Indy 500 Qualifying Round in Indianapolis: Mario Moraes & Tony Kanaan Crash...! [VIDEO]

During Saturday’s Indianapolis 500 Qualifying Round, Mario Moraes crashed during his fourth lap of qualifying. He almost immediately skid when he hit just turn #2. According to USA TODAY, “The KV Racing Technology car slid sideways until ramming into the outside wall and damaging the rear end.”

After crashing during the Indy 500 Qualifying round, Moraes escaped from his car and began walking around right away. He had “averaged 224.469 mph during his first three laps.” Now back in ‘08, Moraes qualified at 18th during the Indy 500 and then last year he also crashed. Although Moraes is an awesome driver, lady luck has not been kind to Mario Moraes as of late.

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Paul Tracy also had a rough day at the Indy 500 qualifying round. He pulled into the pit stop after only warming up. He never even got to go on the green flag. Tracy explained that his racecar got stuck in neutral and then he never was able to finish the race. Sounds like Tracy may have some less then desirable mechanics working on getting his race car ready for the Indy 500.

And then Tony Kanaan also took a hard crash right against the wall. Hopeful today's Indy 500 Qualifying Round will hold no more crashes and all will go smoothly for the drivers!

See Also :

Indy 500 qualifying - Castroneves wins pole; Patrick 23rd out of 24; Kanaan, Sota crash

Danica Patrick hears boos after a tough day of Indy 500 qualifying 

Danica Patrick hears boos after a tough day of Indy 500 qualifying

Danica Patrick, IndyCar's most popular and visible driver, had to fight back tears and was shaking after qualifying 23rd for the Indy 500 with her only run Saturday.

She has been having problems controlling her GoDaddy.com car at the famed racetrack during practice this week. When the public-address system broadcast her criticism of the car's setup, fans voiced their displeasure.

"I say one confident thing out there, that it's not me, and everybody boos me," she said. "I don't know, maybe they were booing me before, but some of them were probably cheering for me before. I'm not a different driver than I was five years ago."

Patrick covered four laps at an average of 224.217 mph Saturday. She was in line to make another attempt when the session ended.

Reigning champion Helio Castroneves averaged 227.970 during qualifying to win the poll for the May 30 race. Will Power will start second after averaging 227.578 and Dario Franchitti took third at 226.990.

While fans were upset with Patrick's comments, members of her race team agreed with her assessment, that the car was too loose and she was unable to maximize the car's speed.

"You take one on the chin, but maybe you had it coming this time," said Tom Anderson, Andretti Autosport's senior vice president for racing operations. "All you can do is turn the other cheek and just get back to work.

"I think we underestimated, or I underestimated, what it was going to take to make the top 24 there," Anderson said. "Speeds were up a little bit. Not the starting position we wanted, for sure. Sometimes, you just need a day away from the track to analyze it."

Patrick was a little more blunt in her assessment.

"The car is just totally skating across the track, and there's no grip," she said. "My mechanics took tons of time to make sure it was fast and slick and no drag. It's there, it's just that the setup's not there. I feel bad for them because it's a good car.

"The GoDaddy car deserves to be higher up than this. It's better than this. It's just not set up right."

-- Dan Loumena

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Indy 500 Qualifying

Indy 500 Qualifying Round in Indianapolis: Mario Moraes & Tony Kanaan Crash...! [VIDEO] 

Indy 500 Qualifying

Indy 500 qualifying - Castroneves wins pole; Patrick 23rd out of 24; Kanaan, Sota crash

Indy 500 qualifying - Castroneves wins pole; Patrick 23rd out of 24; Kanaan, Sota crash - In a day of qualifying for next weekend's Indianapolis 500 race, Helio Castroneves of Brazil qualifed for the pole for his fourth time. Danica Patrick took the 23rd of 24 spots.

Mr. Castroneves's 4-lap average, according to ESPN.com, was 227.970 mph, faster than any run in practice. With his fourth pole, the Brazilian ties A. J. Foyt and Rex Mays for second behind Rick Mears, who has won six.

Will Power from Australia will start second, and Dario Franchitti from Scotland will start third.

Other women qualifying besides Ms. Patrick include Ana Beatriz at 21st and Simona de Silvestro at 22nd.

Crashes during qualifying on Saturday included Tony Kanaan of Brazil. Japan's Takuma Sota crashed during a practice run Saturday morning.

This year will mark the 94th running of the auto race, often called "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing." Between the number of seats the speedway holds (over 250,000) and those who stand around the track, some estimates place the number of fans at close to 400,000 who show up on race day. The Speedway, according to the Speedway Hall of Fame Museum website, is the "largest spectator sporting facility in the world."

If you are a young person (or slightly older than young) visiting the Indianapolis area, you might be interested to know that the Speedway Hall of Fame Museum is open during races and beyond and features discounted tickets for those up to age 15. Consult the website for further information.

The Indy 500 will be broadcast live from Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on ABC Sunday, May 30, 2010 starting at noon ET.

See Also :
Danica Patrick hears boos after a tough day of Indy 500 qualifying
Indy 500 Qualifying Round in Indianapolis: Mario Moraes & Tony Kanaan Crash...! [VIDEO]