2006 Indy 500 Rookie Orentation * Day Two

INDIANAPOLIS, Monday, May 8, 2006 - Townsend Bell was wise to intently listen to three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Johnny Rutherford's wisdom during a few laps of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in a sedan May 7. "It's awfully quick, and it definitely opens your eyes at first," said Bell, who joined five drivers in completing their Indianapolis 500 Rookie Orientation Program/refresher course on the 2.5-mile oval. Sixty-seven laps later, he was gushing about the No. 90 Rock & Republic Vision Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone and the historic oval. Bell, who competed in 11 IndyCar Series races in the 2004 and '05 seasons with Panther Racing, was in the refresher category. Maybe it was partly Rutherford's advice or maybe it was partly the baseline of the car, but Bell was quickly up to speed. He topped the speed chart at 221.381 mph (40.6539 seconds). Thiago Medeiros (214.690) joined P.J. Chesson and Marco Andretti in passing the four-stage ROP, while Arie Luyendyk Jr. (214.562), Larry Foyt (215.761) and Al Unser Jr. (218.820) also passed their refresher test. Practice for all cars begins at noon (EDT) May 9.

FASTEST SPEEDS OF DAY

Pos. Car Name              C/E/T  Speed

1 90 Townsend Bell       D/H/F 221.381 mph
2 `1 Michael Andretti    D/H/F 221.324 mph
3  1 Marco Andretti      D/H/F 221.267 mph
4 26 Marco Andretti      D/H/F 220.709 mph
5 91 P.J. Chesson        D/H/F 219.745 mph
6 31 Al Unser Jr.        D/H/F 218.820 mph
7 41 Larry Foyt          D/H/F 215.761 mph
8 18 Thiago Medeiros     P/H/F 214.690 mph
9 61 Arie Luyendyk Jr.   P/H/F 214.562 mph

2006 Mrs. Indiana Justine Kaldahl, a resident of Avon, Ind., took a ride around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. JUSTINE KALDAHL (2006 Mrs. Indiana): "That was awesome, I loved it, it was better than Disney World by far. I have always loved racing, but never been down this close to it, it's a total different experience. Taking the corners was the best."

The Michael Andretti Foundation began auctioning off a VIP race package on eBay May 8. As an honorary guest of Michael Andretti and Andretti Green Racing, the winning bidder and a guest will attend a weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 90th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 28. The winner will get an insider's look at race weekend activities and preparations with AGR. They'll receive three nights lodging, the opportunity to meet Michael Andretti and several of the Andretti Green Racing drivers. The winner will participate as an honorary crew member for Michael Andretti during final practice on Carb Day and be in Michael Andretti's pits during the running of the Indy 500. The package also includes a private tour of the race cars and a VIP invite to the invitation-only Andretti Green Racing team party.

Race day activities include breakfast with the team and sponsors and enjoying all the excitement of pre-race activities. Once the race starts, the winner can stay in the pits and see all the behind-the-wall racing action up close and personal. This access is only available to IndyCar team personnel and to those with special permission - access that makes this package truly unique and priceless. All proceeds from the package will benefit the Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation. "I'm excited about being able to put a package like this together," Michael Andretti said. "We hope to raise a good amount of money with the auction and are very excited to be able to pass it along to the Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation. I'm a big supporter of Sam and all the effort he has put toward this cause over the years." The VIP Package will be auctioned on eBay until May 15. The package is available by visiting (www.ebay.com) or directly at: (ebay.com/ws/)

Two drivers entered in the Indianapolis 500 competed at the U.S. Sports Car Invitational at Laguna Seca Raceway on May 7. Scott Sharp finished 25th overall and 21st in the Daytona Prototype Class. Sharp co-drove the entry with his father-in-law Greg Pickett. Eddie Cheever, who co-drove his team's car with Christian Fittipaldi, finished 43rd.

Each Indianapolis 500 entrant will receive a new Honda Indy V-8 engine for first day of practice on May 9. Teams must use that engine through practice and qualifying. All qualified cars will receive a new engine for Carb Day for use in the race. IndyCar Series regulars must use the same engine for the event at Watkins Glen.

