Sunday
Ed Carpenter, Vision Racing Qualify for 2009 Indianapolis 500
Press Release
It was Carpenter’s only qualifying attempt of the day and it was good enough to hold on for the 17th position, the middle of row six, which is where he’ll start his sixth Indianapolis 500.Just last season he started a career-best 10th at Indy, drove his first career IndyCar Series leader laps (3) and finished a team and career-best fifth place at the Brickyard.
Carpenter also drove 25 laps of practice today with a best lap of 223.512 mph.
Teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay again had difficulty finding the speed in practice to qualify the No. 21 Vision car. At approximately ten minutes until track closing at 6 p.m., Hunter-Reay and the No. 21 Vision Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone machine rolled into the qualifying line for its first attempt of the weekend.
After three of four qualifying laps, Hunter-Reay ceased the attempt when it became apparent his average was not going to be good enough to make it in to spots 12 through 22. As a result, Hunter-Reay will wait until next Saturday to qualify the No. 21 machine for the race as positions 23 through 33 will become available.
In practice today, Hunter-Reay turned 50 laps with a best lap of 221.683 mph which was 19th fastest of all participants.
Hunter-Reay is aiming for his second attempt at Indianapolis this year, and hoping to build on his performance last year that earned him Rookie of the Year honors. In the 2008 race, driving for Rahal-Letterman Racing, Hunter-Reay started 20th and drove all the way up to finish just behind his now teammate Carpenter, in the sixth spot.
IndyCar Series practice for the 2009 Indianapolis 500 will resume Thursday, May 14th, from noon to 6 p.m.
The Indianapolis 500 will air live on Sunday, May 24 at noon ET on ABC, as well as IMS Radio Network, XM IndyCar Series Racing Channel 145, XM Sports Nation Channel 144 and on the web at www.IndyCar.com.
Practice & Qualifying Results and Quotes: (May 10, 2009)
Ed Carpenter - No. 20 Menards/Vision Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone
Four Lap Qualifying Average: 222.780 mph
No. of Qualifying Attempts: 1 today (2 total)
Top Speed in Practice Today: 223.512 mph
Top Time in Practice Today: 40.2663
Number of Laps in Practice Today: 25
Overall Rank in Practice Today: 5th
Top Speed for Month: 223.512 mph (May 10)
Top Time for Month: 40.2663 (May 10)
Number of Laps in Practice for Month: 229
On qualifying/practice:
“I’m happy to be qualified finally. It’s such a stressful process and my stomach gets all knotted up. I’m just happy to be in the race for Menards, Johns Manville, Lilly and William Rast who support our efforts every day. Of course I would have liked to be sitting 11th or 12th but at the end of the day just getting in the show really is enough. I was more upset yesterday that I am today and I’m starting a little further back so it’s all relative and amazing what a difference a day can make.
I think today was much better conditions for qualifying, not as windy wind, nice cool temperature, sunny and the humidity is down, motors are running better, conditions that favor quicker times for us. Out of Turn 2, the car was kind of taking off and I ran a little higher than I’d like but it was a combination of being light on downforce, not having much grip left on the table, just a little wind blowing the car out of Turn 2. It’s been a good day but now I’m anxious to get out there and start work on our race set-ups of the best race in the world.”
Ryan Hunter-Reay – No. 21 Vision Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone
Top Speed in Practice Today: 221.683 mph
Top Time in Practice Today: 40.5985
Number of Laps in Practice Today: 50
Overall Rank in Practice Today: 28th
Top Speed for Month: 221.683 mph (May 10)
Top Time for Month: 40.5985 (May 10)
Number of Laps in Practice for Month: 166
On practice:
“Of course I’m very disappointed. The whole team is. Both of Vision’s 21 and 20 engineers are working together and that’s been a great help. There have been some improvements that way but we don’t know what’s going on. We have similar settings but there’s a mile and half an hour speed difference. We’ll look at the data over again and try to understand more over the next three days but we need an answer.”
About the Indianapolis 500:
The 200 lap/500 mile Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will air live on Sunday, May 24 at noon ET on ABC, as well as IMS Radio Network, XM IndyCar Series Racing Channel 145, XM Sports Nation Channel 144 and on the web at www.IndyCar.com.
About Vision Racing:
Vision Racing is owned and operated by Tony and Laura George as well as actor Patrick Dempsey of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy and is based in Indianapolis, Indiana in a 32,000 square foot facility. The team competes full-time in the IndyCar Series and is entering its fifth season of IndyCar Series competition. The team features returning IndyCar Series driver Ed Carpenter and welcomed veteran Ryan Hunter-Reay for 2009. In the past calendar year, the team has scored nine top-ten finishes and five additional top-five finishes including a fifth place finish in the Indianapolis 500 by Ed Carpenter and a second place run by Ryan Hunter-Reay on the streets of St. Petersburg in the 2009 season opener.
Also new for 2009 is a return to the Firestone Indy Lights Series with driver James Davison, as well as a technical partnership with new FIL team Bryan Herta Autosport and driver Daniel Herrington. Vision Racing continues to proudly perpetuate the legacy of the Hulman-George family through motorsports excellence, by demonstrating the traditions and heritage of the Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar Racing.
- Vision Racing Press Release
Article Tags: IndyCar, Press Release
