Guest Blog: We Are Ok

As the 500 Approaches, I realize - We Are Ok.

Immediately after the checkered flag in Sao Paulo, there was a lot of negativity surrounding Takuma Sato and whether or not he was blocking. I made a comment that Sato “can do no wrong” for this lifelong IndyCar fan. When I explained why I feel this way, Matthew asked me if I would write a blog post about my experience with Sato. I said “Sure. Do you think people would be interested?” So, here goes my first blog post:

I was in a restaurant in Las Vegas the day after the tragic loss of Dan Wheldon. Sitting next to us was Takuma Sato. As we got up to leave, I stopped at the table where he was dining with two older ladies I presumed to be his Mom and Grandma. It was my intention to express my condolences to him and his family regarding the loss of his racing colleague. What happened next was completely unexpected and surprised me as much as it surprised his family. As soon as I opened my mouth to speak, I started to cry. Well, to be more accurate, I was bawling, completely bawling. He remained completely calm and collected, as I stood in front of him, a blubbering lunatic. He reached out and took both of my hands in his and said “It will be ok, we will all be ok.” I pulled myself together enough to thank him and wish him a safe trip home. I had been sitting there in that restaurant, on my home to St. Louis, hating this sport that I had been raised to love so very much. With those few, calm words, he made me feel better about this horrible thing that happened.

Sato celebrates his victory at Long Beach (Photo: Robert Laberage)

When Sato won his first IndyCar race at Long Beach this year, I was ecstatic. He can be heard on the radio transmission saying “That was really nice.” So calm…Just like the day he offered me those comforting words in the Las Vegas restaurant.

I’ve reflected on that brief conversation with Sato so many times. In the months that followed, I never really questioned whether I would continue watching IndyCar, probably because I knew we would be okay, we would all be ok.

-Lynn Weinberg @lynnweinberg

Some 500 Statistics

Numbers can tell us a lot about future events. The Indianapolis 500 is no different. Looking at past data from the 96 other runnings of the Indianapolis, we can begin to understand and look at how qualify and race data translates into odds for drivers without taking into consideration other variables. Before I go on, I am by no means predicting the 500 and downplaying certain drivers. This is merely looking at the race from a statistical standpoint. Here are some of the statistics that we can look into and how it can translate this year's 500:

• The pole sitter for the Indianapolis 500 has won 22 of the 96 times, or 27% of the time, the most by any starting position by far. This bodes well for this year's pole sitter Ed Carpenter. 

• Former winners of the race include Dario Franchitti (2007, 2010, 2012), Scott Dixon (2009), Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002, 2008), and Buddy Lazier (1996). 

• Active teams who have won at Indianapolis include Team Penske (15), Chip Ganassi Racing (4), Andretti Autosport (2), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (1), Bryan Herta Autosport (1), and AJ Foyt Enterprises (1).

• Former pole sitters of the race include Ryan Briscoe (2012), Alex Tagliani (2011), Helio Castroneves (2003, 2007, 2009, 2010), Scott Dixon (2008), and Tony Kanaan (2005).

• 68 of the 96 Indianapolis 500's have been won by drivers starting ninth or better, which amounts to 70.8% of the races. Good news again for Carpenter, as well as Carlos Munoz, Marco Andretti, EJ Viso, AJ Allmendinger, Will Power, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Helio Castroneves, and James Hinchcliffe.

AJ Allmendinger (closest) and Will Power on among those who have the odds in
 their favors. Being on Team Penske doesn't hurt either (Photo: Marshall Pruett)

• The race has only been won 6 times between P22 and P28, or 6.3% of the time. Not good news for Townsend Bell, Ryan Briscoe, Simona de Silvestro, Josef Newgarden, Graham Rahal, Sebastian Saavedra, and Tristan Vautier.

• Even worse news for drivers starting P29-P33, which includes Ana Beatriz, Pippa Mann, Conor Daly, Buddy Lazier, and Katherine Legge: A driver has never won starting in positions 29-33 in all 96 Indianapolis 500s.

• General statistic: The driver who has led the most laps have won 52 of the 96 Indianapolis 500s, or 54% of the races. The trend recently has been different, with three of the last ten drivers who have led the most laps have gone on to win, so we'll see what affect it has on race day.

• The five drivers in the field with the highest average finish are Dario Franchitti (7.5), Helio Castroneves (7.6), Scott Dixon (7.6), JR Hildebrand (8), and Charlie Kimball (10.5). 

• A rookie has only won the Greatest Spectacle eight times, or 8.3% of the time. Will Carlos Munoz, AJ Allmendinger, Tristan Vautier, or Conor Daly change that?

• I have been trying to look up specific data for this last one, but can't find anything. So feel free to quote me when I say: There is a 100% chance the race will be great! Enjoy the race as you see 

Let me know what you think!

