IndyCar qualifications set for this weekend

Standing in his team garage with his alma mater Butler coffee mug in hand, Ed Carpenter patiently awaits the opportunity to drive his No. 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolet on the asphalt at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

It’s just after 12 p.m., and the IMS ground staff has been working for hours to dry the track.

Thursday isn’t the only day poor weather conditions have limited drivers from practicing.

After an afternoon full of rain, the drivers spent just 90 minutes on the track Wednesday.

“It’s been a weird month between the Grand Prix and the weather,” Carpenter said. “I feel like we have been in the garage more than we’ve been on the track.”

With Saturday and Sunday’s qualifications a little more than 48 hours away, drivers have questioned their readiness, especially Carpenter, who finished 10th last year after starting the race in the pole position.

“I feel like we are in a good position, but we haven’t been on the track enough to fully feel comfortable with everything yet,” he said. “We still have a lot of work to get done.”

Although drivers said they would rather be on the track, many teams use the time during rain delays to make adjustments on their cars.

Carpenter said that there is usually a list of things to get done in the garage, so the added down time has its advantages.

Alex Tagliani, driver of the No. 68 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing car, said his team has lost a lot of time to prepare for qualifying because of his limited amount of practice this week.

“It’s not easy to continue the testing program with less practice time because we have so many things that we wanted to try,” Tagliani said in Wednesday’s press conference.

“The second day that we were running, we went to try something, and we didn’t have the time do try it. The same thing happened yesterday with the rain. Just before it started pouring down, we had made a massive change and were about to try it, and we didn’t have time. That’s the challenge of the Speedway in the month of May.”

Dealing with unpredictable weather conditions has become something every driver has started to adjust to.

Last year’s Indy 500 winner, Tony Kanaan, said after Wednesday’s delayed practice he is happy with the way the No.10 Target car has been performing all week.

“We waited all day for the weather to clear, and we ended up getting some track time today,” Kanaan said Wednesday. “Something is better than nothing in this case. We worked on long runs in the Target car, and our speeds improved a bit as well, so that was a plus for us.”

After qualifying first with an average speed of 228.762 last year, Carpenter said he is looking forward to trying to win the poll for the second consecutive year.

“There’s not any pressure,” Carpenter said. “It almost makes it easier because I’ve been through it, and I know what to expect.

"There is almost less pressure because I’ve done it. I’m staying focused, and, if we are in the mix for a poll, that will be a bonus. Now I just have to find a way to win the race.”