Musings From Monday: Indianapolis 500 News

IndyCar announced some changes to Indianapolis 500 qualifying and we getting closer to finding out who will be attempting the 98th running of The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

Qualifying
IndyCar announced additional changes to Indianapolis 500 qualifying yesterday to allow for potential bumping on the final qualifying day.

The field will still be filled on Saturday with qualifiers setting the Fast Nine for Sunday and receiving points based on their time Saturday. However, should a team suffer "hardship" (IndyCar's word, not mine) on Saturday they will get a second chance on Sunday.

Teams that are not in the fastest 33 on Saturday along with any new entries must declare by 7:00 p.m. ET Saturday their intention to qualify on Sunday but any Sunday qualifiers will be limited to starting on the eleventh row.

At a glance:
Fast nine still happening.
10th-30th fastest from Saturday are locked into the field.
31st-33rd from Saturday could be bumped and any car that does not make the field Saturday or any new entries making a qualifying attempt.

Sunday qualifying schedule will go as follows:
Group one (determines positions 10th-30th): 10:15 a.m. ET to 12:15 p.m. ET.
Group two (determines row eleven): 12:45 p.m. ET to 1:30 p.m. ET.
Fast Nine: 2:00 p.m. ET to 2:45 p.m. ET.

Got that?

IndyCar really thinks this "enhances" (IndyCar's word, not mine) Indianapolis 500 qualifying? It causes more headaches with it's redundancy and lack of risk.

First off, stop using the word "enhance." It makes it sound like you gave Indianapolis 500 qualifying Viagra or Cialis or Extenze (by the way, is Kevin Conway going to be making an attempt?).

Second, let's run down this scenario:
Driver U qualifies 30th on Saturday and gets four bonus points.
Driver V qualifies 31st on Saturday and gets three bonus points.
Driver X qualifies 32nd on Saturday and gets two bonus points.
Driver Y puts it in the wall and his team is scrambling.
Driver W qualifies 33rd on Saturday and gets one bonus point.
Driver Z does not make an attempt but at 6:58 p.m. the team owner gives Derrick Walker or Beuax Barfield or some IndyCar official the heads up, "hey, we are going to give it a shot tomorrow."

Sunday comes.

Group one ends.

Driver Y along with Driver Z both bump their way into the field with times faster than Driver U who is in 30th and knock out Driver W and Driver X. Driver V is 33rd.

Driver X has put it into the wall trying make his way back in. Driver X is done.

Driver W qualifies and their time is faster than Driver Y, Z and U with Driver V bumped out of the field.

Driver V goes out and runs a time fastest than Driver U but not Driver W, Y or Z. Driver V doesn't make the field because Driver U is locked in for being in the top thirty on Saturday.

Gun sounds. Group two done. Breakdown of what just happened:

The final row features Driver W, Y and Z in that order and they have the 30th, 31st and 32nd fastest times.

Driver V was 33rd fastest but since they were not in the top thirty on Saturday and limited to starting on the last row, fails to make the race but as a consolation prize gets to keep the three points from Saturday.

Driver X is out after putting it into the wall but gets to keep the two points from Saturday as a consolation prize.

Driver U is 34th fastest and not only makes the Indianapolis 500 but starts 30th with four points to boot.

Like it or not that could happen.

Better yet is this juicy quote Derrick Walker gave us, "As our qualifying format evolves we continue to evaluate what is best for the competitors. We realized the need to provide teams that suffer an unexpected hardship on Saturday a second chance to make the Indianapolis 500. The changes apply primarily for cars that crash or suffer a mechanical failure during their Saturday qualifying run. Ultimately, we will capture the fastest 33 cars and that's who will make the race."

Here is what Walker is saying in this quote:

"As our qualifying format evolves we continue to evaluate what is best for the competitors.."

What Walker means: We are trying something new and have no idea if it is going to work.

"We realized the need to provide teams that suffer an unexpected hardship on Saturday a second chance to make the Indianapolis 500..."

What Walker means: Listen, this is for if a Penske or Ganassi car stuffs it in the wall on Saturday. Imagine if Kanaan repeats his 2010 pole day performance? Then the defending Indianapolis 500 winner is out of the race. You think Mr. Ganassi is going to be happy? What about Target? And I'm not going to be the one to tell them tough shit that their car failed to make the race. God forbid they accept the risks that come with making the Indianapolis 500.

Oh and imagine if it is Verizon golden-boy Will Power who puts it in the wall on Saturday!? How the fuck am I going to explain to Verizon that their car won't be in the Indianapolis 500? And then there is Mr. Penske who has been it that position before but he will be on my ass for the rest of 2014.

