Intermittent rain played havoc with the first official on-track activity for the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500. But, with patience and determination the NTT IndyCar Series teams and drivers were able to get the veteran drivers significant track time to get their preparations for the 500 well underway.
Ed Carpenter and Spencer Pigot led the way for Team Chevy in the veteran group with fastest laps of 226.414 mph and 226.325 mph respectively. Carpenter was the 2018 pole winner and finished second in the race.
In the veteran refresher three-time Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves led the Chevrolet contingent over JR Hildebrand and Fernando Alonso.
Alonso took his first laps around the famed Speedway in his McLaren fielded Chevrolet in preparation for his second Indianapolis 500 run.
Practice officially opens for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing on Tuesday May 14 at 11:00 a.m.
ED CARPENTER RACING:
ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 PREFERRED FREEZER ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET: “It’s always good to be back in the car! It was kind of an odd day, with a little a bit running, then rain, a bit more running and rain again. It feels a little incomplete – we got through a lot of what we wanted to do but not exactly everything. I am happy with the car, but my guess is most everyone is happy with their car! The conditions are pretty nice today with how cool it is, the low track temp and making downforce. Generally, I think the car felt nice, comfortable and a good place to start when we come back in May.”
SPENCER PIGOT, NO. 21 AUTO GEEK ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET: “We went through several changes that we’ve been thinking about over the offseason and so far we are off to a good start! It will be a lot different when we come back in May and it’s warmer. Overall, I’m pretty pleased with how the day went!”
ED JONES, NO. 63 ED CARPENTER RACING SCUDERIA CORSA CHEVROLET: “It was a solid day, although wasn’t very long being shorted by rain. We had a great baseline and everything felt very good. We were super quick without a tow. We didn’t get as much traffic running as we would have liked, but with the limited track time, you just want to check as many boxes as you can. We did most of that today and I’m just really looking forward to coming back in May.”
AJ FOYT RACING
MATHEUS LEIST, NO. 4 ABC SUPPLY AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET: “Solid day at the track I think. We managed to do a couple laps and that was important for us. It’s just good to be back here, back in the Speedway car. It’s been a long time since the last time I drove one of these so just happy to be here again. Working towards May now. Just trying to put everything together, doing laps by myself. We didn’t really run in traffifc today which wasn’t our goal, and I think it was a good shakedown for us. We finished p5 or p6 no tow speed so I think that was good. We’ve just gotta keep in mind that the conditions in the month of May are going to be different, the track’s probably going to be hotter and everything, but for the first time here this year it was good. Looking forward to the month of May now.”
TONY KANAAN, NO. 14 ABC SUPPLY AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET: “It was a brand new car and a very unexpected problem actually. We had a leak and we fixed the leak, then a leak appeared somewhere else. It’s one of those things that I don’t think it’s anybody’s fault. It’s a brand new car – A.J. got me chassis #14 – so those things happen and actually days like this are good for that. This is April, April 24th, so better today than on opening day. So we got that out of the way, but obviously the day got shortened because of the rain, so when we finally fixed the car it ended up raining. No reason to panic. We were on track, we had a fast car. Matheus was pretty decent on the no-tow (speed). I’ve been around for too long, the boss has been around for too long. If you panic here, you get in trouble.”
CARLIN
CHARLIE KIMBALL, NO. 23 TRESIBA CALIN CHEVROLET: “It was a really solid day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway testing today. Whenever you come back out on the oval for the first time, it’s really just about getting into the rhythm and the flow. The Carlin guys did a great job preparing the No. 23 Fiasp Carlin Chevrolet and everything ran as smoothly as expected from the first lap on. Unfortunately we were dodging the weather all day, but that happens around here especially in Indianapolis in April. When I come back it’ll be the first official practice day for the month of May, so we’ll spend the next few weeks preparing as much as we can to make that first day of practice as successful as possible.”
MAX CHILTON, NO. 59 GALLAGHER CARLIN CHEVROLET: “It was a long day of waiting around, but even if it was a short amount of time it was good to get some running done today at IMS. It’s been a long time since most of us have been on an oval and a year since we’ve been back here, so it felt good to get back into the swing of things. I felt comfortable straight away – I think it’s the quickest I’ve ever gotten to flat out around IMS. That’s a good sign that our platform is good and I felt good enough with the platform of the car that I could make some changes on board. We were actually on our last run before we were going to come in and make a big change to the No. 59 Gallagher Carlin Chevrolet, but we lost power and had to come back to pit lane to assess the issue. The team is looking into what went wrong for us today and I know they’ll get it all squared away. Even with the rain and our day coming to an end early with only an hour of running, I’d say it was well worth it.”
