Auto Racing

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened with a tow-in for rookie Lyn St. James and ended with the fastest practice lap in Indy 500 history for veteran Jim Crawford.

St. James, trying to become the second female driver in the race, accounted for the first yellow caution light within minutes after the track opened. St. James’ fastest lap was was 209.405 m.p.h., fastest ever by a woman at Indianapolis.

In the final hour, Crawford drove his Buick-powered Lola to a lap of 229.609 m.p.h. Crawford’s speed topped the previous fast lap during practice of 228.502 m.p.h. by Al Unser Jr. in 1990.

The only driver who has gone faster at Indianapolis is Roberto Guerrero, who had a top lap of 230.279 m.p.h. during private testing five weeks ago.

“The speed indicator we have on the dashboard wasn’t working, so I was quite surprised it was so quick,” said Crawford, who predicted his car could go even 2-3 m.p.h. faster than that.