STARTING LINEUP FOR THE OPEN-WHEELS 500
Combined Practice Results as of November 14
It’s finally race day for the Open-Wheels 500 presented by Mitchell Transmissions! Today, 33 of iRacing’s best drivers will take to the virtual Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the second edition of this race.
Before the event, here’s a quick recap of the on-track action in the lead-up to Race Day.
In the first practice session on November 1, Brendan Lichtenberg of Broken Aero w/ I5G & Apex Racing Team led the way, posting the fastest lap of the month at 234.809 miles per hour. Two days later, Marco Brasil of Tent Factory SimRacing paced the field – a theme that was common in 2019 practices, but less so in 2020.
By Thursday, Ryan Schuld of JHR Racing was atop the speed chart, with Dakota Dicienzo’s Total Downforce Racing w/ Team Talent entry finishing out the first week of practice as the quickest driver on Fast Friday.
On Pole Day, 2019 race winner Michele Costantini started off his repeat efforts by winning the Pit Lane Parley Pole Award with a four-lap average of 231.392 for the Apex Racing Team w/ I5G & Broken Aero entry. Costantini’s achievement also set the new official four-lap track record at the Open-Wheels 500.
For Bump Day, it would be last year’s pole winner Yang Ou making headlines by qualifying his Ludicrous Speed car in 30th – a different set of circumstances and pressure for the veteran sim racer.
In race week practice sessions on Tuesday and Thursday, Hugo Olsson and Adam Blocker of Powerslide Motorsports were the fastest in each session, respectively. For Saturday’s final one-hour practice session, Tim Doyle of Ludicrous Speed was first on the board.
In an eventful “Day before the 500”, Jason Brophy of Team Talent won the Pit Stop Competition while Brandon Traino – the pace car driver for today’s race, won the second running of the Veterans 100.
Here is the schedule of events for today’s Open-Wheels 500.
6:00 AM | Military Cannon Open
9:00 to 11:00 AM | Today at the 500 special pre-race airing
9:15 AM | “On the Banks of the Wabash”
10:30 AM | Military Speech
10:31 AM | “God Bless America”
10:37 AM | Invocation
10:38 AM | Rifle Volley
10:39 AM | Taps
10:50 AM | National Anthem
10:51 AM | Flyover
10:58 AM | “Back Home Again” in Indiana
11:06 AM | Race Session Opens with 30-minute warm-up period
11:30 AM to 2:30 PM | RaceSpot TV Broadcast Begins
11:30 AM | Clear Grid of Alternate Drivers
11:36 AM | “Drivers, To Your Cars”
11:38 AM | Pace Laps Begin
11:45 AM | Approximate Green Flag, Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race (200 Laps, 500 Miles)
2:30 PM (est) | Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race winner press conference
2:45 PM (est) | Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race second place P.C.
3:00 PM (est) | Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race third place P.C.
Stay tuned to Open-Wheels.com for in-depth coverage of the 2020 Open-Wheels 500 presented by Mitchell Transmissions, as well as our social media channels for the latest news and updates on this year’s ‘500’.
