Ed Carpenter Racing’s Rinus VeeKay in the No.21 BitNile Chevrolet had a great run on the opening day of qualifying for the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbrdige at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday. The Dutch driver ended the day in fourth place with a four-lap average of 233.395MPH.
Speaking following the action, he commented saying:
I am very happy today! And to make it through to the Fast 12 with just one run was great. Tomorrow will be tough. There are some fast guys. I definitely think we will make it through to the Fast Six, but no matter what I will be flat.”
Conor Daly in the No.20 BitNile Chevrolet starts The Greatest Spectacle In Racing from 16th place with a speed of 232.433MPH, and speaking following the session he commented saying:
We put in a lot of effort today and compared to last year, being able to stay closer to the setup that Ed (Carpenter) and Rinus (VeeKay) like to use here is a personal accomplishment. We are better than we were last year and that is a step in the right direction. Obviously now, we want to look ahead to the race. I can’t wait to race here. I appreciate everyone’s effort today and excited to just get to the race, which is the most important day.”
Team owner Ed Carpenter in the No.33 BitNile Chevrolet starts the race from P13 following a great battle for a place in the Fast 12 with Arrow McLaren’s Tony Kanaan. Carpenter set a four-lap average speed of 232.689MPH and speaking following the action he commented saying:
I think we should have gotten in, but we had one awkward downshift that probably will show in the data as the difference. That is how close things are in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. I am disappointed for the team and BITNILE.COM since this is not what we are accustomed to. Our race cars are some of the best I have had in many, many years in race trim. We will be here to support Rinus (VeeKay) tomorrow. It is exciting to watch, but sad to be this close to the outside.