The day had been incident free until "Happy Hour" (which quickly became "UNhappy" hour) when Josef Newgarden experienced a little deja vu, spinning while exiting Turn 1 (in pretty much the same spot as Castroneves' flight on Wednesday) Hitting the SAFER barrier, Newgarden's car spun backwards, and lifted off, flipping almost immediately, sliding down the track upside-down for several feet before coming to rest in the short chute between Turns 1 and 2. Once again the Dallara tub did it's job, and Newgarden walked away shaken but unscathed. The same can't be said for rest of the car.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 21 Century 21 CFH Racing Chevrolet): "I got around pretty quick in Turn 1; it definitely surprised me," Newgarden said. "I knew it happened when it did, so I'm just lucky that everything's good. The Dallara tub held up pretty well. I just want to get back to my guys and see what the damage is. I'm sure it's bad but we'll see what we can do going forward. It was a hard bit, (but) I feel fine."
Of Note:
Simona de Silvestro was able to get back to practice today for the first time since Tuesday when her car sustained heavy fire damage on track. Again, thankfully, De Silvestro walked away uninjured, but the car took a while to repair.
While Simona was back in action, Pippa Mann took her time on the sidelines while her car was being repaired following a crash late Wednesday. At last report she was hoping to get in a few installation laps by end of day Friday. In the meantime, Mann continued to tirelessly promote her Indiegogo campaign which is raising funds in support of Susan. G. Komen, the primary sponsor on her car for this Month's big event. As of this posting, the campaign has surpassed the $30,000 mark. There are 10 days and $20,000 to go. Click to GetInvolved
Another familiar face debuted today. Tristan Vautier, who hasn't competed in IndyCar since 2013, hopped into the No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda, filling in for James Davison who is headed to Canada to compete this weekend. Vautier will qualify the car this weekend on behalf of Davison, who is expected to be back in the car for the final two practice sessions and the race.
Vautier was able to complete his refresher program, logging 93 laps with a top speed of 225.406
Also making a brief appearance today, Buddy Lazier, who did a quick 8 lap shakedown.
Practice Session Results - Day 5
Here is what the drivers had to say on Day 5:
INDIANAPOLIS 500 POST-PRACTICE QUOTES
HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): "Today was really good. It felt great to get back in the car for a full day. We decided to focus a bit more on qualifying with the Shell V-Power Nitro+ Chevrolet in the afternoon, after running in the race pace during the morning session. We feel very confident. Now, tomorrow is just going to be a focus on qualifying to be ready for Saturday. I have to say that my Shell guys did a great job in switching over to the backup car. There is no difference in the way the car felt or drove. It's really amazing how they were able to put everything together. We are looking good for the weekend."
JR HILDEBRAND (No. 6 Preferred Freezer CFH Racing Chevrolet): "My day was a little trying. We had a couple of issues that we ended up running with unknowingly for a bit of the day. It's never a good thing, especially around this place. Fortunately I think we've got everything under control. Tomorrow will be pretty crucial for us to not only understand what we have with a speed perspective of the car, but still to continue to improve the car. So it was a good day generally for the team in that regard of knocking things off the program list to put ourselves in a good position going into qualifying and then the race next weekend. We still have a bit of work to do. As far as Josef, you never want to see anybody have that type of accident, let alone a teammate. Glad he's OK and hopefully we can all take it in stride and move forward."
TAKUMA SATO (No. 14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Honda): "We continued exploration from yesterday in both qualifying trim and race setup. Both did qualifying simulation and running in traffic, too, and we made some progress which was good. We have some unfinished business, but we're at a good level and hopefully we have a very productive day tomorrow for Fast Friday. I'm looking forward to the extra boost as INDYCAR allows the teams extra boost for qualifying, so we will see a significant increase in the speeds tomorrow."
GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 15 Steak 'n Shake Honda): "Today was a really good day for us; we've really improved the Steak 'n Shake car a lot in race trim. Most of our day was spent working on qualifying stuff. We figured out a couple of tricks there and I'm pretty comfortable with the car. Tomorrow we will work on qualifying trim all day. We will work on trying to improve the car, get some consistency and a little more speed, but I think the biggest thing is consistency at this point."
