AR1 Carb Day Notebook

Helio Castroneves receives congratulations from team owner Roger Penske after winning the Tag Heuer Pit Stop Challenge

It was an action-packed Coors Light Carb Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Below, is a short update of a few of the happenings.

I spent a few minutes sitting on the pit wall during the Tag Heuer Pit Stop Challenge talking to Chip Ganassi Racing Teams managing director Mike Hull. Hull was his usual talkative self, and he went to great lengths to compliment the teamwork and preparation of the four Ganassi drivers Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Charlie Kimball and Sage Karam. Noting that each driver will need to make 7-9 pit stops Sunday, and that the team will need to execute those stops successfully to win, I got the sense the Ganassi squad is quietly very confident headed into Sunday.

Hull and I also spoke about Dixon, who starts from pole Sunday and will be seeking his 2nd Indy 500 win. Hull complimented Dixon's constant pursuit of perfection and noted that while everyone views Dixon as the fuel-saving maestro, he believes the Kiwi's greatest attribute is his ability to improve his car from stint-to-stint. In essence, Hull noted that Dixon's well-documented ability to save fuel is more a function of his ability to constantly improve the car than anything specific to fuel conservation.

Interesting…

Another thing working in Ganassi's favor are Chevrolet engines and aero kits, which seem to have the clear advantage currently over their Honda counterparts. Today, in final practice Chevy teams posted 8 of the fastest 10 speeds.

Takuma Sato was the fastest of the Hondas today in final practice

We spoke with a few Honda teams, who unless they are going to great lengths to fool us, do not appear confident ahead of this weekend's race. One member of an Indianapolis 500 winning Honda team, simply told me "we're nowhere right now."

Now, one area where Honda does reportedly have something of an edge is with fuel mileage. I spoke with one member of a Chevrolet team who told me he "hopes it's not a fuel mileage race," then after a slight pause added, "for the fans."

Hmmm…

Another topic still on people's mind was this past weekend's qualifying. Of course, after Ed Carpenter's accident Sunday morning, INDYCAR mandated that teams lower turbo boost and qualify on race setup.

"What a s***show," said one Honda team member. "They delayed the session, so Carpenter could get his car fixed. Do they not realize what kind of drama there would have been seeing whether CFH (Racing) could get the car ready (to qualify)?"

Finally, referring to the poor attendance at the Speedway during the month in light of what he described as a "s***show" this weekend, the team member said, "No wonder no one has been out here all month."

I spoke with Juncos Racing's Spencer Pigot very briefly after today's Freedom 100. The 2014 Pro Mazda Champion had a tough day finishing 10th, a lap behind winner Jack Harvey. Pigot simply said they missed big-time on the setup.

While we cannot confirm this, we heard there will likely not be a fourth Andretti Autosport car next week at Detroit. However, we have heard there is a pretty good chance there will be a fourth Andretti car at Texas Motor Speedway. Will that driver be Justin Wilson? Simona de Silvestro? Someone else? We don't know.

Real quick, Carlos Huertas, who was ruled out of Sunday's race due to an inner ear infection is still here at IMS and was in the Dale Coyne Racing garage area today. We asked one Coyne team member who might be driving for them next week in Detroit. He simply laughed and said, "I have no clue."

Speaking of Detroit, we heard that the promotion for next week's Chevrolet Belle Isle Duel in Detroit Presented By Quicken Loans has been very strong. A strong crowd is expected.

Brian C. reporting for AutoRacing1