Source: USA TODAY

INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Motor Speedway now has a favorite son on and off the racetrack.

His name is Ed Carpenter, and introductions aren’t necessary here. He has been coming to the Indianapolis 500 since he moved to town at the age of 8. His family owns the track.

His stepfather, Tony George, founded the Indy Racing League that gave him the chance to race an Indy car, beginning with lessons learned in the U.S. Auto Club and the Indy Lights division. The Butler University graduate even won the first Lights race at IMS in 2003.

That makes Carpenter, 32, about as homegrown as it gets despite being born in Paris, Ill.

“Definitely a landmark day,” he said.

Carpenter leaped from fifth to first in the rain-delayed Fast Nine Shootout, using an aggressive car setup formulated by team members he hired for Indianapolis-based Ed Carpenter Racing.

After posting a four-lap average of 228.762 mph, Carpenter watched the rest of qualifying with his wife, Heather, a former nurse from Anderson, who was close enough to kiss him a couple of times.

The only imperfection in Carpenter’s day was that his parents, Tony and Laura, were in South Bend preparing for his sister Lauren’sgraduation from Notre Dame.

“We were kind of huddled around the iPad,” George said. “Conveniently the Mass ended (in time) to see it.”

There was some irony to how the pole-winning effort played out. Carpenter’s first memory of the speedway is watching Rick Mears win the pole for the 1991 race. He was 10 years old and fixed on the action from the Turn 2 suites.

Mears was on Will Power’s side as part of the Team Penske brigade. Roger Penske’s organization has won a record 17 poles for the 500, and Power entered the shootout with the fastest qualifying run of the day at 228.844 mph. This was the sport’s son against its king.

Power’s first lap was 229.119 mph, faster than Carpenter. Behind that cool face was a smile.

“I kind of knew,” Carpenter said. “I figured he would fall off.”

Power did, a lot. Enough to drop to sixth for next weekend’s race.

Carpenter, who also survived pole-winning attempts from Helio Castroneves, Carlos Munoz and Ryan Hunter-Reay, said the difficult part is now ahead for his team. Not the race. Keeping the focus on it.

“A little bit (of celebrating), but I love the race a whole lot more than qualifying,” he said. “I really want to send a message and make sure I lead by example to the team and make sure we don’t forget why we’re really here.

“This is fun, and it’s huge for our team, I don’t want (people) to think that it’s not. But the pole won’t mean much if we don’t go out and perform on race day.”

As is usually the case with Carpenter, who is with his sixth IndyCar team, the moment was allowed to be all about him. The front-row qualifying efforts of rookie Munoz and third-generation 500 driver Marco Andretti — teammates at Andretti Autosport — were significant, too.

“This track and race mean a lot to the other 32 guys that are going to start the race, too,” he said. “I don’t think it’s just special to me.”

Andretti said he was genuinely happy for his friend.

All three front-row drivers were powered by Chevrolet, and that was the theme for the day. Chevrolet had the fastest 10, including five from Michael Andretti’s Indianapolis-based team.

“Right now I don’t have too many words to describe how I feel,” said Munoz, who will do Indy’s first true double by racing in Friday’s Lights race.

Munoz is the highest-starting 500 rookie since Juan Pablo Montoya, another Colombian, started second in 2000 (and won).

Team Penske settled for two cars in the second row (newcomer A.J. Allmendinger and Power). Three-time race winner Helio Castroneves will start eighth.

Honda has its two former race winners — Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti, last year’s champion — in Row 6. They will start 16th and 17th, respectively. Neither has won the race from that far back.

Last year’s pole winner, Ryan Briscoe, earned the 23rd starting spot as only 24 were locked in Saturday.