-Matthew Hickey

2013 Indianapolis 500 Grid

Here is the grid for the 97th Running of the Indianapolis 500 (Grid position / car number / driver / team / engine / qualifying speed in MPH):

1) #20 Ed Carpenter / Ed Carpenter Racing / Chevrolet / 228.762
2) #26 Carlos Munoz (R) / Andretti Autosport / Chevrolet / 228.342
3) #25 Marco Andretti / Andretti Autosport / Chevrolet / 228.261

4) #5 EJ Viso / Andretti Autosport / Chevrolet / 228.150
5) #2 AJ Allmendinger (R) / Team Penske / Chevrolet / 228.099
6) #12 Will Power / Team Penske / Chevrolet / 228.087

7) #1 Ryan Hunter-Reay / Andretti Autosport / Chevrolet / 227.904
8) #3 Helio Castroneves / Team Penske / Chevrolet / 227.762
9) #27 James Hinchcliffe / Andretti Autosport / Chevrolet / 227.070

10) #4 JR Hildebrand / Panther Racing / Chevrolet / 227.441
11) #98 Alex Tagliani / Bryan Herta Autosport / Honda / 227.386
12) #11 Tony Kanaan / KV Racing / Chevrolet / 226.949

13) #22 Oriol Servia / Panther Dreyer & Reinbold Racing / Chevrolet / 226.814
14) #19 Justin Wilson / Dale Coyne Racing / Honda / 226.370
15) #7 Sebastien Bourdais / Dragon Racing / Chevrolet / 226.196

16) #9 Scott Dixon / Chip Ganassi Racing / Honda / 226.158
17) #10 Dario Franchitti / Chip Ganassi Racing / Honda / 226.059
18) #14 Takuma Sato / AJ Foyt Enterprises / Honda / 225.892

19) #83 Charlie Kimball / Chip Ganassi Racing / Honda / 225.880
20) #16 James Jakes / Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing / Honda / 225.809
21) #77 Simon Pagenaud / Schmidt Peterson Racing / Honda / 225.674

22) #60 Townsend Bell / Panther Racing / Chevrolet / 225.643
23) #8 Ryan Briscoe / Chip Ganassi Racing / Honda / 225.265
24) #78 Simona de Silvestro / KV Racing / Chevrolet / 225.226

25) #21 Josef Newgarden / Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing / Honda / 225.731
26) #15 Graham Rahal / Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing / Honda / 225.007
27) #6 Sebastian Saavedra / Dragon Racing / Chevrolet / 224.929

28) #55 Tristan Vautier (R) / Schmidt Peterson Motorsports / Honda / 224.873
29) #18 Ana Beatriz / Dale Coyne Racing / Honda / 224.184
30) #30 Pippa Mann / Dale Coyne Racing / Honda / 224.005

31) #41 Conor Daly (R) / AJ Foyt Enterprises / Honda / 223.582
32) #91 Buddy Lazier / Lazier Family Partners / Chevrolet / 223.342
33) #81 Katherine Legge / Schmidt Peterson Racing / Honda / 223.176

Let's go racing!

-Matthew Hickey

Pre-Fast Nine Times

Here are the Pre-Fast Nine lap times from Pole Day qualifying. Drivers 10-24 are locked in and will start where they are listed. Those below P24 did not qualify and will have to do so tomorrow. Drivers in the top nine will have to re-qualify to set the field. Here are the times:

Pos	Driver	Speed (MPH)	Team
1	Will Power	228.844	Team Penske
2	Ryan Hunter-Reay	228.282	Andretti Autosport
3	Carlos Munoz	228.171	Andretti Autosport
4	Helio Castroneves	227.975	Team Penske
5	Ed Carpenter	227.952	Ed Carpenter Racing
6	Marco Andretti	227.893	Andretti Autosport
7	AJ Allmendinger	227.761	Team Penske
8	EJ Viso	227.612	Andretti Autosport
9	James Hinchcliffe	227.493	Andretti Autosport
10	JR Hildebrand	227.441	Panther Racing
11	Alex Tagliani	227.386	Bryan Herta Autosport
12	Tony Kanaan	226.949	KV Racing
13	Oriol Servia	226.814	Panther Dreyer and Reinbold Racing
14	Justin Wilson	226.370	Dale Coyne Racing
15	Sebastien Bourdais	226.196	Dragon Racing
16	Scott Dixon	226.158	Chip Ganassi Racing
17	Dario Franchitti	226.069	Chip Ganassi Racing
18	Takuma Sato	225.892	AJ Foyt Enterprises
19	Charlie Kimball	225.880	Chip Ganassi Racing
20	James Jakes	225.809	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
21	Simon Pagenaud	225.674	Schmidt Peterson Racing
22	Townsend Bell	225.643	Panther Racing
23	Ryan Briscoe	225.265	Chip Ganassi Racing
24	Simona de Silvestro	225.226	KV Racing
	Josef Newgarden	225.210	Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing
	Ana Beatriz	225.117	Dale Coyne Racing
	Graham Rahal	224.996	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
	Sebastian Saavedra	224.656	Dragon Racing
	Pippa Mann	224.350	Dale Coyne Racing
	Tristan Vautier	224.156	Schmidt Peterson Racing
	Buddy Lazier	223.073	Lazier Family Partners
	Michel Jourdain. Jr	218.329	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
	Conor Daly	No time	AJ Foyt Enterprises
	Katherine Legge	No time	Schmidt Peterson Racing

