Bump Day Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – Sage Karam had an eventful Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Not only he had to make the 33-car field, he had a good view of Simon Pagenaud’s mechanical problems. Karam had began the Month of May showing good speed where he even end up in the top-10 standings. Like his competitors starting on the final row next Sunday, Fast Friday and qualifying proved to be a struggle. As a result of missing the top-30 Saturday, Karam had to qualify again and makeRead More

By Kirby Arnold, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – Will Power got a different taste of Indianapolis Motor Speedway when he was surprisingly relegated to the stress of last-chance qualifying to make the final row of the Indianapolis 500.  What the Team Penske driver didn’t expect Sunday was a kiss of the Turn 2 wall on the last lap of his four-lap run.  Power, the second driver on the track in the five-car session to settle the final three spots in the race, drifted high out of the corner and smacked the SAFER Barrier with the right rearRead More

By Kirby Arnold, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – The clock sometimes moves slowly when the seconds are counting down to history.  The Paretta Autosport team, the first at Indianapolis Motor Speedway owned by a woman, driven by a woman and crewed mostly by women, sat in the 33rd and final spot in the Indianapolis 500 during last-chance qualifying Sunday. Simona de Silvestro had driven a four-lap average of 228.353 mph on the third qualifying run of the day.  Then they waited.  Sage Karam and Will Power, the first two drivers to post speeds inRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer People must be hiding under a rock if they’re unaware of two of Formula One’s household names missing the 103rd Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge — McLaren and their driver Fernando Alonso. More striking that the driver/team combo that send them packing was one of the NTT IndyCar Series’ smallest teams of Juncos Racing, with Kyle Kaiser representing the driver’s seat. What an amazing story on both ends because Juncos undeniably spent hours upon hours preparing a backup car and even after skipping the morningRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The fascinating and cruel nature of Bump Day reignited the debate of whether it’s a good idea having cars failing to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 compete. It’s simple, if they’re not fast enough or didn’t make the gun, they’re out. Two drivers’ aspirations of drinking the glass of milk and their heads engraved on the Borg-Warner Trophy were dashed Saturday as the charitable lass Pippa Mann and arguably, the face of IndyCar, James Hinchcliffe didn’t make the 33-car grid. Mann was bumped and didn’tRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief INDIANAPOLIS – Brian Belardi got his first taste of the emotions that come with attempting to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. The co-owner of the No. 33 Foyt with Byrd/Hollinger/Belardi entry endured a 24 hours that saw driver James Davison crash on Friday, only to come back and take the final spot among the field of 33 on Bump Day qualifying on Saturday. The four-lap average of 224.798 mph (2 minutes, 40.1439 seconds) around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway was enough to keep him on theRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief INDIANAPOLIS – It was the drama everyone missed, but it wasn’t the outcome expected as the return of Bump Day for the 102nd Running of the Indianapolis 500 claimed James Hinchcliffe. The 31-year-old Canadian, who is currently fifth in the Verizon IndyCar Series championship standings, was knocked out of the field of 33 with 18 minutes remaining in the session. He went out for a second attempt, but a vibration on the warm-up lap drew concern and returned to the pits with 11 minutes remaining. FromRead More

By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – The first day of qualifying for the 102nd Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil was its typical emotional roller coaster. It was filled with nail-biting four-lap attempts, rain delays that ruined strategies, last-minute bids to bump into the field of 33 and ultimate heartbreak for those left on the outside looking in. The cars and drivers that will start the race on May 27 were established in qualifying on Saturday. Two drivers – Verizon IndyCar Series regular James Hinchcliffe and Indy-only pilot Pippa Mann –Read More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS — Qualifying for the 102nd Running of the Indianapolis 500 begins shortly. There are 35 cars going for 33 spots. Each car is guaranteed at least one attempt. Scroll down for later attempts, this is being updated as each car completes an attempt. First up is rookie Zachary Claman De Melo in the No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda. Lap 1: 226.079 mph Lap 2: 225.677 mph Lap 3: 225.654 mph Lap 4: 225.480 mph Average: 225.722 mph-Provisional Pole Ryan Hunter-Reay in the No. 28Read More