After four full days of on-track running consuming 8,162 laps around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, one thing is certain: the battle for pole position in the historic 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil is wide open.
The last practice before Saturday's first day of qualifying - dubbed "Fast Friday" because it's usually when the top lap speeds are produced as teams trim out their cars and run four-lap qualifying simulations - lived up to its name.
Aided by the planned increase in turbocharger boost for the 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged V-6 engines that added about 30 horsepower, 18 drivers turned laps in excess of 230 mph today, including 15 without benefit of a "tow" from cars in front of them.
The fastest lap of the day and week came from Will Power in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, at 232.672 mph. Power earned $10,000 from Harding Group for posting the fastest lap on Fast Friday, but admitted he had help from the draft of a car running in front of him on the 2.5-mile oval.
"I got a good tow," Power said. "Even when the car is out of traffic, it was pretty good, pretty solid. I think it's fast. I think it's going to be really, really tight for pole. There's a lot of quick guys out there and I think Honda is right there, too."
Power sitting atop the leaderboard marked the first time in four practice sessions this week that a Chevrolet was first. Josef Newgarden, in the No. 21 Preferred Freezer Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing, was second at 232.344 mph. James Hinchcliffe was third at 231.972 in the No. 5 Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda, with Carlos Munoz fourth at 231.952 in the No. 26 United Fiber & Data Honda for Andretti Autosport.
"It's been a really good week," said Munoz, who has finished in the top four on the speed chart every day this week. "Today was my worst position in the whole few days. It's more or less like 2013 in my rookie year when I was always in the top (and finished second in the race). The car feels great. Really fast car, for sure, in traffic and alone."
The all-important "no-tow" speed chart for laps without benefit of a draft was headed by Munoz's teammate at Andretti, Townsend Bell in the No. 29 California Pizza Kitchen/Robert Graham Honda, at 231.342 mph. Bell was barely ahead of Power (231.339) and Andretti drivers Ryan Hunter-Reay (231.284) and Marco Andretti (231.255).
Indianapolis 500 qualifying again is scheduled for two days. The nine drivers who log the fastest four-lap qualification attempts Saturday are locked into the Fast Nine Shootout for the pole the following day. The other drivers move on to Group 1 qualifying Sunday, when race starting positions 10-33 are determined.
"To get pole here, it's just got to be your day and it's got to work out," said Power, the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series champion whose best Indy 500 start is second in 2010 and 2015. "That's the way it is around this place. I think it's the same for the race."
The draw for qualifying positions following today's practice saw 2013 Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan earn the first spot in line in the No. 10 NTT Data Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. Simon Pagenaud, the current Verizon IndyCar Series points leader who's won the last three races on the schedule, drew the second spot in the No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevy. Juan Pablo Montoya, the reigning Indianapolis 500 champion is slated to be the 27th primary car to qualify, in the No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevy.
Each of the 33 entries is guaranteed one qualifying attempt Saturday, provided it is in the qualifying line at its designated time and follows the proper procedures until it reaches the head of the line. Cars may make multiple attempts throughout the day to better their position.
A final practice session Saturday morning (streamed live on RaceControl.IndyCar.com from 8-10 a.m. ET) precedes first-day qualifying from 11 a.m.-5:50 p.m. ET. First-day qualifying coverage takes place on ESPN3 (11 a.m.-3 p.m. ET) and ABC (4-6 p.m. ET), with additional on-track action that day streaming on RaceControl.IndyCar.com.
Group 1 qualifying on Sunday runs from 2:45-4:45 p.m., with the Fast Nine Shootout from 5-5:45 p.m. to determine the Verizon P1 Award pole winner and recipient of $100,000. Sunday coverage is again on ESPN3 (2:30-4 p.m. ET) and ABC (4-6 p.m. ET), with practice from noon-2 p.m. streaming on RaceControl.IndyCar.com.
Coverage of the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 begins at 11 a.m. ET May 29 on ABC and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network.
INDYCAR's Belli among recipients of Louis Schwitzer Award
The work leading to a trio of engineers - including INDYCAR director of aerodynamic development Tino Belli - earning the 2016 Louis Schwitzer Award for innovation and engineering excellence at the Indianapolis 500 actually began before the 2015 race even started.
