|
(5-12-05)
After practice was cut short by rain Wednesday, I was listening
to an interview with the days pacesetter, Tony Kanaan, who had
posted a month-to-date best speed of 227.453, and you would
think he was almost embarrassed by being caught at it. Tony
couldn't have looked more guilty if he was caught peeing in the
neighbor's pool as a kid. Did he think he was invisible, did he
think he owed it to the team to do damage control in the
interview? Just listen to the guy, "oh yes I got a big tow
alright, I was behind Junqueira and Bourdais, and they were side
by side, I was thinking of passing them, but I didn't." He
didn't step on the brakes either, like the AGR team wished he
did. Bourdais ran no faster than 223 Wednesday, so Bruno had to
be running his pace, and Tony was on a flyer. Posting a number
like TK did Wednesday would be like saying something an opposing
football coach would paste on the locker room wall. Catch a
driver showing speed in pre-pole practice week at IMS, and
you'll get a reverse fish-that-got-away story, "that sucker
was so small that the hook was wrapped around him and he slipped
through." On Tuesday it was Kosuke Matsuura in the
interview room, caught like a kid with his hand in the cookie
jar, "yep, yes I did, I really did have a big tow out
there, I did, it had to be the tow." He's correct though,
but it is a "big toe," stuck in some driver's
big mouth. You would think these guys (and gal) were following
the supersonic transport to listen them talk about the ride they
got. Oh, by the way, Danica Patrick is a fast learner in more
ways than one, she too had a tow story to relate Wednesday. Back
to Tuesday, Matsuura was caught telling the truth in an
interview for once, he said "that if they take enough wing
out and get the car trimmed out, I think we can qualify at 230
mph." Well that was refreshing, an honest driver for a
change. While I applaud and respect that honesty, I don't think
there is enough "trim" in these cars to find a
"230." Here's what Kanaan said about a pole speed
prediction, "I think if we get the car right, we will run
225-226 on pole day, but don't ask me, I never get these things
right." See that, he knows he's fibbing, he even provided a
caveat. Trust me, if TK runs a "225" on Saturday (or
whatever day the weatherman lets him run), he will be running
again later in the week, because he will miss being locked into
the field by 7-10 cars, heck, a Cheever car will run a 225.
OK,
yes there are "tows" out there, and these cars, with
their 3 liter engines, are much slower now in a straight line,
and faster in the turns, they thrive when the driver catches the
slightest whiff of a tow. Does that mean they will be slower on
"Q" day, running alone? Nope, not enough to matter,
and they will probably be faster, at least the ones from the
better teams. During this week, they often run high-mileage
engines and used up tires. The teams don't tape up all the body
seams, and they don't use their very best engines. So any
tow-related speeds seen this week will be more than offset by
trimmed out cars, hot new engines, optimized tire stagger and
aero-sealed chassis. In truth, usually you see the best of the
teams beating their practice speeds, no matter what track it is.
On
Wednesday Buddy Rice crashed hard into the turn two SAFER, he
was probably unconscious when the first of the safety crews
reached the car (this ain't NASCAR folks, we're talking seconds
here). Rice hit back-end first, and there is little at the back
of the car to absorb
the blow. From the gearbox to the firewall, it's all solid.
Buddy hurt his back, and won't be allowed to practice for at
least seven days, I doubt he will miss the race unless they find
a Jaques Lazier like "hairline" fracture later.
Speaking
of Lazier's, both Buddy and Jaques had satisfying days
Wednesday, Buddy was as high as 4th on the chart and above 225
when he was run over by the Happy Hour Grand Prix and finished
10th. Danica Patrick was 2nd quick, followed by Scott
Dixon, back in the Panoz car. I'm no longer amazed when Danica
does what is becoming the norm, but I was amazed by the fact
that Richie Hearn's Sam Schmidt Motorsports Panoz Chevy ended up
6th on the chart at 226.090.
Here
is a link to my Wednesday practice live
running recap... I think the weatherman wins the day
Thursday at IMS, and Friday could be worse. If and when they do
run Thursday, I'll have
something to write about it here... They call this day
"Fast Thursday" at Indy, I hope it isn't wet Thursday.
|
