Round 7: revised calendar. The 104th running of the Indianapolis 500. Aug 12-23, 2020

[bjohnsonsmith]

Round 7: revised calendar. The 104th running of the Indianapolis 500. Aug 12-23, 2020.

It's been nearly a month since since the double header at Iowa but the waiting is over. With the Rookie Orientation Program and veteran's Refresher taking place tomorrow, as well as the first practice session, it's time to start the thread for the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500.

With the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, it was doubtful whether there would be a 2020 IndyCar season, let alone the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500. However, the season has got underway and the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 is going ahead. Initially there was to be a limited attendance of 25%. Unfortunately it was decided to hold it behind closed doors but at least we have a race.

Tomorrow will have a different format from previous years, with no Open Test for Indy newcomers to complete their Rookie Orientation Program, or for veterans who’ve been on the sidelines to conduct their ‘Refresher’ runs. Instead IndyCar has set 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. EDT for veterans to get in two hours of practice, before handing the track over from 1:00p.m-3:00 p.m., for the Rookie Orientation Program. From 3:00p.m.-5:30 p.m, there will be a free practice session.

History
Indianapolis Motor Speedway is one of the world's oldest, purpose-built tracks that is still in use. In 1905 Indiana businessman Carl G. Fisher, envisioned building a circuit after watching some of the world's earliest car races in France. He felt Europe had the upper hand in car design and thought one reason was the lack of permanent testing facilities for American car manufacturers. After another visit to Europe and seeing the banked oval at Brooklands, England, he decided to build his own track.

Fisher convinced local businessmen James A. Allison, Arthur Newby and Frank W. Wheeler to join him in purchasing Pressley Farm, five miles outside of Indianapolis and totalling 328 acres for about $72,000. On March 20, 1909, The Indianapolis Motor Speedway company was incorporated and construction began that month.

The track surface consisted of packed soil covered by two inches of gravel, two inches of limestone covered with a solution of tar and oil, or taroid, one–two inches of crushed stone chips, also drenched with taroid and topped with crushed stones.

The first motorsport event was a series of motorcycle races planned over two days, under the sanction of the Federation of American Motorcyclists (FAM), starting on August 14, 1909. Concerns about the track surface stopped the event part way through day one. Five days later 15 teams arrived for the first car event, held over three days. This was not without incident. On day one

Wilfred Bourque suffered a rear-axle failure, resulting in his car flipping end over end on the main straight, before crashing into a fence post, killing him and his mechanic Harry Halcomb. On day three the right front tire blew on Charlie Merz's car, knocking down five fence posts and dozens of spectators, killing two as well as his mechanic Claude Kellum. Ten laps later, after another accident, the race was cancelled.

The AAA, American Automobile Association, announced it would boycott further events unless the surface was changed. A concrete surface was considered but the track owners decided to pave the entire facility with bricks, after tests proved their durability. Five Indiana manufacturers
supplied 3.2 million, 10-pound bricks. Each was hand laid on a 2 inch bed of sand, then leveled and the gaps filled with mortar. A concrete wall 33 inches tall was also constructed in front of the main grandstand and around all four corners to protect spectators. The final brick was made of gold and laid in a special ceremony by Governor Thomas R. Marshall.

In December 1909, the track reopened for testing, with speeds of up to 112 mph being reported. Racing returned the next year, with a series of short races held over the three main holiday weekends: Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day.

The following year, 1911, racing was just confined to Memorial Day and the very first 500 mile race was held on May 30. It was won by a former racer and Marmon engineer Ray Harroun, who came out of retirement for just one race, driving the legendary Marmon-Wasp. Since then, the event has always been held on the Sunday before Memorial Day and the race has been held every year since 1911, except for 1917-18 and 1942-45, due to World Wars I and II.

