Ed Carpenter's lap of 230.522 mph during the brief "Fast Friday" session on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval appears to be a precursor of big speeds for the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race.
Marco Andretti posted a lap of 232.239 mph (38.7531 seconds) in the May 17 practice preceding Round 1 of qualifying. Cool (45 degrees ambient and 55 degrees track) temperatures greeted the 33 drivers logging laps. Twelve entries cracked 230 mph in the sessions split into two groups.
Click it: Practice 7 results
Andretti, driving the No. 25 Snapple car, posted the fastest lap speed in practice since 2003, when Scott Dixon recorded a 233-plus mph lap. Andretti had a fast lap of 229.419 mph a day earlier in the session limited to 19 minutes because of rain.
The first round of qualifications is from 11 a.m.-5:50 p.m. (ET). The starting positions for the 33 cars, including the Verizon P1 Award, will be determined May 18.
Carpenter earned the Verizon P1 Award last May with a four-lap average speed of 228.762 mph in the No. 20 Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka car with a top speed of 229.347 mph on Lap 1. It was the best four-lap average since 2006 when Sam Hornish Jr. won the pole with a four-lap average of 228.985 mph.
Click it: Qualifications order
For a rundown on how the new qualifying format works CLICK HERE.
ABC will televise qualifications May 17 (4-6 p.m. ET) and May 18 (1-3 p.m.), with www.watchespn.com providing additional coverage around the TV windows. The IMS Radio Network broadcast both days can be heard on network affiliates, XM 209 and Sirius 213, on www.indycar.com in conjunction with Timing & Scoring and the INDYCAR 13 app.