11:23am Saturday 10th May 2008
By Matt Westcott
DARREN Manning found a little more speed on Friday in the rain-shortened practice session at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway ahead of today's Pole Day qualifying for the Indianapolis 500.
"We made some big improvements straight away this morning," said the North Yorkshire racer. "I was much more comfortable in the car after what we learned from those few outings on Tuesday afternoon. The car was quick and we made it even quicker. We seem to be finding time in making the car handle better which is really nice, because the faster we go the more comfortable it is."
Manning achieved a top speed of 222.750mph in the No.14 ABC Supply Co. entry. He is seeking his fourth start in the historic race.
"I'm pretty happy with the time that we did - a 222 - with just a very small tow," he said. "I think we can really scrape the top 11 now, and I'm comfortable enough to probably trim it out even more.
"We're even finding time in setup, which you don't normally do. You normally make changes to the car - you make it understeer more, make it looser, a bit more free - but you don't find much time."
He turned just 25 laps on the famed two-and-a-half-mile oval in advance of qualifications, which begin Saturday. The team's late first-day qualifying attempt last year was not fast enough to put him in the top 11, but Manning hopes to lock in his spot on the starting grid on Pole Day this year.
"In the morning we'll develop it a little bit more, trim out a little bit more, and just keep going for it," he said. "I think we can do it, but it's going to be so close. I think there's only two or three miles an hour between the top 20 cars when they're running by themselves, so if we can just keep finding these little bits of speed we're going to be close."
Scott Dixon, of Target Chip Ganassi Racing, was quickest of the day on "Fast Friday" going into today's pole qualifications. Dixon, the 2003 IndyCar Series champion, had a fast lap of 226.968mph.
Marco Andretti, Andretti Green Racing, was second at 226.710 and his teammate Tony Kannan was third with a lap of 226.688.
Pole Day qualifying is today when the top 11 positions will be filled. Qualifying continues tomorrow with third day qualifying on Saturday, May 17 and Bump Day on Sunday, May 18. The 92nd Indianapolis 500 is on Sunday, May 25.
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