Matt Brabham’s preparation for his first Indianapolis 500 continued today with 97 trouble free laps of the Speedway as the PIRTEK Team Murray outfit concentrated on race car pace ahead of this weekend’s Qualifying.
The PIRTEK Team Murray No. 61 Chevrolet squad was working on setups with the other entries under technical partner - KV Racing - all three cars feeling as though they were heading in a strong direction. Brabham has clocked more miles than any other driver during the course of the last two days.
Tomorrow, the game changes with Fast Friday - which is the last opportunity to dial in settings before Qualifying on Saturday - where drivers get four laps against the clock. From there, the top 9 will advance to the fast nine on Armed Forces Pole Day on Sunday.
Once he finished another epic stint in the warm Indiana sunshine, 22-year-old rookie Brabham took part in the opening of the Indy Film Fest in front of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Pagoda, where he joined three time winner, Bobby Unser, J. Douglas Boles, the President of IMS and legends of Indiana to introduce the Paul Newman movie, Winning.
Further special guests of the Indy Film Fest were PIRTEK Team Murray’s CK Crew, who came together for the first time tonight. The team, which is made up of military veterans and first responders, were given a standing ovation by the Film Fest crowd.
The CK Crew - drawn together in partnership with Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation - are training in Indianapolis over the next 10 days and will be PIRTEK Team Murray’s entry into the Tag Heuer Pit Stop Challenge on Miller Lite Carb Day.
Indy 500 practice will run for a further six hours tomorrow beginning at 12pm local time.
