Glad to see a thread going on the 500, was coming here to create one myself!
Speeds are getting nuts again. I saw a few guys touch 240 in qualy. In this modern era, I'm not sure there is another track run by a top-level series where setting a good laptime is just as much about guts as it is about skill. It can go so wrong, so fast - you can go from in the groove to in the catch fence in about a second, really kind of terrifying to watch!
Team Andretti is looking fast in qualy. That's good news for me, because I'm a Rossi fan and I'd love to see him take another 500 (especially after the subpar season he's had up to this point). Honestly though, with this series, even on the road courses it's pretty unpredictable...on an oval over a 500 mile distance, I really believe all 33 entrants have at least a chance. If you look at the margins in qualy, it's not hard to imagine small changes in conditions (heat, humidity, wind, timing of cautions, etc) can make a huge different. Someone who looked out of it in qualy can suddenly be the man to beat.
Looking forward to it!