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.
Saturday, May 19
Buddy Rice and our A1 TEAM USA No. 15 really got after it today. We ran 89 laps, the third highest total out of 32 cars on the track, and Buddy thought the car was pretty happy. He was particularly happy with being able to run so much on a day that we believe was closest to the conditions we'll see for the race on May 27. The sunshine was brilliant, the sky blue and the temperatures were in their mid-70s. We hope it's like that for the race. Those are perfect conditions for everyone.
Our fast lap was 221.460 miles per hour and it put us 16th on the timing sheet, but pure speed wasn't the goal. We were looking for consistency from full tanks to empty and we had that. We filled the No. 15 up three times, used some good tires from practice we had saved, and ran the entire 22 gallons of ethanol. The engines are getting much better mileage than with methanol, which was used up to this year, and the IndyCar Series has reduced the fuel cell from 30 gallons. We can go 28 laps on a tank. That's the target for every car. Buddy liked the balance for the entire run. He asked for only minor adjustments.
We aren't going to run tomorrow. We've been using our race engine since last week and are out of miles for practice. We have plenty for Carb Day, the final practice on May 25, and the race. We're 98 percent ready in our preparations for the race. There's a good feeling in our garage about the month we've had--solid speeds, no crashes and a we think a car that Buddy can challenge for victory in the race.
The field for the 91st Indianapolis 500 is almost complete. Ten cars went into the race today, leaving one position for tomorrow's final qualifying, known as Bump Day. Once the field is filled, the drivers trying to get into the race must bump a slower car from it.
Roger Yasukawa became the third car carrying A1 TEAM USA on it in the race today, running a 4-lap average of 222.654. He was fastest of the day and will start 23rd. Excellent job, Roger, and congratulations on making the race for the fifth straight year. We also want to congratulate Al Unser Jr., our A1 TEAM USA driver last year. He'll start 25th in a car owned by A.J. Foyt.