INDIANAPOLIS – Opening day of practice for the 100th Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil takes place today, in two phases.
First up is the rookie orientation and refresher programs, which run from 12 to 2 p.m.
The five rookies entered – Max Chilton and Alexander Rossi plus Spencer Pigot, Matthew Brabham and Stefan Wilson – will have to complete three phases of running once on track:
10 laps of 210 to 215 mph
15 laps of 215 to 220 mph
15-plus laps of 220-plus mph
Others listed by INDYCAR who are eligible to participate in the refresher program includes those remaining non full-time drivers. Those seven drivers include Townsend Bell, Bryan Clauson, JR Hildebrand, Sage Karam, Buddy Lazier, Oriol Servia and Alex Tagliani.
Servia, Tagliani and Hildebrand have a start apiece this year while the other four drivers will make their first laps in an IndyCar since last May.
Practice for all cars runs from 2 to 6 p.m. ET.
It’s already warmed up from the high 30s ambient temperature to the low 50s, with a projected high of 64 degrees ambient this afternoon.
Running updates will follow in this post depending on how the day progresses.
Meanwhile Carlos Munoz is another in the new livery department, with United Fiber & Data set to serve as primary sponsor of his No. 26 Honda at Andretti Autosport. From a release: “Music and fast cars go hand-in-hand and nothing says rock n’ roll more than the Indy 500,” said multi-platinum guitarist Chad Taylor of the band LIVE. “It’s going to be fun to see what Carlos can do, he’s proven to be a strong competitor on ovals, and having already won an Indy 500 ring with Ryan Hunter Reay… I’m thirsty for some more milk. No doubt this sport is addictive and having the band LIVE on the car is an honor.”
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2:10 p.m.: The first couple hours of practice are over, with rookie orientation and refresher programs underway and 505 laps completed.
However the original target speeds for ROP would be lowered: they’re now 10 laps in the range of 205-210 mph, 15 laps between 210-215 mph and 15 laps at 215-plus mph.
Chilton, Rossi and Pigot completed all three phases of ROP, with Wilson and Brabham completing the first two phases.
Brabham’s No. 61 PIRTEK Team Murray Chevrolet was delayed going out until 90 minutes into the session with the crew back working on the car in Gasoline Alley. The time was extended to allow Brabham to complete the second phase.
RECAP: No. 8 Chilton, No. 16 Pigot and No. 98 Rossi completed all 3 phases of ROP; No. 25 Wilson and No. 61 Brabham completed 2 of 3 phases.
Townsend Bell in the No. 29 California Pizza Kitchen/Robert Graham Honda for Andretti Autosport posted the best speed of the first two hours at 224.179 mph.
Others besides Bell who participated in the refresher portion of the program included Bryan Clauson, Sage Karam, JR Hildebrand and Oriol Servia.
Seven cars (Carlos Munoz, Ed Carpenter, Josef Newgarden, Tony Kanaan, Charlie Kimball, Will Power, Simon Pagenaud) went out in the opening five minutes of the session with installation laps.
Helio Castroneves attempted an installation lap of his own but slowed on the front straight, which brought out the only five minutes of yellow flag time during the session.
Here were speeds after the first two hours of practice.
After his Anaheim 2 crash, Eli Tomac was surprised he was not injured, but despite getting knocked down momentarily, he picked himself up, rode to last week’s win and reascended to the top of the SuperMotocross Power Rankings after Houston. This is the third time in three weeks Tomac has topped the rankings.Jason Anderson has back-to-back podiums to his credit and sits second in the Power Rankings. – Feld Motor Sports/MX Sports Pro Racing/Align Media
Last week, Tomac finished second in his heat before winning the Main – and that translated to near-perfect points in the Power Rankings, which award 100 for a win in the feature and 90 for a heat victory. Tomac’s average was marred by the Houston accident when he finished 13th in that heat before settling just outside the top five in overall standings. Racing is about bouncing back and last year’s Supercross and Motocross champion Tomac did just that as he chases a third consecutive title.
Jason Anderson earned his second consecutive podium finish with a third at Houston. He momentarily rolled past Aaron Plessinger into second during a restart following an accident involving Dylan Ferrandis and held that position for four trips around the track until he was tracked down by Chase Sexton. Afterward Anderson faded and finished 12 seconds off the pace, but along with a heat win, he easily leapfrogged Ken Roczen and Cooper Webb, who struggled in the fourth race of the season.
Webb held his position by passing Roczen in NBC’s SuperMotocross Power Rankings after Houston. Webb has been solid in 2023 with a worst moto result of seventh in the first Triple Crown race at Anaheim 2, but in order to be considered a solid challenger to Tomac he needs to win either a heat or main this week in Tampa.
Roczen was involved in the incident that sidelined Ferrandis in Houston. Racing for eighth at the time, his bike may have sustained some damage when Ferrandis landed on his back tire, but he was not overly impressive in his heat either with a fifth-place finish. That was enough to drop him three positions in the standings, but he still has Tomac in sight.
