By Jim Pedley | Managing Editor
RacinToday.com
For the second year in a row, Indiana native Ed Carpenter will lead the field to the green flag at the Indianapolis 500.
Carpenter – the final qualifier May 18 in the Fast Nine Shootout on the 2.5-mile oval – recorded a four-lap average of 231.067 mph in the No. 20 [...]

CONCORD, N.C. – Kurt Busch posted a four-lap average speed of 229.960 mph Saturday during Indianapolis 500 qualifying, narrowly missing the top nine, then calmly told reporters at Charlotte Motor Speedway the effort was “hair-raising.”
“I had three, what I felt, were moments in the car,” Busch said. “If I had, had a fourth, I might [...]

RacinToday.com
Ed Carpenter, the pole winner for last year’s Indianapolis 500, had the fastest four-lap run in Saturday’s first round of qualifying for this year’s event.
Carpenter, an Indiana native, will lead the nine drivers who had the fastest qualifying runs on Saturday, into Sunday’s run for the pole.
Making the day even sweeter for team owner Carpenter [...]

Ed Carpenter cracked the magic 230 mph barrier during “Fast Friday” practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, adding the Verizon IndyCar Series owner/driver to the elite list of pole-position players for the 98th running of the Indianapolis 500.
Carpenter’s lap of 39.0418-seconds/230.522 mph around the 2.5-mile oval was turned less than 15 minutes into an abbreviated “Fast [...]

By John Sturbin | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Today is “Fast Friday” at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and on cue, Helio Castroneves is on the gas and atop the speed chart for the 98th running of the Indianapolis 500.
A three-time Indy 500 champion, Team Penske’s Castroneves cranked out a lap in 39.6186-seconds/227.166 mph during Thursday’s fifth day of practice [...]

By John Sturbin | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
With one victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway already on his Month of May check-list, Simon Pagenaud is looking to complete his own/historic version of “The Double.”
Pagenaud emerged as winner of Saturday’s inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis on IMS’ revised 2.439-mile/14-turn road-course. On Wednesday, the Frenchman cranked-out the fastest lap of [...]

Rookie Sebastian Saavedra got “back to business” at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Tuesday, logging seven laps before practice for the 98th running of the Indianapolis 500 was curtailed by rain.
The shortened session was significant for Saavedra, who returned to the cockpit after avoiding what could have been tragic consequences at the start of Saturday’s inaugural Grand [...]

By John Sturbin | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay raised the speed ante by nearly 2 mph Monday during the second day of practice for the 98th running of the Indianapolis 500, as Honda V6 power replaced Chevrolet’s twin-turbo at the top of the speed chart.
Hunter-Reay’s fast lap of 39.9955-seconds around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor [...]

By John Sturbin | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Team Penske’s bid for a record 16th Indianapolis 500 victory began with a sweep of the top three spots on the speed chart Sunday, as practice for the 98th running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” opened at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Twenty-four car/driver combinations logged a total of 731 incident-free laps [...]

There may come a day when Simon Pagenaud is held in the same reverential esteem at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as Ray Harroun, winner of the first Indianapolis 500.
After his victory in Saturday’s inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis, Pagenaud certainly can be mentioned in the same sentence as fellow French-born racers Jules Goux, Rene Thomas, Gaston [...]