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Message: [QUOTE="Clayton Hardy, post: 13400736, member: 267319"] [SPOILER=Indy 500 Day 1 Summary] Speedway, Indiana | The gateway to the Indianapolis 500 began on Wednesday with an abbreviated day of practice. All 38 drivers from all 16 teams entered in the event were confined to two hours of early afternoon running before lunch, with storms rolling in and washing out the rest of the day. With one day already down and out, teams will have to rely on Thursday and Fast Friday practice to do more work before Qualifying weekend. [B]Panasonic Team Impulse In Command[/B] The current Team Championship and Indycar World Championship leaders ended Wednesday with a lock on the fastest speeds. Hazel Lacasse continued her form from her Chicagoland win to top the timing sheets, being the only person to break into the 230 mph lap speeds. Likewise, Sakura Ishibashi would be the only person to end the day in the 229 mph lap speeds, while B.K. Glover took on his refresher courses during the session, posting the 29th fastest lap time. As has been the case all season long, it will be a wonder if Asumi Matsuo's crew don't take the Indy 500 pole position for the second year in a row. This weekend marks a special occassion, with Ishibashi running the #87 in tribute to her friend, the late Henna Venalainen, who tragically passed away contesting the Indianapolis 500 five years ago. [CENTER][ATTACH=full]1007483[/ATTACH] [/CENTER] [B]Debut for Velocity Autosport[/B] A brand new team arrived with the field to the Brickyard, fielding a two car squad for the 105th Spectacle. Velocity Autosport, run by Vincent Rojas, opted to bring exposure to the Nissan Atlantic Championship, with the team fielding Maria Chavez and Katrina Ochoa. Chavez, the Obsidian Racing Team development driver, is the protege of 2008 World Champion, Emelio Gonzalez. With large Mexican business connections, the entry was secured relatively easily during the early Spring. In the 48 car for the team is the Cherokee GP program driver, who at the age of 28 stands to be one of the older rookies to debut at the Indy 500. Ochoa spent time as a test driver for Dallara, Firestone, and Chevrolet before joining Cherokee GP's Atlantics program. With the team's sponsor DoorDash on board, Ochoa has the chance to break through after almost 8 years of being on the outskirts. And on Unload Day, Ochoa was the bright star in the team's performance, landing 13th fastest while Chavez took to learning the new car, winding up 33rd fastest, just behind Cristine Espinoza. [CENTER][ATTACH=full]1007484[/ATTACH] [/CENTER] [B]Early Troubles For Some Drivers[/B] The only accident of the day happened about an hour into the session. Patrick Marcelli suffered a suspension failure in turn 3, spinning into his Eastern Atlantic Motorsports teammate, Esther Hoffson, before collecting Isabel Espinoza, Keisha Fox, and Lucien Lachapelle. All five drivers were able to rejoin before the session ended for lunch, with Lachapelle leaping up the times at the end. [CENTER][ATTACH=full]1007485[/ATTACH] [/CENTER] The only other incident that occurred during the day was just before the crash, with LM Competition's Ray Taylor suffering a gearbox failure exiting turn 2. That was promptly fixed with Taylor running laps at the end of the session. Full Day 1 Results can be found below. [ATTACH=full]1007482[/ATTACH][/SPOILER] [/QUOTE]

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