It’s Coors Light CARB Day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the good weather is bringing out the crowds. It’s sunny but breezy cold but it’s early – forecast is for 75 degrees F by afternoon. In the meantime, the traffic getting into the track was heaviest it’s been all month. That’s a good sign.
Carlos Huertas of Columbia won’t be racing the rest of the weekend. He has an inner ear infection, and INDCAR medical consultant Dr. Terry Trammel has not cleared Huertas to drive pending further evaluation.
Huertas was gridded eighteenth, but whomever replaces him will start at the back due to the driver change. This makes three drivers moving to the back for that very reason. The order is based on points, so this will move up Ryan Briscoe from thirty-second to thirty first, to slot in the DCR driver. James Davison/No.19 Dale Coyne Racing will remain at thirty-third, due to points.
Elsewhere in the garage area, all is really bustling. Cars are going through the Tech Barn, the Tech Tent and at the gas pumps.
Meanwhile, the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires has its Freedom 100 Race upcoming Friday noon. Rookie Ethan Ringel of New York has the pole position driving No.71 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports w/Curb-Agajanian. His qualifying laps averaged 197.684 mph. There are twelve cars entered, nine of whom are Rookies.