Recent History
After the 100th running of Indianapolis 500 and the anticipation that goes with such an historic event, one might have expected the 101st running to be a little down beat. However, in April, 2017 two time F1 World Driver's Champion, Fernando Alonso, 2005, 2006, decided not to compete at the jewel in the crown of the F1 calendar, the Monaco Grand Prix but instead compete in the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday the 28th of May, the same day as the Monaco Grand Prix.

At the end of 2014 McLaren's F1 engine deal with Mercedes ended. McLaren decided to renew their historic links with Honda, with whom they had a very successful partnership in the late '80s and early '90s, with drivers Alain Prost and the late Ayrton Senna. Alonso who raced with McLaren in 2007, was lured back from Ferrari, after a somewhat frustrating five years, having been runner up three times in the F1 world Driver's Championship.

The Honda engine was problematic from the start and with little improvement during the 2016 Formula 1 season, McLaren and Alonso agreed on a joint venture to race in the 2017 Indy 500, in a bid to win the Triple Crown. This would mean not taking part in the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix, as both races clash and the likelihood of a decent finish at Monaco was remote.

The Triple Crown consists of winning the Indianapolis 500, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Monaco Grand Prix. This has only been achieved by one other driver, the late Graham Hill. So far, Alonso has won the Monaco Grand Prix in 2006-7 and Le Mans in 2018.

McLaren's entry was in partnership with Andretti Autosport, one of the top Honda IndyCar teams, winning the 500 with Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2014 and partnering with Bryan Herta, to clinch Alexander Rossi's rookie win, in the 100th running of the race, in 2016.

Alonso qualified 5th but an engine issue, similar to the one that forced team mate Ryan Hunter-Reay to retire from the race, meant Alonso also retired finishing 27th.

Last year Alonso renewed his bid to win the Tripple Crown, at his second attempt, having announced he would leave F1 at the end of the 2018 season. Last year's enrty was again with McLaren but this time with Carlin affiliation and a switch from Honda to Chevrolet power. Unfortunately.

Alonso's bid ended when he failed to qualify for the race itself. He made five qualifying attempts but didn't make the top 30. At the close of the time trials, Alonso was 31st and was forced to participate in the Last Row Shootout. There were six other cars that failed to qualify on Saturday and each car was permitted one qualifying attempt to fill the last three positions on the grid.

Sage Karam set the fastest speed, having only managed 33rd on Saturday's session. James Hinchcliffe who had crashed on Saturday, therefore failing to make the top 30, also qualified. Alonso now found himself on the bubble, with only second year driver Kyle Kaiser, of Juncos Racing yet to make his attempt.

Kaiser crashed during Friday's practice and was now last after Saturday's qualifying session. With zero practice laps on the day, Kaiser bumped Alonso by 0.0129 seconds to make the starting field. The other two cars that failed to make the grid, were the two Carlin entries, driven by Patricio O'Ward and Max Chilton.

Alonso returns this year in his third bid for the Triple Crown, this time with Ruoff Arrow McLaren SP, in car 29.


Qualifying
Qualifying will have a different format from the usual two-day format as used from 2014 to 2018.

Prior to qualifying, Fast Friday will enable entire field to use maximum turbocharger boost, to perform simulated qualifying runs ahead of qualifying on Saturday and Sunday. The switch from race boost to high boost is at each team's discretion.

On Saturday the field of 33 cars will be split into two groups, with Group 1 taking the 8:30-9:00 a.m. practice slot and Group 2 taking the 9:00-9:30 a.m. slot.

Qualifying itself begins on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. and goes through to 4:50 p.m. Those who have qualified from 10th to 33rd place on Saturday, are locked into those positions and are done running until the Fast Nine session is finished the following day. Those who have qualified inside the Fast Nine will run again on Sunday to determine the pole winner and establish the grid for the top nine.

Sunday will host three sessions, with the Fast Nine practice from 11:00-11:30 a.m., the Fast Nine qualifying from 1:15-2:15 p.m. and a practice for all qualifiers from 3:30-6:00 p.m.


