Power tops opening practice for IndyCar GP

Power tops opening practice for IndyCar GP

Will Power
Will Power

Coming off his first Verizon IndyCar Series podium of 2017, Team Penske’s Will Power is off to a good start in continuing his momentum into this weekend’s INDYCAR Grand Prix. The Australian led today’s opening practice session of the weekend with a fast lap of 1 minute, 9.3172 seconds (126.670 mph).

“We got better at the end," said Power, slated to make his 175th Indy car start on Saturday. “Got a bit quicker. We made a lot of changes. We’ve got to digest exactly what works and does not back at the shed."

In the issue-free 45-minute session, all 22 cars and drivers circulated the 2.439-mile, 14-turn permanent Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, as Power – 2015 winner of the INDYCAR Grand Prix – was followed by Scott Dixon (No. 9 NTT Data Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, 1:09.4096) and Josef Newgarden (No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, 1:09.4279) atop the speed chart. A total of 359 timed laps were turned.

Defending race winner Simon Pagenaud (No. 1 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet) was fourth quick at 1:09.4607 (126.408 mph). Ed Carpenter Racing sophomore Spencer Pigot (No. 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolet) rounded out the top five at 1:09.4628 (126.404 mph).

“It’s tough to get a balance," Power added regarding setup for the IMS road course. “The track is so smooth. It’s very consistent grip everywhere. If your car’s a little bit out of balance, you’re going to struggle."

Results

Pos No Name FTime Diff Gap FL Laps FSpeed Engine
1 12 Will Power 1:09.317 0.0000 0.0000 19 19 126.670 Chevy
2 9 Scott Dixon 1:09.410 0.0924 0.0924 12 16 126.501 Honda
3 2 Josef Newgarden 1:09.428 0.1107 0.0183 13 13 126.468 Chevy
4 1 Simon Pagenaud 1:09.461 0.1435 0.0328 19 19 126.408 Chevy
5 20 Spencer Pigot 1:09.463 0.1456 0.0021 16 17 126.404 Chevy
6 15 Graham Rahal 1:09.556 0.2389 0.0933 17 19 126.235 Honda
7 22 Juan Pablo Montoya 1:09.707 0.3902 0.1513 13 14 125.961 Chevy
8 8 Max Chilton 1:09.773 0.4560 0.0658 13 14 125.842 Honda
9 14 Carlos Munoz 1:09.777 0.4598 0.0038 14 14 125.835 Chevy
10 5 James Hinchcliffe 1:09.785 0.4677 0.0079 16 16 125.821 Honda
11 98 Alexander Rossi 1:09.821 0.5042 0.0365 13 17 125.755 Honda
12 3 Helio Castroneves 1:09.825 0.5074 0.0032 15 15 125.749 Chevy
13 10 Tony Kanaan 1:09.917 0.5996 0.0922 16 16 125.584 Honda
14 18 Sebastien Bourdais 1:09.919 0.6022 0.0026 18 19 125.579 Honda
15 26 Takuma Sato 1:09.939 0.6223 0.0201 17 18 125.543 Honda
16 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay 1:10.009 0.6918 0.0695 6 15 125.418 Honda
17 7 Mikhail Aleshin 1:10.134 0.8164 0.1246 16 18 125.195 Honda
18 21 JR Hildebrand 1:10.187 0.8699 0.0535 12 17 125.100 Chevy
19 19 Ed Jones 1:10.206 0.8891 0.0192 13 13 125.066 Honda
20 83 Charlie Kimball 1:10.222 0.9049 0.0158 19 20 125.038 Honda
21 27 Marco Andretti 1:10.321 1.0038 0.0989 5 16 124.862 Honda
22 4 Conor Daly 1:10.648 1.3307 0.3269 13 14 124.284 Chevy