INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana - In open-wheel racing parlance, the month of May means one thing. It tells racers that it is time to gear up for one of the world’s legendary races and Rahal Letterman Racing drivers Scott Sharp (#8 Patrón Dallara/Honda/Firestone) and Jeff Simmons (#17 Ethanol Dallara/Honda/Firestone) are more than ready to take their best shots at the Indianapolis 500 title.

Full-field practice opened today for the 91st running of the Indy 500, with Sharp and Simmons both taking to the 2.5-mile oval for the first full day of running. The team started its month-long trip to Indianapolis in conservative fashion, sending Simmons out to do baseline setup work in his backup car, while Sharp ran his primary car in a number of configurations as the veteran team prepared for this weekend’s first two rounds of qualifying.

Sharp led the way in the RLR camp on the first day of practice, stopping the clocks at 40.6999 seconds (221.131 mph) on the last of his 40 orbits of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The 2001 Indy 500 polesitter actually ran his three best laps of the six-hour practice on his last three passes.

“You are always searching for speed here no matter what, but we are happy with what we got done on our first day,” said Sharp. “We set up a plan to take advantage of the three-week period we have here and it is important for us to learn as much as we can. To go out and turn quick laps at the end of the day was good for us, it allows us to end the day on a positive note and go after it tomorrow.”,p> Simmons turned 64 laps on a warm and sunny day in Central Indiana, running his best time of 41.0820 seconds (219.074 mph) on his penultimate lap of the day. Simmons got an early break on the first day as the #17 Team Ethanol squad spent the later part of the afternoon converting the data gathered to Simmons’ primary car while also executing an engine change that will allow Simmons to run his primary car in tomorrow’s practice session.

“We came here with a different setup that we hadn't run in a long time and we've really been improving the car all day,” Simmons reported. “We don't quite have the grip and the stability to the point where we can start taking downforce out of it yet but we are being methodical and working through all of our changes and it is working. We picked up some time through the day and we are at a good point to start again tomorrow."

Sharp ended up 18th on the final time sheets for the first day of practice, with Simmons checking in with the 22nd-best time. Current IndyCar Series points leader Dan Wheldon led the first day of practice with a time of 39.9868 seconds (225.074 mph).

Simmons to Open Trading in Chicago on Monday

As the driver of the #17 Ethanol machine, Jeff Simmons has embraced his role as one of the higher-profile spokesmen for the renewable fuel source, which is being used in each of the cars in this year’s Indy 500 for the first time in history. He will demonstrate how the 100 percent fuel-grade Ethanol is being used in the IndyCar Series on next Monday, piloting of one of the series’ two-seat vehicles in a ceremony that kicks off the day’s trading at the Chicago Board of Trade. Simmons will be joined in the car by Under Secretary for Rural Development Thomas C. Dorr on Monday morning as the two will roar into the Chicago Board of Trade Plaza at 8:30 a.m. Simmons will also join Chicago Board of Trade Chairman Charlie Carey in ringing the bell to open the day’s trading.

Club Patrón Drawing Attention

The Patrón Tequila car is drawing attention on the track for its visually striking and effective paint scheme and off the track Patrón is creating a stir with its equally alluring Club Patrón.

Unlike any other hospitality or sponsor area at IndyCar Series events, Club Patrón is a two-level, fully-contained mobile event venue, all of which disassembles into pods and travels inside a specially-designed semi trailer. The club-atmosphere venue is open to invited guests before, during, or after the race, offering a relaxed place to unwind and visit, listen to music, and enjoy ultra-premium Patrón tequila or Pyrat rum cocktails. The spacious club is fully staffed with bartenders and features TV screens simulcasting the race, while a circular stairway leading to a second floor observation deck.

“We could have put up some poles and a tent for our hospitality area, but quite simply, that wouldn’t be Patrón. The world’s highest-quality tequila deserves the best, most comfortable venue we could build,” says Ed Brown, president and CEO of the Las Vegas-based Patrón Spirits Company. “Of course Club Patrón is more than just a relaxing place to enjoy our products, we built this unique venue to help celebrate our sponsorship of Scott Sharp and the Rahal Letterman team, and the excitement of IndyCar racing.”

