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Tag: Mike Conway

  • Indianapolis 500: Conway and Andretti Only Drivers To Make Laps in Tuesday Sesson

    Mike Conway shook down his No. 27 Hire Heroes Car and his Andretti Autosport teammate Marco Andretti got five laps in driving Conway’s car, before the rains came ending the session early.

    Conway’s shake down has a speed of 219.901mph (40.9259 seconds).

    “We just wanted to feel some of those (changes) and see what we had,” Conway said. “These were certainly not ideal weather conditions and aren’t representative of what we’re going to see in a few days, so it didn’t make too much sense to log a lot of laps.”

    Conway said that he also allowed his teammate Andretti to get some laps in the car so they could compare notes.

    “We made some changes overnight, and we wanted to get a feel for what it felt like,” he said. “It’s good for me to let (Marco) have a feel and see if I’m feeling the same things as him. We had the same comments, and we got some good back-to-back running.”

    Andretti said it gave him a chance to try something different, also.

    “I was able to try a setup that I haven’t run yet,” he said. “I just kind of got my thoughts on it and a second opinion. You always learn. If we were going through pretty extensive test items and stuff like that, it’s different. I just wanted to feel out an overall package.”

    This is the second time that a session has been cut short for racing as nobody got any laps in during the Sunday session. Some drivers are okay with the lost day, while others are concerned. Andretti had a quick lap of 224.215mph (40.1163 seconds) for the day, but only ranks 15th on the combined speed chart.

    “It makes a difference,” Andretti said of not getting the full session in. “Who knows if we would have gained or they would have gained on us. I’m really worried about the speed of our car. I’ve driven exactly Danica’s setup 3 miles an hour off of her (lap time). I can’t explain why. I’m worried about qualifying for this race. It is still early days, but I honestly think if you’re not going to be qualifying in the top 10 you should be worried.”

    Conway says that with the timing, you always have the conscious of the time left.

    “We always think we have loads of time at the beginning of the week, and then it’s always the same thing,” Conway said. “You get to the last couple of days, and if you haven’t quite got the car right, then you’re going to be rushing a bit more. As long as the car is good and you keep chipping away at it, I think that’s the main thing. I think we’re really close. I think we’ve got a good balance, and I think the speed is there. We’ve just got to take our time and know that qualifying isn’t that far away.”

    Alex Taglani’s lap of 225.878mph from the Monday sesson tops the charts so far during the testing. Testing will continue on Wednesday from noon to 6pm EST.

  • Mike Conway Wins Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, Completes Comeback

    Last year after Mike Conway suffered a severe back and leg injury after a crash at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he was determined to get back in a car. He hooked up with Andretti Autosport and completed the comeback today as he won the race.

    Conway took the lead from Ryan Briscoe in turn six of the 1.968-mile, 11 turn Long Beach street circuit, on lap 72 of 85.

    “I made the same move on Dario (Franchitti),” Conway said. “It was like they were struggling to get temperature in the tires. My car was good to go. I just took my time and picked my point, and was able to pull away.

    “As soon as I got in the lead, I was thinking of winning already. But I knew I had to forget about it and get with the job at hand. The car was great. I could push all the time and control the gap. I made a mistake on a pit stop when I locked up. I thought our day might be done, but we had to hang in there and push all the way. On the restarts the car was awesome and it just came to life.”

    This marked the first victory for Andretti Autosport’s first victory since June at Iowa Speedway.

    “His comeback is now complete,” team owner Michael Andretti said. “The first time we put him in a race car, I could tell he had potential. I’m just so happy he was able to (win) this early and win one of the greatest races here in Long Beach. I’m just so proud of him and the whole Window World Cares team.”

    Briscoe, who led practice, finished second while reigning series champion Dario Franchitti finished third.

    In only his second start, James Hinchcliffe finished fourth while Alex Tagliani finished fifth.

    “The guys did such a good job getting the back-up car going this afternoon,” said Hinchcliffe, the 2010 Firestone Indy Lights championship runner-up.  “We were able to save fuel when we needed to, push when we needed to.”

    Orio Servia manged to finished sixth after avoiding contact on the final restart.

    “We had a strong performance the whole weekend and the team keeps moving forward,” Servia said. “But I do have a bit of a bad taste in my mouth because this was probably the best race car I have ever had in a race and a podium was within reach.

    “I had to do a little bit of a circus maneuver to get back on track and that obviously cost us the podium there but we finished sixth and it could have been a lot worse.”

    Danica Patrick finished seventh, followed by Tony Kanaan, Victor Meira and Will Power.

    Power got caught back in the field after being bumped from behind by teammate Helio Castroneves in turn one on lap 66.

    “I’m not really sure what happened on the restart,” Power said. “I got hit from behind by Helio but sometimes that’s what happens in racing – especially close racing like this with the double-file restarts.  It wasn’t a great day for points, but Verizon Team Penske will keep working hard and move forward.”

    Castroneves, meanwhile, finished 12th.

    “I’m really not sure what to say,” Castroneves said. “I feel terrible for Will. I wasn’t even trying to pass, but we just made contact. Will is my teammate, and of course you just can’t take each other out. It’s just very unfortunate and I have to say I’m sorry to the team.”

    Last year’s winner Ryan Hunter-Reay finished 23rd after falling off the pace on lap 70 and pitting.

    “Basically, we couldn’t shift,” Hunter-Reay said. “It’s frustrating because the DHL/Sun Drop car was running strong and challenging for the lead. I really think we could have gotten Briscoe once his tires started falling off. I was hoping for a second win here.”