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Surprise! Rain Shortens Fast Friday At Indy

SPEEDWAY, IN: Despite an optimistic weather forecast, Fast Friday
became “Fluid Friday” as rain once again plagued the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway after three hours of practice were completed. Unfortunately,
rookie Alex Lloyd may be watching Pole Day from Methodists Hospital, after a
hard crash in turn one.

The Speedway opened for practice promptly at noon under threatening
skies. The action began immediately, with 33 cars taking to the track in a
frantic search for speed. Some found what they were looking
for…others did not.

Shortly after Marco Andretti turned lap of 226.710, fastest of the
month so far, it all went wrong for rookie Alex Lloyd, the 2007 Firestone
Lites Champion. After recording a quick lap of 223.459 MPH, Lloyd lost
control of his Rahal-Letterman/Ganassi #16 in the middle on turn one and
smashed backwards into the Safer barrier. Lloyd was carefully lifted
to the ambulance, and is currently undergoing medical evaluation.

When practice resumed after repairs to the wall were completed, another
incident took place. Apparently, the car of veteran Danica Patrick
made contact with veteran mechanic Chuck Buckman of Dale Coyne Racing in
the pit area. Buckman was also transported to Methodist Hospital, where
he is undergoing evaluation for scalp and facial lacerations.

When showers finally brought a halt to the day’s activities, Scott
Dixon sat on top of the speed chart with the month’s fastest lap: 226.968
MPH. This exceeds the 225.817 MPH Pole speed set last year by Helio
Castroneves. Marco Andretti’s lap of 226.710 was good enough for second
fastest, followed by Tony Kanaan (226.688), Ryan Briscoe (226.143) and
rookie Hideki Mutoh (225.990).

Happily, the forecast for tomorrow’s Pole Day still looks good. Final
practice is scheduled for 9AM, with qualifications at noon. The top
eleven starting positions will be locked in tomorrow, and bumping for those
spots will continue until 6 PM.

Speed Chart for Fast (Fluid) Friday:

Pos Driver Name Best Time Best Speed Best Lap Total Laps
1 Scott Dixon (9) 39.6531 226.968 30 45
2 Marco Andretti (26) 39.6983 226.710 9 26
3 Tony Kanaan (11) 39.7022 226.688 3 32
4 Ryan Briscoe (6) 39.7978 226.143 23 24
5 Hideki Mutoh (27) 39.8247 225.990 23 26
6 Dan Wheldon (10) 39.8806 225.674 13 32
7 Vitor Meira (4T) 40.0336 224.811 19 34
8 Danica Patrick (7) 40.0456 224.744 3 34
9 Tomas Scheckter (12) 40.0512 224.712 22 27
10 Ryan Hunter-Reay (17) 40.1561 224.125 36 42
11 Helio Castroneves (3) 40.1757 224.016 11 31
12 Buddy Rice (15) 40.2517 223.593 9 16
13 Alex Lloyd (16) 40.2596 223.549 19 29
14 Townsend Bell (99) 40.2653 223.518 5 14
15 Graham Rahal (06) 40.3061 223.291 35 44
16 Oriol Servia (5) 40.3545 223.023 7 37
17 A.J. Foyt IV (2) 40.3623 222.980 29 46
18 Darren Manning (14) 40.4040 222.750 25 25
19 Ed Carpenter (20) 40.4387 222.559 40 41
20 Justin Wilson (02) 40.4569 222.459 20 45
21 Will Power (8) 40.4839 222.311 24 32
22 EJ Viso (33) 40.5232 222.095 20 22
23 Sarah Fisher (67) 40.5446 221.978 21 32
24 Davey Hamilton (22) 40.7192 221.026 31 38
25 Bruno Junqueira (18) 40.7382 220.923 22 24
26 Max Papis (44) 40.8294 220.429 41 50
27 Marty Roth (25) 41.0456 219.268 20 30
28 Milka Duno (23) 41.0902 219.030 4 33
29 Jay Howard (24) 41.1013 218.971 8 34
30 Mario Moraes (19) 41.2290 218.293 11 36
31 Mario Dominguez (96) 41.3000 217.918 6 16
32 Jaime Camara (36T) 41.6400 216.138 28 28
33 Enrique Bernoldi (36) 41.8979 214.808 8 8

Qualification Order for Pole Day
1. Jay Howard
2. Ryan Briscoe
3. Mario Moreas
4. Ryan Hunter Reay
5. E.J. Viso

Qualification Order Position of serious Pole contenders:
8. Marco Andretti
9 Scott Dixon
21. Danica Patrick
27. Tony Kanaan
28. Helio Castroneves
35. Dan Wheldon
57. Tomas Scheckter

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