DRYER & REINBOLD RACING:
JR HILDEBRAND, NO. 48 SALES FORCE DRYER & REINBOLD CHEVROLET: ““Very nice to be back in the car. It was kind of a crazy day with the rain and the glitch we had in the middle of the session. But I’m so glad to be able to get proper laps again after a year away. It feels good to get in the groove with the car and the crew. Once you’re out there and getting through all of the refresher laps, things just get back to normal at Indy for you. The new sealer on the track surface as well as the darker skies made it a little interesting as you entered the corners. You had to adjust to the new look. But that was the only thing that was a little different for me. It felt great to work with the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing crew guys again. They are awesome. Last year, I had to watch at the test day and Sage ran the car. We switched it up this year. It will be nice to come back for the opening day of practice and be ready to go from day one.”
MCLAREN RACING:
FERNANDO ALONSO, NO. 66 VUSE MCLAREN CHEVROLET:
PRESS CONFERENCE
THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Fernando Alonso. Weather conditions changing a bit today. How does it feel to be back here at Indianapolis Motor Speedway?
FERNANDO ALONSO: It’s good to be back, yeah, to feel again the magic of the place. The facilities when you come in the morning, you see the size of everything again, doing the medical checks in the morning, preparing for the running in the afternoon. It felt good.
Unfortunately, the weather was not stable enough to follow the times that we had in terms of practice. Yeah, at the end it was not enough laps and not enough time on the car to get the proper feeling.
Yeah, I guess is the same for everyone.
THE MODERATOR: Regardless of the abbreviated session, not being able to complete the full refresher program, how important is it to get this track time even if you figured out things you might need to work on when we get back for practice during the 500?
FERNANDO ALONSO: It’s always important. Any track time you have, you may discover issues on the car, you may discover things you can improve as a driver. Learning for us, it’s a brand-new car. We need to check many things.
Yeah, as I said, today has been a difficult day for the weather and for, yeah, the time that they gave to the rookies. Nothing we can do. Hopefully we can take over this time.
THE MODERATOR: Questions for Fernando.
Q. Was it a frustrating day because all the waiting around because of the weather, then you couldn’t get out because the issue with the car? In your other series, in Formula 1 or sports cars, the show goes on whether it rains or not.
FERNANDO ALONSO: It was frustrating for everyone, I guess. For us, obviously, yeah, we lost a little bit of time at the beginning. This was more or less expected because, as I said, it was a brand-new chassis, brand-new car. Everything fit in the last week. We expect to run slowly, step by step, short runs at the beginning. It’s what we did.
So, yeah, if we could probably have the laps at midday, maybe you discover these issues, then you have hours to work in the car, be ready for the afternoon. The weather delays everything. You do the lap at 5:30 p.m., and there is no room to get back on track on time.
Q. What was the issue with the car?
FERNANDO ALONSO: Some electrical issue. Yeah, not clear what yet.
Q. You still sound encouraged even though you’re still working through an awful lot. You sound genuinely happy to be back.
FERNANDO ALONSO: Yeah, I’m happy. I’m happy to be back here because this place is great. At the end, it’s going to be amazing, you know, the two weeks here. Yesterday, as I said, we were slow because the weather, some of the decisions that people made in terms of running time and things like that. Yeah, not enough laps.
Q. Fernando, this is a full McLaren effort this year vs. Andretti last time. What has been the biggest challenge or difference this time around?
FERNANDO ALONSO: Well, basically I think is a bit of challenge, no doubt. I think we have to do everything by ourselves, not only in terms of setup-wise, on the technical side. It’s also on the operational side, also on the strategy, tire management, the comfort side in terms of precision, steering wheel grip, basic things that they were ready with Andretti. You save a lot of time.
Yeah, basically it’s a bigger challenge. But it could be a bigger reward, as well. I think some of the, yeah, philosophy or directions that McLaren may go in the next month, maybe now is a little bit different. With Andretti we just follow what we knew what was working. In a way it was easier. But maybe now we can discover new things. That’s our hopes.
Q. You came here in 2017. You were viewed as a Formula 1 world champion trying to win the Indy 500. Do you return feeling more a little bit like an IndyCar driver?
FERNANDO ALONSO: Now I’m coming back as a Formula 1 world champion and 24 Hour Le Mans champ.
Q. Does this feel a little easier to you than it did?
FERNANDO ALONSO: And I’m 24 Hours Daytona. You have 48 Hour of Daytona at this table now.
Q. When you come here preparing for the oval, do you have to take a moment to reset your brain a little bit in terms of how you handle the car here versus Le Mans or 24 Hours of Daytona or anything like that? Is there a complete mindset change?
FERNANDO ALONSO: Yes, absolutely. It requires a complete reset on your driving style and your mindset. Yeah, being ready to turn left for two weeks and to be brave on some occasions because it’s all about that.
Yeah, I had the test in Texas two weeks ago, so that more or less prepare yourself to oval racing again. Couple of good sessions on the simulator, as well, in Charlotte. It was not too difficult today because of all that preparation. So, yeah, should be okay.
THE MODERATOR: Fernando, thank you very much for your time.
FERNANDO ALONSO: Thank you.
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