Andretti Leads Again at Indy; Power Fastest without Help from Friends
May 18, 2018 | By Paul Kelly, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Marco Andretti became the first driver to top 230 mph this week during practice for the 102nd Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil on Friday, but Will Power is the driver to watch entering Crown Royal Armed Forces Qualifying Weekend.
Andretti led practice at 231.802 mph in the No. 98 U.S. Concrete/Curb Honda, aided by an aerodynamic tow from a leading car. The top speed was nearly 4.8 mph faster than the previous best of 227.053, also set by Andretti on Wednesday, as all drivers benefited Friday from a mandated increase in turbocharger boost that added approximately 50 horsepower to the Honda and Chevrolet engines.
That added boost also will be present during Bump Day qualifying Saturday and Pole Day qualifying Sunday,
“We've been feeling good actually, pretty good in traffic, which obviously the tow time shows that, and the car is close in race trim,” Andretti said. “I don't know how much better we can get it.
“But qual trim alone, I'm not pleased with the car speed right now. I think we're right on the bubble of the Top Nine, to be honest.”
Andretti was 12th on the no-tow list at 227.817. That’s nearly 2 mph slower than Power, who established himself as a favorite for the Verizon P1 Award as the pole sitter after the Fast Nine Shootout Sunday afternoon.
2014 Verizon IndyCar Series champion Power cruised to the fastest lap Friday without a tow, 229.780, in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. That speed placed Power fifth overall, behind Andretti, rookie Robert Wickens (231.732), two-time “500” pole winner Ed Carpenter (231.066) and Oriol Servia (230.247), who had tows on their respective fast laps.
“I think the No. 12 Verizon Chevy is definitely in a good window,” Power said. “I think we’re fast. I know there’s a lot of guys up there. I think it’s going to be very tight tomorrow, so we’ll know more when everyone goes.
“It’s always that you can feel fast on Friday, and suddenly go out, no traffic, or wind changes or anything, and the car’s not as good. But I felt I’ve been good all month, so we’ll see tomorrow.”
Team Penske drivers swept the top three spots on the no-tow list as the team aims for its record 18th Indianapolis 500 pole position but first since Ryan Briscoe claimed the top spot in 2012.
Reigning series champion Josef Newgarden was second on the no-tow list at 228.994 in the No. 1 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. 2016 series champion Simon Pagenaud was third at 228.857 in the No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet.
Carpenter was fast with and without a tow. He was fourth on the no-tow list at 228.740 in the No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolet, as the Bowtie Brigade swept the top four spots on the no-tow chart.
Sebastien Bourdais was the fastest Honda on the no-tow chart, fifth at 228.657 in the No. 18 Team SealMaster Honda.
The Foyt with Byrd/Hollinger/Belardi team will face a tough thrash to prepare James Davison’s No. 33 Jonathan Byrd’s 502 East for Bump Day qualifying Saturday after Davison crashed at 2:43 p.m.
Davison’s car got loose at the apex of Turn 2, did a half-spin and made contact with the SAFER Barrier at the exit of the corner with the left front and left rear. His car made secondary contact with the wall on the backstretch and suffered significant damage. Davison climbed from the car without assistance, was checked and released from the IU Health Emergency Medical Center and cleared to drive.
“I guess became one of the drivers to slam the wall at Indianapolis, so joined the club today,” Davison said. “Obviously, it’s not ideal, but we had to try some things. We’re 32nd quickest, right on the bubble, and we are not going to go faster just standing there and looking at it, so no regrets there.
“We’ll regroup, see what we can pull out of the bag tomorrow and give it everything again.”
Bump Day qualifications will take place from 11 a.m.-5:50 p.m. Saturday, establishing the 33 drivers who will comprise the starting field and also sending two drivers home early. But the exact starting order will be set Sunday on Pole Day, including the Fast Nine Shootout to determine the pole winner and the first three rows of the starting grid for the race Sunday, May 27.