SPEEDWAY, Ind. — IndyCar drivers were able to sneak in their final practice laps Friday before the rain and storms began. 13 Sports' Dave Calabro and Dominic Miranda share what the drivers think of the possibility of more rain and storms moving in on Race Day.
(Note: The attached video is a 13News report about tips for fans making plans to attend the Indianapolis 500.)
Dave: Carb Day was a success. Everybody was having a great time Friday, on and off the track. Now, the engines are silent until the race. It was just fun to watch everyone out running — 2,700 laps!
Dom: Scott Dixon, the leader on the day. Colton Herta, people are sleeping on him, but I really like his race car. And you know who I really like, and who feels good about his race car is Hélio Castroneves, the four-time champ. I think he's found a little something. He was confident after the practice today.
Dave: A lot of the drivers are talking about the weather right now.
Dom: Well, you're aggressive already, and the great equalizer is that weather. Is it going to be a sprint to 101 (laps)? That changes a lot of drivers' strategies. Scott Dixon, though, says it's business as usual.
"I think, you know, you kind of look into it too much. It's the same for everybody, and you can't do anything about it," Dixon said. "But yeah, it's weather, man. It is what it is. It might favor someone in the end, it might not. Hopefully it's you, if you can ride that kind of train, but I don't know what to tell you."
After Friday's practice, Castroneves said on the subject of weather, he's just hoping for the best on Race Day.
"That was great. It was very, very good. Very strong," Castroneves said. "I'm glad we had this practice and this weather. Hopefully we'll cross our fingers and the weather will hold on. We'll have some work to do in the race, but the whole vibe is incredible."