Dixon, Castroneves flash form on Carb Day at Indy
Scott Dixon and Helio Castroneves. (Photo by Joe Skibinski | IMS Photo)
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio
Carb Day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is for sending messages, and “40-somethings” Scott Dixon and Helio Castroneves indicated Friday they plan to be players during the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500.
Carb Day at Indy. Photo by Michael C. Johnson
Dixon led the two-hour Miller Lite Carb Day final practice around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, as the field’s Honda and Chevrolet-powered drivers fine-tuned Race Day packages for Sunday’s 200-lapper.
Dixon, winner of the 2008 Indy 500, topped the speed chart at 227.206 mph in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. This marked the ninth time in the last 10 years that Dixon placed among the top-four on Carb Day.
Dixon will start a career-low 21st in the traditional 33-car field on Sunday. But as he proved while scoring his 57th career INDYCAR victory on April 21, Dixon certainly has the skillset to allow the race to come to him. Dixon reaffirmed his position as “greatest open-wheel driver of this generation” by winning the 40th edition of the Acura Long Beach Grand Prix via a cerebral combination of fuel-saving patience and aggression.
Carb Day at Indy. Photo by Michael C. Johnson
Dixon’s “Month of May” has been methodical and largely under-the-radar. “We rolled-off pretty good,” said Dixon, a 43-year-old New Zealander who is CGR’s longest-tenured driver. “It was a good day. The car seems pretty fast, pulls up well, pretty consistent.
“I think you have to take the moment as it is. You don’t want to rush it too much (with early-race passes). We’ve got some positions to make up. Hopefully move up as quick as possible. I’d like to pass all 20 cars (in front of him) on the first lap, but that’s probably not going to happen.”
The 108th Indy 500 is Round 5 of the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series schedule. Live coverage of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” will start at 11 a.m. (EDT) on NBC, with a Spanish-language version available on Universo, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network. SiriusXM also will carry live coverage on XM Channel 218 and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.
Colton Herta. Photo by Michael C. Johnson
Four-time Indianapolis 500 champion Helio Castroneves previewed his bid for a record-breaking fifth event victory by placing second-fast at 226.939 mph in the No. 06 Cleveland-Cliffs Honda fielded by Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian. Castroneves, at 49 the oldest driver in the field, will start 20th in his one-off ride. The popular Brazilian, who scored his fourth Indy 500 victory with MSR in 2021, is now a minority owner of the team.
“Great Carburetion Day,” Castroneves said after logging 103 laps, just over half-a-race distance. “The Cliffs machine and Sirius XM car looks really, really strong. The No. 06 boys did an amazing job putting it together and the pit stops…some of the guys flew in this morning they’re like _ flawless _ looking very, very strong. They don’t look a bit like one-offs. It’s just like me _ as you get older, you get better _ just like fine wine. Great job.
“The whole vibe is incredible. But at the end of the day, we just got to start it and in the middle and in the end we got to make sure that we read the race and go to that No. 5.”
Will Power. Photo by Michael C. Johnson
Led by the Team Penske trio of pole-winner Scott McLaughlin, Will Power and Josef Newgarden in Row 1, Chevrolet-powered drivers captured the grid’s top eight spots last Sunday during PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying. But corporate rival Honda rebounded Friday by securing seven of the top-10 spots on the speed sheet.
Pato O’Ward, who qualified eighth, was the fastest “Bowtie” driver in the final practice at 226.666 mph in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. “That was a successful Carb Day for us,” said O’Ward, a native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio. “We got everything we needed to get done. We ran through our run plan and the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet feels good. Obviously, Race Day throws a few surprises at you, but I’m feeling confident.”
O’Ward contributed 78 laps to the total of 1,294 circuits run by Team Chevy entrants. The field combined to log a total of 2,721 laps.
Felix Rosenqvist and Ryan Hunter-Reay. Photo by Michael C. Johnson
“There are a lot of really strong cars out there; we aren’t the only ones,” said O’Ward, who finished second to Sweden’s Marcus Ericsson, then of Chip Ganassi Racing, in the 2022 Indy 500. “I think we’re definitely in a better place than we were last time out. Hopefully, the rain stays away so we can get a full race in.”
Colton Herta continued his strong performance in traffic during practice by placing fourth at 226.220 mph in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian.
Rookie Tom Blomqvist of Great Britain, who will start 25th, completed the top-five at 225.450 mph in the No. 66 AutoNation/Arctic Wolf Honda fielded by Meyer Shank Racing. The team landed all three of its cars in the top-eight at the end of the session. Sweden’s Felix Rosenqvist, who will start ninth, was eighth at 225.310 mph in MSR’s No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda.
