Racers Cope with Carb Day Time on Their Hands
by Allan Brewer
allan@indyproracer.com
Rain showers brought on-track activity to a halt on Friday (May 23rd), but the Firestone Indy Lights series driving community found little time to rest in idle as it waited for a resumption of racing or announcement to try again another day.
Guthrie Racing’s Sean Guthrie was typical of most of the drivers in the Indy Lights garages, lined up along the south end of the long front straightaway at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the space formerly occupied by Formula 1 teams during the United States Grand Prix.
“It’s not as bad as 1997 when my dad raced here,” said Sean as he peered into the curtain of showers outside the garage door entrance to his team’s working spaces. The 500-mile race of that year was famously postponed from its scheduled Sunday start to Monday; then rained out a second time before completion on Tuesday, May 27th.
“I took a nap, ate lunch twice,” said Sean. “There’s no way to make the time pass fast enough if you’re supposed to be racing.”
“Any driver hates to wait for a race. When you’re supposed to be out there and you’re not it’s the worst.”
Unlike a fine wine, waiting is not a virtue for motorsports, especially if the plans have been put to a fine point in the days, hours and minutes before a scheduled time of start.
“We spent most of last night and this morning getting ready,” continued Guthrie. “We’ve put everything on hold until we can go out on the track. Trying to over-think the situation is never productive.”
Veterans Play it Cool as the Raindrops Fall
 Brian Stewart’s Wade Cunningham. Photo: AndySallee
|
Wade Cunningham turns to talk to pass the time when the raindrops come. The veteran Indy Lights driver stays composed by chatting away the nervous energy and getting a ‘jump’ on preparations when the time is right.
“I’ve got a skip rope and if it looks good to go I’ll warm up,” skipping rope, he said. “Mostly I talk to fans, sign autographs and hang out in the garage with friends.”
Cunningham has always been fast at Indy, as he was again this year in qualifying on the second row for the Firestone Freedom 100 with an average speed of 188.060 mph.
“We’re trying to adapt the setups from the ’06 season when I drove for Brian Stewart Racing,” he said. “We qualified third after a strong first lap. We have a very good car, but we still take it lap to lap.”
Firestone Indy Lights championship points leader J R Hildebrand stays focused ahead of competition delays, but remains flexible when time comes to get into the car, pointing out that pre-race track changes can force the driver to consider new situations.
“We try to keep tabs on the conditions,” he said. “With the rain the track gets greener. We won’t be slower but our setup needs may change as the track condition changes.”
“It doesn’t change my approach to the race in the grand scheme. I’ll be more reactive to other drivers’ moves, and try to keep in touch with the lead pack without changing my plans too much.”
J R’s RLR Andersen Racing teammate Andrew Prendeville likes to visit with his fans, signing autographs.
“I was walking around earlier,” he said from his garage alongside Hildebrand. “It looks like the fans are still having a good time out there.”
“For me personally, it’s not much different than any other race,” he concluded. “When the time comes I just go drive.”
Plans Made, Drivers Adapt to Rain Delay
Sam Schmidt Motorsports driver Jon Brownson looked cool and composed outside the team’s garage opposite the Legends Row Suites at Indy.
“A rainy day here is a great opportunity to relax and prepare. I like to get a massage when we run into a delay,” Jon said.
 American Spirit’s Cyndie Allemann. Photo: AndySallee
|
The veteran racer also turns to his team for advice on how he can ready himself better once he hops in the cockpit. “We’ll try to find a stone unturned that we can benefit from,” he said. “And it’s a great time to get with the fans.”
For Brownson the rain-delay brings some familial complications into play: his daughter graduates from high school on Saturday (May 24th) and the postponed race will prevent him from returning to home-base Colorado in time to attend.
“Every time we think it’s going to dry the skies open up and it’s back to square one,” Alliance Motorsports’ Chris Festa said.
“The team tries to prepare through the delay the best we can,” he said. “We’ve already looked at data and come up with our race plan. We really don’t want to change it as mistakes can happen. We just want to go out and execute it now.”
Signing photographs for fans keeps American Spirit Racing’s Cyndie Allemann busy during the rainfall. Several were waiting patiently outside the team’s bay for a chance to meet and chat with the outgoing and charming Swiss Miss.
“I’m disappointed,” Cyndie said of the postponed Freedom 100. “I’m ready in my mind to drive today; but ‘That’s racing.’ It’s better to wait than send us out in poor conditions to crash.”
Allemann won’t let the overnight wait for the green flag to hamper her racing or personal plans.
“We always have questions about our plans,” she added, “but we’re ready. Our strategy is ready. If I have questions or want to change we can, but that doesn’t normally happen.”
She offered some savvy advice to fans who might be tempted to head home empty-handed, too. “I’m staying to watch my first Indy 500 on Sunday. I’ll be here anyway.”
Comments