Indianapolis, IN
‘It’s gonna be high pressure’: Ericsson, Rahal, Coyne compete for final spots in Indy 500
INDIANAPOLIS – After six hours of qualifying time and three qualifying attempts, Graham Rahal shot out of the priority lane at pit row as time expired. As soon as Rinus VeeKay of Ed Carpenter Racing shocked the field by moving into the Fast 12 with just seconds to spare, Rahal was on the oval track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
He was in the bottom four, staring the last chance qualifying round set for Sunday — the four slowest cars competing for three spots in the Indy 500 — in the face for the second year in a row. After the first lap of Rahal’s dramatic final attempt, he knew it wasn’t enough, expressing his frustration to his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing crew over his headset.
“When the car just doesn’t want to pull, there’s nothing you can do,” Rahal told NBC Sports moments later.
Qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 is a game of inches – or milliseconds. 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson stared blankly at the table in front of him in the DEX Imaging Media Center just moments after his fate was sealed. His frustration wasn’t with his No. 28 Honda, it was with himself.
Ericsson’s crash Thursday during practice destroyed his primary car, sending him into qualifying with a backup car.
“I can only blame myself,” Ericsson said. “… Our car, for some reason, it’s not really got the speed or the grip at the moment. We just kept trying things, I thought we made some progress, but not enough.”
Yet Ericsson, now representing Andretti Global, felt that he took a step back in improving his backup car after his first round of qualifying. Feeling good going into qualifying given the circumstances, Ericsson was confused about his first-round finish in the bottom of the pack.
“We went out today and we were a lot slower than yesterday,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense to us. … It’s really hard to go from a car they worked on for 12 months to a car they had to build over 24 hours.”
Ericsson posted a 230.342 mile-per-hour average lap speed on his second qualifying attempt, slotting in 30th of 34 drivers before being bumped into the bottom four soon after, a hole he couldn’t escape despite multiple attempts after.
Nolan Siegel and Katherine Legge of Dale Coyne Racing finished with two of the bottom four qualifying times after the first round. The 19-year-old rookie was in the same situation as Ericsson, driving a backup car after his crash on Turn 2 during Fast Friday. Siegel’s average lap speed of 226.621 mph was the worst of the first round, and his 228.276 speed on his second was still the slowest of the group.
“(The car is) really difficult to drive right now,” Siegel said. “It’s partly my fault, but we’ll figure it out. … At 230 mph, every bit of friction and drag matters.”
Legge “kissed” the outside wall on Turn 4 during her final lap of the first round of qualifying, almost suffering the same fate as her teammate did the day before, however, she finished the lap and posted an average speed of 230.244 mph.
“When you get in the (inside curbing) it just sucks you in, but it was corner four so I did what any sensible person would do,” Legge said. “I was staying flat come hell or high water.”
The No. 51 Honda driver said her strategy did not need to change going into the second attempt later in the day but she was concerned about her car. She said she certainly didn’t help the Dale Coyne engineers any by causing some light damage during her Turn 4 bump, but Legge also said some of the issues under the hood are more than could be fixed in a day.
“We’re quite a bit off right now. If we knew why, we’d be two mph faster,” Legge said.
An average lap speed of 230.830 mph was Legge’s second qualifying attempt, but it was less than a fifth of a second behind Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Pietro Fittipaldi, who posted a 231.100 mph average lap speed in round one. She went out to try twice more to no avail.
It was Rahal who posted the third-lowest average speed of the first round. After being bumped out of qualification for the Indianapolis 500 last season, Rahal said his frustration from 2023 continued to build after a poor finish during round one. He knew he would have to return to the track for a second try at qualifying after finishing with a 230.233 mph average lap speed, but his second attempt wasn’t good enough either, posting a 230.388 mph average to stay in the bottom four.
“For me, it’s disappointing,” Rahal said. “We shouldn’t be in this situation.”
Rahal’s biggest source of frustration from his first attempt boiled down to an unexpected mechanical issue. Shaking his head while in the car on the track, Rahal didn’t hide his exasperation; a feeling that stuck with him the rest of the day.
“It should have pulled fifth gear without any issue and it just simply didn’t,” Rahal said. “… It certainly seems like we’re just slow.”
