed on the car for qualifying and then switch over to race set up and make sure the McDonald’s car works well in traffic and is consistent over the longer runs. We need to split time then we will switch it back for qualifying later in the week and get ready for Saturday qualifying. Now I have experienced qualifying. You know what happens you know how the car works. Its good to get that experience especially seeing as I wasn’t expecting to qualify yesterday so I didn’t put too much pressure on myself. It was nice to go out there and run four laps flat out and not feel like I was going to crash. Hopefully we can repeat that come Saturday and be the best of the second qualifying group. Due to the rain I will have two nights at home instead of one. I’m looking forward to seeing (my wife) Julia and (newborn daughter) Jane again.”
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: “It’s disappointing that we weren’t able to qualify today. It would have been nice to get in today and that was our original goal because we didn’t realistically think we would get in on the first day but when it looked possible we readjusted our goals. We’re still going to focus on race setups this week but we will have to focus some time on qualifying. After yesterday we feel pretty comfortable that we can solidly be in the field. We’ll take a little wing out Saturday morning and go for it but we need to focus on having a good race car. Of course qualifying is important but the race is what it really comes down to. I feel really comfortable out there. Yesterday in qualifying especially the car was really good and I’m really happy with it. Obviously we still need to find a little more speed but we have made some good progress. I’m looking forward to the race. If there is one thing in the IndyCar Series that I am still getting used to it’s the traffic on the ovals. It’s certainly taking a little while but I’m looking forward to getting out there in the race and see how it is. Now that we have the day off, I’m going to go shopping for some golf equipment for a golf tournament I will be in tomorrow at Brickyard Crossing.”
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.
