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Saavedra wins 1st pole after Hunter-Reay crash

By WTOP Staff

JENNA FRYER
AP Auto Racing Writer

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A slick surface was all it took for Sebastian Saavedra to win his first IndyCar Series pole.

It was also just enough to slip Ryan Hunter-Reay out of the top starting spot for Saturday’s Grand Prix of Indianapolis.

Saavedra won the pole Friday when Hunter-Reay appeared to drive through a patch of standing water that caused him to spin and crash at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The accident exiting Turn 14 came on the lap after Hunter-Reay had moved to the provisional pole, and IndyCar penalized him by taking away his two fastest laps for causing a session-ending caution.

“We definitely gave that one away,” Hunter-Reay said. “Every time through there I almost lost it. I had a few big moments there, but in qualifying you’ve got to go for it. In the wet, you’re always going for it.

“There’s a very fine line between stepping over getting that good lap in the wet and throwing it off.”

Rain showers changed the track conditions for each of the four qualifying sessions, and it picked up moments before the start of the final Fast Six session. IndyCar brought the cars back to pit road because of standing water on the track for a red-flag period that lasted about 20 minutes.

Saavedra had just bumped rookie Jack Hawksworth from the pole when Hunter-Reay turned his fast lap. But the IndyCar rule is to strip a driver of his two fastest laps for bringing out a red flag during qualifying, so Hunter-Reay was dropped to third.

Hunter-Reay, the only driver to advance to the Fast Six through the first four races of the season, has not started lower than third this year. But his Andretti Autosport team had work to do to repair his bright yellow No. 28, which sustained heavy damage to the right rear of the car.

Saavedra, who turned a lap at 1 minute, 23.8822 seconds, will lead the field to the green flag for the first IndyCar road course race at Indianapolis.

“I love the rain,” Saavedra said. “It was crazy at first because we didn’t know what to expect from the track — if it was going to be wet, if it was going to be dry. The whole session was just weird. It started to rain and went from wet, to dry, to super dry, to super wet. I loved it.”

The previous road course was reconfigured into a 14-turn, 2.439-mile course to accommodate IndyCar, which is using the race to open the speedway and create buzz in advance of the Indianapolis 500. Drivers for the first time are running clockwise at the famed speedway, which will run the Grand Prix on Saturday and then revert to the traditional oval Sunday for the opening practice for the May 25 main event.

Because the event and the track configuration are new, the field may be even headed into Saturday’s race. It appeared even when Saavedra advanced into his first Fast Six of the season, then hung on to win the pole and give IndyCar a relatively inexperienced front row.

Saavedra has 41 career starts dating to 2010, but his longtime backer this year brought him to KV Racing, the team that won the Indianapolis 500 last year with Tony Kanaan. Hawksworth, starting on the outside of Saavedra, has three previous starts. The British driver is in his first season with Bryan Herta Autosport.

Hawksworth spent last season racing Indy Lights, where he won three times.

Meanwhile, a tough qualifying assignment made it a nearly impossible session for Andretti Autosport, which had all five of its cars in the first group. With only six drivers advancing from that group, the odds were stacked against the organization.

Indeed, only Hunter-Reay and James Hinchcliffe moved on while Marco Andretti, Carlos Munoz and Franck Montagny were eliminated.

“Obviously, I’m not very happy,” Andretti said. “It was a team decision to go out, we were worried about the wet, but we plateaued too early and the track got better at the end. We’ve been on the outside looking in of this hundredth of a second. I’m losing sleep over this couple hundredths of a second.”

Wished good luck for Saturday’s race, Andretti, who will start 13th, said: “Thanks, I’m going to need it.”

Mikhail Aleshin, the first Russian in IndyCar history, had been strong through three practices and advanced into the second round of qualifying. But his fastest laps were wiped out when he was hit with an interference penalty.

He and Sebastien Bourdais had raced each other hard for many laps two weeks ago at Barber, and Bourdais was eventually penalized for contact. The two drivers disagree wildly on who was to blame.

Simon Pagenaud, teammates with the rookie but friendly with Bourdais since their days racing in France, wasn’t sure what happened in qualifying.

“What I know is him and Sebastien Bourdais are becoming best friends,” Pagenaud joked.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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