And Kurt Busch. Let's face it, the odds are really good he stuffs it in the wall on his qualifying attempt. Trust me, I asked the Old Scout and he's giving people 3-1 odds Busch stuffs it on his attempt. God forbid he gets back on a plane to Charlotte for an exhibition All-Star race with his tail between his legs and learns what it feels like to fail to qualify for something. He has already called me six times seeing if his past champions provisional carries over and called me after the Martinsville race to see if that win not only was enough to make the Indianapolis 500 but guarantees he would have a shot at the championship at Fontana season finale. What the hell is he thinking?

And this is also to prevent teams buying their way in. I have already had Martin Plowman call me worried sick he qualifies in the top half of the field but someone comes dangling a check in front of AJ and he ends up on the sidelines like Bruno Junqueira in 2011. The last thing we needs is that fiasco again especially to another hard-working driver who gets where he is on speed.

"The changes apply primarily for cars that crash or suffer mechanical failure during their Saturday qualifying run..."

What Walker means: Yeah, this is there in case Buddy Lazier tears a gearbox up or Michel Jourdain, Jr. finds a ride (if he does, we have a problem) but mostly it's to cover my own ass if things go to hell for Ganassi or Penske, especially that Verizon car.

"Ultimately, we will capture the 33 fastest cars and that's who will make the race."

What Walker means: About that, uh... we may have screwed the pooch on this one. Let's see how this goes but we may have 33 cars but not the 33 fastest cars. Hopefully that doesn't happen otherwise I will have some explaining to do.

Moving on.

I just don't see how these changes has made Indianapolis 500 qualifying better. I understand you want cars on track more but by making car qualify again and again and again is redundant. It's easier said than done but if you want to make qualifying better make sure 38-40 cars back an attempt. It's easy to say but in reality it's difficult with the lack of funds, team and crew members but telling the same drivers to qualify again and again and again isn't, in IndyCar's words "enhanced."

IndyCar needs to keep it simple stupid. Making everybody qualify twice and giving away points like they are condoms at Carnival in Rio is a waste. I understand many want qualifying to be an event that draws a crowd comparable to the other oval races on the schedule (25,000-30,000 people) and a decent TV rating but I don't think these changes or any changes would have been for the better.

Indianapolis 500 qualifying's problem hasn't been so much the format as it has been the amount of participants but you can't just make another dozen cars appear at the drop of a hat. However, if IndyCar wants to make Indianapolis 500 qualifying better for the long haul they are going to have to figure out a way to get another two or three full-time teams in IndyCar that can run an additional car for the Month of May and make it possible for Indy Lights teams, IMSA teams, hell even USAC teams to run a one-off and not have to close shop if it all goes to hell.

Moving on from qualifying because we could talk all day about it.

Entrants
Here is what we know: Take the 23 cars from Sunday at Long Beach and add Martin Plowman (24) for both Indianapolis races with Buddy Lazier (25), Jacques Villeneuve (26), Kurt Busch (27), JR Hildebrand (28) and Alex Tagliani (29).

Townsend Bell and KV confirmed their partnership and we are at 30th.

Ganassi is still pussyfooting running Sage Karam but it looks like that is close to happening (31).

Dreyer & Reinbold plan to run a car (32) and Davey Hamilton is the man who is running the second car out of D&R's shop (33).

Note: Davey Hamilton is NOT driving. Once again, Davey Hamilton is NOT driving. And a third time to get it through to everybody, Davey Hamilton is NOT driving. Hamilton is the car owner and someone else will be the driver. I am not sure what this means for his partnership with Sam Schmidt but we will worried about that later.

Then there is Stefan Wilson's super secret attempt to run for an Indianapolis-based team who remains nameless (34).

And finally Dale Coyne could run a third (35).

I know above I said Indianapolis 500 qualifying needs 38-40 but for this year, after having 33 cars enter the first year of the DW12 in 2012 and 34 in 2013, this is a step in the right direction. Cars, teams, interest and funding won't just appear over night but one step at a time and hopefully that next step in 2015 is just a little bit bigger. 

Musings From the Weekend: Hip-Checks and False Starts

A lot of hurt feelings from Long Beach and MotoGP had a successful weekend at Austin. Here is what I observed and what is rattling around my brain.

Hip-Checks Allowed in IndyCar

A lot of contact at Long Beach and IndyCar officials have set the bar for what will be allowed and what will not be allowed in the coming races. St. Petersburg was uneventful compared to yesterday and a million times less controversial.

