Indy practice delayed by rain May 15

Rain pushed back one of the most important practice days of the Indianapolis 500 buildup on Friday, forcing Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar to delay Fast Friday running until the afternoon. INDYCAR said practice for the 110th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge was rescheduled to start at about 2 p.m. ET after morning rain at the 2.5-mile oval. The session was set to continue until 7 p.m. ET, with the qualification order draw for Saturday’s first day of qualifying scheduled for 7:15 p.m. Fast Friday is the final full practice before qualifying, and it is the day teams receive extra turbocharger boost to simulate the setups they expect to use in time trials. Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s event schedule says the added boost is intended to let cars reach qualifying-type speeds ahead of Armed Forces Qualifying on May 16 and May 17. IndyStar reported that showers reached the speedway at about 9:20 a.m., delaying the start of track activity while drying trucks were sent out. (indycar.com) ### Why did the delay matter more than a normal practice interruption? Fast Friday is different from the earlier practice days because teams use it to test higher-speed qualifying trims rather than standard race setups. Indianapolis Motor Speedway says cars receive a turbocharger boost on Friday to reach speeds they will run in qualifying over the next two days. (indianapolismotorspeedway.com) May 16 and May 17 are the only qualifying days for the 110th Indianapolis 500, so Friday’s track time is the last on-track chance for teams to rehearse four-lap qualifying simulations before the grid starts to take shape. USA Today said drivers were expected to spend the day running those qualifying simulations on the oval. (indianapolismotorspeedway.com) ### When did cars actually get on track? INDYCAR said Fast Friday practice began at 2 p.m. ET after the morning rain delay. The sanctioning body’s update said drivers would have the track until 7 p.m. ET. IndyStar reported that rain moved out shortly before noon and that drying efforts continued as teams waited for the track to be prepared. (usatoday.com) WISH-TV also reported the revised 2-7 p.m. ET practice window. ### What does Fast Friday tell teams before qualifying? (indycar.com) Indianapolis Motor Speedway says Friday’s practice charts offer one of the clearest looks at which cars may contend for the front row. The speedway’s event page says the higher-boost session often produces the fastest laps of the Month of May. (indystar.com) Pato O’Ward entered Friday after leading Thursday’s practice, according to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, while Conor Daly had posted the fastest speed of the week on May 14 at 228.080 mph. Those earlier speeds came before the added Fast Friday boost, which typically changes the order and gives teams a more direct read on qualifying pace. That final point is an inference based on the purpose of the session described by the speedway and pre-Friday coverage. (indianapolismotorspeedway.com) ### How is qualifying set up this weekend? May 16 qualifying is scheduled to run from 11 a.m. to 5:50 p.m., according to IndyStar’s reporting on the revised format. That day will determine positions 16 through 33 in the field. May 17 will sort out the front of the grid under the updated procedure for a year in which 33 cars are entered for 33 starting spots. (indianapolismotorspeedway.com) IndyStar and other reports said the absence of extra entries means there will be no bumping this year, and Sunday’s sessions will instead further refine the top positions. (indystar.com) ### When is the race itself? The 110th Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for Sunday, May 24, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. IndyCar’s event page lists the race as running from May 12 through May 24 in Indianapolis, and schedule listings from race-week coverage place the start at 12:30 p.m. ET. May 24 is the next fixed milestone after qualifying weekend, but the immediate next step is Saturday’s first day of Armed Forces Qualifying at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (indystar.com) INDYCAR said Friday’s qualification order draw was scheduled for 7:15 p.m. ET after practice, setting the order for the May 16 runs. (indynxt.com) (indycar.com)