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.
Friday, May 11 (Fourth practice day)
We put the finishing touches on the A1 TEAM USA/A1GP car on and started
running 20 minutes into practice. Buddy ran the first lap on the new engine and
brought it in for some minor adjustments. He ran some more, but after about 40
minutes, an oil sensor light came on and Buddy had to pit. It turned out the
sensor was bad rather than the engine having an oil problem, but it still cost us
more valuable track time on top of what we lost Thursday with the blown
engine.
The rest of the afternoon was herky jerky. We kept starting and stopping. We
put some new shocks on and Buddy went out for a run in the afternoon. He
responded that the car had a "monster push"and we decided to put it in the garage
for a while and make some changes. It was hot, in the 80s, and a little humid
and the conditons weren't good for a fast lap. We'd run in the mid-222s, where
we'd been all week, and wanted to go faster. With qualifying tomorrow, we
needed to find more speed.
We sat around and, to be blunt, from my perspective, it was an agitating afternoon.
We'd never gotten back on our game plan after the blown engine. Finally, some
progress. We'd started trimming the car out and Buddy went out and ran 224.025
miles per hour at about 5 p.m., with an hour to go.
They call that last hour at Indianapolis "Happy Hour" because the temperature
starts coming down and the shadows drape Turns One and Four. You get more
horsepower in cooler weather and better grip. Buddy ran another seven laps, but
the track was slick and we parked it. There was no point in running if we
couldn't run a better lap. Everybody was struggling with the slippery track. We
were 13th for the day and completed 66 laps. We really wanted to be in the top
10, but we were only two-tenths of a mile per hour slower than the 10th fastest
car.
They held the draw for the qualifying order right after practice and we
pulled out No. 1, which means we have the opportunity to go first Saturday. Way to
go Dennis Reinbold, nice pick. You can withdraw, but we'll probably go out. It starts
at noon and it will be cooler than for those who drew numbers later.
Every car has three qualifying attempts on each day, so Buddy can go out
and see if he likes the feel. We can wave off and make some changes or
complete the run and be in the field. Eleven cars
will qualify on Saturday and it's our mission to be in that top third of the
field. If we take our first run and get bumped, we can go back out, assuming
there is time. Qualifying ends at 6 p.m. It's supposed to be cooler Saturday in
Indianapolis, which will help every car go faster and make it more difficult to
judge how good your speed is until a group of cars has run. That's the tricky
part about being first in the qualifying line. Indy is a unique format, using
the average speed of four laps, and that along with the bumping process will
make it a very interesting day.
My son and I are having dinner with Buddy this evening. I am sure many
subjects will come up and I look forward to hearing his perspective of being
number one in the qualifying draw.