Friday, May 23, 2008 Carb Day - The 92nd Indianapolis 500 Round 5 of 18 in the IndyCar Series RAIN LIMITED CARB DAY PRACTICE FOR INDY 500; McDONALD’S DRIVER WILSON AND HOLE IN THE WALL CAMPS DRIVER RAHAL LOOKING FORWARD TO SUNDAY 20) Graham Rahal 42.0633 / 213.963 mph 7 total laps today 28) Justin Wilson 1:39.6610 / 90.306 mph 3 total laps today Justin Wilson, No. 02 McDonald’s Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We did an installation lap in the McDonald’s car and that was it. We left the pits to try and do our first run and as soon as I got to the end of pit lane it was yellow so we didn’t do anything today. It’s a shame but I’m sure everything will be fine. Some people got five laps in but we did an install check so that takes a couple of minutes and by then it started raining. So literally we did nothing but we know the car should run. I’m starting the race from the inside of the row and its obviously going to be tricky since we’ve had so little time to go three-wide through the turns due to the weather. It’s going to be fun but difficult. I would be happy to finish on the lead lap and be in the top-10. It’s a shame we’re not doing the Pit Stop Contest seeing as it was sponsored by McDonald’s. On the positive side we didn’t have a spare car to do it in so we were going to have to do the contest in our race car unlike the others. It’s a bit easier on our race car and we’ll have a better chance of our drive shaft and gear box and everything lasting the distance of a 500-mile race.” 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 title contender until the conclusion of the penultimate race of each season. Graham Rahal, No. 06 Hole in the Wall Camps Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “Obviously its pretty disappointing that we didn’t get more practice but I think overall we have a good race car. It felt pretty similar to the other day when we were pretty quick. We did an installation lap and then went out to do our baseline run. We only did a couple of laps and got stuck behind Milka the whole time so that didn’t help much. That’s just the way it goes. Unfortunately right when we got past her was right when it went yellow for the rain. I think now the focus is on going out and making it through the first turn on the start. Then we will work on running 150 laps before going for it at the end. I think it’s nice to start from the inside (of the row) but the biggest thing is to just make it through Turn 1. I’ve told a lot of people that if that means losing a couple of positions on the start, then so be it. It’s important to get through it. I’ve seen it many, many times so I have a good understanding of what it’s going to be like.” 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.