Carburetors are no longer used
in IndyCars, but Carburetion Day lives on as an annual tradition at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
source:
redbullcheeverracing.com
The day
includes the final practice session before the race, the annual pit-stop
competition, and Menards Infiniti Pro Series race as well as concerts and other
fan-friendly features.
Both Alex Barron in the #51 car and Patrick Carpentier in the #83 car took to
the track before noon today, but the game plan was only to check the setup for
the race. As a result, Barron ran 16 laps, while Carpentier completed 22. The
speeds were on par with what the team has been completing with Barron posting a
best lap of 221.023 mph and Carpentier with 218.867 mph.
"We ran good balance on the car in a pack of 10, we came in and just scuffed a
couple sets of tires and practiced some pit stops. We didn't do a whole bunch
because the weather is going to change for Sunday. We have so much data from
running 3,000 miles this month that we pretty much know the direction to go.
(Plan for the race) We need to stay out of trouble, stay on the lead lap and
move forward aggressively. Hopefully our pit strategy will put us up at the
front so we can try to win this thing," Barron said.
"We worked on the car in traffic, but we lost a lot of time because of a radio
problem that didn't let us get out with the big packs, so we'll have to see on
Sunday. The downforce level that we had seemed a bit much and the balance was
pushing a bit also, so we're going to see what we had last week, find something
in between and go racing. (About the race) I don't know what to expect. I'm
pretty excited to be part of it. It's a huge event, and it's even bigger than I
thought it would be. It's going to be a lot of fun," Carpentier said.
The pit crew team for the #51 car participated in the pit stop competition,
which was a tournament-style, one-on-one competition between teams for who could
complete the fastest stop. The Red Bull Cheever Racing team advanced through the
first round before being defeated by the #7 car of Bryan Herta.
Barron and Carpentier will be on hand at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on
Saturday morning to sign autographs in the Pagoda Plaza from 9 to 10 a.m. Then,
they will participate in the public drivers meeting before heading downtown to
ride in the 500 Festival Parade, which begins at noon. The parade will be
nationally televised on ESPN2 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. CST. All of the festivities
lead up to the 89th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 29. The race
will be nationally televised on ABC beginning at 11 a.m. CST.