Friday notebook: Rain stops pre-'Bump' play
The first complete washout of Indianapolis 500 practice in four years has dampened the chances of some of the drivers who have yet to qualify for the May 27 race. With just one more day of practice scheduled before Sunday's 'Bump Day' - the final round of qualifications for the 85th Indianapolis 500 - those teams must get up to speed in a short time.

The last time no cars turned laps on a scheduled practice day due to rain was May 3, 1997. But while the rainout has raised the anxiety for some of the teams that are too slow to make the race, Eliseo Salazar and Billy Boat are confident they will make it into the field.
"We have the speed," said Salazar, one of the favourites for the front row before two crashes and two blown engines knocked his qualification attempt into the second weekend.
"We just need 15 to 20 laps to put the qualifying speed together. We can do it tomorrow or even Sunday morning. This just keeps the other guys from getting up to speed."
Boat, the 1998 pole winner when he was driving for Foyt, has been the fastest non-qualified driver in the last two days of practice in the CURB Records Dallara-Oldsmobile.
"We had an engine change scheduled for today anyway, so we hadn't really planned on going out to practice until later in the day," Boat said. "The rain only sets us back a little bit. We still feel we've got a pretty good baseline, but we need to work a little bit more tomorrow and make sure the consistency is there. Hopefully we'll have some good weather conditions so we can do a simulated qualifying run and be ready to go first thing on Sunday."
Cory Witherill was attempting to become the first Native American to make the Indianapolis 500 field in the modern era. The member of the Navajo Tribe has been unable to get near the 220 mile per hour barrier in the two weeks of practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and time is running out on his chances.
"It's the same for everyone, so there's no difference to us," Witherill said. "We're confident we can make it. We'll let the rain go by, get a good run tomorrow and be ready for Sunday. It's been a good learning curve. Each day I go out, I learn more about the car. The track is difficult enough to learn by itself, but then you throw in a new type of car, and it's been quite an experience. If it were an Indy Lights car, I'd know what to do and what feedback to give. My programme was put together so quickly that it's been a tough, quick learning curve."
Steve Knapp was the 1998 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year. This year he was part of a two-car effort, which also featured former CART driver Memo Gidley at Brayton Engineering. This is another team that hasn't found the speed necessary to make the race.
"I'm confident that the speed is in the car," Knapp said. "We got only 12 laps in yesterday, four at speed. We got enough to get some direction, but you can't do much with the car in the garage. We had an intermittent cut-out problem, though. We're going to replace the wiring harness. I think the bump speed will be 221.4. I've been driving Memo's (Gidley) car, trying to help him."
The driver who may benefit from the shortened week of practice is Greg Ray, who will start in the middle of the front row.
Ray tested under race day conditions with full tank runs last week, but was the only car on the track at the time. In an effort to see how the car handles in traffic, Ray needs other cars on the race track. He will get his wish on Saturday and Sunday, as the last practice days should be a traffic jam.
"Compared to some race weekends, we have an incredible amount of time here," Ray said. "But this is the Indy 500. We're working on race setup. We think we're one of the quickest cars out there. But just because the car is fast, it doesn't mean it's good in traffic. What makes our car fast isn't necessarily what makes it good in traffic.
"Last week we worked on full tanks and then worked our way in traffic a lot. But we didn't work our way on full fuel much because you only have 25 sets of tyres, so you have to allocate to keep your tyre situation in good shape. Last week we looked for a clean track with full tanks to get a feel on our race car. Now we're looking for anybody on the racetrack - and their mother, brother, father and sister - with a race car, to get on their gearbox and run with them."

Thursday notebook: Whatever floats your Boat
HANS developers win prestigious Indy award

Latest news
Double F1 race winner Jean Pierre Jabouille has died
Former French Formula 1 driver Jean-Pierre Jabouille has died on Thursday at age 80, French media have reported.
IMSA champion Jarvis to contest full ELMS season with United Autosports
Reigning IMSA Sportscar Championship title-winner Oliver Jarvis will contest the European Le Mans Series with United Autosports alongside Formula 2 convert Marino Sato, in addition to the World Endurance Championship.
20 years on: Porsche’s 911 GT Daytona 24 Hours giant-killing relived
IMSA’s new GTP class for LMDh cars had a more auspicious debut last weekend than the Daytona Prototypes that arrived in 2003. Back then, they were humbled by a GT Porsche 911, which won the Floridian sportscar classic by nine laps.
Entries open for the 2023 Williams Autosport Engineer of the Future Award story
Entries have opened for the 2023 Williams Autosport Engineer of the Future Award, with budding motorsport engineers invited to apply for the revamped prize.
Nigel Mansell’s greatest F1 and Indycar drives
It’s 30 years since Mansell won the Formula 1 world title and then headed off to do battle in America. Here are his best races – and the Briton’s memories of them
How Ericsson achieved Indy immortality as Ganassi's main man stumbled
Chip Ganassi Racing team was strong again in the Indianapolis 500, with poleman Scott Dixon and reigning champion Alex Palou leading almost three quarters of the race between them. But when dominator Dixon was penalised for pitlane speeding, ex-Formula 1 driver Marcus Ericsson stepped up to score the biggest win of his career and seize the IndyCar points lead
Ranking the top 10 IndyCar drivers of 2021
In an enthralling 2021 IndyCar campaign, the series bounced back from its COVID-19 truncated year prior and Alex Palou defeated both the established order and his fellow young guns to clinch a maiden title. It capped a remarkable season with plenty of standout performers
How F1's other IndyCar exile finally unlocked his potential
Romain Grosjean's swashbuckling rookie year in IndyCar captured the imagination of many in 2021. But another ex-Formula 1 driver whose potential was masked by five years of toil in, at best, middling machinery also enjoyed a breakout year in 2021 - winning twice and finishing sixth in points. Here's how Marcus Ericsson finally delivered on his promise
How Ganassi's relentless new champion outfoxed IndyCar's best
IndyCar sophomore Alex Palou stunned by overcoming team-mate Scott Dixon and the rest of a white-hot field in 2021. He was consistently fast and crucially showed a level head, rebounding well from setbacks to put himself in a near unassailable position entering the final round
Have Harvey and RLL formed IndyCar’s next winning match-up?
Despite appearing to have an IndyCar job for life with Meyer Shank Racing, Jack Harvey’s departure and move to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing sparked plenty of debate. However, Harvey's and RLL's combined strengths could prove to be a winning combination - if they get the balance right
Remembering Dan Wheldon and his last and most amazing IndyCar win
Saturday 16 October marks the 10th anniversary of Dan Wheldon’s death. David Malsher-Lopez pays tribute, then asks Wheldon’s race engineer from 2011, Todd Malloy, to recall that magical second victory at the Indianapolis 500
Why Kyle Kirkwood is America's new IndyCar ace-in-waiting
Kyle Kirkwood, the record-setting junior formula driver, sealed the Indy Lights championship last weekend. But despite an absurdly strong junior career and scholarship money, his next move is far from clear
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.