RacingNation.com

Marco Andretti Sets The Pace Tuesday At Indy

SPEEDWAY, IN: Twenty-one year old Marco Andretti, the 2006 Rookie of the Year, was the quickest among the 33 cars that took to the Speedway on Tuesday, as practice for Saturday’s Pole Day qualifications began in earnest.

On another beautiful day in Central Indiana, 30 cars crested the 220 MPH barrier, led by Andretti, who enjoyed a “tow” from rookie Graham Rahal on his quick lap. Marco’s teammate, Tony Kanaan, had the second best lap of the day, followed on the speed chart by Scott Dixon, Ryan Briscoe and Dan Wheldon. A total of 1378 laps were recorded. Happily, the entire day was incident free.

Following today’s session, Andretti was cautiously optimistic about his performance.

“The Indiana Jones car is on it so far, but unfortunately it’s still early. But we’ll take it. Obviously I had a very big tow, but I think you need the mechanical balance to be able to stay flat so you can get a (good) time. I’ve been very pleased with the guys so far. It was a good start, but this place changes.”

The best speed for a rookie was recorded by Long Beach winner, Will Power, with a lap of 223.550 MPH, good enough for eleventh on the list.

“It was a good day considering we started off with pretty bad balance in the KV Racing Technology Aussie Vineyards – Team Australia car. We were able to come back at the end of the day with very nice balance, very neutral. The KVRT team has just got to work on the little bits now ? try and find little bits of speed everywhere, because I want to get up there and try and qualify in that top 11 on Saturday.”

Off the track, the big story of the day was a morning visit by Senator Hillary Clinton, who did a bit of campaigning in Sarah Fisher’s garage. The fact that this was primary election day in Indiana MAY have been a factor in her visit!

Senator Clinton seemed to enjoy her 30 minutes in Gasoline Alley.

“I’ve been a watcher (of IndyCar Series racing), but I don’t know enough about it. I’m thrilled to be here today. I’ve never been to the Speedway before, and to be a part of this historic event even in a minor way like today is a thrill for me. I admire people who set goals and do their best to achieve them. I admire people who come together to try and really set their sights high and create the conditions for something like this great race. There’s a reason it’s the largest single-day sporting event in the world. People who really value the hard work that goes into putting this together and admire the grit and mental toughness it takes to do this, we’re fans to.”

Today’s non-stop action could could have been due to the weather forecast, which sounds a bit crummy for the next several days. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

Today’s speed chart:

Pos Driver Name Best Time Best Speed Best Lap Total Laps
1 Marco Andretti (26) 39.7177 226.599 24 25
2 Tony Kanaan (11) 39.9522 225.269 15 32
3 Scott Dixon (9) 39.9981 225.011 38 39
4 Ryan Briscoe (6) 40.0349 224.804 53 54
5 Dan Wheldon (10) 40.0486 224.727 37 43
6 Helio Castroneves (3) 40.0755 224.576 27 28
7 Tomas Scheckter (12) 40.1006 224.436 52 65
8 Buddy Rice (15) 40.1481 224.170 39 48
9 Danica Patrick (7) 40.1616 224.095 29 31
10 Helio Castroneves (3T) 40.1977 223.893 16 47
11 Will Power (8) 40.2595 223.550 29 50
12 Justin Wilson (02) 40.2754 223.461 22 67
13 Vitor Meira (4T) 40.2952 223.352 29 29
14 Hideki Mutoh (27) 40.3180 223.225 31 42
15 EJ Viso (33) 40.4234 222.643 40 47
16 Ed Carpenter (20) 40.4253 222.633 42 51
17 Alex Lloyd (16) 40.4277 222.620 41 52
18 Townsend Bell (99) 40.4343 222.583 28 35
19 Graham Rahal (06) 40.4399 222.552 52 64
20 Vitor Meira (4) 40.4634 222.423 16 16
21 Oriol Servia (5) 40.5620 221.883 16 38
22 Davey Hamilton (22) 40.5983 221.684 20 21
23 Ryan Hunter-Reay (17) 40.6063 221.640 36 39
24 A.J. Foyt IV (2) 40.6110 221.615 5 24
25 Darren Manning (14) 40.6662 221.314 37 37
26 Enrique Bernoldi (36T) 40.7280 220.978 61 64
27 Bruno Junqueira (18) 40.7311 220.961 42 43
28 Max Papis (44) 40.7819 220.686 38 70
29 Marty Roth (25T) 40.8238 220.460 64 66
30 Mario Dominguez (96) 41.1802 218.552 60 61
31 Mario Moraes (19) 41.2543 218.159 6 14
32 Sarah Fisher (67) 41.3098 217.866 13 16
33 Milka Duno (23) 41.3961 217.412 27 27

Share Button