Carlos Munoz Leads Indianapolis 500 Practice Speeds ( Day 3 )
Carlos Munoz now fastest in Indianapolis 500 practice speeds clipping 230mph. See full results from the practice day below.
INDIANAPOLIS (May 13, 2015) – Speeds continue to climb as Verizon IndyCar Series teams prepare for the 99th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race.
In a fast final 30 minutes, the fastest lap of the day exchanged hands four times among four drivers. When the checkered flag flew at 6 p.m. ET, Carlos Munoz had the fastest lap, 39.1098 seconds, 230.121 mph, in the No. 26 AndrettiTV Cinsay Honda – the first lap over 230 mph of the month.
“Really, we were not looking for a tow, we just made a change and said, ‘OK let’s go in the group and see if we can just cop a tow and feel the car in traffic a little bit,” said the Andretti Autosport driver, who has finished in the top five in each of his two previous Indianapolis 500 starts. “I went back to the pack and it’s practice, so whoever gets the best tow is the one who is going to finish first. The positive thing is that I feel really comfortable with the car, the car feels OK. In traffic and by my own, I feel fast. We have to continue working, we have still two days of testing so we have to try some stuff.”
Sage Karam, Tony Kanaan and Townsend Bell took turns holding the top spot during the Happy Hour in Chevrolets. Bell’s lap (228.969) ranked second at the end of the day followed by Kanaan (228.172), James Davison (228.043) and Karam (227.822). Speeds are up this year in great part due to the new superspeedway aero kits developed by Chevrolet and Honda
“We’re staying in a tight little box, being a single-car program, only event of the year so far with the team,” said Bell, driving the No. 24 The Robert Graham Special Chevrolet entered by Dreyer & Reinbold-Kingdom Racing. “Trying to be pragmatic and just stay focused on the fundamentals. So far, so good. We hit the track pretty reasonable, thanks to (team managing director and former Indy car driver) Davey Hamilton for shaking down the car (on opening day May 3), I was in Monterey for a (sports car) race. Davey did a nice job to just work out the bugs for us and we were able to hit the ground running when we got here.”
The day was marred by a pair of single-car incidents that saw two popular drivers walk away without injury at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves had a spectacular crash in Turn 1 that saw his Team Penske Chevrolet hit the SAFER Barrier and become airborne just 45 minutes into the start of the day. Castroneves was able to return to the track just before it closed and turned a lap of 226.670 mph in a backup car.
Pippa Mann was also uninjured after her Dale Coyne Racing Honda made contact with the inside SAFER Barrier in Turn 4 and the pit wall attenuator that separates the track from the pit lane.
“I have to (say) thanks (for) all the messages (and encouragement) from the fans, and to Team Penske to put a car together and be back out there again,” Castroneves said. “The car was impressive. You can’t be scared when you go out there. I didn’t want to wait to run until tomorrow, and now we’ll focus on Thursday and Friday.”
Practice continues through Friday at IMS, Friday’s session again expected to live up to its nickname of “Fast Friday” because engine manufacturers are allowed to increase turbocharger boost pressure from 130 kPa to 140 kPa, which will generate more horsepower and likely higher speeds.
Two days of qualifying Saturday and Sunday will set the 33-car grid for the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” After that, all that’s left before the May 24 race is afternoon practice on Monday and the traditional Carb Day one-hour practice on May 22.
Practice 3 times
1. Carlos Munoz (H) 230.121mph 39.1098s (88 laps)
2. Townsend Bell (C) 228.969mph 39.3066s + 0.1968s (57 laps)
3. Tony Kanaan (C) 228.172mph 39.4439s + 0.3341s (64 laps)
4. James Davison (H) 228.043mph 39.4663s + 0.3565s (86 laps)
5. Sage Karam (C) 227.822mph 39.5046s + 0.3948s (91 laps)
