Opening Day Reveals Intriguing Search For Speed with New Aero Kits
May 04, 2015 | By Phillip B. Wilson, IMS.com correspondent
Ryan Hunter-Reay knows how a winning Indianapolis 500 car feels.
The challenge ahead with a new aerodynamics bodywork package for superspeedways is to replicate the handling of last year’s triumphant ride.
“At times it can be a little bit frustrating, but it’s working on a new car,” Hunter-Reay said after Sunday’s opening practice for the 99th Indianapolis 500. “Honestly, I just had the best car of my life here the last time I was here, right? You roll off the truck and you know what that feels like. So we’re having to re-tool some things and work at it, but that’s exactly what I expected. It’s a different car.”
The Opening Day shakedown had some Verizon IndyCar Series teams shaking their heads at times in an anticipated trial-and-error acclimation. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is tricky enough as it is. The search for an ideal setup turned Sunday into an intriguing chase.
That said, the cars are quicker than last year.
Hunter-Reay’s No. 28 Andretti Autosport Honda was among 21 cars that turned faster laps than Will Power’s 223.057 mph best for the initial practice a year ago. Hunter-Reay ranked ninth out of 28 cars at 225.208 mph.
“One thing about Indy is you’ve always got to respect it, every different wind-direction change, temperature change, things that will just change a little bit and it will throw your whole set-up out the window,” Hunter-Reay said. “So it’s very, very, very particular around here.”
Team Penske’s Juan Pablo Montoya finished No. 1 with a lap of 226.772 mph in his No. 2 Chevrolet. Teammate Helio Castroneves, first out on track for the third consecutive year, ranked second in his No. 3 Chevrolet at 226.468 mph. Four of the top five cars were Chevrolets.
Now racing teams put aside that data for a week. They start practice Thursday on the road course to prepare for Saturday’s Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis.
“Yeah, it’s kind of funny, you get your head in Indy 500 mode, now you’re switching back to a road-course mentality,” Hunter-Reay said. “I prefer when I start working here, I want to continue to work on the 500 because you get so focused on it. But I’m looking forward to the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis. It’s a great event, the second year, and hopefully we’ll have a good turnout.”
Indy 500 practice resumes Monday, May 11.
“That’s going to be the hard part for me,” said two-time Indy 500 polesitter Ed Carpenter of CFH Racing. “I’m going to stay in 500 mode and want to be working on that and the engineers are going to be like, ‘You need to go away. We’ve got a Grand Prix to run.’ I’ve got to wait another week to get in the car again and I’ve got a lot to think about.”
Carpenter’s No. 20 Chevrolet ranked eighth at 225.257 mph. He’s making his season debut in the May 24th “500.”
“It has some different characteristics,” Carpenter said of the aero package. “To be honest, I’m still trying to get my arms around some of it. Some things are the same. Some things are different. We tried so many things today, my head is just kind of full of all that information right now. I need to go put it down on paper and go through the data with the guys and try to make a little more sense of it. I’m sure we’ll draw some conclusions.”
Graham Rahal, fresh off a runner-up finish in the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama a week ago, was among those wracking their brains for answers. His No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda ranked 25th at 221.714 mph.
“We were flat and the car just wouldn’t go anywhere,” said Rahal, son of 1986 Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal. “It was 2 mph slower than (teammate) Oriol Servia. I don’t know. We’ll figure it out.
“I didn’t trim out and I know some guys did. When we get into the fine-tuning of it, I’m sure it’s going to interact differently. The situation today, I had to pile laps on to mileage out the engine. We didn’t trim out at all. It feels very similar to last year.”
Because of his recent road-course success, which produced the sixth runner-up finish of his career, he doesn’t mind switching his attention to the grand prix.
“Yeah, thank God. I get to go work on my road-course racing,” Rahal said. “I’m looking forward to that because I think we can win this weekend. I’ve got a good rhythm going on the road courses. I wanted to win (at Alabama) and came up just short and I’ve got one more shot before the 500. Hopefully we can do it.”
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Charlie Kimball said Sunday’s laps were more efficient.
“We definitely chased some stuff and we definitely have some more stuff to learn,” said Kimball, whose No. 83 Chevrolet ranked 22nd at 222.687 mph. “I’m glad we have five more days (next week) to learn it, at least on race stuff. Qualifying spec is going to be totally different.
“The speeds we were running today were quicker than what we ran last year with the same downforce, so we had more grip for faster speeds. It’s good. It gives us a chance to be quicker all throughout the month.”
His car was loose during the middle of the day.
“About 3 o’clock this afternoon, you would have heard a different tale,” Kimball said. “That’s the nature of this place. It just changes and you’ve got to be really careful so you don’t chase your tails and you don’t end up upside down.”