In addition to the eye-catching Club Patrón at the track, Speedway visitors coming to the track up Crawfordsville Road off of Interstate 465 are greeted by a mammoth Patrón billboard featuring the black-and-green IndyCar of Scott Sharp at speed along with photos of the Patrón tequila and the phrase ‘Simply Perfect’.

Indianapolis 500 Qualifying 101

Thirty-three (33) positions are up for grabs for the Indianapolis 500. Those spots will be filled over four separate qualifying sessions to take place over the next two weekends. Each car gets three qualifying attempts per day (12 total).

Pole Day - Saturday, May 12 - Positions 1-11 are available to the fastest 11 qualifiers of the day. Once the first 11 spots are full, bumping will occur to determine the first 11 spots.

Second Day Qualifying - Sunday, May 13 - Positions 12-22 are available to the fastest 11 qualifiers of that day. Once those spots are full, bumping will occur only in spots 12 through 22 to determine the fastest 11 qualifiers for that day.

Third Day Qualifying - Saturday, May 19 - Positions 23-33 are available to the fastest 11 qualifiers of that day. Once those spots are full, bumping will occur only in spots 12 through 22 to determine the fastest 11 qualifiers for that day.

Bump Day - Sunday, May 20 - Any qualifying attempt on Bump Day that is faster than any qualified entrant - regardless of the day they qualified, will bump that person from the field. Any qualifier that ‘bumps’ in will take the 33rd position and the rest of the field moves up.

Rahal Letterman Racing Indy 500 Notes:

One of only two team owners in this year’s field to have won the Indianapolis 500 as a driver and as a team owner, Bobby Rahal has a long and distinguished history at the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Rahal Letterman Racing won the Indy 500 in 2004 with Buddy Rice and won the race as a driver in 1986. Rahal made 13 starts in the Memorial Day Classic, scoring four podium finishes, and seven top-10 results. He qualified in the front row in 1985 and ‘87 but had mechanical problems in both races that took him out before the race’s halfway point.

Scott Sharp will look to equal his team owner by making his 13th Indy 500 start. Sharp was the polesitter in the 2001 event but failed to make it out of the first lap. He has scored top-10 finishes in his last two Indy 500 starts including a career-best seventh in 2005. This will be his first Indy start for RLR. Sharp will make his 134th IndyCar Series start, the most in league history. Sharp expects to make his 126th consecutive start which is also a IndyCar Series record. His 73 top-10 finishes are a league record, one more than the 72 put up by Sam Hornish Jr.

Jeff Simmons will make his 19th IndyCar Series start and his third at Indianapolis. Simmons made his IndyCar debut in the 2004 Indy 500, starting 29th and finishing 16th. Simmons has scored back-to-back top-10 finishes heading into the Indy 500 and is 11th in the standings, one spot behind Sharp.

Team Facts - RLR has qualified at least one car in the top 10 in each of the last four Indianapolis 500-mile events. The last time an RLR driver led an IndyCar Series event was Jeff Simmons at Milwaukee (7/23). The last time an RLR driver won a pole position was Danica Patrick at Chicagoland Speedway in 2005. RLR's last win came at Michigan August 1, 2004 (Buddy Rice). The team's current winless streak stands at 40 races. Rahal Letterman Racing has won 19 races and 29 pole positions since its inception in 1992 as Rahal Hogan Racing. Of Rahal Letterman Racing’s 19 wins only one has come on a street course, Bobby Rahal’s win at Toronto in 1992. Of Rahal Letterman Racing’s 29 pole positions, four have come on street circuits, the most recent being Michel Jourdain Jr.’s 2003 pole at Long Beach. Three of the four RLR street course pole positions have come at Long Beach. In 63 IndyCar Series races RLR has captured nine pole positions, won three times, collected 14 podium results (top-three) and 30 top-five finishes while leading 668 laps.