Helio Castroneves will aim to defend his Indianapolis 500 title from the pole next Sunday. The three-time ‘500’ champ grabbed the top spot today at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, throwing down a four-lap average at 227.970 m.p.h. in the “Fast Nine” shootout to walk away with $175,000 and 15 IZOD IndyCar Series championship points. It’s Castroneves’ […]

The first segment of qualifying is in the books and now, it’s time for the nine fastest drivers to have it out for the Indy 500 pole. Here’s the qualifying order for those Fast Nine competitors: 1. 3-Helio Castroneves (P1 in first segment)2. 06-Hideki Mutoh (P7 in first segment)3. 9-Scott Dixon (P5 in first segment)4. […]

At 2:37 p.m. ET, Helio Castroneves took the provisional Indy 500 pole from Alex Tagliani with a four-lap average of 226.774 m.p.h., besting Tagliani’s average of 226.392 m.p.h. Castroneves strung together laps at 227.319, 226.956, 226.579, and 226.245 m.p.h. to get the job done. The first segment of qualifying ends at 4 p.m. ET.

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, […]

If you’re going to be away from a TV or radio today, you can still get Indy 500 qualifying updates at my Twitter page. Just click the Twitter icon over on the Social Media box or point your browser to Twitter.com/estradawriting. You can also head to IndyCar.com and see a live version of the Indy […]

A hard crash in Turn 2 is sending KV Racing Technology rookie Takuma Sato to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. The Japanese driver is slated for x-rays and evaluation due to tenderness in his back according to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Sato’s No. 5 LOTUS machine spun out going into Turn 2 and slammed hard into […]

After the first five hours of qualifying from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. ET, the nine fastest drivers from that segment will go into a 90-minute shootout for the Indianapolis 500 pole. The question, of course, is who will be able to break into the second segment. I touched on this a little bit in […]

The stage is set for tomorrow’s run for the Indianapolis 500 pole at the Brickyard. A familiar face topped the charts on “Fast Friday” as defending champion Helio Castroneves paced the session with a lap at 226.558 m.p.h. in the No. 3 Team Penske car. He was followed by teammate and IZOD IndyCar Series points […]

Or maybe, we should be saying “Wet Friday.” If the forecast messes things up today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, you can expect Saturday’s two-hour practice (8-10 a.m. ET) before qualifying to be a busy session. Anyway, here some buzzworthy news on the eve of battle for the Indy 500 pole… Curt Cavin of The Indianapolis […]

Rain cut short the sixth day of Indianapolis 500 practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and more of the wet stuff may be in store for today’s “Fast Friday” session — the final practice before Saturday’s run for the pole. Tony Kanaan of Andretti Autosport utilized a tow to put up the fastest lap of […]

This weekend’s qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 will be carried on Versus, as will most of the IZOD IndyCar Series races this season. That doesn’t seem to be sitting well with Penske Racing president Tim Cindric. In today’s Indianapolis Business Journal, Cindric tells writer Anthony Schoettle that the current TV contract for the series needs […]

Scott Dixon’s lap at 226.971 m.p.h. in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing machine was enough to claim the top spot on the charts in today’s Indianapolis 500 practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Dixon turned the fast lap on the 18th of the 68 laps he logged on the 2.5-mile oval. Dixon was […]

This year’s Indy 500 is about change and the new qualifying format definitely fits that bill. Saturday’s Pole Day odyssey will have the nine fastest drivers engage in a 90-minute shootout for the pole position, $175,000, and 15 IZOD IndyCar Series title points. Considering that those 15 points may be the difference in a tight […]

A hard crash in Turn 1 for KV Racing Technology driver E.J. Viso has brought Day 4 of Indianapolis 500 practice to a conclusion. With roughly ten minutes remaining in the session, Viso’s No. 8 PDVSA-backed machine spun in Turn 1 and slammed hard into the SAFER Barrier, rear-end first. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway video […]

Not a single lap was turned today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as the third day of practice for the 94th Indianapolis 500 was rained out. According to The Indianapolis Star, track officials made the call to close the track shortly after 2:30 p.m. ET. Tomorrow’s practice is scheduled to begin, weather permitting, at Noon […]