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Indianapolis 500: Bump Day qualifying talking points

The gates of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the Indianapolis 500 is raced (Christopher Ziemnowicz/Wikimedia Commons)
Roar Guru
19th May, 2018
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After an absence of a few years where the field of entrants for the Indianapolis 500 have totalled only the traditional 33 who see the green flag on the last Sunday in May, bumping has returned to the Brickyard in epic, controversial and heartbreaking fashion.

Here’s all you need to know about a dramatic Bump Day that we won’t soon forget:

James Hinchliffe and Pippa Mann are going home
There were 35 entries for the 102nd Indianapolis 500 and only 33 grid positions for next week’s race. That means two drivers would not survive Bump Day qualifying.

Perhaps seeing Pippa Mann in an additional Dale Coyne Racing entry for the 500 bumped out of the field wasn’t surprising given her presence at or near the bottom of the speed charts all this week and her status as a one-off driver in May, but it was undeniably jaw-dropping to see James Hinchcliffe bumped from the field.

The affable Canadian, pole-sitter for the 100th Indianapolis 500 two years ago and a series regular, has won multiple IndyCar races, and through his social media presence is one of the biggest stars in the series. To see his Honda parked at the bottom of the speed charts was one of the more unbelievable sights we’ve seen at Indianapolis in the last two decades.

Yes, Honda has been markedly slower than Chevrolet all week, but Hinchcliffe’s Schmidt-Peterson team is one of the best on pit road, and I think everyone – or, at least, me – expected that Hinch would buckle in late in the session, go out and post a four-lap average that would put him in the show.

If there was to be a full-time driver miss out, it was more likely to be Graham Rahal, who’d been right at the bottom of the charts all week. Instead, Hinchliffe’s number five Honda was left on the outside looking in.

It’s worth noting that Hinchcliffe’s two teammates, Robert Wickens and Jay Howard, are safely in the big show, and immediately following the end of the qualifying session there was talk on social media that Hinchcliffe might replace Howard in what is an Indianapolis 500-only entry. That discussion likely involves a large cheque payable to Howard’s sponsors, but the concept is not unheard of.

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Time will tell, and for the moment we’re left digesting the fact that one of the biggest stars in the sport may not take the green flag next Sunday.

How close was it? Hinchcliffe’s best average speed over four laps was 224.784 miles per hour. The 33rd qualifier, Australia’s James Davison, went 224.798 miles per hour – agonisingly close for the Canadian.

As Hinchcliffe himself said, “Indy is a cruel mistress sometimes.”

Indianapolis 500 Speedway Indiana Motorsport

(Christopher Ziemnowicz/Wikimedia Commons)

Two Aussies are in
Will Power qualified comfortably inside the fast nine (his four-lap average was 228.194 miles per hour) and will tomorrow (Monday morning AEST) race for Indianapolis 500 pole. He sits fourth after being nearly a full mile an hour faster than anyone else in Friday’s practice session. After a smooth day, the Queenslander is in a great position to become the second Australian to capture pole at the Brickyard after Ryan Briscoe did it a few years ago.

The day was anything but smooth for James Davison, who crashed hard off turn two in Friday practice, necessitating a long overnight rebuild for his crew. At the time he impacted the wall Davison was right at the bottom of the speed charts, leading to a lot of uncertainty. Thankfully for Australian hopes, he found enough speed in a rebuilt car on Saturday, sneaking into the show with the 33rd fastest time. He was sweating it out right down to the final minutes of the session, and the look of relief on his face was palpable.

Now Davison needs to find race speed, and he will have ample opportunities, with a week of practice to come.

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Helio Castroneves is fastest
The Team Penske star, who can join an incredibly small club by winning his fourth Indianapolis 500 next Sunday, was fastest on Bump Day and thus will be the last of the fast nine to qualify for the pole after posting a four-lap average of 228.919 miles per hour.

Castroneves isn’t racing full-time in the IndyCar Series this season – he races an Acura sports car for Penske in the IMSA series – but he looked well at home on Saturday, as though he hasn’t been making a racing living elsewhere. Don’t be surprised to see him clinch the pole and win the race next week. Helio’s always in the hunt at Indy – like death and taxes, it’s one of life’s certainties.

Danica Patrick makes the fast nine
In her farewell race the field’s only female driver had a solid four-lap run to post an average of 227.610 miles per hour. She joins her Ed Carpenter Racing teammates Spencer Pigot and Ed Carpenter in the fast nine. Those ECR Chevrolets have always been fast at Indianapolis. No matter how it all shakes out tomorrow, Danica will start her final race in a pretty handy position.

Tomorrow: Pole Day
Sunday (Monday morning from 4:45am AEST) will see the fast nine qualifying over a four-lap distance and going in reverse order to how they qualified today. Alexander Rossi will lead off, then Danica Patrick, Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden, Spencer Pigot, Sebastien Bourdais, Will Power, Simon Pagenaud, Ed Carpenter and Helio Castroneves.

My feeling is that the pole will be won by either Castroneves, Carpenter or Will Power.

The rest of the field of 33 will race to fill the grid from tenth on back.

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