Manning optimistic ahead of Indy start

1:09pm Wednesday 7th May 2008

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DESPITE handling issues early on, A.J. Foyt Enterprises driver Darren Manning was optimistic at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Tuesday, his first day of practice for the 92nd running of the Indy 500.

Manning, of North Yorkshire, saw a top speed of 221.314 miles per hour on his last lap of the day in the No. 14 ABC Supply Co. entry. He turned just 37 laps on the famed two-and-a-half-mile oval in advance of Pole Day qualifying this weekend.

"We're still fighting the car a little bit," Manning said. "But, I think the speed is going to be there, because I'm nowhere near comfortable in the car and we haven't even started trimming out yet.

"We're still getting quite good speeds, really; maybe three or four miles an hour off the top speeds. I'm really, really happy with how fast the car is, but it's just not giving me a very good feeling out there."

Manning said team owner A.J. Foyt, the legendary four-time Indianapolis 500 winner, makes a special effort at the Speedway.

"This is a brand new car we brought here for Indy," Manning said. "We did our first run and it was not very nice to start with. (The car) wasn't enabling me to do anything with it, so we came back in to the pits and got to working on it.

"We had a good last hour and a half in the day and found a bit more speed out of it," he added. "I think we got some good directions for where we need to go the rest of the week, and fortunately we've got lots of testing time."

Marco Andretti was at the top of the speed charts Tuesday, the first full day of practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Andretti, driving for Andretti Green Racing, posted a fast lap of 226.599 miles per hour. Team-mate Tony Kannan, the 2004 IndyCar Series champion was second with a speed of 225.269 and Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon, the 2003 IndyCar Series champion, rounded out the top three with a quick lap of 225.011.

Practice continues through Friday for Pole Day qualifying on Saturday. Qualifying continues Sunday with third day qualifying on Saturday, May 17 and Bump Day on Sunday, May 18. The 92nd Indianapolis 500 is Sunday, May 25.