SPEEDWAY — Indiana weather strikes again, much to the dismay of race fans.
On-and-off rain all day washed out the first practice on the oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The drivers who have raced the Indianapolis 500 more than once have grown used to the unpredictable weather and have started to see patterns.
“So much of practice feels like this,” said Jack Harvey, driver of the No. 30 machine for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. “It’s cool conditions, it’s always kind of nice, and then when you get to race day, it’s hot.”
In a media bullpen during the height of the rain, veteran Team Penske drivers Will Power and Josef Newgarden agreed rainy days at the track are not the worst things in the world.
“I don’t mind a rain day because we get so much time at this track with a spare car,” said Power. “To me, you get more confused when you keep running around, going in circles. A shorter amount of testing for me is better.”
“It gives a little more prep to the mechanics and to the team, so I’m not necessarily hating what’s going on today,” said Newgarden.
For others, the day was a chance to sit back and soak in all of the history the speedway has to offer. A.J. Foyt spent an hour on Tuesday morning in the garages, sharing stories of his glory days racing with his team’s drivers. It was an experienced rookie Ben Pedersen will not soon forget.
“His memory is so strong, and it’s so fascinating to hear all of his stories. What better guy to hear a story from than A.J. Foyt?”
Santino Ferrucci is driving in the iconic No. 14 for A.J. Foyt Enterprises this season, so the stories of his Indianapolis 500 wins and beyond meant even more.
“It’s a different day, a different life doing it now than it was back in the 60s and 70s when A.J. was doing it,” said Ferrucci. “The sport has changed and developed so much that you think ‘wow, that’s not true’. It was wild.”
Wednesday practice is set to begin with an install lap at 10:00 a.m., a rookie orientation immediately following that, and an open practice from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
