re: 2023 IndyCar Season - R17 Laguna Seca 9/10 2:30 pm ET (NBC)

Friday was Carb Day, where the teams fine-tune the carb jets on their Hondas and Chevys to get the optimal fuel-air ratio for the expected conditions on Sunday.

No wait, that doesn't sound right.

Friday was Carb Day, where the teams get in a final 2-hr practice and then they all go to a group dinner at an Italian restauarant to load up on carbs so they'll have enough energy for the grueling 3-hr race.

The results follow a familar theme. While the results of a single practice don't mean much, the consistency of three of the Ganassi cars topping the charts over the last two weeks has to be taken seriously. More of a puzzle is McLaren. While they showed their driving-in-clean-air strength in qualifying, they've been all over the place in practice speeds.

The two fast non-McLaren Chevy qualifiers, Santino Ferrucci and Rinus VeeKay, were at the bottom of the Carb Day charts. Alex Palou explains why Rinus was slow, and he was not impressed: www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/palou-veekay-indy-500-fuel-save-obsession/10474010/

I don't believe VeeKay will be able to implement his fuel-saving strategy at all during the race. While everyone knows that the first 150 laps of the race is just about survival (and a bit of fuel saving) until their last pit stops, there are too many fast drivers who would prefer to be in the Top 5 when they make that last pit stop. If you are not in the Top 5 it will be difficult to get to the front in the final sprint to the end. So there will be a dozen cars jostling to get to the Top 5 almost immediately. If VeeKay wants to hang on Palou's tail, there will be plenty of volunteers to pass him.