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(5-13-05)
It's "Friday the 13th," and we will be lucky if the
cars are still turning laps come happy hour, the forecast
doesn't look promising,
but the track opened on time, and T&S was late to appear,
the first serious laps put Helio Castroneves at the top of the
chart, but not for long, now it's Scott Dixon setting a 223-mph
pace. I'll comment on
the days action here all afternoon, or at least until the rains
hit the IMS area... As for the
weather forecast, it looks like they will get at least 3
hours in anyway. For those away from Indy and sneaking a
peak at the results, here is the Indy
weather radar site. FYI, it is clear of "blips"
for now. Not only is it Friday
the 13th, but for those of us that love the Indy 500, it's known
as Fast Friday, one of my favorite days of the month. Not only
does the action pick up, but after practice is over, there is
the draw for Saturday's qualifying order as well. That is a
casual affair worth watching, when the weather permits, it is
held in the area of Victory Circle, amidst much banter and
team/driver interaction. This is funny stuff, worth staying for.
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MBNA
Pole Qualifying Order
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Car
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Driver
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8
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Scott Sharp
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6
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Sam Hornish Jr.
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26T
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Dan Wheldon
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11
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Tony Kanaan
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5
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Adrian Fernandez
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10
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Darren Manning
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91
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Paul Dana
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4T
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Tomas Scheckter
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51T
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Alex Barron
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33T
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Ryan Briscoe
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55
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Kosuke Matsuura
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51
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Alex Barron
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36
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Bruno Junqueira
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9
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Scott Dixon
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15
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Buddy Rice
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17
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Vitor Meira
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16
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Danica Patrick
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33
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Ryan Briscoe
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55T
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Kosuke Matsuura
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11T
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Tony Kanaan
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22
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Jeff Ward
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14
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A.J. Foyt IV
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16T
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Danica Patrick
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37
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Sebastien Bourdais
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2
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Tomas Enge
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3
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Helio Castroneves
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6T
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Sam Hornish Jr.
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25
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Marty Roth
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7T
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Bryan Herta
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7
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Bryan Herta
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15T
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Buddy Rice
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9T
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Scott Dixon
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37T
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Sebastien Bourdais
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10T
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Darren Manning
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48
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Larry Foyt
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27
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Dario Franchitti
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91T
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Paul Dana
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95
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Buddy Lazier
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83T
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Patrick Carpentier
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2T
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Tomas Enge
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8T
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Scott Sharp
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26
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Dan Wheldon
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70
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Richie Hearn
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20
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Ed Carpenter
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4
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Tomas Scheckter
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83
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Patrick Carpentier
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20T
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Ed Carpenter
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21
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Jaques Lazier
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41
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TBA
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3T
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Helio Castroneves
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44
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Jeff Bucknum
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24
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Roger Yasukawa
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17T
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Vitor Meira
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This
just in. they're done for the day, the "big one" hit, as
I said... "aXe
at Indy" just called to say "that there is a heck of a
storm to the southwest of the track, and he is in the car and on
the way out of the speedway." He says "there is no
chance it will miss the track." I say, "been there, done
that."
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(2:45,
IMS time) T&S Commentary: "Paul Dana was
transported via ground to Methodist Hospital and was awake and
alert." Am going to post the T&S chart now, since I have
many Indy memories of the track being close to dry, only to have
another "frog-swallower" close the track for the day.
There are few surprises on the chart, but it is interesting to
note that Adrian Fernandez is 8th on the chart today and close to
225 mph. I'll be back later, either after the track dries and they
are running, or after the next storm.
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89th
Indianapolis
500
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Pos
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Driver
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Diff
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B Time
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B Speed
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1
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Tomas Scheckter (4)
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...
