Team Penske rules Fast Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio
Warp speed was the norm at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during a “Fast Friday” practice session that saw the 230 mph barrier battered.
Josef Newgarden – Indianapolis 500 Practice – Photo by Justin Walsh
Led by reigning Indy 500 champion Josef Newgarden, Team Penske’s three-car juggernaut topped the four-lap/10-mile chart as 33 of 34 entrants posted single hot laps in excess of the “magic” 230 mph mark around the 2.5-mile IMS oval.
Penske teammates Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin and Will Power ranked 1-2-3 during simulated qualifying runs as the focus shifted to PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying today and Sunday. The 108th edition of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” is scheduled for Sunday, May 26. Race Day activities will be broadcast beginning at 11 a.m. (EDT) on NBC, Peacock, Universo and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
Newgarden averaged 234.063 mph during his best four-lap/10-mile qualifying simulation in the No. 2 Shell Powering Progress Team Penske Chevrolet. Two-time/reigning NTT IndyCar Series champ Alex Palou of Spain set the event record last year with an average speed of 234.217 mph en route to his first career Indy 500 pole.
Speeds soared Friday as the 2.2-liter, direct-injected, twin-turbocharged Honda and Chevrolet V-6 engines powering the field were allotted approximately 100 more horsepower via increased boost levels from 1.3 bar to 1.5 bar. That additional boost also will be available this weekend.
“It’s always interesting to see how this shapes up,” Newgarden said during his post-practice presser. “Friday is one deal, and then (today) is going to be where it really comes together and you’re going to see where the field truly stacks up. But I think today is a good indicator and we feel like we’re in a decent spot. We’re definitely in the mix, which is great to see. We’ve been working the last four years to try and get back into the mix in qualifying.”
A two-time series champion, Newgarden is pragmatically prepping for his 13th Indy 500. “You can’t get too excited on a day like today,” Newgarden said. “We’re testing. Everybody’s testing. It counts when it counts, but I think we have fast cars. We need to put our pieces together. It’s going to be harder (today); it’s going to be even harder on Sunday.”
Today’s opening round of qualifying is scheduled from 11 a.m.-5:50 p.m. following practice in two, 30-minute groups. Positions 13-30 in the starting field will be set today, with the Last Row Shootout, Top 12 and Firestone Fast Six qualifying sessions Sunday afternoon deciding the remainder of the traditional 33-car grid.
McLaughlin, a native of New Zealand, recorded the second-fastest qualifying sim at 233.623 mph in the No. 3 Pennzoil “Yellow Submarine” Team Penske Chevrolet. Native Australian Power, the 2018 Indy 500 winner and two-time series champ, was third at 233.451 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet.
Arrow McLaren drivers earned the fourth and fifth-fastest spots on the qualifying sim speed chart. Alexander Rossi, winner of the 2016 Indy 500, was fourth at 233.355 mph in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. “It was a good Fast Friday,” Rossi said. “I always love when we get to turn up the boost around here. I think the car is very close. It’s competitive as always out there, but I think we have the ability to fight for it.”
Pato O’Ward was fifth at 233.043 mph in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. “It was a rollercoaster of a day for us, but I ended up quite happy with the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevy,” said O’Ward, a native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio. “I think we’re ready for qualifying. We ended the day strong.”
Colton Herta was the fastest driver overall during a single-lap run at 234.974 mph in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda fielded by Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian. “I’m happy with what we were able to do,” Herta said. “We seem to be lacking a little bit of speed (for qualifying runs). It’s nice to be quickest, but it doesn’t mean much for qualifying.”
Four-time Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves placed 20th on the overall chart after a single lap at 232.495 mph on the 31st of the 42 tours he logged in the No. 06 Cleveland-Cliffs Honda fielded by Meyer Shank Racing. Castroneves’ four-lap sim average of 232.200 mph was 14th as the popular Brazilian continued methodically prepping for his one-off “Drive for 5” effort.
“Really promising day today; we really fine-tuned the car,” Castroneves said. “I think we can be in the Fast 12, that’s the goal. We’ll have to do a little more tuning to make it to the Fast Six, but I think we’re in a good spot right now.”
Six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon, a native of New Zealand and winner of the 2008 Indy 500, was 21st on the single-lap chart at 232.473 mph in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Teammate Palou was 24th at 232.135 mph after 18 laps in the No. 10 DHL CGR Honda.
Indy 500 rookie Kyle Larson was second-fastest overall on a single lap at 234.271 mph in the No. 17 Hendrickcars.com Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Larson placed 10th on the qualifying sim speed chart at 232.549 mph. The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, Larson is attempting to complete “The Double” of racing in the Indy 500 and Cup’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 26.
The versatile Larson made a seamless adjustment to the added boost and extra horsepower. “Surprisingly, it didn’t feel as different as I was expecting it to be,” Larson said. “It’s obviously different. You can tell you’re going faster and you’re a little bit more on the limit of things. But I was expecting like from what I’ve heard or just from watching Indianapolis stuff in the past, the commentators do such a great job of making it seem like it’s like _ BOOM!_ you’re going 100 miles an hour faster.
“It didn’t feel way different, so I was happy about that. I think our car balance was in a comfortable spot, too, that allowed me to be a little bit calmer in the car. I think if I would have went out there and felt on the limit of the rear tires, then yeah, I would have felt like I probably was going way faster. I think they did a good job today with the balance and keeping me comfortable.”
Larson admittedly was unsure about his goals for qualifying. “I think it’d be pretty neat to make the Fast 12 and then the Fast Six,” Larson said. “I think that’d be pretty neat. Being a rookie, I don’t know if that’s to be expected but it’d be pretty cool to make that and be in the front couple of rows of the race. Just want to get a good, smooth run in and make the show first. Being the top rookie in qualifying would be cool as well.”
Newgarden’s lap of 234.260 mph _ the first circuit on his fastest four-lap qualifying sim _ ended up as third-fastest single lap overall. Still, Newgarden declined to anoint himself as favorite to win pole position.
“I’ve never felt like a favorite here, and I don’t know that I ever would,” Newgarden said. “There’s so many good-quality teams nowadays. This race has changed from where it was 20 years ago. Just to speak recently. Certainly changes from 30, 40 years ago.
“Qualifying is still one thing. It shows general car speed. But you can’t ever get ahead of yourself here. That’s been my experience the last 12 years running at this place that stuff surprises you. There’s so many good quality teams and drivers that I just don’t think you can ever feel too confident and comfortable.
“I think we’re in a good spot. There’s no doubt. I just wouldn’t consider ourselves a favorite. I think we’ve just shown up prepared and ready, and now we need to execute (today) and Sunday.”
All 34 drivers attempting to earn one of the coveted 33 starting spots combined to turn 990 laps Friday. That was a significant reduction from Wednesday and Thursday, as teams focused mainly on solo runs in qualifying simulations.
One incident interrupted the six-hour session. Rookie Nolan Siegel spun in Turn 2 during a qualifying simulation and hit the SAFER Barrier. Siegel’s No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda then rolled and became briefly airborne, landing on its left sidepod and sliding down the backstretch on its roll hoop. Siegel was uninjured but the car was heavily damaged. Siegel later said Coyne’s small team was switching to a backup car. Siegel recorded his top speed of 229.318 mph on Lap 9 of the 15 he completed before crashing.
