By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio
Six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon launched his bid for a second Indianapolis 500 victory Wednesday during Day 1 of the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by GainbridgeOpen Test.
SEE: Test Results | No-Tow Results
The 2008 Indy 500 champion, Dixon topped the speed chart around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval at 225.182 mph in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Dixon recorded his fastest speed during the last hour of hot-lapping.
“It’s testing _ just trying to get through the test list, lots of changes,” said Dixon, a 44-year-old native of New Zealand and CGR’s longest-tenured driver. “We didn’t do the October test, so first time with the hybrid here, which definitely adds some elements to it and makes it pretty interesting. I think it’s going to determine a lot race-wise, maybe even for the shootout at the end. I think it could determine that.
“So, trying to clarify a lot of those situations to make sure that you’re covered muscle memory-wise and memory-wise. It comes down to that. So even in qualifying, I think it be a few different strategies of how to get that right.”
Dixon took P1 from two-time/reigning race champion Josef Newgarden, who placed second at 225.125 mph in the No. 2 Shell V-Power NiTRO+ Team Penske Chevrolet. A two-time series champion, Newgarden will try to become the first driver to win “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” three years in a row on Sunday, May 25.
“Today was really solid just to start out,” said Newgarden, 34. “The big thing is you come here with a new car or an existing car that you’re taking apart and completely rebuilding it. For most everybody here, putting a car on the track for the first time and hoping it just goes relatively quick. When the car is fast, everything else can be fixed. It’s the car’s speed that fixes everything.
“For us, it’s been a really good start. It doesn’t mean it’s going to be all smooth sailing but I hope we can come out of this and be prepared for the Month of May.”
Two-time 500 winner Takuma Sato of Japan started his “one-off” Indianapolis 500 effort with typical vigor, placing third at 225.069 mph in the No. 75 AMADA Honda fielded by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Marcus Armstrong led three Meyer Shank Racing cars in the top eight, as the native New Zealanderwas fourth at 224.987 mph in the No. 66 SiriusXM/Root Insurance Honda.
Colton Herta completed the top–five at 224.857 mph in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global.
Besides MSR putting Armstrong fourth, four-time 500champion Helio Castroneves of Brazil seventh and Sweden’s Felix Rosenqvist eighth, another trend line emerged _ Honda engines are oval-fast. Honda-powered cars have swept the first three races of the 2025 season, two on street circuits and another on a road-course. Honda engines powered nine of the 10 fastest drivers Wednesday, with Newgarden the only Team Chevy entrant in that group.
Honda drivers also locked up the top three spots on the “no-tow” list of drivers’ best laps turned without the speed-enhancing edge of an aerodynamic slipstream from a leading car. Rosenqvist was the top no-tow driver at 220.835 mph in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda, followed by three-time/reigning series champion Alex Palou of Spain at 220.354 mph in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
Testing is scheduled to resume at 9:30 a.m. (EDT) Thursday. Teams will have access from 9:30-noon to the same elevated turbo boost levels as “Fast Friday” practice booked on May 16 and PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying on May 17-18. Boost will then be reduced to race levels from 2-5 p.m. for the final segment of testing this week.
“I’m excited to turn up the boost and curious to see how this hybrid is going to be used in qualifying,” said Pato O’Ward, 16th overall at 222.775 mph in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. “I think everybody is kind of playing a guessing game now, so we’ll see what’s the best one (Thursday).” A native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio, O’Ward’s bid for his first Indy 500 victory was thwarted last May when he was passed by Newgarden in Turn 3 on the 200th and final lap.
Thirty-four drivers are eligible to participate when Indianapolis 500 practice officially opens Tuesday, May 13, as Jacob Abel, Louis Foster of Great Britain and Russian/Israeli Robert Shwartzman completed the Rookie Orientation Program. In addition, former Indy 500 pole-sitter Marco Andretti, Devlin DeFrancesco of Canada, Callum Ilott of Great Britain, NASCAR Cup Series regular Kyle Larson and Sato completed the veteran refresher test Wednesday.
All 34 drivers expected to compete next month for the traditional 33 starting spots were on–track Wednesday, turning a combined 2,805 laps. Rookie Swartzman was the busiest driver, logging 133 laps in the No. 83 PREMA Racing Chevrolet.
In an intriguing twist, current championship leader Palou was one of the most inactive drivers, completing just 46 laps despite no apparent technical problems. Palou, who is seeking his first Indy 500 victory, placed sixth overall at 224.786 mph.
Larson, the 2021 Cup Series champion for Hendrick Motorsports, was 11th at 223.430 mph in the No. 17 Hendrickcars.com Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Larson is once again trying to complete “The Double” of racing in the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day Sunday.
One caution period interrupted the more than six hours of testing. Graham Rahal brushed the SAFER Barrier in Turn 3 twice in his No. 15 United Rentals Honda fielded by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing with 13 minutes remaining. Rahal, the son of 1986 Indy 500 champion and team-founder Bobby Rahal, was uninjured.
NTT IndyCar Series Point Standings _ 1, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, 142; 2, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, 108;3, Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren, 96; 4, Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 88; 5, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, 86; 6, Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren, 80; 7, Colton Herta, Andretti Global, 73; 8, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske, 69; 9, Will Power, Team Penske, 63; 10, Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, 58;
11, Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter Racing, 58; 12, Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global, 55; 13, Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Racing, 51; 14, Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing, 50;15, Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing, 48; 16, Rinus VeeKay, Dale Coyne Racing, 46; 17, Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 45; 18, David Malukas, A.J. Foyt Racing, 42; 19, Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing, 40;20, Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 39;
21, Conor Daly, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 32; 22, Robert Shwartzman, Prema Racing, 30; 23, Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren, 26; 24, Callum Ilott, Prema Racing, 25; 25, Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 25; 26, Devlin DeFrancesco, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 24; 27, Jacob Abel, Dale Coyne Racing, 17.
FOX SPORTS’ 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES BROADCAST COVERAGE SCHEDULE
Sunday, March 2 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)
Sunday, March 23 _The Thermal Club, Thermal, Calif. (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)
Sunday, April 13 _ Streets of Long Beach, Calif. (Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global)
Sunday, May 4 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala. (FOX, 1:30 p.m.)
Saturday, May 10 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course (FOX, 4:30 p.m.)
Sunday, May 25 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oval (FOX, 10 a.m.)
Sunday, June 1 _ Streets of Detroit (FOX, 12:30 p.m.)
Sunday, June 15 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill. (FOX, 3 p.m.)
Sunday, June 22 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis. (FOX, 3:30 p.m.)
Sunday, July 6 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington (FOX, 2 p.m.)
Saturday, July 12 _ Iowa Speedway, Newton, Race 1 (FOX, 5 p.m.)
Sunday, July 13 _ Iowa Speedway, Newton, Race 2 (FOX, 2 p.m.)
Sunday, July 20 _ Streets of Toronto, Canada (FOX, 2 p.m.)
Sunday, July 27 _ WeatherTech Raceway, Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif. (FOX, 3 p.m.)
Sunday, Aug. 10 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway (FOX, 3 p.m.)
Sunday, Aug. 24 _ The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wis. (FOX, 2 p.m.)
Sunday, Aug. 31 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn. (2:30 p.m.)
NOTE _ All times Eastern. Dates and times subject to change.
