Pick the Pole Speed Thread!

[ACTF_ZETT]

Indianapolis 500 pole day is Sunday May 13th. Lets see who can pick this years pole speed!

I am going to pick my speed today before the entire field hits the track for practice, so hopefully I wont be too far off. I am figuring on minimal wind conditions Sunday, with partly cloudy skies, temperature around 77 degrees.

Pole sitter for this years Indy 500, Helio Castroneves.
Pole speed: 227.872 MPH (4 lap average)

Top speed of the month: 228.326 MPH

[Alexamateo]

I'll play along and say Dan Wheldon on pole @ 229.627. Top speed for month 230.814.

Also, Pole day is Saturday May 12. :)

[ACTF_ZETT]

My bad on the pole day date.

Still 3 hours in practice left on day one, already have 27 cars on track, and looks like we will end the day with at least 17 cars over 220mph. If the track cools down toward the end of the day and the track stays green, its possible every one of these cars could hit 220. Im already impressed with 17.

Correction 25 cars on track, Kanaan shook down the 26, and the 7. I wonder if he will come out and shake down my truck tomorrow morning before I go to work since hes driving every other car out there.

[mark123]

the front row will be Dan at get 227.7, dixon 227.3 and Kanan 226.9.

[uncre8tv]

Danica with a 228.9
Wheldon with a 228.6
Kanaan with a 227.9

(eh, probably be closer spread than that.)

[Jonesi]

Low 229 in a red & white car ;-)
If I have to be more specific 229.2 by Dan or Helio.

[mark123]

on 2nd thoughts - i think my front row speeds may be 2 or 3 mph too light.

[Hoss Ghoul]

Wheldon is predicting 232mph. http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070508/FREE/70508006/1531/FREE

Last years pole: 228.985 by Sam Hornish Jr.

[2big&tooheavy]

231.101 top speed 228.973 avg. shades.

[MarcoCheever]

Antoine Rizkallah Kanaan Filho 229.998 !
Big Gulps for everyone !

[mark123]

Based on what we have seen already, on race day i bet the 4 red cars + TK will simply drive away from the field. they should be up behind tail end charlie inside 15 laps.

[ACTF_ZETT]

As has been the case with every Indy 500 that I have ever been too...

On the bright side, the field is better this year than it has been in a long time. The top 20 cars are within 1 second, going off of their top speeds. A vast majority of the cars have been over 200.

Good thing about Indy, something interesting always happens. A mistake is made. Last year Hornish messed up and got away with it, barely. Wheldon seems to be better at finding ways to lose races than pulling out wins (not always in his hands but it is true).