*****

Saturday’s qualifying results

1. (20) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Chevy 02:37.3689 ( 228.762)

2. (26) Carlos Munoz, Dallara-Chevy 02:37.6581 ( 228.342)

3. (25) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Chevy 02:37.7139 ( 228.261)

4. (5) EJ Viso, Dallara-Chevy 02:37.7907 ( 228.150)

5. (2) AJ Allmendinger, Dallara-Chevy 02:37.8264 ( 228.099)

6. (12) Will Power, Dallara-Chevy 02:37.8342 ( 228.087)

7. (1) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Chevy 02:37.9614 ( 227.904)

8. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Chevy 02:38.0596 ( 227.762)

9. (27) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Chevy 02:38.5411 ( 227.070)

10. (4) JR Hildebrand, Dallara-Chevy 02:38.2830 ( 227.441)

11. (98) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 02:38.3209 ( 227.386)

12. (11) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Chevy 02:38.6260 ( 226.949)

13. (22) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Chevy 02:38.7206 ( 226.814)

14. (19) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 02:39.0318 ( 226.370)

15. (7) Sebastien Bourdais, Dallara-Chevy 02:39.1543 ( 226.196)

16. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 02:39.1808 ( 226.158)

17. (10) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 02:39.2434 ( 226.069)

18. (14) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 02:39.3681 ( 225.892)

19. (83) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Honda, 02:39.3768 ( 225.880)

20. (16) James Jakes, Dallara-Honda, 02:39.4268 ( 225.809)

21. (77) Simon Pagenaud, Dallara-Honda, 02:39.5219 ( 225.674)

22. (60) Townsend Bell, Dallara-Chevy 02:39.5438 ( 225.643)

23. (8) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 02:39.8117 ( 225.265)

24. (78) Simona De Silvestro, Dallara-Chevy 02:39.8398 ( 225.226)

Curt Cavin writes for The Indianapolis Star, a property of Gannett, the parent company of USA TODAY

Copyright © 2013 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Source: USA TODAY

A lap of 230 mph is safe for another day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Drivers flirted with that number early Friday afternoon and were preparing to make a late-day run at the barrier that’s stood since 2003, but a severe thunderstorm put an end to the anticipation.

IMS closed for business at 3:43 p.m., the first early shutdown of the week.

Andretti Autosport’s E.J. Viso finished with the quickest lap, at 229.537 mph.

“I reckon we would have been over 230 mph if we’d have had the full day,” said teammate Marco Andretti, who posted the second-fastest lap speed at 228.754 mph.

The jump in miles per hour — from a top speed of 225.163 mph by Carlos Munoz on Thursday — came from the 40 additional horsepower given to the teams by IndyCar. That power level stays through qualifying.

Now comes the real speed runs.

Qualifying begins at 11 a.m. today with the pole dash for the fastest nine drivers at 4:30 p.m. Each is guaranteed at least one try.

Ryan Briscoe won last year’s pole for Team Penske. He drives for Ganassi Racing this year.

Briscoe has a Honda engine this year; a Chevrolet is expected to win the pole.

REWARDING THE CREW

How do you tastefully make up to a crew repairing your son’s car? If you are Beth Boles, Conor Daly’s mother, you stay up late making banana bread and seven-layer bars for those working at A.J. Foyt Racing.

“I was up till 1 in the morning,” Beth said after dropping off the delicacies around noon. “If the crew was going to be up working, I was going to be up working, too.”

Daly crashed the No. 41 car on Thursday. The crew was hoping to have the car ready for a Friday afternoon run, but rain spoiled that.

There’s an interesting tie between Boles and A.J. Foyt. She was a 500 Festival Princess in 1978, the year after Foyt’s fourth 500 win. The other princesses were afraid to ask Foyt, who back then could be contentious, to come to the annual Mechanics Lunch. Boles wasn’t afraid.

Not only did she sit with Foyt at lunch, his crew sent her an oversized stuffed coyote to remember the day. The coyote has been in storage for years, but she retrieved it so it can sit in Foyt’s garage this month.

CAMERA WATCHING

Be careful approaching Pippa Mann this month when she’s wearing sunglasses. The company that makes them not only is her sponsor, they’re also recording.