There were four incidents that caught my eye on IndyCar making a call and now needing to be consistent from here on out.

Let's start with the Will Power-Simon Pagenaud incident. Going into turn six, Power made a move to the inside of Pagenaud at turn six. Contact occurred and sent Pagenaud into the drives for a brief moment while Power continued running in the top five. Pagenaud would continue and would eventually finish fifth.

Simultaneously with the Power-Pagenaud incident, IndyCar was reviewing Graham Rahal spinning Justin Wilson in the hairpin. Rahal simply got into the rear of Wilson's car and sent him around. Just like Pagenaud, Wilson kept the car going and was able to continue.

Rahal received a penalty, Power did not. 

The precedent has been set.

If contact occurs between cars side-by-side in the corner, it's a racing incident, no penalty. 

If contact occurs with car getting into another from behind, avoidable contact, penalty.

After that their were two incidents that caught my eye.

First is Ryan Hunter-Reay-Josef Newgarden accident after the second round of pit stops at turn four which also collected James Hinchcliffe, Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, Jack Hawksworth and Takuma Sato. 

A lot of people are crucifying Hunter-Reay for attempting the move but it doesn't sit well with me the thought that had Hunter-Reay completed the pass he would've be praised for a ballsy move (same as Zanardi on Herta in 1998) but since it ended poorly, many call amateur hour. 

First, anyone who cried out amateur hour, let's see you get between the wheel of the car and see if you can do one lap without putting it in the tires or tearing up a gearbox or pisses your pants and then you can decide what amateur hour is. 

Second, had Hunter-Reay made contact and forced Newgarden into the wall and continued, the precedent was set and he shouldn't have received a penalty. He was along the side of Newgarden, same as Power-Pagenaud. 

Then there was Scott Dixon making contact with Justin Wilson entering turn eight. Wilson had made a move to the outside and Dixon made contact with the side of Wilson, forcing him into the wall and out of the race. Dixon continued and just like the Power-Pagenaud incident, Dixon and Wilson were side-by-side when the contact occurred and no penalty was issued to Dixon. 

IndyCar was consistent on their calls. Side-by-side contact is viewed as racing incidents. Now the series has to call it that way from now until the checkered flag at Fontana on August 30th. 

Another thought from all these incidents are do the drivers use their mirrors? The distance from turn three to four might not be long but Hunter-Reay made his move early enough for Newgarden to see him. He didn't dive bomb in there. He committed to the move. Same as Wilson. Wilson was along side Dixon for most of the straightaway from turn six to eight. My question is how didn't either  Newgarden or Dixon see Hunter-Reay or Wilson in their mirrors? 

We could spend the whole intermediate between Long Beach and Barber discussing what the precedent is and what is and what isn't a racing incident but we have to move on.

False Start: Lorenzo

Jorge Lorenzo's day started and ended before everyone else's yesterday in the Grand Prix of the Americas from Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. The jumped start for Lorenzo led to a drive-through penalty but the Majorcan would recover for tenth.

His countryman Marc Márquez however dominated again and it is clear the only person capable of beating him is himself and he nearly didn't on the final corner of the race. His Honda nearly stepped out on him but he was able to hold on and still win comfortably (although I am sure his heart rate skyrocketed) over his teammate Dani Pedrosa. There was a phenomenal battle between Andrea Dovizioso, Bradley Smith and Stefan Bradl for third. Valentino Rossi's race started well but his bike faded late with rookie Pol Espargaró and Andrea Iannone dropping The Doctor to 8th. Aleix Espargaró was the top open class bike in 9th.

Nicky Hayden came home in 9th and his fellow American Colin Edwards had a fall while in the points, ending his final race in his home state of Texas. Edwards announced his retirement before the Austin race. It was disappointing to see his home race end that way. Hayden on the otherhand appeared to have his bike improve throughout the race as he passed Yonny Hernández and pulled away from him in the closing laps. 

In other bike news, shout out to Tom Sykes who swept the Superbike World Championship round at Aragón. He holds a four point lead over Frenchman Loris Baz who has finished second in three of the first four races.

Other winners from the weekend: José María López won race one of the World Touring Car Championship season on the streets of Marrakech. It took Sébastien Loeb two races to pick up his first WTCC victory as Citroën swept their WTCC debut weekend. 

The #98 ART McLaren MP4-12C of Álvaro Parente, Alexandre Prémat and Grégoire Demoustier won the opening round of the 2014 Blancpain Endurance Series season at Monza. 

