At the end of the fifth practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it was Helio Castroneves topping the charts with the quickest lap of the day. No surprise, right?
Castroneves’ lap of 227.166 mph (39.6186 seconds) is the quickest lap of practice so far this year as drivers got in a clean day of testing without weather playing havoc today. In total, Castroneves has logged 297 laps this week.
“We will keep working,” he commented. “The weather dropped a lot today, but right now the car is handling really well. Certainly the draft counts a lot here and I feel very confident in the Pennzoil No. 3 machine, so right now we will keep going and keep working. Right now the conditions are really, really good. It has cooled down, which means that it is good for the tires, it’s good for the engine, and downforce as well, so we don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow. They are calling for rain, but right now we are looking quite happy.”
The speed isn’t a surprise as Castroneves is one of hte most successful drivers on the oval with four victories and 11 top 10 finishes in the 13 starts. Castroneves is always a threat to win and that shouldn’t be different this year.
Castroneves showed speed and consistency all season last year as he finished second in points, and that hasn’t slouched at all this year. Castroneves has a pair of podiums so far this year and sits fourth in points. In reality, Team Penske looks quick across the board this year with Will Power contending and winning while Juan Pablo Montoya picks up more speed as he gets more comfortable.
The only thing that may play havoc on Castroneves’ chances is how he and his team handle the new two-day qualifying format that IndyCar has chosen to go with this year.
“The team is going to have a meeting tomorrow so that they understand more of the new format,” Castroneves said. “For me, it is just about understanding what the car is doing. Right now, I really like what I have, but tomorrow we will go to the boost, and you are going to see big numbers up there too. So, we are really looking forward to tomorrow to see those numbers keep going higher.”
Castroneves added that qualifying at Indianapolis is always stressful.
“I always repeat myself because it’s true. Rick Mears always said there are two type of races, and it is true, it is qualifying and then the race,” he continued. “Now we definitely have to go for Saturday and for Sunday, so that is going to be nerve wracking, I will tell you. To go four laps at this place, I know how tough it is. So, to do two days in a row, it will be really tough. I don’t think I will or I don’t think my guys will have much sleep.”
It’d be no surprise if Team Penske was to win the race with any of their drivers based on speed so far, history and the caliber of talent in the organization. However, if Castroneves was to win, it’d be neat to see based on the throwback yellow Pennzoil paint scheme that he is running.
