Indy Dries Out, IndyCar Tries To Run

INDIANAPOLIS -RIS- (May 19, 2019)  From the weather forecast and the rain we've had all day, it looked like today's activity at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway would be washed out.

But the IndyCar Race Control Team showed the patience of Job, and the National Weather Service played along. At 3:30 p.m. local time, IndyCar announced that the Last Row Shootout, to determine the final three qualifiers, and the Fast Nine Shootout, to determine the starting order of yesterday's fastest nine qualifiers, will take place starting at 4:30 p.m.

The track is dry, and the Last Row gunfighters are now presenting in the technical line to take to their shot at making history.

The drivers and cars in the Last Row Shootout:

  1. #66 - Fernando Alonso
  2. #31 - Patricio O'Ward
  3. #24 - Sage Karam
  4. #5 - James Hinchcliffe
  5. #32 - Kyle Kaiser
  6. #59 - Max Chilton

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The drivers and cars in the Fast Nine Shootout, with Saturday 4-lap qualification averages:

  1. #21 - Spencer Pigot - 230.083
  2. #12 - Will Power - 230.081
  3. #22 - Simon Pagenaud - 229.854
  4. #2 - Josef Newgarden - 229.749
  5. #88 - Colton Herta (R) - 229.487
  6. #63 -Ed Jones - 229.440
  7. #20 - Ed Carpenter -229.349
  8. #28 - Alexander Rossi - 229.268
  9. #18 - Sebastien Bourdais - 228.800

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Team McLaren is reportedly receiving amicable help from all over the garage area in their attempt to get their #66 and driver Fernando Alonso into the show. RIS was told they even received the vaunted Penske shocks in their attempt to properly set-up their Dallara/Chevrolet.

That said, getting the two-time World Driving Champion into the show without any practice laps to tweak the set-up will require a Herculean effort, a large checkbook, and a Borg-Warner trophy-full of luck.

The short-odds are on Hinchcliffe, O'Ward, and Karam ... but we'll know within the hour.

Of the Fast Nine Shootout, hang onto your hats. RIS prediction: One Ed Carpenter Racing car and two Team Penske cars, not necessarily in that order.

Tom Beeler - RIS/Indy

Tom Beeler

Tom has been a contributor to RIS since 1992, and has covered IndyCar, Formula 1, NASCAR, Grand-Am, ALMS and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In addition to his RIS work, Tom has been a contributor for General Motors, Nissan, Toyota and the ACO.

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Volume 2019, Issue 5, Posted 4:30 PM, 05.19.2019