Loïc Duval won the opening round of the 2014 Super Formula Season from Suzuka.

Looking forward to the Easter weekend. No motorsports in the States but plenty in Europe because they take Easter Monday off while North Americans get back to work (God forbid we take an extra day off for some R&R). 

European Le Mans Series and FIA World Endurance Championship both get underway from Silverstone. Formula One is in China. Alex Zanardi returns to competition with the Blancpain Sprint Series on Easter Monday from Circuit Paul Armagnac in Nogaro, France. World Touring Car Championship heads to Paul Ricard. 

That should be enough motorsports to fill in between church and family while snacking on a chocolate bunny.

First Impressions: Long Beach 2014

1. Who had Conway!? WHO HAD CONWAY!? I DID! On a day that saw a plethora of drivers taken out and fuel mileage came into play, the little team that could stun the big boys on a street circuit.

2. Moving on from tooting. Great drive by Mike Conway. Congratulations to Ed Carpenter. One step closer to the owner's title. And now Mike Conway shows why I nominated him for 2013 For the Love of Indy Racer of the Year: He will get on a plane and run in the FIA World Endurance Championship season opener at Silverstone next week. That's my kind of racer.

3. Will Power recovered from a poor qualifying session. Hip-checked Simon Pagenaud and escaped penalty and somehow finished second. For the driver who for a half decade never had breaks go his way, breaks are finally going his way and that elusive title may just fall into his lap.

4. Colombians finished third and fourth with Carlos Muñoz beating out Juan Pablo Montoya. A few accidents played into their favor but they will take it.

5. Simon Pagenaud recovered from Power's hip-check to finish fifth and his teammate Mikhail Aleshin finished sixth. Once again, a few accidents played into their favor but you got to take what you can get.

6. Oriol Servià finished seventh, he was quicker than his teammate Graham Rahal (more on him in a moment) all weekend. Someone fund him for the rest of the season, not just through Indianapolis.

7. Marco Andretti finished eighth after having a sore wrist and an extra pit stop for a wing replacement. Not bad.

8. Colombia had a great day. Sebastián Saavedra and Carlos Huertas rounded out the top ten. Who saw that coming?

9. Scott Dixon was leading late before needing to stop for fuel and finished 12th. He hip-checked Justin Wilson a whole hell of a lot worse than Power on Pagenaud and how he escaped penalty amazed me. I feel bad for Justin Wilson. He could have won this race had it not been for Dixon's move.

10. On to the major incident. Got to give Ryan Hunter-Reay credit for going for it. He saw a gap and went for it. He was trying to re-create Alex Zanardi on Bryan Herta in 1998 and it didn't work. It stinks Josef Newgarden, James Hinchcliffe, Helio Castroneves, Ton Kanaan, Jack Hawksworth and Takuma Sato were also involved. I don't place blame on Hunter-Reay. It was a racing incident. We can't place blame every time there is an accident. It was a driver going for a gap. What do you want him to do?

11. But even after all those contenders were taken out, the race didn't suffer. Other players stepped up and fought like no tomorrow for the victory. IndyCar has a deep grid and it surely showed today.

12. Sébastien Bourdais had a rough day. He had a great weekend going before getting into the tires twice. Let's hope Barber goes more in the Frenchman's favor.

13. On to Graham Rahal. It was a poor weekend and the race didn't go better. It's only race two but this team has to turn it around. Servià handed Rahal's ass to him and Servià had two test day and should be on the back nine of his career. Rahal was 12,698,967.47 reasons why he NEEDS to turn it around.

14. Rough day for Ganassi. Dixon's fuel strategy being three laps short. Ryan Briscoe had electrically issues. Kanaan was in an accident that wasn't his fault and Charlie Kimball had an engine fail on him. By the way Chevrolet, that will cost you ten points.

15. On to Barber in a fortnight. Let's see if the drivers calm down over Easter. Someone get them a box of chocolates (for Kimball, a fruit basket... because of his diabetes. It's a joke people, don't take it too seriously).

Morning Warm-Up: Long Beach 2014

Ryan Hunter-Reay Looks for His Second Long Beach Victory While James Hinchcliffe Looks for His First.

Ryan Hunter-Reay starts on pole for the 40th Grand Prix of Long Beach. The American won at Long Beach in 2010 and is second in the points after his second place finish at St. Petersburg two weeks ago. James Hinchcliffe swept the front row for Andretti Autosport. The Canadian finished third on his Long Beach debut in 2010. Three-time Long Beach winner Sébastien Bourdais starts third. He has not scored a top ten at Long Beach since returning to IndyCar in 2011. Josef Newgarden starts fourth and has been in the top ten in every session this weekend entering race day.

