Andretti had to prepare a replacement structure for Ericsson after his accident. Photo: Kevin Dejewski
The first day of qualifying for the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 is on Saturday, and at least two drivers will be completing fast laps with their backup vehicles.
Nolan Siegel is one of the drivers who will be using a backup structure from Dallara, as his primary car from Dale Coyne Racing was damaged in a dramatic crash on Friday afternoon.
The 19-year-old lost control of his car in Turn 2, spun into the wall, and ended up sliding upside down on the track.
Siegel’s impacts were relatively light compared to the severity of accidents that can occur at speeds of nearly 240 MPH, but the rollover still caused enough damage to raise concerns.
He will be using the team’s road course car, which was previously used during the Sonsio Grand Prix last weekend, but will still be powered by the same Honda engine on the track.
Marcus Ericsson will also be using a backup structure after his dramatic crash on Thursday, when the Swede collided with the outer wall, inner wall, and pit area attenuator before coming to a stop.
Ericsson and his Andretti team had the advantage of using the backup structure during Fast Friday, allowing them to adjust the settings of the backup car before the crucial qualifying races began.
The 2022 Indy 500 champion also has years of experience to rely on in his less than ideal situation, something that Siegel, as a rookie, does not have at all.
Linus Lundqvist also had a serious crash earlier in the week, but it was determined that his primary structure was not damaged and will continue to be used.
In addition to the two pilots who are using backup structures, some pilots were forced to install new engines during the first week of training.
Arrow McLaren replaced Kyle Larson’s Chevy engine early in the week to prevent a potential problem identified in the data from becoming a bigger issue.
The change resulted in the loss of valuable track time for the NASCAR star, but did not cause any further problems.
Alex Palou also had to wait for the installation of a new engine in his #10 CGR car on Friday, as his team was required to make the change after smoke was observed coming out of the back of his Honda engine on the pit straight, and oil was left in his pit area.
All teams that made significant changes will thoroughly inspect their work before sending their pilots to the track for their four-lap qualifying runs on Saturday.
