Sunday, May 29, 2011

Indianapolis 500


The Indianapolis 500 has seen its first double file restart – and it certainly brought some excitement with it.

E.J. Viso wrecked the No. 59 KV Racing Technology car in the first-turn wall out of the restart, bringing the yellow flag out for a second time. Viso’s teammate, Takuma Sato, hit the wall in the No. 5 car to bring out the yellow flag. Tony Kanaan, in the No. 82 car, is the only remaining entry for the KV Racing Technology team.
Most of the cars made their first pit stop during the first yellow flag. Will Power, who has won two races this year, exited pit row without a tire when the lug nuts weren’t sufficiently tightened on the left rear tire. He was forced back into the pits and fell to 29th before battling back a few spots.

Paul Tracy, in the No. 23 Dreyer & Reinbold car and Simona De Silvestro in the No. 78 HVM Racing car both made extended stays in the pits to make adjustments on their cars, effectively eliminating them from the race.

Scott Dixon reclaimed the lead from Alex Tagliani. Townsend Bell, Dario Franchitti and Oriol Servia rounded out the top five.
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12:33 p.m. - Scott Dixon, Alex Tagliani battling for lead early
Scott Dixon and Alex Tagliani are battling for the lead in the early laps of the centennial running of the Indianapolis 500.

Dixon, in the No. 9 Ganassi car, took the lead from Tagliani, the pole sitter in the No. 77 Sam Schmidt Motorsports car. Tagliani’s teammate, Townsend Bell, moved up to third.

Tony Kanaan was one of the fast movers early as well. He began 22nd but had moved to 15th.

Simona De Silvestro, who qualified her backup car after wrecking her primary car in practice and suffering burns on her hands, fell to the back of the field early. De Silvestro brushed the turn-two wall and had to pit to change her right tires. She was four laps off the leaders
11:37 p.m. - Cars moved to position on race trackThe cars are on the track and the start of the centennial Indianapolis 500 is drawing nearer.

Driver introductions began at 11:33 a.m., and drivers are scheduled to get in their cars at 11:59. Teams will be given the command to start engines at 12:08 p.m., followed immediately by the parade lap and pace laps. Four-time Indy 500 winner A.J. Foyt will drive the pace car for the pace laps.

The green flag flies at 12:15 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
9:23 a.m. - IMS' infield filling with fansRace day is here.

The infield at Indianapolis Motor Speedway filled up as marching bands made their way around the track and spectators began to dot the grandstands.

Gasoline alley was filled with crews bringing equipment to pit road and making final preparations on their car.

"Just the sound of the engines sends a chill down my back," said Roger Quigg, a fan who's been to seven Indianapolis 500s. "It's fun to hang out, especially when the weather's nice."

Media and fans buzzed around the Sam Schmidt Motorsports garage, which housed the Alex Tagliani's No. 77 car. Tagliani will start on the pole.

"You think you've got a shot but you don't know," Schmidt said. "This year we think we've got a real shot."

The Hot Wheels Fearless jump in the infield is scheduled for 11 a.m. The centennial running of the Indy 500 begins at noon.

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