Rookie Jack Hawksworth starts fifth. Last year, Hawksworth started second in the Indy Lights race at Long Beach but was taken out in a three car accident before even reaching turn one. Simon Pagenaud joins Hawksworth on row three. Pagenaud finished second at Long Beach in 2012. Scott Dixon starts seventh. The defending champion has one top ten finish in seven Long Beach starts and his average finish at Long Beach is 15.4. Marco Andretti starts a career-best eighth at Long Beach. His best Long Beach finish is sixth in 2009. Helio Castroneves starts ninth with Justin Wilson rounding out the top ten.

Carlos Muñoz starts eleventh with Oriol Servià on the outside of row six. This is Servià first race of the 2014 season after missing the season opener at St. Petersburg. Tony Kanaan starts thirteenth with Will Power in fourteenth. This is Power's worst start in nine Long Beach appearance. Defending Long Beach winner Takuma Sato starts fifteenth with 1999 Long Beach winner Juan Pablo Montoya in sixteenth.

Mike Conway and Ryan Briscoe make up row seven. California-native Charlie Kimball starts nineteenth with rookie Mikhail Aleshin in twentieth. Carlos Huertas and Sebastián Saavedra make it an all Colombian row eleven with Graham Rahal starting in the twenty-third and final position on the grid.

This is the first race of the 2014 season that will use a standing start.

This is the 31st time IndyCar has race on Palm Sunday. Since 1946, IndyCar has had a race fall on Palm Sunday in 27 years for a total of 30 races at nine different tracks.

Here is a list of those Palm Sunday races:
1958- Trenton: Len Sutton (1st career win).
1960- Trenton: Rodger Ward

1964- Phoenix: AJ Foyt (1)

1968- Phoenix: Bobby Unser (1)

1973- Trenton: AJ Foyt (2), Mario Andretti (1). Two 150-mile heats.

1974- Trenton: Bobby Unser (2)

1979- Texas World: AJ Foyt (3)

1984- Phoenix: Tom Sneva

1987- Phoenix: Roberto Guerrero (1st career win).

1990- Phoenix: Rick Mears

1992- Long Beach: Danny Sullivan

1993- Phoenix: Mario Andretti (2) (Final career win).

1995- Long Beach: Al Unser, Jr.

1996- Surfers Paradise: Jimmy Vasser

1997- Phoenix: Jim Guthrie (1st and only career win)

1998- Long Beach: Alex Zanardi

1999- Phoenix: Scott Goodyear

2000- Long Beach: Paul Tracy (1)

2001- Long Beach: Helio Castroneves (1), Homestead: Sam Hornish, Jr. (1). CART/IRL Split.

2002- Homestead: Sam Hornish, Jr. (2)

2003- Motegi: Scott Sharp, Long Beach: Paul Tracy (2) CART/IRL Split.

2006- Long Beach: Sébastien Bourdais

2007- St. Petersburg: Helio Castroneves (2)

2009- St. Petersburg: Ryan Briscoe

2011- Long Beach: Mike Conway (1st career win).

2012- Barber: Will Power

2013- St. Petersburg: James Hinchcliffe (1st career win).

AJ Foyt has the most wins on Palm Sunday with three. The only other drivers will multiple Palm Sunday victories are Bobby Unser, Mario Andretti, Sam Hornish, Jr., Paul Tracy and Helio Castroneves.

Five drivers got their first career win on Palm Sunday (Len Sutton, Roberto Guerrero, Jim Guthrie, Mike Conway and James Hinchcliffe). Two drivers got their final career win on Palm Sunday (Mario Andretti and Jim Guthrie).

Entering today, Long Beach and Phoenix are tied hosting 8 Palm Sunday races apiece. Trenton hosted 5 Palm Sunday races. St. Petersburg has hosted Palm Sunday races on three occasions. Homestead has hosted Palm Sunday races twice. Barber, Motegi, Surfers Paradise and Texas World each hosted one race on Palm Sunday. 

IndyCar morning warm-up will take place at noon ET. NBCSN's coverage from Long Beach begins at 2:30 p.m. ET with the Indy Lights races. Immediately following the Indy Lights race will be coverage for the Verizon IndyCar Series Grand Prix of Long Beach beginning at 4:00 p.m. ET with green flag at 4:50 p.m. ET.

