{"id":58417,"date":"2026-05-19T14:10:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T19:10:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=58417"},"modified":"2026-05-19T14:11:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T19:11:09","slug":"two-time-champions-newgarden-sato-pace-post-qualifying-practice-for-110th-indianapolis-500","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/19\/two-time-champions-newgarden-sato-pace-post-qualifying-practice-for-110th-indianapolis-500\/","title":{"rendered":"Two-time champions Newgarden, Sato pace post-qualifying practice for 110th Indianapolis 500"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Post-qualifying practice on Monday for the NTT IndyCar Series Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana
(Photo by Jeff Hilliker\/IMS Photos)<\/p><\/div>\n

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By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio<\/em><\/p>\n

A switch to Race Day chassis setups predictably flipped the qualifying script during Monday\u2019s rain-shortened practice for the 110th<\/sup> Indianapolis 500.<\/p>\n

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Josef Newgarden – Indianapolis 500 Practice – Photo by Joe Skibinski<\/p><\/div>\n

A pair of two-time Indy 500 champions _ Josef Newgarden and Takuma Sato _ topped the speed chart as they prepped for a possible third visit into Victory Circle after Sunday\u2019s 200-lap\/500-mile dash around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway.<\/p>\n

Newgarden _ who qualified a disappointing 23rd<\/sup> in the traditional 33-car field Sunday _ emerged as fastest of the day at 226.198 mph after 34 laps in the No. 2 Shell Fuel Rewards Team Penske Chevrolet. Similarly, Japanese ace Sato ranked second after posting a top speed of 225.723 mph after 35 laps in the No. 75 Amada Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Sato qualified 13th<\/sup> Sunday in his one-off appearance for RLLR.<\/p>\n

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Josef Newgarden – PPG Armed Forces Qualifying Pole Day – Photo by Matt Fraver<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cVery happy to get some practice in before the weather got here,\u201d said Newgarden, a 35-year-old native of Nashville, Tenn., and the 2023 and 2024 Indy 500 winner. “The Shell Fuel Rewards Chevy was very strong today in race trim. These next few days will be very important to come up with a good plan for Carb Day practice because we still have a few things to improve on. Obviously, wish we had a better starting position, but we can move forward on Sunday.”<\/p>\n

Sato competed for RLLR fulltime in 2012 and from 2018-2021. \u201cTaku\u201d won the Indy 500 with the organization founded by 1986 champion Bobby Rahal in 2020.<\/p>\n

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Takuma Sato – Indianapolis 500 Practice – Photo by Chris Jones<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201c<\/strong>We were very fortunate to have a few runs in dry conditions because we wanted to check on our race package, which worked well, and certainly we made a good step forward,\u201d said Sato, a 49-year-old native of Tokyo. \u201cSo, it was a good productive day even though it ended early.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shortened from 2-hours to 1-hour, 18-minutes due to rain and lightning, the practice was overshadowed by a frightening three-car incident in Turn 2 involving No. 2 qualifier Alexander Rossi, No. 6 qualifier Pato O\u2019Ward and Frenchman Romain Grosjean 28 minutes into the session.<\/p>\n

SEE:<\/strong> Practice Results<\/a><\/p>\n

The first major accident of the Month of May unfolded at 1:28 p.m. (EDT) under threatening skies. Rossi spun in Turn 2 in the No. 20 Java House Chevrolet of Ed Carpenter Racing, made hard contact with the SAFER Barrier and then took a secondary hit from the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet of O\u2019Ward, who spun under braking trying to avoid Rossi. Both cars incurred heavy damage.<\/p>\n