Recap: Indy 500 practice speeds, highlights
Indianapolis 500 drivers return to race preparation with the race coming May 26. After a weekend of qualifying, Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske earned the pole position with a 4-lap speed average of 234.220 mph on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.
Speeds will fall in Monday's practice as the drivers return to race setups. Nathan Brown is your best IndyCar follow, and we have highlights from the 2-hour session.
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3 p.m.: Indy 500 practice ends
Drivers turn 2,655 laps, led by Tom Blomqvist's 106, without any incidents. Here are the fastest laps for each driver:
- (2) Josef Newgarden, 226.238
- (26) Colton Herta, 226.222
- (12) Will Power, 226.137
- (78) Agustin Canapino, 225.747
- (5) Pato O'Ward, 225.738
- (33) Christian Rasmussen, 225.718
- (9) Scott Dixon, 225.516
- (77) Romain Grosjean, 225.507
- (7) Alexander Rossi, 225.446
- (98) Marco Andretti, 225.205
- (15) Graham Rahal, 225.180
- (23) Ryan Hunter-Reay, 225.050
- (06) Helio Castroneves, 225.003
- (24) Conor Daly, 224.922
- (14) Santino Ferucci, 224.822
- (66) Tom Blomqvist, 224.600
- (75) Takuma Sato, 224.567
- (6) Callum Ilott, 224.419
- (10) Alex Palou, 224.330
- (45) Christian Lundgaard, 224.159
- (3) Scott McLaughlin, 224.031
- (60) Felix Rosenqvist, 223.843
- (8) Linus Lundqvist, 223.842
- (27) Kyle Kirkwood, 223.819
- (98) Marcus Ericsson, 223.659
- (30) Pietro Fittipaldi, 223.474
- (4) Kyffin Simpson, 223.337
- (17) Kyle Larson, 223.312
- (21) Rinus VeeKay, 223.026
- (11) Marcus Armstrong, 222.936
- (41) Sting Ray Robb, 222.856
- (20) Ed Carpenter, 222.690
- (51) Katherine Legge, 222.100
Next up is Carb Day practice at 11 a.m. ET Friday.
1 p.m.: Indy 500 practice
∎ Josef Newgarden takes the top lap at 226.238 as of 2:20 p.m. Pole-sitter Scott McLaughlin and NASCAR star Kyle Larson practice in close quarters.
∎ Could Tony Kanaan return to the Indy 500? The retired driver who is helping guide Kyle Larson's Indy 500 ride is asking race officials about the possibility of a 10-lap refresher course in case weather complicates Larson's effort to drive Indy and NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday.
∎ The full field has driven at race speed by 1:25. Colton Herta remains a top the speed chart. Katherine Legge trails at 213.790.
∎ Colton Herta has the top lap at 226.222 mph after 15 minutes, with 31 cars at race speed. Kyle Larson, fresh off a 2nd-row qualifying effort followed by a 4th-place finish in the NASCAR All-Star Race on Sunday night, hits 223.221 mph, 11th fastest. Katherine Legge and Kyle Kirkwood have yet to post laps.
∎ The track gets busy in a hurry. 21 cars are at racing speed in the first 5 minutes, with Will Power topping the speed chart at 226.137 mph.
Track conditions: 86 degrees, mostly cloudy; track temperature 121.6 degrees. Early forecast for race day is a high of 80 degrees under cloudy skies.