TRISTAN VAUTIER (No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda): "It all came together last minute, but we have been talking about it for quite a while: that if James (Davison's) deal would come through I would qualify the car. So it was not really a surprise for me, but more of a long wait to see that everything was confirmed. But it's really cool. I was happy to get back in an Indy car - it's been a year and a half now. The first two or three laps were kind of weird, but it came back pretty quickly, so really cool. It was cool to have Simon (Pagenaud) on the track with me for quite a while. It reminded me of the Schmidt (Peterson Motorsports) days so it was fun."
ED CARPENTER (No. 20 Fuzzy's Vodka CFH Racing Chevrolet): "I don't know any more than what everyone saw at this point (regarding Newgarden's crash). We haven't gotten the data off of the car or been able to look at anything yet. He's OK and that's the important thing. Helio's (Castroneves) crash looked a little different. I think Helio got loose a little earlier and chased it and Josef just lost it right in the middle. I've only seen one replay so I don't really know at this point. Ultimately he spun around earlier in the corner than Helio did."
JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 21 Century 21 CFH Racing Chevrolet): "It's still early for me, I am still trying to gather my thoughts from it. I got around pretty quick in Turn 1, it definitely surprised me. I am just lucky that everything is good, the Dallara tub held up pretty well. I want to get back with my crew and see what the damage is and see what we can do going forward."
TOWNSEND BELL (No. 24 The Robert Graham Special Chevrolet): "This is the first day that we tried some different aero bits with the Robert Graham Special. We are gathering as much information as we can at this point since we gain additional engine boost on Friday. We want to be a little ahead of the game for Fast Friday. It's nice to get a head start today as you always seem to run out of time closer to qualifying. With the added boost, it seems to be a little more electric in the car due to more speed. It definitely increases the buzz factor for a driver." (On expectations for qualifying): "I think around 233 (mph) for the pole. We currently don't have a car for those numbers just yet. If we qualified Friday, we wouldn't be ready for those kind of numbers. But we are moving in that direction and I'm pleased how the team is working through the process. Hopefully, on Saturday, we'll have a car to go that speed."
JUSTIN WILSON (No. 25 Andretti Autosport Honda): "I think today was a pretty good day for us, we learned a few things and that's always good moving forward. We made some changes, got our balance better in traffic and I think it was a step forward for the No. 25 Honda. There is still a little bit more to find, but I think as a whole team we'll keep creeping up on it and now we're going to switch gears and get ready for qualifying."
CARLOS MUNOZ (No. 26 AndrettiTV Cinsay Honda): "Another practice day, today we were really just focusing on pack racing and long runs with my teammates. The car feels really comfortable - I'm really happy. I feel that I'm competitive, more competitive than last year. Now for tomorrow, we're going to focus on qualifying and see where we are speed-wise."
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO (No. 29 TE Connectivity Honda): "Today we ran mostly in traffic. We learned a lot. I have a little bit of work to do, and I'm looking forward to going back out there tomorrow and working on it. It seems like (teammate) Carlos (Muñoz) is pretty quick, so let's see what he's doing!"
ORIOL SERVIA (No. 32 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda): "Today was much, much better at the end of the day. Yesterday we ran full tanks and I was not really comfortable and one day later I am a lot more comfortable after we made big improvements. We only worked on the race car. We didn't do much qualifying work today, but my super teammate Graham (Rahal) started working on a couple of things in qualifying trim, so we know what direction to go in tomorrow. I feel pretty good. It was an easy day today. It wasn't as hot as it will probably be on race day, but it's a good step towards where we need to go."
JACK HAWKSWORTH (No. 41 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Honda): "The car had understeer in traffic today, as it did yesterday. We need to understand why. In qualifying trim, we still had a little bit of push in the car. It was a little better yesterday, but not where we need it to be. We need to find the issue so we can move forward."
ALEX TAGLIANI (No. 48 Al-Fe Heat Treating Honda): "It was really good to get to work with all the boys, you know, it's kind of like breaking the ice, everybody starts to gel together. We ran a good amount of laps today; the car ran well, I was quite happy with the balance, so it's nice. First real day at work, a couple of changes, we got the whole Al-Fe group really stimulated and now we're back where we needed to be a couple of days ago, so we're happy. The No. 48 Al-Fe Heat Treating Honda looks good on track, nothing to complain about, just a matter of continuing to do our own routine and get into sequence, getting everything correct, and getting in the mindset of the big race and what we need to do to have a good showing."
Join us tomorrow for "Fast Friday". All of the action kicks off at Noon
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