Honda Racing Report- Saturday, May 12, 2012
Indianapolis 500 Opening Day Practice Report
Circuit: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2.5-mile oval) Speedway, IN
2011 Winner: Dan Wheldon (Bryan Herta Autosport Honda) 170.265 mph average
Weather: Partly cloudy, mild, 74 degrees F
Indianapolis 500 Opening Day Top-10 Practice Results:
Ps. Driver Team Engine – Chassis Best Lap Speed /Notes
1. Josef Newgarden-R Sarah Fisher Hartman Honda Dallara 220.250 mph
2. JR Hildebrand Panther Racing Chevrolet Dallara 219.693
3. Bryan Clauson-R Sarah Fisher Hartman Honda Dallara 219.632
4. James Jakes-R Dale Coyne Racing Honda Dallara 218.286
5. Tony Kanaan KV Racing Technology Chevrolet Dallara 217.741
6. Charlie Kimball Chip Ganassi Racing Honda Dallara 217.699
7. Helio Castroneves-W Team Penske Chevrolet Dallara 217.617
8. Simon Pagenaud-R Schmidt Hamilton Racing Honda Dallara 217.483
9. Justin Wilson Dale Coyne Racing Honda Dallara 217.429
10. Scott Dixon-W Target Chip Ganassi Honda Dallara 217.244
Additional Honda-Powered Drivers:
12. Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda Dallara 217.180
13. Graham Rahal Chip Ganassi Racing Honda Dallara 217.047
18. Dario Franchitti-W Target Chip Ganassi Honda Dallara 215.896
19. Alex Tagliani Bryan Herta Autosport Honda Dallara 215.344
21. Michele Jourdain Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda Dallara 214.871
23. Mike Conway A.J. Foyt Racing Honda Dallara 214.152
Townsend Bell Schmidt Hamilton Racing Honda Dallara no speed/did not run
Wade Cunningham A.J. Foyt Racing Honda Dallara no speed/did not run
W – Previous 500 Winner R – Indianapolis 500 Rookie
Rookie Newgarden Leads Opening Day at Indianapolis
The next generation of IZOD IndyCar Series starts claimed the spotlight Saturday at the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway, led by Honda-powered rookie Josef Newgarden, who claimed overall honors at
Opening Day practice for the 96th running of the Indianapolis 500.
Nashville native Newgarden was the 2011 Indy Lights series champion, and moved up to IndyCars this
year with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, the team that also led the Indy Opening Day speed charts last
year with Ed Carpenter.
Newgarden was followed on the time sheets by second-year IndyCar driver JR Hildebrand; rookie and
USAC star Bryan Clauson in the second Sarah Fisher entry; and Honda-powered “500” rookie James
Jakes, driving for Dale Coyne Racing. Veteran Tony Kanaan rounded out the top five in today’s practice.
In all, Honda-powered drivers and teams claimed three of top four speeds today, and seven of the top 10.
Thirteen of the 15 drivers expected to run with Honda power took to the track today. Practice at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway continues through Friday, with Pole Day qualifying on Saturday, May 19.
Josef Newgarden (#67 Sarah Fisher Racing Honda) fastest in practice: “It’s pretty cool. I think today
was a good day for the series. The car felt pretty good, too, better than I expected it to be in traffic, and
the speeds are only going to get better as practice continues this week. I’m already looking forward to
qualifying for my first ‘500’.”