Some 500 Trivia:
1911: Ray Harroun was the first winner of the 500, driving a Marmon-Wasp.
Race Time: 6:42:08.039.
Average speed: 74.59 mph (120.04 km/h).

1913: Jules Goux, from France was the first non American to win and the first rookie winner, excluding the innaugural race.

1922: Jimmy Murphy was the first driver to win the race from pole position.

1939-40: Wilbur Shaw was the first driver to win back to back races.

1947: Mauri Rose and Bill Holland, scored the first team 1, 2 for entrant Lou Moore

1952: Art Cross won the first Rookie of the Year Award.

1961: Sir Jack Brabham was the first driver to race a rear engined car, a Cooper-Coventry Climax

1965: Jim Clark was the first driver to win in a rear engined car, in the Lotus 38-Ford.

1966: Graham Hill won The 50th Indy 500, in a Lola T90-Ford, the first rookie winner since 1927.

1967: Parnelli Jones raced the first gas turbine powered car, the Granatelli STP-Paxton Turbocar.

1977: Janet Guthrie was the first woman to qualify for the Indy 500.

1989: Emerson Fittipaldi was the first South American driver to win.

1992: Al Unser Jr. beat Scott Goodyear by 0.043 seconds in the 500's closest finnish.

1992: Lyn St. James won the first Female Rookie of the Year Award.

1996: Arie Luyendyk sets a new 1 lap track record of 37.895 seconds, 237.498 mph (382.216 kmh) and a new 4-lap track record of 2:31.908, 236.986 mph (381.392 kmh). He also recorded an unofficial 1 lap of 00:37.616 seconds, 239.260 mph (385.052 kmh).

2005: Danica Patrick became the first female driver to lead the Indy 500.

2009: Danica Patrick finished 3rd, the highest position for a female driver.

2013: was the fastest race, with a time of 2:40:03.4181 and average Speed of 187.433 mph (301.644 kmh).

2017: Takumo Sato was the first Japanese driver to win.

2018. Will Power was the first Australian driver to win.

The most wins by any driver is 4, held jointly by:
A.J. Foyt: 1961, 1964, 1967, 1977.
Al Unser Sr.: 1970, 1971, 1978, 1987.
Rick Mears: 1979, 1984, 1988, 1991.

The team with the most wins: Penske, 16.
1972, 1979, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988,
1991, 1993, 1994, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006,
2009, 2015, 2017

The driver/team owner with the most wins: A.J. Foyt.
1964, 1967, 1977.

Current driver with the most wins: Hélio Castroneves.
2001, 2002, 2009.

This year eight former 500 winners will be taking part.
Helio Castroneves. 2001, 2002, 2009
Scott Dixon. 2008
Tony Kanaan. 2013
Ryan Hunter-Reay. 2014
Alexander Rossi. 2016
Takuma Sato. 2017
Will Power. 2018
Simon Pagenaud. 2019

There are 33 entries for this year's race.

Track layout:


Length: 2.5 Miles (4.0 Km)
Turns: 4

1 lap record:
Arie Luyendyk, May 10, 1996. 00:37.895 seconds, 237.498 mph (382.216 kmh).
Reynard 94i-Ford Cosworth XB,
Indy Racing League.

4 lap record:
Arie Luyendyk, May 12, 1996. 2:31.908, 236.986 mph (381.392 kmh),
Reynard 94i-Ford Cosworth XB,
Indy Racing League.


Last year's race:
https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/n...Bvalue%5D=2243

Pole:
Simon Pagenad,
Team Penske.
Dallara IR18-Chevy IndyCar V6.
Combined lap time, 2:36.5271. Average Speed, 229.992 mph (370.136 km/h)

Winner:
Simon Pagenad,
Team Penske.
Dallara IR18-Chevy IndyCar V6.

Laps: 200
Distance: 500 Miles (805 km)
Race Time: 2:59:42.6365
Average Speed: 166.935 mph (268.656 km/h).
Fastest lap: Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, lap 40. 39.8220 sec, 226.006 mph, (363.721 km/h)

Caution periods: 4
Laps 29: 6-9, 73-78, 138-147, 178-186.