Hunter-Reay Takes Long Beach Pole

In a session that saw Ganassi and Penske get shut out of the final round of qualifying, Andretti Autosport swept the front row for the 40th Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Ryan Hunter-Reay won his sixth career pole with a time of 67.8219 seconds. He held off his teammate James Hinchcliffe by 0.1184 seconds. Sébastien Bourdais was the top Chevrolet team in third. He was 0.1361 seconds back. He is joined by Josef Newgarden on row two as the Tennesseean was 0.1878 seconds back. Rookie Jack Hawksworth starts fifth with Simon Pagenaud rounding out row three.

Scott Dixon starts seventh with Marco Andretti starting a career-best eighth at Long Beach. Helio Castroneves starts ninth with Justin Wilson rounding out the top ten. Carlos Muñoz starts eleventh for his Long Beach debut while Oriol Servià made it out of round one in his first qualifying session of the season and will start twelfth.

Tony Kanaan will start thirteenth. Will Power surprisingly failed to make it out of round one and will join Kanaan on row seven in fourteenth.   Defending Long Beach winner Takuma Sato will start fifteenth and will be joined by fellow former Long Beach winner Juan Pablo Montoya on row eight. Mike Conway will start seventeenth next to Ganassi's Ryan Briscoe in eighteenth.

Charlie Kimball starts nineteenth and Mikhail Aleshin will start twentieth on his Long Beach debut.  Carlos Huertas starts twenty-first. Fellow Colombian Sebastián Saavedra starts twenty-second and Graham Rahal rounds out the field in twenty-third.

Tomorrow's coverage of the 40th Grand Prix of Long Beach begins at 4:00 p.m. ET on NBCSN with green flag at 4:50 p.m. ET.

Power Leads Final Practice at Long Beach

Will Power set the fastest time of the weekend in final practice with a time of 68.1696 seconds. The Australian is looking for his third career Long Beach victory and fourth career Long Beach pole position. Josef Newgarden was 0.0022 seconds back of Power. Newgarden has been in the top ten in each practice session. James Hinchcliffe was third with Sébastien Bourdais in fourth. Ryan Hunter-Reay rounded the top five.

Justin Wilson was sixth ahead of Simon Pagenaud, who was quickest in second practice yesterday. Juan Pablo Montoya was eighth fastest ahead of Jack Hawksworth, the top rookie in the session. Mike Conway rounded out the top ten.

Helio Castroneves was eleventh ahead of his former Penske teammate Ryan Briscoe. Mikhail Aleshin was thirteenth. Scott Dixon was sandwiched between rookies in fourteenth, behind Aleshin and ahead of Carlos Huertas, who was fifteenth. 

Tony Kanaan was sixteenth. Defending Long Beach winner Takuma Sato was seventeenth with Carlos Muñoz eighteenth. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing rounded out the top twenty with Oriol Servià ahead of Graham Rahal. 

Charlie Kimball was twenty-first with Marco Andretti twenty-second and Sebastián Saavedra rounding out the field. 

One second covered first to nineteenth with 1.6420 seconds covering the field.

Should the results from final practice carry over to qualifying, here are the drivers that will advance to round two.

Group one: Newgarden, Hinchcliffe, Bourdais, Hunter-Reay, Wilson, Conway. Not Advancing: Huertas, Kanaan, Sato, Servià, Kimball.

Group two: Power, Pagenaud, Montoya, Hawksworth, Castroneves, Briscoe. Not advancing: Aleshin, Dixon, Muñoz, Rahal, Andretti, Saavedra. 

Qualifying will take place at 4:15 p.m. ET and will air on NBCSN at 6:00 p.m. ET.

Indianapolis 500 Résumés, Radio, Haas to F1 and Austin.

Busy motorsports weekend from the oldest street circuit in the United States to the premier road course in the United States, the stars from two-wheel and four will be on display this weekend. First, we will start with Indianapolis 500 news.

Curt Cavin of the Indianapolis Star is eye-balling the possibility of 35 cars entering the Indianapolis 500 next month. Just thought I'd remind everyone I predicted 35 cars was possible two months ago but admitted it was very, very, very, very early and very, very, very, very optimistic to predict 35 cars would enter.

Of course a few of my original predictions (Dragon, Panther, 3rd RLLR) have been replaced (a possible 2nd Dreyer & Reinbold, Stefan Wilson's ride and a 2nd Carpenter).