Mann is collecting video for a package that will air later. She’s got views from all sorts of angles, including kart rides from GasolineAlley to pit road.

She wears the sunglasses while signing autographs, and she’s had them on her spotter positioned high above the track. She even plans to don them as she walks to the track on race morning, showing a drivers’ view of the massive crowd.

“A lot of unique footage, great footage,” she said. “Towing the car back and forth — we’ve even got them on the guy (riding) in the car to get two perspectives.”

Mann said the intent isn’t to catch people off guard, although she certainly has.

BRIEFLY …

Roger Penske will miss qualifying to participate in the Mille Miglia, a race across Italy, with engine designer Mario Illien. … A.J. Allmendinger chided Team Penske teammate Will Power for finishing fifth, eighth, 14th and 18th in the past four 500s. “Dude, you’re getting worse,” he said. … Helio Castroneves has taken to calling Allmendinger, the newcomer to the team, “Junior.” … Colts first-round draft pick Bjoern Werner was on the wrong elevator Friday. The one that took the other rookies reached the pagoda suite in time for the players to see a few cars run before the rain hit. Werner’s did not. … Six iconic military airplanes that played a vital role in the United States and its allies winning World War II will soar above the Speedway in the traditional pre-race flyover on May 26. A North American B-25 Mitchell twin-engine medium bomber will be joined in formation by five North American T-6 Texan trainer aircraft in the flyover.

Curt Cavin writes for The Indianapolis Star, a property of Gannett, the parent company of USA TODAY

Copyright © 2013 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Source: USA TODAY

INDIANAPOLIS — Two hours after slamming a racecar against the Turn 1 wall at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis 500 rookie Conor Daly was back on the job Thursday afternoon.

The 21-year-old rookie from Indianapolis tried to explain his experience to a crowd gathered in a suite overlooking pit road.

He still didn’t have the answer.

“All of a sudden the rear felt like it kind of collapsed on itself,” Daly said. “Very, very strange.”

Following Oriol Servia, Daly lost control of the A.J. Foyt Racing machine on the lap after being clocked at 219.293 mph. The carwiggled at first, then shifted. He corrected it, then it started to turn again.

In a series of wrist flicks, Daly somehow kept the car from sailing headfirst into the energy-absorbing wall. Instead, the car hit flush with the right side, sending pieces flying. The tub went tumbling but the car narrowly avoided flipping.

It was the first — and still only — accident of this event.

“It’s a whole new animal, this place,” Daly, a European-based road racer, said. “It’s a lot more difficult than you think.”

Former 500 winners Johnny Rutherford and Tom Sneva came to the Foyt garage in Gasoline Alley to offer their support. They thought Daly did everything he could.

“At that split second you’ve only got time to make one move,” Sneva said. “It better be the right one.”

A.J. Foyt, a four-time 500 winner, told Daly not to worry, that the crew would fix the car. Still, Daly’s pride hurt.

“I’m more heart in the heart than the body,” he said.

Daly tried to put on a fresh face for the suite guests, but the ache in his right side nagged at him.

“I’m sore,” he whispered before being introduced.

Another rookie, Carlos Munoz of Andretti Autosport, posted the top speed of the month at 225.163 mph. Daly finished 28th with a lap of 220.780 mph. Defending series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay was second in 225.006.

Munoz and Hunter-Reay joined teammate Marco Andretti (225.100), and Helio Castroneves (225.075) as the only drivers to top the 225 mark.

Daly came to the 500 with big hopes, and he’s dreamed about competing here his whole life.

Born in Indianapolis, he has attended every 500 but one, which was last year when he was racing in Europe.

Daly is in his third season of the GP3 Series, which is part of Formula One’s ladder system.

“I’m just glad I hit the wall the perfect way,” he said.

Curt Cavin writes for The Indianapolis Star, a property of Gannett, the parent company of USA TODAY

Copyright © 2013 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Source: USA TODAY

INDIANAPOLIS — Buddy Lazier and his supporters bought a year-old race car for more than $300,000 for this Indianapolis 500, but they had to hire people to secure and organize the equipment necessary to participate this month at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

It was no small endeavor, especially at the last minute. And while everyone associated with the 500 wants to see more participants, it’s a costly venture.

