Two-time reigning Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden led the six-hour session Thursday at 226.632 mph in the No. 2 Shell V-Power NiTRO+ Team Penske Chevrolet. Photo courtesy of the NTT IndyCar Series.

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio

With history beckoning, two-time/reigning Indianapolis 500 champion Josef Newgarden drove to the top of the speed chart during Day 3 of practice for the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.

Newgarden _ ranked among the top-three during all three days of practice this week _ posted a hot lap of 226.632 mph Thursday around Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s famed 2.5-mile oval. Driver of the No. 2 Shell V-Power NiTRO+ Team Penske Chevrolet, Newgarden will attempt to become the first driver to win “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” three consecutive years on Sunday, May 25.

“Pretty solid week so far,” Newgarden said after the six-hour session. “The team’s been doing a lot of great work. We’ve showed up really prepared. We’re still going through the motions _ can’t get ahead of ourselves. We’re excited for Fast Friday.”

SEE: Practice Report

Speeds will take a dramatic jump during the next practice, set for noon-6 p.m. (EDT) on Fast Friday presented by Turtle Wax. Broadcast coverage will run from noon-4 p.m. on FS2; 4-6 p.m. on FS1 and the FOX Sports app and INDYCAR Radio Network. The twin-turbocharged V-6 Chevrolet and Honda engines powering the field will produce approximately 100 more horsepower due to increased boost levels that also will be available during PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying on Saturday and Sunday.

“It’s going to be quite hot (Friday),” said Newgarden, a 34-year-old native of Nashville, Tenn. “So, we’re going to try to work around that and forecast the change going into Saturday and Sunday as the temperature is going to fluctuate quite a bit from what we’re going to see on Fast Friday.”

Conditions Thursday varied from the first two days of practice, as air temperatures climbed to nearly 90 degrees with no rain after showers interrupted sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon, the 2008 Indy 500 winner, was second Thursday at 225.457 mph in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. The native New Zealander has placed in the top-four all three days in search of his second 500 victory.

Journeyman Conor Daly, a 33-year-old native of Noblesville, Ind., continued his surprisingly strong week in the No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet by posting the third-fastest speed at 224.893 mph. After ranking 21st Tuesday, Daly has placed in the top-five the last two days.

“I don’t want to get too overly excited about things,” said Daly, the son of former Formula One and INDYCAR driver Derek Daly. “These last two days have honestly been two of the most fun days I’ve had here. I don’t know why. I mean, these guys have obviously given me a great car, and that really makes the driver’s job a lot easier, and it’s just got a lot of raw speed.

“That’s also thanks to Chevrolet. I think Chevrolet has done an amazing job for us. Yeah, it’s been fun. I feel like we’re quite competitive in traffic. Then our first qualifying run was seventh of the ‘no-tow’ list, so I feel pretty decent about that. We haven’t even trimmed as much as the Penske cars. We’re just going to keep our expectations in-check. We’re going to keep our belts tightened a little bit and see what happens.” Daly is poised to compete in his 12^th Indy 500.

Pato O’Ward, runnerup to Newgarden in the 108^th running of the race, moved from 20^th on Wednesday to fourth overall at 224.467 mph after completing 76 laps in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.

“There are two different beasts you’re trying to make go fast, to be honest with you,” said O’Ward, a native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio. “Just because you have a good car in traffic doesn’t mean you’re going to have a good qualifying car, and vice-versa. I’ve done no qualifying stuff because the car changes a lot with the boost. It could feel good today trimming-wise but then (Friday) you put the boost on and it’s like, ‘What the hell happened to the car?’

“We had a read at the Open Test that I was somewhat happy with, so we’ll see what we’ve got once the boost comes on. In traffic, I think we’ve gotten better, but there’s still a handful of other cars that I believe are a lot stronger than we are. There’s still work to do.”

Meanwhile, 2014 Indy 500 champion Ryan Hunter-Reay _ aka “Captain America” _ completed the top-five at 223.983 mph in the No. 23 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Cusick Wedbush Securities Chevrolet.

“It was definitely hotter (Thursday) and there were challenging conditions,” RHR said. “But we’re going to have challenging conditions for the next few days. Again, we were trying some big swings at the car. One of them didn’t work so we had to go back to the garage to reset the car. We validated that and went back to where we like the car. Then we went back and reset the car for qualifying trim. And we got out and got some runs in qualifying trim. So, we got the big boxes checked-off.

“Friday is going to be very interesting with the wind and added horsepower for qualifying. We were able to work on pit stops again, and those seemed better. We just have to get ready for qualifying now.”

Indeed, drivers spent much of Thursday honing Race Day setups in traffic. But a few drivers began qualifying simulations later in the session, running without the benefit of an aerodynamic tow. Newgarden, a two-time series champion for team-owner Roger S. Penske, was fastest on the “no-tow” list at 222.555 mph. However, Kyle Kirkwood emerged as a driver to watch on Fast Friday and in qualifying this weekend as he was second-fastest without a tow at 222.372 mph in the No. 27 Siemens Honda of Andretti Global.

Runaway series point-leader Alex Palou was sixth Thursday at 223.456 mph after completing 112 laps in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. The winner of four of the series’ first five races this season, Palou topped Wednesday’s chart at 227.546 mph during the rain-interrupted second day of practice.