Let's all get on the same page when it comes to the entry list. It includes the 23 cars entered this weekend for Long Beach, Martin Plowman (AJ Foyt Racing who will drive both Indianapolis races), Jacques Villeneuve (Schmidt Peterson), Alex Tagliani (Fisher Hartman), JR Hildebrand (Ed Carpenter), Kurt Busch (Andretti) and Buddy Lazier (Lazier). That's 29 entries with the one qualifier being the #18 Coyne Honda, being driven by Carlos Huertas at Long Beach likely featuring another driver on ovals (I predict it's Pippa Mann).

Townsend Bell and KV are that couple at the party that we all know are a couple but they keep denying they're a couple. That's 30.

Ganassi is pussyfooting running Sage Karam. If he does, that would be 31.

Stefan Wilson's ride intrigues me because the team's only description is it's Indianapolis-based, so not his brother Justin's team as Dale Coyne Racing is based in Illinois. I was thinking Fan Force United but they sold their DW12 chassis to Buddy Lazier last year. Still not sure who Stefan drives for but he would be 32.

Dreyer and Reinbold will have a car and James Jakes is the leading candidate. That's 33.

Here is where it gets interesting.

The second D&R isn't really a D&R. It's another team but that team will run out of the D&R shop and bought equipment from Panther Racing, who are now as good as dead and buried. Where to start speculating. Robby Gordon is a car owner and was reportedly interested in returning to Indianapolis. Could he be the individual? I don't know, throwing it at the wall thought.

EJ Viso was interviewed during IndyCar first practice today and was trying to make an IndyCar comeback, especially for the Indianapolis 500. Viso had Venezuelan money behind him and when he lost his ride with KV after the 2012 season, reports were out their he was looking to start his own team. Late last year, Marshall Pruett reported 8Star Motorsport owner, Venezuelan Enzo Potolicchio was interested in running the Indianapolis 500. Could this 2nd car of the D&R shop be Potolicchio making his attempt at Indianapolis?

Either way, that second car out of the D&R shop would be 34.

Finally Cavin lists a third Coyne, which I also saw as a possibility. That would be 35.

There were some rumors of Bryan Herta running a second car and likely for Luca Filippi. That would be 36 but Cavin said that ride likely won't happen.

I have decided to list drivers who could be considered for either the 2nd D&R and/or the 3rd Coyne and reasons why and why not they will be in a car come May.

Katherine Legge
Why: Made last minute appearance last year for Schmidt and put it in the field.
Why not: Out of sight, out of mind.

Jaques Lazier
Why: Been interested in reporting.
Why not: Been out of a car since 2010.

Buddy Rice
Why: Former Indianapolis 500 winner. Enough said.
Why not: Doesn't want to have to bring money for a ride and he is right for feeling that way.

Paul Tracy
Why: Gives him one, final shot and another Canadian to increase ratings North of the Border.
Why not: Been out of a car since 2011.

Bruno Junqueira
Why: Give him five practice laps and he will post one of the ten fastest times of the month.
Why not: Out of sight, out of mind and doesn't want to bring money.

Conor Daly
Why: Young man with speed who wants to race.
Why not: May be tied up with GP2 duty at Monaco.

Bryan Clauson
Why: Was quick in 2012 with Sarah Fisher.
Why not: Lack of funding and USAC guys don't get respect. Unfortunately.

Wade Cunningham
Why: Three-time Freedom 100 winner, always been quick at the Speedway.
Why not: Lack of funding.

Tristan Vautier
Why: Young driver with talent.
Why not: Lack of funding.

Luca Filippi
Why: Talented driver with speed.
Why not: Would likely only drive a 2nd BHA and lacks oval experience.

James Davison
Why: Young driver with talent.
Why not: Lack of funding and oval experience.

Tomas Scheckter
Why: Always quick and willing to make a move on the outside.
Why not: Been out of a car since 2011.

Alex Lloyd
Why: Quick in inferior equipment and success at Indianapolis.
Why not: Been out of a car since 2011.

Ana Beatriz
Why: Has run the last four years.
Why not: Average results, running Stock Car Brasil, out of sight, out of mind.

Peter Dempsey
Why: Indy Lights journeyman pulling together the funding for one shot at Indianapolis.
Why not: Not hearing much from him.

I got to admit, after listing these drivers, who is the sexy name? Sure, there are some names we'd like to see competing but the past race winners listed above have made a combined one start in the DW12 chassis (Junqueira subbing for Newgarden at Baltimore 2012). Filippi and Daly are the only drivers who could have realistic careers in IndyCar. Everyone else would be a one-off until they either move on or until the next group of drivers are relegated to the one-off only category. And dream one-offs of AJ Allmendinger and Sam Hornish, Jr. are just that, dreams. Maybe I will be surprised though. You never know.