Rinus VeeKay. Photo by Michael C. Johnson
“This whole thing is pretty intense,” said Blomqvist, who momentarily stole the rookie spotlight from Kyle Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion. “Every lap I do, every session I do I feel more and more confident and understand what I need and how things change. I feel pretty good out there; we’re happy where we’re at.”
The session was slowed by two cautions, one for debris and one for a tow-in involving heralded rookie Larson, whose No. 17 Hendrickcars.com Arrow McLaren Chevrolet ran out of fuel. Race Day’s highest-starting rookie in fifth, Larson is attempting to complete “The Double” of competing in the Indy 500 and the NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday.
Alex Palou. Photo by Michael C. Johnson
“I thought my car handling was good,” Larson said. “I didn’t suck-up as good as I thought I did on Monday, but the pit stop stuff, getting familiar with that. It’s a little bit different, obviously, than a NASCAR pit stop, like charging pit lane. I got to leave finally hard a couple of times. I felt comfortable with all of that. I feel like we checked a lot of boxes off before the race.
“I thought (Alex) Palou and McLaughlin and Newgarden looked pretty good, and Herta. I don’t know. I just felt middle-of-the-road. I’m sure there are things I could do as far as generating runs and stuff to help things, but just got to kind of talk to my teammates and see how they felt.”
Pole-sitter McLaughlin, of New Zealand, was 20th at 224.264 mph in the No. 3 Pennzoil “Yellow Submarine” Team Penske Chevrolet. Native Australian Power, the 2018 Indy 500 champ who will start second, was 21st at 224.253 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet. Reigning race-winner Newgarden, starting third, was a very conservative 32nd in the 33-car field at 222.847 mph in the No. 2 Shell Powering Progress Team Penske Chevrolet.
Sunday’s list of pre-Race Day activities will include the IMS Museum 500 Historic Car Lap, which will start from Turn 1 of the IMS Road-Course at 10.40 a.m. (EDT).
Among the former champions and race-winning cars scheduled to be honored are Fort Worth’s Johnny Rutherford, who is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first of his three Indy 500 wins with Team McLaren. Rutherford’s No. 3 McLaren is scheduled to be driven by Arrow McLaren Sporting Director Tony Kanaan, the 2013 Indy 500 champion.
Also, Simon Pagenaud will wheel the No. 6 Marlboro Team Penske Panoz G Force/Toyota Gil de Ferran drove to his lone Indy 500 victory in 2003. De Ferran’s family and Pagenaud, who won the 2019 Indy 500 for Team Penske, are honoring Gil, who died on Dec. 29, 2023 after suffering a heart attack. He was 56-years-old.
Saturday morning’s Public Drivers’ Meeting was the only official function remaining at IMS before the race.
Team Penske won its record-extending 19th One Stop to Start Pit Stop Challenge, as Josef Newgarden earned his second win in the prestigious annual contest featuring the best Indianapolis 500 pit crews. It was the first win for Team Penske and Newgarden since 2022.
Newgarden and his crew defeated Arrow McLaren and driver Pato O’Ward in the best-of-three final round, sweeping the first two rounds.
The reigning Indy 500 champions, the crew on Newgarden’s No. 2 Shell Powering Progress Team Penske Chevrolet changed four tires and simulated fueling in 11.333-seconds in the first round. O’Ward and the crew of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet posted a stop in 12.121-seconds.
In Round 2, Team Penske and Newgarden completed its stop in 10.792-seconds, quickest of the entire contest. Arrow McLaren and O’Ward trailed at 12.647-seconds.
Newgarden’s crew earned $50,000 for the victory, while O’Ward’s crew earned $25,000 as runner-up.
Members of the winning team are Chad Gordon, chief mechanic/outside front tire changer; Caitlyn Brown, inside front tire changer; Kyle Lapier, inside rear tire changer; Keenan Watson, outside rear tire changer; Derrick Ruppert, fueler and Tom Jones, air jack. Brown is believed to be the first female crew member to be a part of the winning team.
The last time a driver swept the Pit Stop Challenge and Indianapolis 500 in the same year was 2009, when Helio Castroneves of Team Penske achieved the feat.
Sanctioning body INDYCAR has informed race teams of procedural updates ahead of the 108th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. During Friday morning’s Carb Day Drivers’ Meeting, teams were made aware of the following items:
_ The dashed white line from the exit of Turn 4 to the pit entry attenuator will be officiated for Sunday’s race. Cars that have left-side tires past the dashed line will be penalized unless entering the pit lane, for incident avoidance or in an obvious attempt to avoid a closed pit lane and return to the racetrack.
In accordance with INDYCAR penalty guidelines, INDYCAR can impose penalties that include a drive-through; if at the conclusion of the race, a time penalty equal to a drive-through penalty or if under yellow condition, the car is ordered to the rear of the restart lineup.
