source:
redbullcheeverracing.com
After rain forced cancellation of Saturday's Pole Day, cars hit the track on
Sunday in pursuit of the first 22 spots in the field for the 89th Indianapolis
500. The morning included a 90-minute practice session that saw a majority of
the teams hit the track to make final changes before the afternoon qualification
period. With temperatures in the 50's all day, drivers had to pay extra
attention to the grip on the track.
The new Indy 500 qualification format stipulated that bumping would begin on
Sunday after the first 22 cars had qualified. Early in the day, Alex Barron and
Patrick Carpentier had posted four-lap average speeds of 219.958 mph and 219.999
mph (respectively). The drama started to build late in the day when the Red Bull
Cheever Racing drivers' speeds were in danger. This became a reality when Dario
Franchitti bumped Barron out of the field at 5:13 p.m.
The team quickly put his car back in the qualifying line where Barron posed a
speed of 221.053 mph, which left him 22nd at the end of the day. Carpentier
wasn't so lucky. He also got bumped at 5:44 p.m. by Franchitti who was trying to
move up in the field. When the gun signaling the end of qualifying went off, the
#83 car was left sitting in the qualifying line. As a result, he will have to
attempt to get in the field when qualifying resumes next weekend, Saturday, May
21, for the final 11 spots in the field.
Barron turned his best speed of the week in the morning practice where he
completed 22 laps. During the session, he posted a speed of 221.751 mph.
"It was a long day putting the suit on, off and on, but we came back and got
some things changed. We're happy to be in the lineup at this point. It's good
for the guys because we've been working very hard all week, but we still need to
figure out how to get the speed with the top guys. We just need to keep our
heads up and keep working hard on the things we can control," Barron said.