HAMILTON MAKES THE INDY 500 FIELD SUNDAY FOR DREYER & REINBOLD
10 May 2009
Andretti, Conway Have Wall Contact During Practice Runs
INDIANAPOLIS (May 10, 2009)— Veteran driver Davey Hamilton, driving the No. 44 HP Kingdom Racing Honda Dallara, qualified for the 2009 Indianapolis 500 Mile Race Sunday in the second day of Time Trials at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
But two other Dreyer & Reinbold Racing competitors — John Andretti and Mike Conway — were not as lucky, as they suffered practice incidents in Turn One in morning and afternoon sessions.
Hamilton, one of the most experienced drivers in this year’s Indy 500 field, recorded a four-lap average of 221.956 miles per hour to gain the 22nd starting position for the May 24 Indy 500. The Eagle, Idaho driver had lap times of 222.227, 222.027, 221.778 and 221.795 to qualify for his ninth Indy 500 start. Hamilton was among the drivers Sunday who took their qualifying laps in the early portion of qualifying.
Andretti, seeking a spot in his tenth Indy 500 event, qualified his No. 43 Richard Petty Window World Honda Dallara in the early rounds Sunday with a 221.109 m.p.h. reading but was later bumped from the first 22 secured starting spots in the 33-driver lineup. At 4:40 p.m. Sunday, Andretti took out his No. 43 machine in practice runs looking for more speed. But the 19-time [10 in NASCAR and nine at the 500] IMS starter spun into the Turn One wall. He was able to walk away from the incident, but he was not to make an attempt later in the day.
Conway, making his first appearance at the Indy 500, made contact the Turn One wall with his No. 24 Purex Dreyer & Reinbold Honda Dallara just two laps into the one-hour morning practice round when Conway’s mount lost traction and backed into the safe barrier. Conway complained of back pain and was transported to Methodist Hospital in downtown Indianapolis. According to Dr. Michael Olinger, medical director for the Indy Racing League, Conway was treated for bruised lungs. He was awake, alert and listed in good condition.
Milka Duno drove the No. 23 CITGO DRR Honda Dallara to a four-lap qualifying average of 219.072 m.p.h. early in the day before being bumped from the top 22 qualifiers. Duno, Andretti and Conway will attempt to qualify next weekend for the 33-driver field.
DREYER & REINBOLD QUOTES:
DENNIS REINBOLD, co-owner, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing: “With Mike, it's unfortunate that [crash} happened. He was poised to run well and would have been set up to run good today. I hate to have him miss track time and the opportunity to qualify. With John, we don't know what happened. He was running really well and we thought that we would have two cars solidly in the race. With Milka, she did a good job and ran pretty well. She wasn't completely confident in the feel of her car, so at the heals of crashing two cars, we decided to be conservative with her and give her more track time and build her confidence. With Davey, we will shift gears to race setup and learn as much we can off of his car. The good news is Davey's car is the car that has the least miles. Next week, we will run Davey's car a lot and learn for the other three cars for the race. That is the plan for now."
