Bump Day at the Indianapolis 500 is here and it is real. From Bobby Rahal in 1993 to Team Penske in 1995 to James Hinchcliffe last season, even the best of the best can be bumped from the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
This year, it was two-time Formula 1 World Champion and Monaco Grand Prix winner Fernando Alonso who was bumped from the 33 car grid. Coming back after racing in 2017, Alonso was trying to win and become the second person to win the Triple Crown of Motorsport (Indy/Le Mans/Monaco GP).
Alonso hadn’t had the speed since he crashed his primary car Wednesday. With the backup car, Alonso attempted to qualify Saturday but a deflating tire hurt his first run. Despite that, McLaren just couldn’t get the car right to get him locked into the top 30.
With everything on the line, @alo_oficial turned a 227.353.
Will it be enough?#INDYCAR // #ThisIsMay pic.twitter.com/oucm8ieZLr
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) May 19, 2019
On Bump Day, Alonso put in a four-lap speed of 227.353 mph and was provisionally in the race. But in a dramatic twist of fate, the Formula 1 stable with a World Champion got knocked out on the last moment by a second-year driver on one of the smallest teams in the NTT IndyCar Series.
Kyle Kaiser from Juncos Racing put in a four-lap speed of 227.372 mph to just barely knock out Alonso and McLaren. There have been rumors that McLaren may buy their way into the race by paying one of the 33 teams to take their spot but as of just after qualifying, it hasn’t happened.
DAVID BEATS GOLIATH!@KyleKRacing, with one of the smallest teams of @IndyCar, bumps two-time F1 champ Fernando Alonso and McLaren OUT of the #Indy500! #MustBeMay pic.twitter.com/4TYAQtm9FW
— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) May 19, 2019
While there was drama on the back row of the grid, we were trying to see who would win the pole for the 103rd Indy 500. The Ed Carpenter Racing cars of Spencer Pigot, Ed Jones and Carpenter were at the top of the chart for the Fast Nine on Saturday. Pigot had the provisional pole but it would be Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud leading the field to green next Sunday.
.@SimonPagenaud and @Team_Penske guarantee a front-row starting spot! Pagenaud moved up to P1, bumping Ed Carpenter from pole position. #INDY500 #MustBeMay pic.twitter.com/nwR5runIJG
— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) May 19, 2019
Pagenaud won the IndyCar GP on the Indy road course last week and is looking to match what teammate Will Power did last year which is to sweep both Indy races.