Pole Day Order

Here is the pole day running order which will start at 11am Eastern Time tomorrow, May 18th. Drivers will each get one attempt to qualify before the remaining afternoon time gets allotted for anyone who has one of their three attempts remaining up until 4:30pm local time, in which the gun will sound and Fast Nine qualifying will begin. Take a gander at the list (spot in which they go out, driver number, driver, team, engine):

Spot	Car #	Driver	Team	Engine
1	40	TBA	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet
2	9	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
3	14	Takuma Sato	AJ Foyt Enterprises	Honda
4	15	Graham Rahal	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
5	14T	Takuma Sato	AJ Foyt Enterprises	Honda
6	2	AJ Allmendinger	Team Penske	Chevrolet
7	6T	Sebastien Bourdais	Dragon Racing	Chevrolet
8	91	Buddy Lazier	Lazier Family Partners	Chevrolet
9	8T	Ryan Briscoe	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
10	78	Simona de Silvestro	KV Racing	Chevrolet
11	83T	Charlie Kimball	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
12	40T	TBA	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet
12a	60T	Townsend Bell	Panther Racing	Chevrolet
14	27	James Hinchcliffe	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet
15	27T	James Hinchcliffe	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet
16	9T	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
17	41	Conor Daly	AJ Foyt Enterprises	Honda
18	3T	Helio Castroneves	Team Penske	Chevrolet
19	16T	James Jakes	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
20	12T	Will Power	Team Penske	Chevrolet
21	7	Sebastien Bourdais	Dragon Racing	Chevrolet
22	19	Justin Wilson	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda
23	3	Helio Castroneves	Team Penske	Chevrolet
24	11T	Tony Kanaan	KV Racing	Chevrolet
25	1T	Ryan Hunter-Reay	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet
26	78T	Simona de Silvestro	KV Racing	Chevrolet
27	16	James Jakes	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
28	99T	TBA	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda
29	5T	EJ Viso	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet
30	22T	Oriol Servia	Panther Dreyer and Reinbold Racing	Chevrolet
31	18T	Ana Beatriz	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda
32	6	Sebastian Saavedra	Dragon Racing	Chevrolet
33	63	Pippa Mann	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda
34	60	Townsend Bell	Panther Racing	Chevrolet
35	20T	Ed Carpenter	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet
36	5	EJ Viso	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet
37	98	Alex Tagliani	Bryan Herta Autosport	Honda
38	12	Will Power	Team Penske	Chevrolet
39	77T	Simon Pagenaud	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda
40	25T	Marco Andretti	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet
41	8	Ryan Briscoe	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
42	11	Tony Kanaan	KV Racing	Chevrolet
43	21	Josef Newgarden	Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing	Honda
44	55	Tristan Vautier	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda
45	10	Dario Franchitti	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
46	18	Ana Beatriz	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda
47	4T	JR Hildebrand	Panther Racing	Chevrolet
48	19T	Justin Wilson	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda
49	10T	Dario Franchitti	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
50	55T	Tristan Vautier	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda
51	83	Charlie Kimball	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
52	20	Ed Carpenter	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet
53	1	Ryan Hunter-Reay	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet
54	17	Michel Jourdain Jr	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
55	26T	Carlos Munoz	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet
56	26	Carlos Munoz	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet
57	2T	AJ Allmendinger	Team Penske	Chevrolet
58	4	JR Hildebrand	Panther Racing	Chevrolet
59	25	Marco Andretti	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet
60	21T	Josef Newgarden	Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing	Honda
61	98T	Alex Tagliani	Bryan Herta Autosport	Honda
62	99	TBA	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda
63	7T	Sebastien Bourdais	Dragon Racing	Chevrolet
64	41T	Conor Daly	AJ Foyt Enterprises	Honda
65	77	Simon Pagenaud	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda
66	15T	Graham Rahal	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
67	63T	Pippa Mann	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda
68	22	Oriol Servia	Panther Dreyer and Reinbold Racing	Chevrolet

Go Indycar! Let's have a good Pole Day!

-Matthew Hickey