After his disappointing heat in San Diego when he crashed and sustained enough damage to place him last, Sexton has roared back. He won the overall in Anaheim 2’s Triple Crown format and narrowed the points’ gap slightly on Tomac. Last week he yarded the field in his heat race and won by a wide margin. A modest start in the Main kept him from getting to Tomac’s back wheel early in the Houston round, and he lost a little ground in the championship.
The 250 East division debuted in Houston and with only one race – and therefore no chance yet to stumble – three of their riders jumped to the top of the chart.
Hunter Lawrence had a perfect week with wins in both his main and heat. It wasn’t without drama, however, as he was forced to jump wide early in the feature to avoid contact with Tom Vialle, who was making his Supercross debut. Without a former 250 champion in the field, it is guaranteed someone new will grace the top of the box at Salt Lake City after the season-ender and it looks like it’s going to be Lawrence’s to lose.
Jordon Smith’s last podium before Houston came four years ago in Detroit. – Feld Motor Sports/MX Sports Pro Racing/Align Media
It was more than four years ago that Jordon Smith scored his last Supercross podium in Detroit. Despite finishing second that afternoon, he was battling a wrist injury that eventually sidelined him. More injuries have followed, but Smith was a favorite to win the title in 2019 and he’s shown how well he can ride when he’s healthy.
Debuting third in the Houston SuperMotocross Power Rankings, Max Anstie moved from the 450 class last year to 250s in 2023 and the change has gone better than he anticipated. Finishing second in both his heat and main, Anstie was edged by Smith because he finished second behind that rider in their heat. That is Anstie’s first top-10 since finishing sixth at Southwick, Massachusetts last year on his 450. In that race, he scored fifth-place results in both motos.
Haiden Deegan proved the hype surrounding his graduation into the 250 class was well deserved and he landed fourth in his division and fifth overall in the SuperMotocross Power Rankings. In his first professional Supercross race, he finished fourth in his heat. In a field with twice the talent, he finished fourth again in the main. At Houston, he balanced aggression with patience. Now that he has a taste of that success, everyone will be watching him closely at Tampa to see if he can continue tiptoeing on the line.
Michael Mosiman, Jeremy Martin, and Vialle are tied for fifth in the 250 East division and seventh overall.
Vialle is the most notable of these three because he challenged for a podium position during the Main before making a mistake and falling in a turn. Significantly, this was not only his 250 debut, but his first time in Supercross. As with Deegan, he has generated a lot of attention for the coming weeks.
250 Rankings
This
Week
Rider
Power
Avg.
Last
Week
Diff.
1
Hunter Lawrence – E
[1 Main; 1 Heat Win]
95.00
NA
2
Jordon Smith – E
[1 Heat Win]
90.50
NA
2
Max Anstie – E
90.50
NA
4
Jett Lawrence – W
[2 Main; 2 Heat Wins]
89.13
1
-3
5
Haiden Deegan – E
81.50
NA
6
Cameron McAdoo – W
[1 Heat Win]
77.63
2
-4
7
Mitchell Oldenburg – W
77.00
3
-4
7
Michael Mosiman – E
77.00
NA
7
Jeremy Martin – E
77.00
NA
7
Tom Vialle – E
77.00
NA
11
Stilez Robertson – W
[1 Heat Win]
76.75
4
-7
12
Chance Hymas – E
74.50
-12
13
Levi Kitchen – W
[1 Main Win]
73.75
5
-8
14
RJ Hampshire – W
[3 Heat Wins]
70.00
6
-8
15
Max Vohland – W
69.29
7
-8
16
Cullin Park – E
66.00
NA
17
Chris Blose – E
65.50
NA
18
Derek Kelley – W
63.75
8
-10
19
Enzo Lopes – W
63.25
9
-10
20
Pierce Brown – W
61.29
10
-10
* The NBC Power Rankings assign 100 points to a Main event winner and 90 points for each Heat and Triple Crown win, (Triple Crown wins are included with heat wins below the rider’s name). The points decrement by a percentage equal to the number of riders in the field until the last place rider in each event receives five points. The Power Ranking is the average of these percentage points over the past 45 days.
Meanwhile Carlos Munoz is another in the new livery department, with United Fiber & Data set to serve as primary sponsor of his No. 26 Honda at Andretti Autosport. From a release: “Music and fast cars go hand-in-hand and nothing says rock n’ roll more than the Indy 500,” said multi-platinum guitarist Chad Taylor of the band LIVE. “It’s going to be fun to see what Carlos can do, he’s proven to be a strong competitor on ovals, and having already won an Indy 500 ring with Ryan Hunter Reay… I’m thirsty for some more milk. No doubt this sport is addictive and having the band LIVE on the car is an honor.”