The figure to participate this month starts at about $650,000 and increases considerably from there. Commit to a full program — with crash damage built in — and the number soars to seven figures, and that’s assuming there’s already a car in hand.

The cost to join teams owned by Roger Penske, Chip Ganassi, Michael Andretti, Bobby Rahal and A.J. Foyt can be more than others due to their brand equity.

There’s a lot to it.

“So Buddy gets a car,” said Eric Bachelart, whose race team is fielding Lazier’s No. 91 entry. “But then you have to go find all the things to make this happen.”

That’s what Bachelart was doing Sunday in Gasoline Alley … finding support equipment, lining up people to turn the wrenches, obtaining the latest bodywork pieces to make the car competitive.

“A lot of stuff,” he said.

Sam Schmidt has a financial number in mind to allow his extra car — No. 99 — to participate, although he won’t share it publicly and likely modifies the figur e depending on the driver to whom he’s talking. But Schmidt also has the same fixed costs as other IndyCar team owners.

The entry fee is $12,000, plus another $2,000 for the electronics package. Fuel for the month is $1,500.

Thirty-three sets of Firestone tires is the maximum. Firestone officials don’t reveal costs, but three teams said they pay $2,600 a set, which makes the bill $85,800.

Chevrolet and Honda lease engines two ways. There are full-month programs — entrants get two engines, the second arriving for use on Carb Day and the race — and what’s called a short program. Entrants on the latter have pre-race mileage limits and must use the same engine for qualifying and the race.

A one-engine program, like Lazier is on, is $125,000. Most teams pay $225,000 for the full month.

What fans don’t see are the costs behind the scenes, and The Indianapolis Star surveyed teams big and small to obtain their costs.

Wheel guns to change tires are $5,000 apiece, with four and a spare standard per c ar. Setup tables come to $12,000, gears another $44,000.

Add in all the needed tools, carts, painting, body fitting, shop supplies and such — not to mention $1,000 for the nitrogen for the tires and the wheel guns — and costs mount in a hurry.

Some teams budget for crash damage, some don’t. Those who don’t risk having their month end with even the most routine of accidents.

“There is no such thing as a cheap crash at Indy,” said Ed Carpenter, an owner/driver.

A repair bill of $200,000 is common at this high-speed oval track, more if the tub breaks.

IndyCar restricts testing, but most every car that runs this month is put through the same steps. It’s $35,000 for a day spent in a rolling wind tunnel, another $4,000 for time in a low-speed wind tunnel. A few hours on the seven-post shaker rig, which measures shock activity, is $5,000.

“You’ve got to do all that stuff,” Andretti said.

The co st of the crew varies as much as any item in the paddock. Most teams with Indy-only employees figure it’s a 20-day position.

A quality engineer can command $750 per day, a sum of $15,000 for the event. A chief mechanic and a data specialist are half that individually, but combine them to get a monthly expense of $16,000. Add in gearbox and tire specialists — a combined $6,500 — four mechanics at $3,000 each and a couple of helpers to run errands, and the salary toll is steep.

Then pay the driver. One respectable veteran received $150,000 last year, and that doesn’t include a percentage of the prize money. Less-experienced drivers get less, $100,000 on average.

Fire suits cost $1,150, and a team needs at least 12 per car — five for crew members that go over the wall to service the car, seven more for others, including the driver.

Crews are outfitted with work clothes bearing sponsor logos. They get three sets (shoes aren’t provided). Teams budget $4,000 for that.

Many of the teams are based in the Indianapolis market, which keeps lodging costs manageable, but invariably there are out-of-towners who require hotels and per diems. At minimum, teams budget $5,000, but Foyt’s Houston-based team, for example, surely spends more.

The crews also need to be fed — catering averages $7,000 — and customers need to be entertained.

