A1 TEAM USA owner Rick Weidinger will write a diary during the Indianapolis 500 following every day that the A1 TEAM USA entry driven by Buddy Rice runs on the famous 2 1/2-mile Brickyard this May.
Tuesday, May 8
WOW! Today was the opening day of practice and our A1 TEAM USA car was ready to go. We were partners with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing last year, but this was my first experience working with Buddy Rice. He won Indy in 2004, so we knew he was an outstanding driver, and I was eager to see how he'd do on the first day in the car. Buddy was everything I expected and more. As I watched him run laps, pit to communicate changes to the car with his engineer, John Dick, Buddy was calm and patient throughout the whole practice. Buddy was really pleased with the car and he gave JD abundant and precise feedback. I think it's one of his special talents and you need that, particularly at Indianapolis. The weather is always changing and IndyCars are sensitive to the conditions. You have to be ready for anything on race day and fine tuning is an art form that is critical to winning the race.
Buddy ran 88 laps, almost half the race distance and more than any other driver today. Buddy's speed was solid, 222.525 miles per hour, and he did it near the end of the day, on his 78th lap. It was hot, in the 80s, and that was a really strong effort. Buddy was 15th out of 27 drivers, but what was important was we learned a lot and made progress. We ran in more of a race setup and never trimmed it out aerodynamically for a really fast lap. They're only good for qualifying. You need downforce in the race when there are 33 cars on the track. We can go faster when we need to by trimming it out and that day is Saturday when qualifying begins. This was a very productive day for A1 TEAM USA--and A1GP the World Cup of Motorsport.
I also had a good, happy feeling when I saw Al Unser Jr. on the track in the No. 50. Al drove for us last year and we have become friends. He's driving for A.J. Foyt this season in a car celebrating Foyt's 50 years in IndyCar racing and I hope he does well.
Indy is a fantasic event to be a part of and there's nothing else like standing out on the pit lane and watching those cars go roaring past. Best of all, we're off to a great start.
Tommorrow is day two of practice. I bet you will see us faster on the race sheets.