May 11, 2008 - 5:41 PM
0 shoutsBy Bruce Martin PA SportsTicker Contributing Editor
INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Chuck Buckman, who was hit by Danica Patrick's IndyCar in an accident on pit lane at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, remained hospitalized on Sunday.
Buckman, the chief mechanic for Dale Coyne Racing, suffered a traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage and a skull fracture. On Saturday night, he was transferred from intensive care to a private room at nearby Methodist Hospital.
Patrick received some words of encouragement from fellow driver Tony Kanaan, her teammate at Andretti Green Racing and the leader of the team.
"I came back and I watched the video," Kanaan said. "When I came in, she had tears in her eyes, so I hugged her and she cried a little more, so maybe that was a bad move on my behalf.
"I said, 'Let it go.' She was like, 'He has a family.' I said, 'It wasn't your fault.' I said he's going to get better. There is not a lot you can say. I said, 'You've got to keep your head straight. ... Go talk to his team, call his family.'"
Patrick briefly addressed the media Friday night and said that she would not discuss the situation any further after she qualified fifth on the grid for the Indianapolis 500 on May 25.
Patrick ran a four-lap average of 225.197 miles per hour, which had her on the pole until four other drivers moved her down on the grid.
FROM BAD TO WORSE: Alex Lloyd crashed the Rahal Letterman car that is being shared with Target/chip Ganassi Racing on Friday, and Ryan Hunter-Reay crashed hard into the third turn wall on his second qualification attempt on Saturday.
Those were not the only crashes of the weekend for the team.
Two Rahal Letterman Racing mechanics, en route to the team's headquarters in Hilliard, Ohio to repair the damaged car of Hunter-Reay, were involved in an accident of their own.
Mike Kranz and Jim Volini were not injured in the collision with a deer on Interstate 70. Their car, however, needed to be towed nearly 100 miles.
RAINY DAY BLUES: Two drivers who easily would have made it into the field if Sunday's qualifications weren't rained out are Graham Rahal and A.J. Foyt IV. Rahal was in the race before being bumped in Saturday's pole qualifications.
Foyt never got a chance to take his attempt after he spun his car exiting pit lane.
Now, both drivers will have to wait until next Saturday before having a chance to make the field.
"We're going to focus this week, I would imagine, on race set-up," said Rahal, the 19-year-old son of 1986 Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal. "After yesterday, we feel pretty comfortable that we can solidly be in the field, so we'll take a little wing out Saturday morning and go for it.
"I think we really need to focus on having a good race car here. Of course, qualifying is important, but the race is what it really comes down to. I feel pretty comfortable out there. Yesterday, in qualifying especially, the car was really good, and I was really happy with it. Obviously, we need to find a little more speed, but yeah, I'm perfectly fine with it."
Foyt, who drives for Vision Racing, is the grandson of A.J. Foyt, the first four-time Indy 500 winner.
"Unfortunately we didn't get to run today and get our car in the show," the younger Foyt said. "Obviously we could relax a little more this week if we were in there solidly, but now we'll just have to wait until next weekend to get the car in. I would have loved to have qualified yesterday, today or even tomorrow, but we just have to deal with the rules and the schedule like everyone else and take care of it next weekend.
"For now, I just hope the weather clears up for Wednesday so we can get back on track and then again for next weekend when it's time to qualify."
Foyt said the team will focus on getting the race set-up finalized in practice before switching back to a qualifying trim for next Saturday's qualifications.
One thing he intends on avoiding is another spin similar to the one he experienced Saturday.
"We went into our qualifying run, and the car was a lot more loose than I expected it to be," Foyt said. "When I got it up to speed, it just wasn't coming off the corner like I wanted in Turn 3, and I spun sideways. Luckily, I spun late in the corner so I didn't hit anything, but it was unfortunate because we ended up not getting the car in the field yesterday.
"You just do the best you can in that situation and try and hold it straight for as long as you can. You just do your best to try and keep the car off the wall, but really 90 percent of it is luck, so I can't take too much credit for the save."
CARPENTER IMPRESSIVE IN QUALIFICATIONS: Vision Racing's Ed Carpenter was impressive in Saturday's qualifications, finishing 10th at 223.835 mph.
"I kind of felt like coming into today that we were going to have to be over 224 (mph) to feel good about staying in the top 11," Carpenter said. "I think it is slowing down for the most part.
Carpenter was pulled out of the qualifying line because a crew member wasn't happy with the track conditions. After a few changes were made, he raced his way into the first-day lineup.
"I think I could have probably gone a little faster in my original spot because the wind picked up," Carpenter said. "One of the mechanics saw something on the rear bar. It was more of a safety thing. I probably could have ran.
"At that point in the day, we decided to err on the side of caution and go to the back of the line and get it fixed right. When I looked upset, that was why. We practiced at nine this morning, so as soon as practice is over, you're sitting on pins and needles waiting to go out. I'm the next car out, and they come on the radio saying we had to pull out of line. I'm like, 'What?' It is not what you wanted to hear. You're charged up ready to go, so it is a pretty big letdown. It wasn't that I was angry. I just needed to go back, sit in the office and start the whole mental process over."
HOLE IN THE WALL GANG: The Indy Racing League and Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced that they have designated the Association of Hole in the Wall Camps as a "Charitable Partner" of both organizations.
Hole in the Wall Camps (HITWC) is the world's largest family of camps, serving children's camps as well as camps in development around the world. The first camp was started in 1988 by actor Paul Newman, co-owner of Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing.
Each camp is a separate entity, expanding Newman's dream of providing a recreational and therapeutic camping experience for children facing serious illnesses and life-threatening conditions.
All children attend the camps free of charge as a result of generous contributions from individuals, corporations, foundations and other organizations. In 2007, more than 11,100 children with serious medical conditions enjoyed a HITWC experience.
"There are a couple of things I have great affection for," Newman said. "One of those is automobile racing. The other is to care in some ways for kids who have been less fortunate than I have. And to be able to have this coming together of two organizations working together to that purpose is a home run for me. An absolute home run. That Tony (George) has chosen to bring his organization is just stunning to me. Couldn't get better. It's an amalgamation on two fronts now."
George is the founder and CEO of the Indy Racing League, which operates the IndyCar Series.
INDY 500 RECORD: Scott Dixon recorded the most consistent four-lap qualifying effort in Indianapolis 500 history. Dixon's four laps were separated by .0049 of a second. His quickest lap was 39.9656 seconds, while his slowest lap was 39.9705 seconds. The previous record was .006 of a second by Bobby Rahal in 1992.