Race broadcast:
NBC, August 23rd.
1:00 pm ET. 5:00pm UTC

[bjohnsonsmith]

Full entry list.

[fieldodreams79]

Nicely done, bjs!

Here's a link to the full schedule; the one from THE Speedway website is cumbersome to me.
http://indymotorspeedway.com/500sched_detail.html

Practice gets on tomorrow. Looks like it'll be on Gold so I won't see it!

[bjohnsonsmith]

New cockpit cooling to be introduced.

https://racer.com/2020/08/11/indycar...-for-indy-500/

[bjohnsonsmith]

The Borg Warner repeat winner jackpot, is now $360,000.

https://racer.com/2020/08/11/borgwar...mbs-to-360000/

[joeb]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

The Borg Warner repeat winner jackpot, is now $360,000.

https://racer.com/2020/08/11/borgwar...mbs-to-360000/

I had no idea that was a thing! It is brilliant though!

[Adam43]

Thanks for the intro.

[S griffin]

Great intro. Glad the Greatest Spectacle in racing is getting underway. No chance of anyone failing to qualify, which means Fred avoids repeating the embarrassment of last year.

Will be very different without the crowd though, some of the traditions won’t be the same without them

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by S griffin

Great intro. Glad the Greatest Spectacle in racing is getting underway. No chance of anyone failing to qualify, which means Fred avoids repeating the embarrassment of last year.

Careful with what we say! Many teams have been forced to withdraw in the past, not due to pace. I'm not sure if this is as not as long as the month of May, so to speak, but THE Speedway always lives up to its reputation. Let's hope for safe sessions and a full field!!

Will be very different without the crowd though, some of the traditions won’t be the same without them

It will be weird but I'm just glad to have a race to view. Hope I can watch it live as I've got family commitments currently. Times not set and out of my control.

[NaBUru38]

Spotter guide


Too many dark cars for my taste.

[S griffin]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

Spotter guide


Too many dark cars for my taste.

I don’t know, I see enough variety of colours there

[fieldodreams79]

Indy 500 practice Day 1 - sounds like a rather "businessman" like day.

Results from here
https://www.autosport.com/indycar/ne...y-500-practice

POS	DRIVER	TEAM	SPEED	LAPS
1	James Hinchcliffe	Andretti Autosport	224.526	80
2	Marco Andretti	Andretti Autosport	224.345	96
3	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	224.047	61
4	Ryan Hunter-Reay	Andretti Autosport	223.341	81
5	Fernando Alonso	Arrow McLaren SP	223.238	29
6	Josef Newgarden	Team Penske	223.188	82
7	Jack Harvey	Meyer Shank Racing	223.178	107
8	Alex Palou	Dale Coyne Racing	223.128	60
9	Conor Daly	Ed Carpenter Racing	223.020	80
10	Helio Castroneves	Team Penske	222.929	62
11	Tony Kanaan	A.J. Foyt Enterprises	222.873	58
12	Simon Pagenaud	Team Penske	222.849	112
13	Takuma Sato	Rahal Letterman Lanigan	222.551	84
14	Felix Rosenqvist	Chip Ganassi Racing	222.541	89
15	Charlie Kimball	A.J. Foyt Enterprises	222.438	102
16	Rinus Van Kalmthout	Ed Carpenter Racing	222.061	76
17	Sage Karam	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	222.031	46
18	Alexander Rossi	Andretti Autosport	221.952	77
19	Santino Ferrucci	Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan	221.905	87
20	Ed Carpenter	Ed Carpenter Racing	221.813	102
21	James Davison	Dale Coyne Racing	221.709	36
22	Colton Herta	Andretti Harding	221.699	91
23	Will Power	Team Penske	221.634	124
24	Marcus Ericsson	Chip Ganassi Racing	221.588	129
25	Graham Rahal	Rahal Letterman Lanigan	221.498	111
26	Spencer Pigot	Citrone Buhl Autosport with RLL	221.492	81
27	Zach Veach	Andretti Autosport	221.359	98
28	Patricio O'Ward	Arrow McLaren SP	221.341	55
29	Max Chilton	Carlin	221.147	36
30	Dalton Kellett	A.J. Foyt Enterprises	220.825	26
31	Oliver Askew	Arrow McLaren SP	220.130	51
32	J.R. Hildebrand	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	219.859	29
33	Tony Kanaan	A.J. Foyt Enterprises	218.306	6
34	Ben Hanley	DragonSpeed	0.000	0

