IndyCar - Sam Schmidt Motorsports Indianapolis 500 Practice Report

INDIANAPOLIS, May 17, 2011: Alex Tagliani’s lap of 39.8445 seconds at 225.878 mph was the fastest turned by any driver during Monday’s practice session for the 100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500-Mile Race. The driver of the No. 77 Bowers & Wilkins Dallara/Honda/Firestone for Sam Schmidt Motorsports (SSM) turned his fast lap around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway at approximately 5:30 p.m. (EDT) and it came on his 16th of 17 total trips around the circuit throughout the day.

Tagliani has now turned the fastest lap of the month thus far, topping Ed Carpenter’s run of 40.0380 seconds at 224.786 mph during the rain-shortened opening day of practice on Saturday. Neither Tagliani nor his SSM teammate Townsend Bell, took to the track on Saturday, and all on-track activity on Sunday was canceled due to rain.

Bell, driver of the No. 99 Herbalife24 Dallara/Honda/Firestone for SSM, posted the 19th-fastest speed of the day with a lap of 40.3002 seconds at 223.324 mph. The 32 laps Bell turned on Monday were the first for him in an IZOD IndyCar Series car since the 2010 Indianapolis 500, when he finished 16th driving for SSM.

Scott Dixon was second on the speed chart behind Tagliani as he clocked in at 39.9779 seconds at 225.124 mph. The rest of the top-five consisted of Graham Rahal (39.9874 seconds at 225.071 mph), Ryan Briscoe (39.9972 seconds at 225.016 mph) and Oriol Servia (40.0172 seconds at 224.903 mph).

A total of 39 cars turned 1,379 laps during the six-hour practice session, of which five hours, 20 minutes and seven seconds were conducted under green-flag conditions. There was 41 minutes and 21 seconds of yellow-flag time.

Practice resumes Tuesday from noon to 6 p.m. EDT.

Alex Tagliani, Driver of the No. 77 Bowers & Wilkins Dallara/Honda/Firestone for Sam Schmidt Motorsports:

“It was not the best conditions that we have seen in Indy, but it was OK. We didn’t run on the first day, and Sunday was raining, so today was the first opportunity for us to run. Thanks to the boys. They did a fantastic job preparing an amazing car. It is early in the week but it is quite nice to show that the Bowers & Wilkins car is strong for an Indy run. I ran the number of laps the guys wanted me to run. The engineers are the bosses on a practice day and they have a plan. We don’t just run for nothing if you don’t have to. So far, it’s been working out for us and I think we’re going to keep this plan.”

Rob Edwards, Team Manager of the No. 77 Bowers & Wilkins Dallara/Honda/Firestone for Sam Schmidt Motorsports:

“Last year, we had a philosophy of having quality running opposed to quantity running, and we are trying to continue that philosophy this year. We didn’t intend to run Saturday. We would have liked to have had the opportunity to shake the car down yesterday but, with the rain, we couldn’t. Obviously, that gave us the time to work on a few more details that would happen later in the week, normally. How we ran today is a testament to how hard the guys worked in preparing the car. The number-one thing on the checklist today was to shake the car down, so we definitely accomplished more than we’d hoped. It’s still only Monday, and it’s a long week. I’m a big believer that you build momentum through the week. Obviously, we ended today on a high, but the important thing is to stay focused as we have a lot of work ahead of us. This puts a spring in the step of the guys and a smile on their face. It’s the biggest reward we could give them, and it’s a testament to the job they’ve done. It’s well-deserved for Alex and well-deserved for the guys.”

Townsend Bell, Driver of the No. 99 Herbalife24 Dallara/Honda/Firestone for Sam Schmidt Motorsports:

“It’s really nice to get out and drive a racecar again. Each year, it becomes more and more familiar. The first few laps, it’s like, ‘Oh boy, this is fast.’ But it’s fun and feels good again. It’s a different set-up than I’ve ever driven before, so it took a few laps to get used to it. We got down to business right away and made a few changes that made the car quicker. We learned a lot today, and it was a good start to the month”

Gerald Tyler, Race Strategist of the No. 99 Herbalife24 Dallara/Honda/Firestone for Sam Schmidt Motorsports:

“For me, it’s been two years since I’ve been to the Speedway and I didn’t do a race of any type last year. Townsend hasn’t been in a car since last year, so our biggest concern early is just to take it easy. We want to take one step at a time. Working with this team and this group of people, like Allen (McDonald, engineer) and Rob (Edwards, team manager) has been great since they’ve really put together a nice package here. So, I owe a lot of thanks to them. Our plan again, though, is just to steadily build our way up.”