The annual rite of passage for race fans everywhere, Carb Day, has once again descended upon us. What has now become a Friday afternoon of booze, music and more booze, also features some relevant on-track activity.

Carb Day is the last day teams and drivers can tweak their cars before race day, so this gives us the last glimpse of race setups before the flag drops at Noon EST on Sunday. While we may not be able to pick the race winner based on the hour of activity, we may be able to gauge where some struggling teams and drivers are in terms of speed. Most notable is Ryan Hunter-Reay, who has yet to turn a lap in the #41 AJ Foyt car.

Also on track is the popular, and relevant, pit stop competition. With the field being the closest in Indy 500 history, this race very well may be won or lost in the pits. The winner of this competition could have a leg up on the rest of the field.

And last but not least is the Freedom 100 Firestone Indy Lights race. These cars won’t blow you away with speed, especially after having the IndyCars on track a couple of hours earlier, but the Indy Lights race on this track almost always seems to produce a nail biting finish. And with more drivers making the leap for the LIghts Series to the IZOD IndyCar Series, these drivers could very well be the future stars of IndyCar and the Indy 500.

Stay tuned to this entry for continued updates from Carb Day (wireless and cell phone service permitting). And be sure to check back later today for our preview of the 95th running of the Indianapolis 500, complete with the success of the predictions linked to a donation to Racing for Cancer.

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