IndyCar Notebook: Grand Prix of Indianapolis

GREAT DAY FOR BHA

His driver Jack Hawksworth qualified second for the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, his son Colton charged from 22nd to fifth in today's USF2000 race, and he announced the signing of Integrity Energee as his primary sponsor of the No. 98 Honda for the remainder of the season. If only every day could be like Friday, May 9 for Bryan Herta…

"Jack really did an amazing job," Herta told RACER. "He has been doing an amazing job. He doesn't have results to show for it yet, but he hasn't done anything other than good work for us. He was always in the thick of it in qualifying; it's a lot of fun to go do what we did today.

"We signed our deal with Energee a little while ago, but we're launching it here with the ABC races. To have that branding on the car and to stick it on the front row couldn't be any better. They're really happy, and they're new to IndyCar, and I think we've made a positive impression already."

And what about his 14-year-old son picking off 17​ spots in his race?

"It put a smile on my face," he said. "He's had a great week here, he was quickest in the test, he was good in qualifying but his car was light so he had to start at the back and then drove his behind off. I'm definitely proud of him and what our IndyCar team achieved today."

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS

A.J. Foyt Racing has assembled possibly the shortest driver duo in Indy car history, yet based on their track records, a lack of height and raw muscle has yet to slow Takuma Sato or his month of May teammate Martin Plowman.

After distinguishing himself in the Firestone Indy Lights Series, Plowey made three IndyCar Series starts, recording a best finish of 11th at Baltimore in 2011, before turning his attention to sports cars. After earning the LMP2 victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the WEC P2 Drivers' title last year, he's back for a second shot in IndyCar, and says that at 5-foot-6, the physical requirements of driving Foyt's Honda-powered No. 41 entry required a fresh approach to fitness training.

"I don't think you need to be a taller guy to drive this thing," said the determined Brit. "I always say it's not about the size of the dog in the fight; it's the size of the fight in the dog. I think pound for pound, I'm probably as strong as anyone in the paddock here. I only weigh 140 pounds but right before I was ready for this race I could bench press about 215. Compared to the off-season when I could only bench press 160...

"It's a big ramp-up just because I knew I had to get ready for this race. Sports cars are not as physical because we have power steering, just like any series. The IndyCars are the only ones that don't have power steering. So last year I was relying on cardio and losing the weight but now I have to put on four or five pounds just to get that muscle back."

Partnered with all 5-foot-5 of Takuma Sato, Plowey says he's proud to represent the shorter racecar drivers of the world.

"One thing that's really cool about motor racing is it's not prejudiced whether you're tall, small, black, white, female or male, whatever you are," he declared. "When you stick a helmet on when you're in that car, the car doesn't know who you are. If you can wheel a car and you have the strength that it takes to do it and you know how to do it, it's all that really matters."

SO MUCH FOR BEING A RETIRED RACECAR DRIVER

It's always a pleasure to speak with Andretti Autosport's Franck Montagny – especially when he's making a completely unexpected return to the cockpit. The Frenchman, who won for Andretti in the ALMS and last drove for Michael's IndyCar team during a one-off at Sonoma in 2009, hung up his helmet and has focused his attention on covering Formula 1 races as a broadcaster in recent years.

He says getting the call to pilot the No. 26 Honda this weekend was too good to pass up, but after being out of his driving groove for so long, there's plenty of rust to knock off.

"I guess it's not so much fun!" he said with a laugh. "I haven't driven for two years, and there's a lot of pressure. At first you don't know if you're going to do good, if you still know how to do it. And when you're watching the performance of the team and how your teammates are doing, you know you also have to do good. So you first ask yourself, 'Why does he pick me up after two years of doing nothing? And will I do good for them?'"

Montagny qualified 21st out of 25 cars on Saturday, and by the numbers, it might not look impressive until you note Justin Wilson was 19th, Oriol Servia is 22nd and Long Beach winner Mike Conway is 24th. With his time away from Andretti Autosport, Montagny offered an interesting assessment of how far the team has come since in the five years since he drove for what was then known as Andretti Green Racing.

"The team when I first drove in 2008 was struggling a little bit with the cars, and they improved a lot in this way," he surmised. "We have younger drivers now than they had, there's more motivation inside the team. This is not something I had experienced before here. When I was working with Tony [Kanaan], he was a superstar and super good and had nothing to prove anymore. It's different when you're a young driver and you want to prove that you have a place here--you have to work a lot harder. And I think they do. I have to say Ryan and James, Marco also and Carlos, which is the youngest, work very well together and there's no problem for me to fit in. I can't say that I can help them so far but just take advantage of what I'm doing and they help me. So it's a very good situation. It's like a new experience with the team."

TIME'S UP

IndyCar announced an odd penalty for two drivers on Thursday when Josef Newgarden and Jack Hawksworth were docked time for the 45-minute afternoon practice session. The two tripped over Rule 14.3.2.3 which states "All Drivers must be reweighed at technical inspection within 15 minutes after the conclusion of the first session on a race weekend."

With driver weight used to determine the necessary amount of ballast to ensure lighter drivers do not race at a lower, more advantageous weight, IndyCar requires drivers to come to the tech pad and have their weights recorded immediately after the first session. That figure is then compared to the baseline they established coming into the season. Measures and penalties are in place to make sure any variances are addressed (+/- two pounds is the threshold for no changes at the current event, more than +/- two pounds require changes before qualifying; more than +/- seven is where the hammer drops), and missing the 15-minute weigh-in window, as Newgarden and Hawksworth learned, comes with a 1-to-1 time penalty.

"A minute will be deducted from the end of the next practice session for every minute a Driver is late for the mandatory weigh-in," according to the rulebook.

Newgarden (six minutes) and Hawksworth (three minutes) had their respective sessions trimmed at the end of second practice, although for Newgarden, it was closer to 10 minutes after he stalled at the end of pit lane while attempting to practice a standing start. He then sat in the car and waited for the checkered flag to wave...

MISCELLANEOUS

•  Australia's James Davison has a full-time job in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship with The Racer's Group, sharing the No. 007 Aston Martin V12 Vantage with Al Carter, and although the KV Racing IndyCar team – co-owned by fellow Aussie Kevin Kalkhoven – insists a deal isn't done to run the 27-year-old in a fourth entry for the Indy 500, it's believed he'll turn his first laps on Wednesday in preparation for next weekend's time trials. Davison, who impressed in two road course outings for Dale Coyne Racing last year, would be a welcome addition to a strong pool of rookies for the 98th running of the great race.

•  RACER's Robin Miller agreed to sit in the Celebrity Dunk Tank as part of the Indy Family Foundation "Festival on Main" presented by Firestone on Friday evening. The most hated loved IndyCar reporter in the world was sent into the frigid water for the first time by 2013 Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan. And who was second in line to drop our man Miller into the drink? It was another guy named Tony who started a little series with the initials IRL…

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•  Katherine Legge says she's hoping to find a seat for Indy, but with so few options available, says she'll have to keep her fingers crossed and hope something happens next week. She put on a hell of a display last year, earning the final starting spot after scraping her way into the field with almost no practice. With Bump Day looking like a potential bore, Legge could bring some drama to the party if someone opens the door.

•  It was good to see TUDOR Championship race director Paul Walter today – he and IMSA technical director Scot Elkins are at the track doing recon on the revised road course to get a feel for what to expect when sports cars return to the Speedway on July 25 for the Brickyard Grand Prix.