When three Indy cars went airborne after spinning backward during crashes in Indy 500 practice a year ago, INDYCAR and manufacturers Chevrolet, Honda and Dallara immediately took on the task of developing a remedy to slow spinning cars and keep them adhered better to the track surface.
Their answer was the rear wing beam flaps that are mandated on every Verizon IndyCar Series entry competing at the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil. For the effort, Belli, Arron Melvin from Pratt and Miller Engineering (designer of the Chevrolet aero kit) and Alex Timmermans of Dallara were today named co-recipients of the 50th annual Schwitzer award. It is the first time engineers from different organizations have won the award.
"I think that shows how collaborative the work was," Belli said.
With safety always a top priority, INDYCAR and its manufacturer partners set to finding a solution as soon as the issue surfaced in 2015 in the first year of aero kit competition between Chevrolet and Honda. Efforts were so intense and productive that a rear wing beam flap was ready in time for the 2015 race, but INDYCAR opted not to use it because it had not been tested to satisfaction and other aerodynamic changes to the cars had been put in place.
Extensive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations further developed the flaps last summer, followed by wind tunnel tests of prototypes at General Motors and Texas A&M University. The flaps, located on the rear wing main plane, flip up as the car spins backward, adding 650 pounds of drag to slow the car and 500 pounds of downforce to keep it more securely on the track surface.
The beam flaps are mandated on all three superspeedways on the Verizon IndyCar Series schedule this year - Indianapolis, Texas and Pocono - as are domed skid plates underneath the cars to increase downforce when cars spin as well.
The first real-world test of the beam flaps and domed skids came Wednesday when rookie Spencer Pigot spun in Turn 1 during practice. The results were a confirmation to the Schwitzer award winners.
"Everything that we saw with the domed skid and the beam flap would seem to be validated," Belli said. "We saw a lot of tire smoke (meaning the car remained on the track surface), which we didn't see so much last year. ... And we saw the car, when it hit the wall, it had a significant tail-down attitude to it. So I think from what I looked at, I was quite pleased."
Added Dallara's Timmermans, "Also quite happy to see that the left-hand flap, which was contacted quite heavily by the rear wheel guard, stayed structurally sound."
The Schwitzer award is named for the winner of the first auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1909 and the designer of the engine that powered the Marmon Wasp to victory in the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911. It is sponsored by BorgWarner and presented by the Indiana section of SAE International.
For an IndyCar.com "Professor B" explanation of beam flaps, visit http://www.indycar.com/Videos/2016/05/05-17-Proefssor-B-beam-flaps.
Power to join 500 musicians at 'Rock-IN-Roar 500'
Will Power, driver of the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, was scheduled to play the drums tonight at the "Rock-IN-Roar 500," a music and community festival on Georgia Street in downtown Indianapolis.
"I haven't really practiced, just went through it a couple times," Power said. "We're playing One Republic's 'Love Runs Out.' The thing is, I'm going to have like eight, nine other drummers around me, a lot of people. If I screw up, it's fine. I can just stop playing and still sound all right. But it's a pretty easy beat, I think I'll be fine."
NAPA Auto Parts joins Andretti Herta as sponsor for No. 98 Rossi
NAPA Auto Parts, in conjunction with NAPA's major supplier NAPA Balkamp and supporting vendor partners, has joined with Andretti Autosport to sponsor the No. 98 Honda by Alexander Rossi in the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500. Rossi's No. 98 machine is fielded in a collaboration between the Michael Andretti-led organization and Bryan Herta Autosport.
"We're excited to begin a relationship with another storied American brand for this landmark event," Andretti said. "This will be NAPA's first time serving as a full primary sponsor in the Verizon IndyCar Series and I'm honored to have Andretti Autosport chosen to represent their brand."
NAPA Auto Parts will also be carried as an associate sponsor on all Andretti Autosport cars for the remainder of the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series.
NHL star Larkin to be Belle Isle grand marshal
Detroit Red Wings star center Dylan Larkin, a hometown hero and one of the rising stars in the National Hockey League, has been named grand marshal of the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix for June 4. Larkin will give the famous command for drivers to start their engines before the start of the first Chevrolet Dual in Detroit presented by Quicken Loans Verizon IndyCar Series race that afternoon (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC).
Larkin is fresh off an impressive rookie season that saw the 19-year-old score a team-high 23 goals and tally 22 assists.
