Michael Andretti Puts Jim Beam/Vonage Machine 13th on Indy Grid
www.andrettigreen.com Michael Andretti Puts Jim Beam/Vonage Machine 13th on Grid for 90th Running of the Indianapolis 500 SPEEDWAY, Ind. (May 20, 2006) - Jim Beam/Vonage driver Michael Andretti posted a four-lap average speed of 224.508 miles per hour and will start from the inside of row five for the 90th running of the Indianapolis 500. Andretti, who will be making his 15th Indianapolis 500 start next Sunday, was the 12th driver of 32 to qualify on Saturday, and made his run just before 1 p.m. (EDT). Practice for the Indianapolis 500 resumes Sunday morning at 10:15 a.m. (EDT) and qualification attempts for the final starting position in the field of 33 begin at 12 p.m. (EDT). Michael Andretti, #1 Jim Beam/Vonage Dallara/Honda/Firestone "I'm really happy. The Jim Beam/Vonage car was really good. It felt great. I've been really happy with the way everything has gone. I think we're going to be a real factor in the race. "I think we're getting onto something here. I was pretty happy with the setup we ended up with today. Now we're just going to go off of that and start working more on race setup. "I was very happy with those four laps (in the qualifying run). They were the best I've run all month, which is a good feeling. "We're not done with our work yet, but we're getting there." (ON QUALIFYING AND THEN SEEING MARCO QUALIFY FOR HIS FIRST 500 ) "It's a great feeling. It's a feeling of relief, too. This day is the worst because of the pressure. It was tough for me today, so I can't even imagine what it was like for Marco on his first time here. I've been coming here for a long time and it's still nerve-wracking. It's exciting to finally get it done. Now, we've got two cars solidly in the field and can go race. Now, the thing is, I've just got to pass him." Qualifying Sequence Position 13th Speed Time Lap 1 224.579 mph 40.0749 sec Lap 2 224.504 mph 40.0884 sec Lap 3 224.480 mph 40.0926 sec Lap 4 224.469 mph 40.0946 sec 4-Lap Average 224.508 mph Andretti Qualifies 13th for Indy 500, page 2 2006 Indianapolis 500 Qualifying Pos. Name Speed (mph) Time 1 Sam Hornish Jr. 228.985 2:37.2155 2 Helio Castroneves 228.008 2:37.8893 3 Dan Wheldon 227.338 2:38.3543 4 Scott Dixon 226.921 2:38.6457 5 Tony Kanaan 226.776 2:38.7471 6 Vitor Meira 226.156 2:39.1823 7 Kosuke Matsuura 225.503 2:39.6431 8 Scott Sharp 225.321 2:39.7720 9 Marco Andretti 224.918 2:40.0586 10 Danica Patrick 224.674 2:40.2319 11 Tomas Scheckter 224.659 2:40.2431 12 Ed Carpenter 224.548 2:40.3224 13 Michael Andretti 224.508 2:40.3505 14 Buddy Rice 224.393 2:40.4326 15 Townsend Bell 224.374 2:40.4466 16 Bryan Herta 224.179 2:40.5859 17 Dario Franchitti 223.345 2:41.1857 18 Max Papis 222.058 2:42.1198 19 Eddie Cheever Jr. 222.028 2:42.1420 20 PJ Chesson 221.576 2:42.4724 21 Felipe Giaffone 221.542 2:42.4973 22 Jeff Bucknum 221.461 2:42.5566 23 Larry Foyt 221.332 2:42.6519 24 Jaques Lazier 221.151 2:42.7847 25 Buddy Lazier 220.922 2:42.9534 26 Jeff Simmons 220.347 2:43.3785 27 Al Unser Jr. 219.388 2:44.0925 28 Roger Yasukawa 218.793 2:44.5393 29 Airton Dare 218.170 2:45.0091 30 Stephan Gregoire 217.428 2:45.5723 31 Arie Luyendyk Jr. 216.352 2:46.3952 32 PJ Jones 215.816 2:46.8091 33 TBD on Sunday