GEORGE KLOTZ (Team manager and race strategist, #7 XM Satellite Radio Dallara/Honda/Firestone): "Honda has always given us the very best engines, and we can count on that the entire month of May. The engines they are providing for practice can be used for more than 1,000 miles, so the lack of another engine doesn't affect how many miles we run in practice. You will always have an engine in the car when you need one, and we will not be limited too much. We will have to be slightly more efficient with the work we do, but we are confident we'll get in all the practice that's needed."

BARRY WANSER, (Team manager, Target Chip Ganassi Racing): "(It) makes it more of a challenge, and you're limited to 1,200 miles on the first motor. We did more than that last year with Scott (Dixon), especially when you start doing full-tank running the second week. It will be a challenge to make the most of it. It's the same for everybody, but you have to be careful with your track management and time to get the most out it. The first week is all about getting the pole. You could throw in some full-tank running in the mix of doing qualifying sims. It definitely will be interesting for everybody.

Two-time Indianapolis 500 starter Willy T. Ribbs visited the Speedway today. Ribbs became the first African-American to start the Indianapolis 500 in 1991.

WILLY T. RIBBS: "I haven't been here since 2001. I was down in Lawrenceburg, Ind., shooting in a tournament. I shoot shotguns for a living now and Tony George came in (to the tournament) on Friday. We talked and he said to come on up." (How does it feel to be back here?) "What happened here in 1991 was probably the most important career happening for me, and it's certainly changed in its growth. It's a huge complex now, with Formula One being here, and IndyCar, it's an unbelievable. And when you look at Turn 1, it brings back all the memories." (And desire at all to get back in a car?): "Oh, no, no, I'm having a great career and my new race car is a Perazzi 12 gauge." (How did you get involved in tournament shooting?): "I used to shoot guns as a hobby as a kid, and I'd hunt birds with my grandpa, but I shot skeet and traps for fun in the (racing) off-season. Once I quit racing I started taking it real serious and traveling all over the country to tournaments. This is full time, every week all over the U.S., or Russia, England, wherever a big tournament is happening. I compete with the NSCA - National Sporting Clays Association."

With Indiana's switch to Eastern Daylight Time and a recent move to the noon start, the nuances of the racetrack (temperature, shadows) will be altered. Goodbye "Happy Hour," that 5-6 p.m. period when drivers played "top that" to be the fastest of the day, and hello midday binge.

KYLE MOYER (General manager, Andretti Green Racing): "That makes a big difference. The biggest thing we're looking at is track change for the race, because now we're an hour later for the race too (1 p.m. EDT). The second biggest impact will be on qualifying. Before, you hated to be an early number. Now all of a sudden you want to draw in the top 10, especially the way it's going to be a shootout. I don't think it's going to be a 5 o'clock shootout. Now you're just going to run all day long, and if you're not in the top 11 you go right back in line . If you're in the top nine you're going to put yourself back in line. You're not going to say to yourself, 'Hey, we'll wait until 5 o'clock and be faster,' because I don't think you will. In practice, we try not to run in Happy Hour anyway. We'll probably run later in the day because it makes more sense since it's similar to race time. For us, we'll get a full six hours of work. I think the biggest thing is you'll see a lot more cars out at noon every day instead of waiting around for 5 o'clock."

STEVE RAGAN (Chief mechanic, Panther Racing): "Some people like to go out there and set a good time, to other teams that doesn't mean anything. You want to get out at the best time that benefits your running, and that's important now with the mileage. You have 1,200 miles on your engine, and I think that will change that "Happy Hour" running a lot. Really, what does that do? There's no more Happy Hour. The sun is different. That's going to shift everyone's approach. Wind, shadows and all the changes. You're just going to have to look at how everyone approaches it the first couple of days."

A total of 35 cars are currently at the Speedway. Twenty eight have passed technical inspection. Eight drivers have been on the track to date and have turned 640 laps this month. A total of 73 drivers have passed physical examinations at the Clarian Medical Center. There were three cautions for a total of 12 minutes.