6. Scott Dixon (C) 227.525mph 39.5561s + 0.4463s (59 laps)
7. Simon Pagenaud (C) 227.478mph 39.5643s + 0.4545s (66 laps)
8. Will Power (C) 227.350mph 39.5865s + 0.4767s (70 laps)
9. Marco Andretti (H) 227.320mph 39.5917s + 0.4819s (86 laps)
10. James Hinchcliffe (H) 227.313mph 39.5930s + 0.4832s (84 laps)
11. Ryan Hunter-Reay (H) 227.164mph 39.6190s + 0.5092s (76 laps)
12. Gabby Chaves (H) 227.094mph 39.6312s + 0.5214s (83 laps)
13. JR Hildebrand (C) 226.844mph 39.6749s + 0.5651s (44 laps)
14. Ed Carpenter (C) 226.673mph 39.7048s + 0.5950s (52 laps)
15. Helio Castroneves (C) 226.670mph 39.7053s + 0.5955s (12 laps)
16. Graham Rahal (H) 226.661mph 39.7069s + 0.5971s (80 laps)
17. JuanPablo Montoya (C) 226.660mph 39.7070s + 0.5972s (41 laps)
18. Conor Daly (H) 226.615mph 39.7150s + 0.6052s (41 laps)
19. Justin Wilson (H) 226.560mph 39.7246s + 0.6148s (65 laps)
20. Charlie Kimball (C) 226.450mph 39.7439s + 0.6341s (93 laps)
21. Pippa Mann (H) 226.301mph 39.7701s + 0.6603s (64 laps)
22. Sebastian Saavedra (C) 226.285mph 39.7729s + 0.6631s (74 laps)
23. Takuma Sato (H) 226.144mph 39.7977s + 0.6879s (92 laps)
24. James Jakes (H) 226.045mph 39.8151s + 0.7053s (102 laps)
25. Jack Hawksworth (H) 226.002mph 39.8226s + 0.7128s (88 laps)
26. Josef Newgarden (C) 225.652mph 39.8844s + 0.7746s (69 laps)
27. Oriol Servia (H) 225.284mph 39.9495s + 0.8397s (59 laps)
28. Sebastien Bourdais (C) 224.792mph 40.0370s + 0.9272s (53 laps)
29. Stefano Coletti (C) 224.361mph 40.1139s + 1.0041s (40 laps)
30. Carlos Huertas (H) 223.740mph 40.2253s + 1.1155s (55 laps)
31. Bryan Clauson (C) 222.846mph 40.3866s + 1.2768s (97 laps)
32. Sebastien Bourdais (C) 220.606mph 40.7967s + 1.6869s (5 laps)
33. Alex Tagliani (H) 220.553mph 40.8066s + 1.6968s (10 laps)
Total Laps: 2146
Indy 500 Practice Times Combined Result as of Practice 3
1. Carlos Munoz (H) 230.121mph 39.1098s Practice 3 (210 laps)
2. Townsend Bell (C) 228.969mph 39.3066s Practice 3 (165 laps)
3. Tony Kanaan (C) 228.172mph 39.4439s Practice 3 (127 laps)
4. James Davison (H) 228.043mph 39.4663s Practice 3 (101 laps)
5. Sage Karam (C) 227.822mph 39.5046s Practice 3 (179 laps)
6. Scott Dixon (C) 227.525mph 39.5561s Practice 3 (147 laps)
7. Helio Castroneves (C) 227.514mph 39.5580s Practice 2 (85 laps)
8. Simon Pagenaud (C) 227.478mph 39.5643s Practice 3 (189 laps)
9. Will Power (C) 227.350mph 39.5865s Practice 3 (157 laps)
10. Marco Andretti (H) 227.320mph 39.5917s Practice 3 (248 laps)
11. James Hinchcliffe (H) 227.313mph 39.5930s Practice 3 (188 laps)
12. Ryan Hunter-Reay (H) 227.164mph 39.6190s Practice 3 (228 laps)
13. Gabby Chaves (H) 227.094mph 39.6312s Practice 3 (182 laps)
14. JR Hildebrand (C) 226.844mph 39.6749s Practice 3 (133 laps)
15. Justin Wilson (H) 226.688mph 39.7022s Practice 2 (198 laps)
16. Ed Carpenter (C) 226.673mph 39.7048s Practice 3 (190 laps)
17. Graham Rahal (H) 226.661mph 39.7069s Practice 3 (226 laps)
18. Juan Pablo Montoya (C) 226.660mph 39.7070s Practice 3 (114 laps)
19. Conor Daly (H) 226.615mph 39.7150s Practice 3 (126 laps)
20. Charlie Kimball (C) 226.450mph 39.7439s Practice 3 (168 laps)
21. Pippa Mann (H) 226.301mph 39.7701s Practice 3 (132 laps)
22. Sebastian Saavedra (C) 226.285mph 39.7729s Practice 3 (121 laps)
23. Takuma Sato (H) 226.144mph 39.7977s Practice 3 (179 laps)
24. James Jakes (H) 226.045mph 39.8151s Practice 3 (200 laps)
25. Jack Hawksworth (H) 226.002mph 39.8226s Practice 3 (113 laps)
26. Josef Newgarden (C) 225.652mph 39.8844s Practice 3 (231 laps)
27. Oriol Servia (H) 225.284mph 39.9495s Practice 3 (199 laps)
28. Sebastien Bourdais (C) 224.792mph 40.0370s Practice 3 (171 laps)
29. Stefano Coletti (C) 224.361mph 40.1139s Practice 3 (125 laps)
30. Carlos Huertas (H) 223.740mph 40.2253s Practice 3 (118 laps)
31. Simona de Silvestro (H) 223.684mph 40.2353s Practice 1 (51 laps)
32. Marco Andretti (H) 222.879mph 40.3806s Practice 2 (4 laps)
33. Bryan Clauson (C) 222.846mph 40.3866s Practice 3 (175 laps)
34. Sebastien Bourdais (C) 220.606mph 40.7967s Practice 3 (5 laps)
35. Alex Tagliani (H) 220.553mph 40.8066s Practice 3 (13 laps)
Source: IndyCar