Staying with IndyCar for a second. Only one and third race weekends into 2014 and the radio announce team of Paul Page and Pippa Mann works. My question is was Mike King and Davey Hamilton a package deal where one goes, so does the other? If so, why couldn't Marty Reid, Scott Goodyear and Eddie Cheever been a package deal? Maybe it's just because Page and Mann are a fresh change from the past but practice is covered with information that is pertinent while the last radio crew had a tendency to go on tangents and ignore the session.

Gene Haas' F1 Bid Accept
Businessman and NASCAR team owner Gene Haas has been granted a spot for his American team on the 2015 Formula One grid by the FIA.

Fool me once (USF1), shame on you. Fool me twice (Haas Racing Developments), shame on me.

I am a little gun-shy getting excited about this after what happened four years ago. I would like to see it happen but I will believe it when I see it. Not to mention the 8-ball Haas is behind. Look at Marussia and Caterham. Both have yet to score and are in their fifth season on the grid. Not to mention HRT closed their doors after three seasons. I still think Marussia and/or Caterham will finally break through for that elusive first point in 2014 but would Gene Haas accept waiting over four years to get results?

The good news is Haas isn't going to try and run this team out of the United States like USF1 was planning on doing and instead base the team in Italy. It doesn't make any sense to run a team in the States. Plenty of F1 teams are based in countries that different from the flag they fly. Most notably, Red Bull, the Austrian team based out of Milton Keynes. Force India is based in Silverstone. Caterham is the Malaysian team in Leafield and the Russian Marussia F1 is based in Banbury. Mercedes-Benz isn't even based in Germany rather Brackley, the former home of Japan's own Honda F1.

See? Nearly half the teams aren't based in the country they represent and to just go back to the not so distant past when Toyota F1 ran out of Cologne and Super Aguri was run out of Leafield.

As for the never-ending quest to get an American on the grid, the top two candidates are Alexander Rossi and Conor Daly. Does Haas run both? No. Does Haas run one? Hopefully. You need a veteran to help develop a car.

I'll be honest, there is part of me deep down that would like to say to Mr. Haas, "hey, for a fraction of the budget you could run a two-car IndyCar team with Chevrolet engines and give the likes of JR Hildebrand, Conor Daly, Bryan Clauson, Townsend Bell, Luca Filippi, Sam Bird and/or Martin Plowman a full-time ride." Of course the the allure of IndyCar isn't the same as F1. Just remember all that glisters is not gold.

MotoGP in Austin
Marc Márquez enters Austin as the points leader and is miles ahead of everyone. He was 0.887 seconds ahead of Forward Racing Aleix Espargaró in first practice and 1.005 seconds ahead of Andrea Dovizioso in second practice. Márquez's Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa was third in second practice with Italians Andrea Iannone and Valentino Rossi rounding out the top five.

The big news of the weekend was Colin Edwards announcing he will retire at the end of 2014. The Texan won two Superbike World Championships before moving toe MotoGP in 2003. Unfortunately, Edwards never found the top step of the podium in MotoGP and likely never will barring an upset of a lifetime. He was always a fun guy to watch and all good things must come to an end. He was 16th in second practice. 3.390 seconds back of Márquez. Fellow American Nicky Hayden was 14th, 2.698 seconds back.

There aren't many Americans in the pipeline on their way to MotoGP. Ben Spies retired after his body got torn up. Edwards is retiring and Nicky Hayden isn't getting any younger or shots on factory bikes.
Josh Herrin is in Moto2. Maybe we should give him more time to develop. He's only 23. He was 30th fastest out of 34 bikes in Moto2 practice. Once again, maybe we should give him time to adjust but who is that rider coming out of AMA?

AMA is holding on for dear life. AMA Superbike is down to six race weekends and their next race isn't until May 30-June 1 at Road America. They opened the season at Daytona a month ago. Cameron Beaubier is 21. Chris Clark is 22 and there are teenagers Jakes Lewis and Garrett Gerloff in Daytona Superbike. Maybe they are the future and we don't even know it yet.

What really doesn't make sense to me is, why isn't AMA running as an undercard to MotoGP at Austin like they were at Laguna Seca? The same can be said for Indianapolis. AMA has shrunk considerably since Daytona Motorsports Group took over in 2009 and that trend has to be reversed.