Figure a suite at $60,000, then buy the food and beverage required to be purchased from IMS. There’s even a motor home parking fee ($4,500).

IndyCar’s season-long credentials are $500; an Indy-only participation badge is $175.

All told, it can cost $1 million to run one car at the Speedway this month. Of course, making the field earns you about a quarter of that back.

Out of money yet?

Curt Cavin writes for The Indianapolis Star, a Gannett property. Follow him on Twitter @curtcavin

Copyright © 2013 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Source: USA TODAY

INDIANAPOLIS — It was the crash that didn’t happen Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Carlos Munoz, the rookie who finished as the day’s fastest driver, was running in a pack of Andretti Autosport cars when he came upon Marco Andretti with too much momentum.

Munoz was on the inside of Andretti, and his only evasive action was to the rumble strip. But he not only ran over it, he strayed into the grass, kicking up debris for the trailing car.

“It was a little bit of misunderstanding,” Munoz said. “I didn’t see him coming. He lifted (off the accelerator) a little bit.”

Perhaps most surprising is that Munoz kept going, completing not only that lap but at least one more after that. IndyCar eventually threw the caution flag to clear the debris.

“I was a little bit lucky getting two tires in the dirt,” he said.

Ryan Hunter-Reay, who was ahead of Munoz at the time, didn’t realize his young teammate was that far out of bounds.

“I can’t picture a car going through the grass right now,” Hunter-Reay said.

Munoz’s best lap was 223.023 mph, fastest in two days of practice, just ahead of Hunter-Reay’s 222.825. Venezuela’s E.J. Viso was third at 222.523. Andretti was fourth at 222.485 and James Hinchcliffe was sixth at 220.907.

There has not been an official accident in the first two days.

Schmidt needs sponsorship to run third car

Sam Schmidt has heard all the rumors, but he’s standing firm on his position relative to his IndyCar Series team fielding a third car in this month’s Indianapolis 500.

“If we get (another) sponsor we’ll run it,” he said of the No. 99 entry. “If we don’t, we won’t.”

The latest rumor has Katherine Legge nearing a deal to drive the Honda-powered Dallara, but Schmidt said he hasn’t heard from her.

“But I think I’ve heard from everyone else,” he said. “Everyone from Jacques (Lazier) to Buddy (Rice) to Jay Howard to Richie Hearn, a blast from the past.”

Schmidt said the team’s focus needs to be on getting Simon Pagenaud and rookie Tristan Vautier solidly ready for the May 26 race.

Briscoe returns to Brickyard

Ryan Briscoe, who was left without a fulltime ride after last season, was back at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Sunday.

Briscoe, who won the pole for last year’s Indy 500 and went on to finish fifth, was behind the wheel for Chip Ganassi Racing, the team that gave him his start in the IndyCar Series in 2005.

Briscoe and Townsend Bell made their debuts after missing Saturday’s practice due to the American Le Mans Series race in Monterey, Calif. Briscoe finished second in the LMP2 class; Bell was fourth in GT.

Briscoe admitted his head turned Sunday when he saw his former car, the No. 2 of Team Penske, driven by A.J. Allmendinger, go past.

Vautier’s girlfriend shares love of racing

Tristan Vautier’s girlfriend, Ayla Agren, is building a promising career in Bryan Herta’s racing organization.

Agren, a 19-year-old Norweigen, raced last weekend at Road Atlanta in the Formula 1600 Series. But that won’t be the subject when the two are reunited this week.

“We try to talk about other things than racing,” Vautier said.

Briefly …

.A.J. Allmendinger had to serve a drive-through penalty for speeding on pit road. It might have seemed inconsequential, but race director Beaux Barfield enforces that in practice to keep it from happening in races. … Temperatures peaked at 58 degrees Sunday at 4 p.m. during another chilly day.

Curt Cavin writes for The Indianapolis Star, a property of Gannett, the parent company of USA TODAY

Copyright © 2013 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.