“What day is it?” Townsend Bell joked in the Schmidt Pelfrey garage mid-morning Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Bell, driver of the Honda-powered No. 99 BraunAbility car, flew to Indianapolis overnight after competing in the American Le Mans Series race at Laguna Seca. His Lotus Evora finished after requiring a three-hour gearbox change during the race.

Bell, seeking to compete in his sixth Indianapolis 500, completed a seat fit and chatted with the crew before changing out of his firesuit for his physical at the infield care center. Then he got in a nap.

Bell, a pit reporter for IZOD IndyCar Series races on NBC Sports Network, recorded eight laps late in the day.

“It’s a good way to fix of the jet lag, running around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway," he said. "It always feels good no matter what you feel like before you get out there. It was great to just get a few laps in this new car. It was my first time on the track with this car. Everything went according to plan. Now we’re going to go back and talk about it and tweaking.

"All of the years of muscle memory I have has just been totally reset. This car feels totally different."

Hunter-Reay honors Wheldon on helmet

Ryan Hunter-Reay is wearing a helmet dedicated to two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon.

Ryan Hunter-Reay helmet“Any Indy 500 helmet is a special one,” said Hunter-Reay, driving the No. 28 Team DHL/Sun Drop Citrus Soda car for Andretti Autosport. “You cherish them and put them at the top of your helmet selection. This one has Wheldon after his win last year on one side and the Borg-Warner (Trophy) on the other.

“It’s a pretty cool helmet, and it will be special to me for many years to come. Dan is the champion. He’s the champion of the race and a great ambassador for our sport. We all miss him. In everything we do to remember him, this is just a small part of it.”

Wheldon, the 2005 and 2011 Indy 500 winner, died from injuries suffered in a racing incident in October. 

Of note

Wade Cunningham completed the third and final phase of the Rookie Orientation Program. … Three-time Indy 500 winner Bobby Unser and 1977 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year Jerry Sneva visited the track. … Also at the track was former IZOD IndyCar Series driver A.J. Foyt IV, who watched part of the session from his granfather's pit.