[joeb]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

Spotter guide


Too many dark cars for my taste.

Originally Posted by S griffin

I don’t know, I see enough variety of colours there

I think there is decent variety there too. And I didn't know HyVee was going to be sponsoring any cars past the Iowa races! I'm pulling for Pigot now!

[mstets]

Does the fact that TK shook down #41 for Foyt mean that there will be bumping? Bourdais to qualify the car once the #4 and #14 are in the show?

Guess not. I forgot that Kellett is entered.

I saw 34 places on the results page and jumped to the wrong conclusion.

[S griffin]

Can’t draw too many conclusions at the moment, but good to see both Marco and Fred up there. No surprise to see the mayor of Hinchtown and Scott Dixon up there

[fieldodreams79]

I'll draw the conclusion that Alonso and McLaren have got their shat together this year. 29 laps and a top 5 time. I'll also say it's a little surprising to see the likes of Pato, Power and Rahal down on the charts. And Marcus ran a bunch of laps and is towards the bottom...

BUT, to the point it's really early, I don't have (or haven't looked) at how many laps were turned at a high speed, who all had how much draft etc.

It's nice to be talking about this!!

[Nikki Katz]

When’s the latest that Hanley can do rookie orientation?

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Nikki Katz

When’s the latest that Hanley can do rookie orientation?

The Rookie Orientation Program was yesterday, so that's it. It's now a question of getting as many practice laps in, during the remaining practice sessions before qualifying, which is on Saturday.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by Nikki Katz

When’s the latest that Hanley can do rookie orientation?

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

The Rookie Orientation Program was yesterday, so that's it. It's now a question of getting as many practice laps in, during the remaining practice sessions before qualifying, which is on Saturday.

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

https://www.autosport.com/indycar/ne...y-500-practice

^From that article:

After the end of practice, the DragonSpeed car of Ben Hanley, who hadn't turned a lap throughout the day, was allowed out alone on track for a shakedown and to run his Refresher course.

So he get's checked off? Sounds like they also had issues with the car all day...

[S griffin]

Alonso's shunted, but thankfully he's ok. Let's hope the car is completely fine for today's practice after that, i.e. no knock on effects

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by S griffin

Alonso's shunted, but thankfully he's ok. Let's hope the car is completely fine for today's practice after that, i.e. no knock on effects

Bummer! And with only 45 mins left in the session, but looks like it could've been worse

https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/n...ctice/4855647/

Scott Dixon was the quickest, pushing the avg speed up to 226 & change.

https://racer.com/2020/08/13/dixon-p...-practice-day/

Edit - forgot they got a turbo boost for Thursday & Friday

[bjohnsonsmith]

Renault say no to Alonso competing in the 2021 and '22 Indy 500.

https://racer.com/2020/08/14/renault...ns-for-alonso/

[S griffin]

He really needs to win it this season then!

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by S griffin

He really needs to win it this season then!

I think that goes without saying,

[bjohnsonsmith]

A head of qualifying tomorrow and Sunday's Fast 9, Fast Friday was completely dominated by Honda. Marco Andretti topped the session, with an average speed of 233.491 mph (375.7673 Kmh) and a time of 00:38.5454 seconds, while the rest of the first nine places were taken by Honda, except for second place, which was taken by the lone Chevrolet powered car driven Conor Daly.