With two hours to go in the first segment of Indianapolis 500 Pole Day qualifying, Alex Tagliani is on the provisional pole with a four-lap average of 226.392 m.p.h. in the No. 77 Bowers and Wilkins machine for FAZZT Race Team.
Currently with him on the provisional front row is defending race champion Helio Castroneves, who put up an average of 226.388 in the No. 3 Team Penske car. Sitting in P3 is former ‘500’ winner Dario Franchitti, who averaged 226.156 m.p.h. in the No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing entry on his qualifying run.
You can check out the current live grid on IndyCar.com to see who has qualified in the first 24 positions. Those spots will be up for grabs until 4 p.m. ET, and at 4:30 p.m. ET, the top nine drivers will have their speeds erased and then compete in a 90-minute shootout for the pole. Each of the Fast Nine will have at least one four-lap qualifying attempt, with optional runs if time permits.
Several incidents have taken place in the first three hours, including a pair of Turn 2 crashes involving Mario Moraes (the third incident involving a KV Racing Technology car during ‘500’ preparations) and former Indy pole sitter Tony Kanaan of Andretti Autosport. KVRT is looking to get Moraes back out to qualify before 4 p.m. ET, but AA has confirmed that their man Kanaan will not come back to qualify today.
Right now, the track is currently open for practice. Follow the action along on twitter.com/estradawriting.
