Tuesday, May 6, 2008 Practice for the 92nd Indianapolis 500
Round 5 of 18 in the IndyCar Series
McDONALD’S DRIVER WILSON AND HOLE IN THE WALL CAMPS PARTICIPATE IN FIRST OFFICIAL DAY OF PRACTICE FOR THE 92ND INDY 500
Fastest lap time/speed:
1) Marco Andretti 39.7177 / 226.599 mph
12) Justin Wilson 40.2754 / 223.461 mph
19) Graham Rahal 40.4399 / 222.552 mph
Justin Wilson, No. 02 McDonald’s Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “The day was okay to start with. I felt like we made a little bit of progress on the McDonald’s car early in the session. I felt a little confused by the end of the day and was thinking we hadn’t actually learned anything. I was hoping for more and hoping to get the car a bit more stable and more comfortable to drive but we didn’t manage to fix anything. I guess we’ll think about it tonight and have another go tomorrow.”
FAST FACTS: Will be his second race at IMS and first in the IndyCar Series (ICS) after having competed here with Jaguar in 2003 where he earned his first Formula One point in the USGP with an eighth place finish after running as high as third. He started 16th…He has competed on an oval track seven times…Qualified 17th but started 15th in the season-opener in Homestead due to two cars having their qualifying speeds disallowed. Dropped one lap down when he was hit by Will Power on a restart after approx. 22 laps and had to pit to replace a deflated tire but rallied to finish 15th…Started third in his street course ICS debut in St. Pete but alternate fuel and tire strategies dictated by intermittent rain led to a ninth place finish after he led a total of 18 of 83 laps…Was the pole winner on Friday and Saturday in the Long Beach Champ Car finale and dropped to second on the start but engine failure on Lap 13 ended his race and he finished 19th … Gained valuable experience after he was first to qualify and started 22nd in Kansas, led five laps after staying on track while others pit and finished ninth…Is ranked 17 in the point standings with 71 and is sixth in ROY…Finished runner up in the Champ Car championship to the driver he recently replaced, four-time champion Sebastien Bourdais, in 2006 and 2007. Was a championship contender until the conclusion of the penultimate race of each season.
Graham Rahal, No. 06 Hole in the Wall Camps Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “Today started off rough; the car was not very good. We kept coming back to the pad to try to figure out what it was and were working on several little issues and at the end of the day I think we were pretty good. We could run low 222’s (mph’s), low 222.3’s by ourselves and at the end we ran mid 222’s on old tires and that was with a little bit of a tow so we’re pretty happy with that actually because I don’t know what everybody else stacks up. I think we’re competitive with Justin because his quickest was with a tow also. We still need a couple of miles an hour but I think we are getting closer and closer. I think I had the save of the month. I came out of Turn 1 and the car had understeered there every single lap except for this one and the thing snapped on me. It was close. They showed it on the screens all over the track. The car snapped and I had a full lock on it (steering wheel) and it just came back to me.”
FAST FACTS: Will be his first Indy 500 and only his second on an oval track after having finished 12th at Kansas Speedway last weekend. He previously ran in a junior formula, Star Mazda event in 2005 at the Pikes Peak oval. In his IndyCar Series debut on a road/street course he became the youngest winner in major open-wheel racing in North America after winning in St. Pete on 4-6-08 at 19 years, 93 days old…He is ranked 10th in series points with 88 points.
1 POLE (1987) & TWO SECONDS AT IMS: The 2008 entry will mark the 16th year for NHR/NHLR in the event and the third since 1995. Prior to 2008, the team prepared a total of 23 entries for drivers such as Mario and Michael Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Paul Tracy, Bruno Junqueira and Sebastien Bourdais. The entry of Justin Wilson and Graham Rahal in 2008 will bring the total to 25. NHR’s highest finish in the Indy 500 is second place with Mario Andretti in 1985 and Michael Andretti in 1991 although team drivers have led many laps here. Mario Andretti also brought the team its highest start in the event when he won the pole position in 1987. NHR’s 2004 entry of Junqueira marked the first time for the team to compete here since 1995 and they returned in 2005 with Junqueira and IMS rookie Bourdais. They have earned Rookie of the Year once, with Mansell in 1993 when he finished third.
