Qualifying order || Qualifications info
INDYCAR and Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced revisions to the Old National Armed Forces Pole Day qualifications format and changes to the turbo boost level and aerodynamic bodywork configurations following a single-car incident at 8:15 a.m. (ET) involving Ed Carpenter during practice for the 99th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race.
Carpenter, who earned the Verizon P1 Award for the Indianapolis 500 the previous two years, was uninjured when the No. 20 Fuzzy's Vodka CFH Racing Chevrolet, spun, made hard rearward contact with the Turn 2 SAFER Barrier, rotated upside down and slid down the backstretch on its left side. The CFH Racing co-owner/driver exited the race car without assistance from the Holmatro Safety Team, was examined at the IU Health Emergency Medical Center and cleared to drive.
“We were on the fourth lap of a qualifying sim. The car felt good; a lot better than yesterday," Carpenter said. "We’ve seen the data, and it just went. I wish I knew why it happened."
A few minutes earlier, Scott Dixon turned a lap of 233.001 mph in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. Reigning Verizon IndyCar Series champion Will Power, driving the No. 1 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, was second fast at 232.118 mph, and seven drivers topped 231 mph in the truncated session.
Carpenter's crew built around a backup chassis and the car participated in the pre-qualifying practice session at 1:30 p.m. (ET).
The revised schedule (all times Eastern):
1:30-2 p.m. -- First half of draw practice
2-2:30 p.m. -- Second half of draw practice
3:15 p.m. -- Qualifications begin; all cars get one four-lap qualifying attempt for positions 1-30
-- Qualifying for positions 31-33 will begin about 30 minutes following the previous session; multiple attempts as time permits
Click it: Qualifying order
In practice last week, Carpenter CFH Racing teammate Josef Newgarden was uninjured when the No. 21 Century 21 Chevrolet made contact with the Turn 1 SAFER Barrier, and Helio Castroneves was uninjured when his car made contact with the Turn 1 SAFER Barrier. Also, Pippa Mann was examined and cleared to drive after the No. 63 Dale Coyne Racing Honda she was driving made contact with the inside pit lane retaining wall and pit lane attenuator.
As a precaution, INDYCAR also announced the following measures for qualifications:
-- The boost level, which was increased from 130 kPa to 140 kPa for “Fast Friday” practice May 15 and scheduled qualifications May 16, was returned to 130 kPa for Pole Day qualifications. That relates to about a 40 horsepower reduction to the Chevrolet and Honda 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged V-6 engines. The boost level will remain at 130 kPa for final practice on Coors Light Carb Day on May 22 and the 500 Mile Race on May 24.
-- The aerodynamic bodywork package that Chevrolet- and Honda-aligned entries qualifying with must be utilized in the 200-lap race. Downforce will be increased on the superspeedway platforms for added stability.
"That rule alone will cause the manufacturers to select certain components that are biased toward the race, which in effect will give them more downforce, which is really part of the exercise we’re going through here,” said Derrick Walker, INDYCAR president of competition and operations.
"I'm very confident we'll resolve any issues. We've been working with both manufacturers since the first incident. They've been running their super computers into the night to try to compare what we've been doing in the past and what we're doing now, and do we see any big, red flags that say we're going the wrong way. The whole process continues.
"(Manufacturers) have such good computing power that they can evaluate a car in yaw or 180 degrees going the opposite way. That, quite frankly, is the best way to get answers as quick as we can. The ultimate test is when you get on the racetrack, and that is somewhat where we are now. It's a complex issue."
Said Jim Campbell, U.S. Vice President Performance Vehicles and Motorsports, Chevrolet: "Chevrolet met with INDYCAR this morning and the decision was made to run race-level aerodynamics and engine boost during qualifying in an effort to reduce speeds and increase downforce. We continue to review all available data from the crashes. Safety is our priority."
Added Honda Performance Development president Art St. Cyr: “Even though we have every confidence in our design, we support INDYCAR in their efforts to improve safety.”
Rain forced cancellation May 16 of the scheduled qualifications program. Castroneves posted a lap of 233.474 mph, which was the fastest lap since Eddie Cheever Jr.'s 236.103 mph in the 1996 race, the morning practice May 16.
Castroneves will seek to join A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears as four-time Indy 500 winners, and he's in contention for pole history, too. Castroneves, with No. 1 qualifying efforts in 2003, 2007, 2009 and 2010, is tied with Foyt and Rex Mays. A fifth would put him second among all-time pole winners, one behind Team Penske consultant Mears. Castroneves also could give team owner Roger Penske a record-extending 18th pole position.
In 2014, Carpenter earned the Verizon P1 Award in the Fast Nine Shootout with a four-lap average speed of 231.076 mph. Carpenter is in his second year of driving solely in oval events. Luca Filippi is behind the wheel of the No. 20 entry in the 12 road/street course races this season. On April 26, CFH Racing -- a merger of Ed Carpenter Racing and Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing for the 2015 season -- celebrated a victory by Josef Newgarden in the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park.