IndyCar - Another Short Practice Day At Indy

INDIANAPOLIS, May 17, 2011: Mike Conway shook down the No. 27 Hire Heroes car on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway after some tweaks overnight, and Andretti Autosport teammate Marco Andretti got in five laps "to get the feel of a different setup."

That was the extent of on-track action - save for crews tuning up on pit lane for pit stop competition qualifications May 18 - on a day more reminiscent of mid-autumn than mid-spring. The green flag flew at noon for the start of the six-hour session, but light rain sent the flagman packing at 4:05 p.m. The track opens for all cars at noon (ET) May 18.

"We just wanted to feel some of those (changes) and see what we had," Conway said. "These were certainly not ideal weather conditions and aren't representative of what we're going to see in a few days, so it didn't make too much sense to log a lot of laps."

It was the second session of preparations for Pole Day/Tom Carnegie Day on May 21 cut short because of weather conditions, which impacts team strategy relating to setup testing and tire/engine conservation. For some, a day lost to the weather is built into the plan. For others, such as Andretti, who's chasing speed, the lap counter needs to rise.

He has a quick lap of 224.215 mph (40.1163 seconds) in his No. 26 Team Venom primary car with a tow, which is 15th on the combined speed chart. Still, he's concerned.

"It makes a difference (that he didn't get in a full session). Who knows if we would have gained or they would have gained on us," said Andretti, who has three top-five finishes in his five starts at Indy. "I'm really worried about the speed of our car. I've driven exactly Danica's setup 3 miles an hour off of her (lap time). I can't explain why. I'm worried about qualifying for this race. It is still early days, but I honestly think if you're not going to be qualifying in the top 10 you should be worried."

There are 40 entrants who have recorded laps, with 33 starting spots available on May 21-22. Alex Tagliani's lap of 225.878 mph in the No. 77 Bowers & Wilkins car for Sam Schmidt Motorsports, posted a day earlier, stands as the quickest of the month.

DAY 4 NOTEBOOK:

Biff Henderson, stage manager for "The Late Show with David Letterman," toured the Speedway today. Henderson and a crew were filming humorous segments for the show.

Henderson met with Indianapolis 500 veterans Bobby Unser, Helio Castroneves, Al Unser Jr., Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan and Graham Rahal. He also toured the IMS Hall of Fame Museum.

BIFF HENDERSON: (On the Indianapolis Motor Speedway): "The Speedway is classic. It's really top-shelf all the way. Even as I'm sitting in the Museum, I'm looking at all these past winning cars and thinking of the drivers, and I know it's a lot of history. It's an incredible facility. It's just great." (On his interactions with drivers and teams): "Obviously, today isn't the best day for track activity, but getting into those prep garages is quite an experience. It's not my first time out here. I've done a few things here for David Letterman. I've been out here a few times. Talking with the drivers like Helio and past drivers like Little Al and Bobby Unser is just great. I've enjoyed talking to the younger guys, but there's nothing like talking to a legend. Having that experience and being out here for the 100th anniversary is something very special for me. It's a very impressive place."

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Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Unser already has arrived at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to celebrate the 100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500 over the next 12 days. Unser will be one of 11 Indianapolis 500 winners driving 11 Indianapolis 500-winning cars during pre-race ceremonies Sunday, May 29.

Unser will drive the No. 8 National that Joe Dawson guided to victory in the 1912 Indianapolis 500. The car features a second seat for a riding mechanic, which will be filled by Unser's wife, Lisa.

BOBBY UNSER (On being a part of the 100th anniversary pre-race festivities): "It's going to be a great honor to drive the 1912 winning car. They had riding mechanics in those days, and my wife is going to ride in the mechanic's seat. So she's got to know that if that thing runs out of gas, she has to get out and push. But it really is going to be nice to drive that car. I mean, this is the 100th anniversary of the greatest race course in the entire world. It's been around for a hundred years. That's a lot of history. You look at the Museum, all these winning cars, it's just awesome."

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Team Penske driver Ryan Briscoe and his wife, Nicole, are conducting an Indianapolis 500 contest on Twitter for the second consecutive year, with the winner receiving an all-expenses paid trip to the race May 29.

The follower of Briscoe (@RyanBriscoe6) who guesses his four-lap qualifying average to the thousandth of a mph (three digits past the decimal) will win round-trip airfare for two from anywhere in the country, four nights' hotel accommodations, tickets to the 2011 Indianapolis 500 and other "cool swag," Briscoe said.

To enter, followers must post their guess at Briscoe's average qualifying speed on his Twitter feed (@RyanBriscoe6) by midnight (ET) Friday, May 20. The "tweets" must contain the hash-tag "#BriscoeIndy500" to be eligible and also must include Briscoe's qualifying position as a tiebreaker.

The winner will be selected from all proper entries following the completion of Indy 500 qualifying.

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DAY 4 - TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2011

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Nine Indianapolis 500 teams will compete Wednesday morning for the final three spots in the IZOD Indy 500 Pit Stop Challenge on Miller Lite Carb Day, Friday, May 27. The three quickest teams from this lineup will earn a spot in the 12-team Challenge:

KV Racing Technology-Lotus (#59 Viso), KV Racing Technology-Lotus (#82 Kanaan), Team Penske (#3 Castroneves), Newman/Haas Racing (#2 Servia), Andretti Autosport (#7 Patrick), Andretti Autosport (#27 Conway), Andretti Autosport (#28 Hunter-Reay), A.J. Foyt Enterprises (#14 Meira), KV Racing Technology-SH Racing (#07 Scheckter).

Nine teams already have qualified for the Challenge based on pit performance between the 2010 Indianapolis 500 and the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle earlier this month:

KV Racing Technology-Lotus (#5 Sato), Team Penske (#6 Briscoe), Target Chip Ganassi Racing (#9 Dixon), Target Chip Ganassi Racing (#10 Franchitti), Team Penske (#12 Power), Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (#22 Wilson), Andretti Autosport (#26 M. Andretti), Newman/Haas Racing (#06 Hinchcliffe), Dale Coyne Racing (TBD).

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Alfe Heat Treating has signed as an associate sponsor of A.J. Foyt Racing for the 100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500. The sponsorship marks the company's first venture into motorsports.

The "alfe" logo will appear on the nose of the No. 14 ABC Supply Indy car driven by Vitor Meira and on the engine cover of the No. 41 A.J. Foyt Racing car driven by Bruno Junqueira.

Headquartered in Fort Wayne, Ind., Alfe Heat Treating, Inc. is the largest commercial aluminum heat treating operation in the United States. The company operates plants throughout the Midwest and Southeast serving aerospace, automotive, military and commercial customers with both ferrous and non-ferrous facilities. For more details, visit www.al-fe.com.

KURT WESTMAN (President, Alfe Corporate Group): "Growing up here in Indiana, the Indianapolis 500 and time trials was something I looked forward to every year. Along with the race came the drivers you always wanted to win, your heroes, and A.J. Foyt was one of mine. What an honor for me and Alfe Heat Treating to be a small part of the A.J. Foyt Racing team. Everyone here at Alfe is excited and hoping that this year we can help bring the team to victory."

A.J. FOYT: "I'm real proud to welcome Alfe Heat Treating to our team. I think we have a good chance in this year's 500 to post our best finish in quite a while. I appreciate the support that Alfe is providing toward that goal."

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A total of 59 cars are currently at the Speedway, and 59 have passed technical inspection.

Two drivers were on track today, turning 13 laps. Mike Conway turned eight laps, most of any driver. Forty drivers have been on track this month, turning 2,479 total laps.

There were three cautions for a total of 82 minutes today.