INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Team Penske hopes a successful Coors Light Carb Day will indicate a good Indianapolis 500 race day.
Reigning Verizon IndyCar Series champion Will Power, who will start the 99th running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race from the middle of the front row, topped the speed chart for the final practice session, the last opportunity for teams to fine-tune their cars before race day May 24.
Power, driving the No. 1 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, topped the speed chart with a quick lap of 229.020 mph, with pole-sitter Scott Dixon of Target Chip Ganassi Racing (228.585 mph) and NTT Data Chip Ganassi Racing’s Tony Kanaan (228.490) right behind.
“(Being fast today) means nothing, really,” Power said. “It’s just a big draft. It’s more about how you can get through traffic than anything. There’s quite a few good cars out there that are going to make their way to the front. I think our plan is just to try to stay up there all day.”
Similarly, Helio Castroneves hopes that winning the TAG Heuer Pit Stop Challenge could be a good omen for the team.
Castroneves, driving the No. 3 Shell V-Power Nitro+ Chevrolet, defeated Charlie Kimball of Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing in the championship round. His pit crew received the $50,000 first-place prize for its speed, precision and accuracy.
The winner of the competition has gone on to win the Indianapolis 500 six times, most recently with Castroneves in 2009. It was the seventh win for Castroneves and the 15th for Team Penske in the pit stop competition.
Also on Coors Light Carb Day, Jack Harvey outdueled Schmidt Peterson Motorsports teammate Ethan Ringel to lead a 1-2-3-4 sweep for the team in the Freedom 100 for the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires. The 22-year-old Harvey, who won at IMS in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis earlier this month, became the first driver to claim wins on the famed oval and road course in the same year. It was the eighth Freedom 100 win for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.
CARB DAY NOTEBOOK:
Huertas Out for Indianapolis 500: Vautier Named as Replacement
Verizon IndyCar Series driver Carlos Huertas has been ruled out of the Indianapolis 500 with an inner ear condition, according to Dr. Terry Trammell, INDYCAR medical consultant. Huertas will have to undergo further evaluation before being cleared to return to Verizon IndyCar Series competition. The 23-year-old Colombian is out for the remainder of Indianapolis 500 on-track activities.
Huertas was scheduled to start 18th in the No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda. Tristan Vautier, the 2012 Indy Lights champion and 2013 Verizon IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year who qualified the No. 19 Coyne entry for the “500” May 17 while filling in for James Davison, was named to replace Huertas in the No. 18 car. Vautier will start 32nd based on entrant points, according to Rules 8.1.8.6 and 8.1.8.6.1 of the Verizon IndyCar Series rulebook.
Wilson’s Indy 500 Car Sponsored by the Rolling Stones
Justin Wilson’s No. 25 Andretti Autosport Honda picked up a unique sponsorship: the Rolling Stones. The band, playing around the country this summer on its ZIP CODE tour including July 4 in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway infield, will have full tour livery on Wilson’s car for the Indianapolis 500.
“I’m really excited to have the Rolling Stones on the side on the No. 25,” said Wilson, who, like the band, hails from England. “For the biggest race of the year, to have one of the biggest rock bands in history (as a sponsor) is just incredible. Listening to the Rolling Stones was a Sunday tradition in our house. We would wake up and my Dad would have the music on full blast.”
Dale Coyne Chief Mechanic Receives Clint Brawner Mechanical Excellence Award
Roy Wilkerson, the chief mechanic of the No. 63 Dale Coyne Racing Honda driven by Pippa Mann, was named recipient of the Clint Brawner Mechanical Excellence Award. The honor goes annually to the Indianapolis 500 chief mechanic who exemplifies the mechanical excellence, ingenuity and perseverance similar to that of legendary mechanic Clint Brawner. The award, sponsored by Firestone Racing, includes a $5,000 prize and the winner’s name inscribed on a trophy that permanently resides in the IMS Hall of Fame Museum.
“I’m shocked, this still hasn’t set in,” Wilkerson said. “You go through this for a living and you just do what it takes to make this race – it’s the biggest race in the world. When I was a kid, Clint Brawner was one of the guys you heard about and wanted to emulate and always wanted to be as good as. It’s an absolute honor to be the recipient of an award named after him.”
WDUN will have live IMS Radio Network coverage of the 99th running of the Indianapolis 500 from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 24 beginning at Noon on 102.9 FM and 1 pm on 550 AM.