The three-time/reigning series champion, Palou began his Month of May with a dominant victory in Saturday’s Sonsio Grand Prix on the 2.439-mile/14-turn IMS Road-Course from pole position. While the 28-year-old Spaniard has won two consecutive championships, he has yet to win an INDYCAR oval-track race _ the only shiny object missing from Alex’s otherwise brilliant resume.

Palou is the first driver since Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais in 2006 to win four of the season’s first five races. Palou’s early-season report card features straight A’s _four victories (Streets of St. Pete, Thermal Club in California, Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., and the IMS Road-Course) and one second-place finish (Streets of Long Beach).

Palou’s average finish of 1.2 through five events is the best start to a season since INDYCAR icon A.J. Foyt Jr. won the first seven races of the 1964 schedule during the front-engine roadster era. “Super Tex” scored the second of his eventual record-setting four Indy 500s on May 30, 1964 in the No. 1 Sheraton-Thompson Watson/Offy.

With 12 races remaining on the 2025 schedule, it’s not a stretch to imagine Palou threatening the all-time series record for victories in a season _ 10 shared by “Legends of The Brickyard” Foyt in 1964 and Al Unser in 1970.

Native Chicagoan David Malukas led the two-car contingent from Waller, Texas-based A.J. Foyt Racing in ninth at 222.753 mph after 49 laps-completed in the No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet.

Four-time Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves was 15th overall at 222.455 mph after 81 laps in his one-off bid in the No. 06 Cleveland-Cliffs Honda fielded by Meyer Shank Racing. The popular Brazilian won the 2021 Indy 500 with MSR to join the exclusive Four-Timers Club featuring Houston native Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears. Castroneves, 50, won his first three Indy 500s with Team Penske.

“Today was interesting,” said Castroneves, who is a part-owner of MSR. “We started a little bit different because of the weather, which obviously threw a little bit of a wrench on our program. But we kept that wrench because we thought we were going to use it, and then we did (use it). We finished today in a very tough conditions, and it felt really good and really strong. We have a stable car to be competitive, but we want a car to be the winner.”

Two-time Indy 500 champion Takuma Sato dropped from 15^th at 223.583 mph on Wednesday to 29^th on Thursday at 220.718 mph after 65 laps in the No. 75 AMADA Honda fielded by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

“I think we made good progress today,” said Sato, the 48-year-old native of Tokyo who competed full-time for RLLR in 2012 and 2018-2021 and won the Indy 500 with in 2020. “I was finally getting to experience the group runs and we did make two qualifying simulations runs to prepare for (Fast Friday) and it seemed that we were collecting very valuable data, so it was a productive day.” Sato’s speed was 10^th on the “no-tow” list.

Sato started 10^th in his 15^th Indy 500 last May, and sixth with the team fronted by 1986 Indy 500 champion Bobby Rahal. “Taku” finished 14^th in last year’s race.

At the far end of the chart for a second consecutive day was Dallas resident Santino Ferrucci _ 33^rd overall at 219.630 mph after 27 laps in the No. 14 Sexton Properties Chevrolet fielded by A.J. Foyt Racing. Ferrucci also ranked 33^rd Wednesday at 220.566 mph after completing only 26 laps.

Christian Rasmussen of Denmark was the first driver to make contact with the SAFER Barrier this week. At 4:13 p.m., Rasmussen spun in Turn 2 and made light contact with the rear of the No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Splenda Chevrolet. Rasmussen was uninjured and returned to the track late in the day after repairs were made to his car.

All 34 drivers attempting to earn one of the traditional 33 spots in the starting field turned a total of 2,213 laps/5,532.5 miles.

Before the six-hour practice started, Arrow McLaren Team Principal Tony Kanaan completed his refresher test in the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Arrow McLaren Chevrolet driven by 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson. Kanaan, the 2013 Indy 500 champ, will be on standby to substitute for Larson on Race Day if a weather delay forces Larson to leave for his full-time NASCAR drive at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., in the No. 5 Chevrolet fielded by Hendrick Motorsports.

Larson is again attempting to complete “The Double” of racing in the Indy 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, May 25. “Practice went pretty good today,” Larson said after completing 65 laps with a top speed of 222.222 mph. “I thought our car was a little bit more competitive in dirty air, so I’m happy with that.” Larson was 17^th on Thursday’s speed chart.

Broadcast coverage of the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge will begin at 10 a.m. (EDT) on FOX Sports, FOX Deportes, the FOX Sports app and INDYCAR Radio Network.

NTT IndyCar Series Point Standings _ 1, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, 248; 2, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, 151; 3, Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren, 150; 4, Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren, 148; 5, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske, 137; 6, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, 134; 7, Will Power, Team Penske, 128; 8, Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 125; 9, Colton Herta, Andretti Global, 104; 10, Rinus VeeKay, Dale Coyne Racing, 100;

11, Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter Racing, 98; 12, Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, 96; 13, Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 92; 14, Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing, 91; 15, Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Racing, 73; 16, Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global, 70; 17, Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing, 66; 18, Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren, 65; 19, David Malukas, A.J. Foyt Racing, 63; 20, Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing, 62;

21, Conor Daly, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 58; 22, Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 56; 23, Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 49; 24, Robert Shwartzman, Prema Racing, 47; 25, Devlin DeFrancesco, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 44; 26, Callum Ilott, Prema Racing, 32; 27, Jacob Abel, Dale Coyne Racing, 28.

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. (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Saturday, May 10 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

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.