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39.5076
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227.804
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2
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Tony Kanaan (11)
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0.1066
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39.6142
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227.191
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3
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Danica Patrick (16)
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0.1804
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39.6880
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226.769
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4
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Sam Hornish Jr. (6T)
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0.1853
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39.6929
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226.741
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5
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Dario Franchitti (27)
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0.2355
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39.7431
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226.454
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6
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Sam Hornish Jr. (6)
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0.2651
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39.7727
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226.286
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7
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Helio Castroneves (3T)
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0.5013
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40.0089
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224.950
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8
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Adrian Fernandez (5)
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0.5288
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40.0364
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224.795
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9
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Sebastien Bourdais (37)
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0.5344
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40.0420
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224.764
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10
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Scott Sharp (8)
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0.5565
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40.0641
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224.640
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11
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Tomas Enge (2)
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0.5799
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40.0875
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224.509
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12
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Ryan Briscoe (33T)
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0.6046
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40.1122
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224.371
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13
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Scott Dixon (9T)
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0.6180
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40.1256
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224.296
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14
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Bryan Herta (7)
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0.6943
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40.2019
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223.870
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15
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Kosuke Matsuura (55)
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0.6996
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40.2072
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223.841
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16
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Dan Wheldon (26)
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0.7385
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40.2461
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223.624
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17
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Bruno Junqueira (36)
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1.0427
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40.5503
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221.947
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18
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Alex Barron (51)
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1.5463
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41.0539
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219.224
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19
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Patrick Carpentier (83)
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1.6101
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41.1177
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218.884
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20
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Larry Foyt (48)
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2.1206
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41.6282
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216.200
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21
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Jeff Ward (20T)
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2.2198
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41.7274
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215.686
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22
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Marty Roth (25)
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2.3135
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41.8211
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215.202
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23
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Paul Dana (91T)
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2.3708
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41.8784
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214.908
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24
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Jaques Lazier (21)
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27.4596
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1:6.9672
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134.394
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25
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Roger Yasukawa (24)
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0.0000
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-0.0001
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0000
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26
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Vitor Meira (17)
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0.0000
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-0.0001
|
0000
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(2:15,
IMS time) There is an "extended yellow, first for
SAFER repair and lightening," and now "rain." If
they "lose the track" to the rain, even as warm as it is
today, there will be a two-hour delay to dry the track. What
appears to have happened is that the teams saw the storm coming
and about a dozen cars went out for what could have been last
runs. I had just talked to aXe in the phone from IMS, and he said
the "sky was black, but there was a lot of cars out and
running." Here is the latest from the "AP,"
via yahoo.com I'm sure there are pictures to follow. yahoo.com
has an IndyCar page that
is worth book marking. "The rain has ended and track
drying has begun." Another call from the track tells me
that the rain was heavy at times, but didn't last long, This
is an ugly image, but things look better to the south and
west. RaceTrack
Weather states that it is "84 degrees in Indy," with
"9 mph winds.." that should help the drying
process.
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(2:00,
IMS time) Tech issues are killing me today, while I was away Sam
Hornish has crashed, getting the Penske Dallara Toyota upside
down, "SportsCenter" will have a ratings boost this
afternoon. Sam is reported to be out of the car. Sam got involved
in a crash by Paul Dana, who finally accomplished what he has
barely avoided in every race he has been in this season, crashing.
If Scott Mayer isn't ready for the Indy 500, I think Paul Dana is
in the same category. Dana's last speed reported was a 214 mph
lap, and he crashed. Unless it was a mechanical failure or a cut
tire, it's time to put a veteran in the car. Sorry, that's just
how I feel.
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(1:00,
IMS time) the track has been open for an hour, and Thomas
Scheckter took an early flyer and had sat atop the speed chart
at 227.444, but has just upped the ante a little, to 227.808.
There was only one other driver on the track at the time and
that was Danica Patrick, working a 225 mph pace. Was the Tomas
run tow-related, one knowledgeable
observer (?), paid for giving his opinions, thinks they ALL are
tow related. It's as if he forgets that "tows" don't
happen at every IndyCar oval track venue. He also has forgotten
that about 95% of the time, the pole winner sets a speed that
has exceeded his practice speeds. We will see who is correct
tomorrow, if the weatherman cooperates and track conditions
allow all-out efforts.
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