Ericsson, Rahal, Legge and Siegel make up the official bottom four heading into the final day of qualifying, where the final three positions in the upcoming 108th Indianapolis 500 will be determined during a last chance qualifying round from 4:15-5:15 p.m. Sunday, May 19.
“This place is tough, I think everyone can say that,” Ericsson said. “… It’s hard, but if it was easy anyone could do it. It’s gonna be high pressure tomorrow, but I’ve done this long enough to know how to deal with that.”
Contact Kyle Smedley with comments via email at kmsmedley213@gmail.com or on X @KyleSmedley_.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indianapolis City-County Council president explains her desire for a data center moratorium.
Council President Maggie Lewis wants to put a pause on new data center developments. The proposal comes after months of public pressure from residents and environmental groups who say the city needs stronger rules before allowing more data centers. Now, Lewis says it’s time to hit pause while those questions are answered.
“I’m not saying that we’ll never have a new data center in our community. That’s not what this is about. I understand the importance of economic development in our community, but it is important that we hit pause, do that deep dive, and allow the community and the experts to have an honest conversation about the topic,” Lewis said.
Lewis says she isn’t trying to stop economic development. Instead, she says the city needs more time to fully understand what data centers could mean for Indianapolis before approving additional projects. Lewis says residents have raised questions about the potential impact on utilities, the environment and quality of life, and she believes those concerns deserve a more thorough public discussion before the city moves forward with additional developments.
“The community really is feeling as if their voices haven’t been heard. I believe it’s important that we bring all the stakeholders to the table and have that honest dialogue,” Lewis said.
Councilman Ron Gibson, who supports bringing data centers to Indianapolis, and he says these projects can bring investment to neighborhoods when they’re built in the right locations.
“This land where they’re going to actually develop it has been vacant for more than 43 years,” Gibson said. “It’s zoned for industrial use. This is really going to enhance our neighborhood. It’s going to bring back life, create more businesses that want to move into our area, and create more opportunity.”
One of the biggest concerns raised by opponents is whether increased demand for electricity and water could create additional costs for taxpayers.
“I believe strongly that the data centers must uphold total costs. I made sure the developer, in writing, is responsible for all utility costs, so none of that rolls over to constituents,” Gibson said.
Across Indiana, at least 17 counties have approved temporary moratoriums on new data center developments. Marshall and Cass counties have gone even further, banning new facilities altogether.
The committee meeting begins Monday at 5:30 p.m. inside the City-County Building, where members will hold a public hearing on the proposed zoning rules and consider Lewis’ amendment for a temporary moratorium. If approved by the committee, the proposal would move to the full City-County Council for further consideration.
INDIANAPOLIS — An investigation is underway after a woman was killed in a hit-and-run crash in downtown Indianapolis Saturday morning.
According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, at around 3:15 a.m., officers responded to the intersection of East Maryland and South Pennsylvania Streets after hearing a loud crash in the area.
When officers arrived on scene, they were flagged down by several people stating a pedestrian had been struck. Officers located an adult female who had been on a scooter in the crosswalk of the intersection.
She was transported to an area hospital in critical condition but later died from her injuries, IMPD said.
Investigators said the striking motorist did not stay on scene.
Police are encouraging those with information on the crash to contact Detective Adam Jones at (317) 327-3475 or call Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at (317) 262-8477.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department detectives on Friday afternoon asked for help in locating 14-year-old Kathya Rodriguez, last seen on Monday afternoon.
On Friday night, an Indiana Silver Alert was issued for the girl.
Described as 4 feet, 9 inches, and 99 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes, Kathya was last seen on Monday in the area of 2100 Waterford Place. That’s at The Meridian apartments off Westlane Road/West 71st Street on the city’s northwest side.
She was last seen about 12:45 p.m. Monday. She was wearing a gray hoodie with white writing, blue jeans, and sandals with socks.
In a statement Friday, IMPD said early in the investigation, detectives had no information indicating she was in danger, but as the investigation continued, detectives found details that led them to believe Kathya might be at risk.
Detectives believe she may be with Victor Martinez, 15. IMPD described him as 5 feet, 5 inches, and 165 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen Monday near 7200 Knobwood Drive. That’s also at The Meridian apartments.
Anyone with information on her whereabouts was asked to call 911, contact the IMPD missing persons unit at 317-327-6160, or call Crimestoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-8477.
This story was updated from its initial post after IMPD corrected the last name of Kathya.
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