_ Consistent with its use at other NTT IndyCar Series events, EM Motorsport light panels positioned around the track will illuminate all flag conditions, including green, to supplement the traditional cloth flag waved at the start/finish line for both starts and restarts. The EM Motorsport light panels are mounted in addition to the traditional track condition lights used at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
_ Restart procedure _ In collaboration with NTT IndyCar Series teams and drivers, the 2024 restart line designated in the last corner will not be implemented at the race. As in previous years, cars may begin racing (including passing) at the declaration of a green condition.
The 2024 INDYCAR rulebook was scheduled to immediately be updated to reflect the changes.
Johnny Rutherford – Photo by Lisa Hurley
Three-time Indy 500 champion Johnny Rutherford of Fort Worth became a close friend of Eddie Gossage during his 25-year tenure as president/general manager of Texas Motor Speedway. Rutherford was in Indianapolis and making plans to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his first Indy 500 victory this weekend when he learned that Gossage had died on Thursday, May 16. Gossage was 65-years-old.
“I had known Eddie for a number of years,” said Rutherford, 86. “He worked with Miller Brewing and Danny Sullivan at the Speedway (when Sullivan scored his iconic spin-and-win in 1985).”
Construction of TMS began on Aug. 18, 1995 and Gossage got the Rutherford family involved long before the inaugural race weekend in April 1997. Betty Rutherford, Johnny’s wife and among the first women to work timing-and-scoring in the pits at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, was introduced as president the Texas Chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities on May 1, 1996.
Gossage launched another TMS tradition on June 7, 2000, unveiling the Foyt-Rutherford Trophy to be awarded the winner of the track’s INDYCAR event. The trophy honors Houston native A.J.Foyt Jr., first four-time winner of the Indy 500, and Rutherford.
“Eddie wanted me to be around during the race weekends,” said Rutherford, who also regularly attended test and practice sessions scheduled by NTT IndyCar Series teams. “Eddie was a great promoter, and of course working for Bruton Smith and having Humpy Wheeler as his coach. It’s really sad to lose Eddie because he was a great friend and a good man. For sure.”
Gossage is survived by his wife, Melinda, daughter Jessica, son Dustin, daughter-in-law Lauren and grandchildren Lyra, Evelyn and Oliver. A memorial service for Gossage will be conducted on Thursday, June 13, at 10:30 a.m. (CDT) at Gateway Church Southlake, 700 Blessed Way, Southlake, Texas, 76092.
Starting lineup for the 108th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge NTT IndyCar Series event on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with rank, car number in parentheses, driver, engine, time and speed in parentheses:
1.(3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 02:33.7017 (234.220 mph)
2. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 02:33.9007 (233.917)
3. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 02:33.9726 (233.808)
4. (7) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 02:34.4469 (233.090)
5. (17) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 02:34.6083 (232.848)
6. (14) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 02:34.7110 (232.692)
7. (21) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 02:34.7657 (232.610)
8. (5) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 02:34.7829 (232.584)
9. (60) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 02:34.9686 (232.305)
10. (75) Takuma Sato, Honda, 02:35.0578 (232.171)
11. (27) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 02:35.8490 (230.993)
12. (23) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Chevrolet, 02:36.1367 (230.567)
13. (26) Colton Herta, Honda, 02:34.9616 (232.316)
14. (10) Alex Palou, Honda, 02:34.9682 (232.306)
15. (6) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 02:35.0184 (232.230)
16. (11) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 02:35.0504 (232.183)
17. (20) Ed Carpenter, Chevrolet, 02:35.1608 (232.017)
18. (4) Kyffin Simpson, Honda, 02:35.2069 (231.948)
19. (98) Marco Andretti, Honda, 02:35.2458 (231.890)
20. (06) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 02:35.2587 (231.871)
21. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 02:35.2723 (231.851)
22. (78) Agustin Canapino, Chevrolet, 02:35.2750 (231.847)
23. (41) Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, 02:35.2888 (231.826)
24. (33) Christian Rasmussen, Chevrolet, 02:35.3852 (231.682)
25. (66) Tom Blomqvist, Honda, 02:35.4554 (231.578)
26. (77) Romain Grosjean, Chevrolet, 02:35.4982 (231.514)
27. (8) Linus Lundqvist, Honda, 02:35.5034 (231.506)
28. (45) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 02:35.5308 (231.465)
29. (24) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 02:35.6803 (231.243)
30. (30) Pietro Fittipaldi, Honda, 02:35.7768 (231.100)
31. (51) Katherine Legge, Honda, 02:36.4590 (230.092)
32. (28) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 02:36.5037 (230.027)
33. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 02:36.5396 (229.974)
