With the second annual Open-Wheels 500 presented by Mitchell Transmissions looming tomorrow, drivers took to iRacing’s virtual Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Following Saturday morning’s Public Drivers Meeting, a final one-hour practice session was run on the 2.5-mile speedway. In the end, Tim Doyle led the way with a best lap of 39.760 (226.244 miles per hour) in his Ludicrous Speed entry. On Sunday, Doyle will start the race on the outside of Row 8 in 24th. Following Doyle, 2019 pole sitter Yang Ou and this year’s second-place starter Wilson Neto completed the top three.
Later on, 22 drivers took to the track in their Dallara DW-12 chassis for a 40-lap event.
In the end, Brandon Traino held on to win by a scant .055 of a second as teammate Christopher Demerritt made it a 1-2 finish for .
In third, Joshua Chin of Team Chimera with Team Talent was just .006 of a second back. Tomorrow, Traino will lead the field to the green flag in the Chevrolet Corvette C8.R pace car.
After a short break, the drivers were given one last opportunity to prepare for Sunday in the 32-lap Pit Stop Competition.
During the first 12-lap heat, Hugo Olsson of Powerslide Motorsports beat Broken Arrow with i5G and Apex Racing Team’s Demerritt finishing .058 of a second back as Olsson’s Chevrolet held off Demeritt’s Honda. Olsson will start tomorrow’s race in sixth, on the outside of Row 2.
Finishing out the day would be a 20-lap shootout. In the end, Jason Brophy took his Team Talent Chevrolet to the win after Powerslide’s Adam Blocker ran out of fuel, finishing a disappointing .261 of a second back. Adam Crane of Satellite Racing rounded out the top three.
With all the preliminary on-track action finished, the 500 Mile Race is all that remains.
Race day for the 2020 Open-Wheels 500 presented by Mitchell Transmissions is Sunday, November 15.
The Today at the 500 Pre-Race Show will begin at 9:00 AM Eastern (live on Open-Wheels.com/TV) which will carry all of the traditional ceremonies – such as Taps, the National Anthem, Back Home Again in Indiana, and more!
Following the pre-race show is the live, worldwide broadcast of the second annual Open-Wheels 500 on RaceSpot TV – their coverage beginning at 11:30 AM Eastern with a scheduled green flag of 11:45 AM.
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’.
