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Andretti Wins Intense Day of Indy Practice

SPEEDWAY, IN: Marco Andretti found himself on top of the timing sheets when the checkered flag fell after seven full hours of practice Thursday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was, by all accounts, one of the most furious days of action at the 100 year old Brickyard in recent memory.

On a day that began with fog and drizzle, and wound up under glorious, most sunny skies, veteran and rookie drivers alike took to the Speedway at approximately 11AM as the search for speed commenced in earnest. Some of the more impressive times may have been recorded with the benefit of a “tow” from a car in front, but it appeared that two-time Indy Champ Helio Castroneves danced his way back into the Speedway limelight by recording the second best time of the day while running virtually alone on the oval.

Thirty-one drivers combined to turn 2,199 laps in the first opportunity for all drivers to begin preparations for the Race. Rookies and drivers needing a refresher at the Speedway practiced three hours May 5 but got less than an hour of practice time May 6 before rain washed out the remainder of the day. On Thursday, the track opened up more than two hours earlier than originally scheduled to make up for some of the lost practice time.

Ryan Hunter-Reay was involved in the only incident of the day when the No. 21 Vision Racing car did a half-spin exiting Turn 2 and hit the wall early in the afternoon. Hunter-Reay was uninjured, and car damage appeared to be light.

At the end of the day, Marco Andretti was asked to comment on his quick time:

“It’s definitely a good start. It definitely shows that we have the speed. On our own, we’re still not quite sure. We got a lot of tows today, which is a good thing, but a lot of times we don’t know where we truly stack up. But I’m really happy with the car balance. And I think that’s the key – getting the balance right and being able to take a trim. That’s the name of the game. We’ll have to see if we can keep up with it, if not get a little better.”

The Bubbly Brazilian, Helio Castroneves, also talked about his day in his usual happy-go-lucky style:

“Just to be here again in Indianapolis, it’s a dream come true. It’s much more special this year, everything that happened the last six months. Just to be here, I appreciate it so more, the fans, especially. I feel welcome, as always. The Team Penske boys did a super job. The car is just superb out of the truck, just super good. We wanted to take advantage of the day; it was just awesome. It started a little cooler, progressively warming up, and we decided to keep going. Right now we feel very solid, and it’s going to be very tight every day the next few days, especially qualifying. It’s four laps, not only about one lap, so you’re going to see a lot of pole positions, but on the last lap it might not be the pole position, so Saturday’s going to be very exciting.”

A total of 39 cars are currently at the Speedway and 31 have passed technical inspection. Thirty-one drivers have been on the track to date and turned 2,199 laps today and 2,601 laps this month. Raphael Matos turned 132 laps today and has turned 212 laps this month, most of any driver. There were five cautions for a total of 45 minutes today.

With only one more full day of practice available to the teams, you can almost feel the sense of urgency that prevails. The weather forecast, which seems to change almost minute-by-minute, currently seems quite optimistic for the weekend.

Thursday’s speed chart:
1. (26) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 225.478
2. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 225.237
3. (6) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 224.904
4. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 224.448
5. (10) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 224.160
6. (4) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 224.022
7. (06) Robert Doornbos, Dallara-Honda, 223.592
8. (7) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 223.253
9. (02) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 222.996
10. (12) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 222.896
11. (27) Hideki Mutoh, Dallara-Honda, 222.745
12. (15) Paul Tracy, Dallara-Honda, 222.671
13. (11) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 222.595
14. (20) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 222.572
15. (16) Scott Sharp, Dallara-Honda, 222.437
16. (5) Mario Moraes, Dallara-Honda, 222.150
17. (43) John Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 221.910
18. (67) Sarah Fisher, Dallara-Honda, 221.655
19. (44) Davey Hamilton, Dallara-Honda, 221.624
20. (99) Alex Lloyd, Dallara-Honda, 221.221
21. (18) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 221.200
22. (14) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 221.142
23. (41) A.J. Foyt IV, Dallara-Honda, 221.041
24. (13) E.J. Viso, Dallara-Honda, 220.942
25. (24) Mike Conway, Dallara-Honda, 220.646
26. (2) Raphael Matos, Dallara-Honda, 220.227
27. (23) Milka Duno, Dallara-Honda, 219.745
28. (34) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 219.485
29. (00) Nelson Philippe, Dallara-Honda, 219.453
30. (21) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 218.329
31. (98) Stanton Barrett, Dallara-Honda, 218.089

Six hours of practice are scheduled for “Fast Friday” before the 11 fastest drivers lock in starting positions on Pole Day this Saturday.

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