Andretti tops 220 mph (Update)
07/04/13 After turning the fastest lap in the morning session, Marco Andretti backed it up with lap at almost 221 mph to too the afternoon practice session at Pocono Raceway. No other driver broke the 220 mph barrier. Almost every driver went faster in the afternoon session.
Tomorrow is an off day and action resumes Saturday with practice and qualifying.
Results
| Rank | Car Driver Name | Engine | Time | Speed | Diff | Gap | Laps |
| 1 | 25 Andretti, Marco | CHEVY | 00:40.7308 | 220.963 | –.—- | –.—- | 88 |
| 2 | 11 Kanaan, Tony | CHEVY | 00:40.9460 | 219.802 | 0.2152 | 0.2152 | 89 |
| 3 | 3 Castroneves, Helio | CHEVY | 00:41.0729 | 219.123 | 0.3421 | 0.1269 | 69 |
| 4 | 20 Carpenter, Ed | CHEVY | 00:41.1357 | 218.788 | 0.4049 | 0.0628 | 46 |
| 5 | 1 Hunter-Reay, Ryan | CHEVY | 00:41.2290 | 218.293 | 0.4982 | 0.0933 | 93 |
| 6 | 9 Dixon, Scott | HONDA | 00:41.2425 | 218.221 | 0.5117 | 0.0135 | 115 |
| 7 | 7 Bourdais, Sebastien | CHEVY | 00:41.2448 | 218.209 | 0.5140 | 0.0023 | 80 |
| 8 | 27 Hinchcliffe, James | CHEVY | 00:41.2484 | 218.190 | 0.5176 | 0.0036 | 92 |
| 9 | 12 Power, Will | CHEVY | 00:41.2521 | 218.171 | 0.5213 | 0.0037 | 64 |
| 10 | 16 Jakes, James | HONDA | 00:41.3221 | 217.801 | 0.5913 | 0.0700 | 64 |
| 11 | 77 Pagenaud, Simon | HONDA | 00:41.3280 | 217.770 | 0.5972 | 0.0059 | 95 |
| 12 | 83 Kimball, Charlie | HONDA | 00:41.3330 | 217.744 | 0.6022 | 0.0050 | 69 |
| 13 | 19 Wilson, Justin | HONDA | 00:41.3594 | 217.605 | 0.6286 | 0.0264 | 60 |
| 14 | 4 Briscoe, Ryan | CHEVY | 00:41.3742 | 217.527 | 0.6434 | 0.0148 | 80 |
| 15 | 98 Tagliani, Alex | HONDA | 00:41.4200 | 217.286 | 0.6892 | 0.0458 | 86 |
| 16 | 67 Newgarden, Josef | HONDA | 00:41.4211 | 217.281 | 0.6903 | 0.0011 | 101 |
| 17 | 5 Viso, EJ | CHEVY | 00:41.4274 | 217.248 | 0.6966 | 0.0063 | 51 |
| 18 | 10 Franchitti, Dario | HONDA | 00:41.4394 | 217.185 | 0.7086 | 0.0120 | 116 |
| 19 | 55 Vautier, Tristan (R) | HONDA | 00:41.5274 | 216.724 | 0.7966 | 0.0880 | 103 |
| 20 | 14 Sato, Takuma | HONDA | 00:41.5619 | 216.544 | 0.8311 | 0.0345 | 54 |
| 21 | 15 Rahal, Graham | HONDA | 00:41.7654 | 215.489 | 1.0346 | 0.2035 | 84 |
| 22 | 18 Mann, Pippa | HONDA | 00:41.7928 | 215.348 | 1.0620 | 0.0274 | 105 |
| 23 | 6 Saavedra, Sebastian | CHEVY | 00:41.8603 | 215.001 | 1.1295 | 0.0675 | 49 |
| 24 | 78 De Silvestro, Simona | CHEVY | 00:41.8775 | 214.913 | 1.1467 | 0.0172 | 55 |
OPEN TEST QUOTES:
MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 25 RC Cola Chevrolet): "I think this just became my favorite race track. It's so much fun. I mean, it's so different every lap and that's the fun about it. You don't know what to expect. You have to really be on the tools end-to-end and chase the car. I think it's going to produce a heck of a race. I was able to make some passes. I'm really pleased with the car and I can keep my foot in it and put up a big time so that helps as well. (About running as a team during the afternoon): "We run in a line because that simulates a race and that's what we're going to do on Sunday. We do have that luxury because we have a lot of cars. We don't do it to intimidate. We do it to learn. My teammates are going to be strong Sunday. I know that." (Will this race be similar to Indy): "I've made passes going into every corner today. It's going to be a heck of a race for the fans. It's going to be an awesome show. Again, credit to INDYCAR with the aero choice and Firestone with the tire choice. I think it's going to produce an awesome race, so I think there's going to be a lot of passing." (Who were you passing?): "The car's been good today. We could roll of Saturday and it could be a totally different ballgame, but today, I was able to pass whoever was in front of me."
TONY KANAAN (No. 11 Sunoco "Turbo" KVRT-SH Racing Chevrolet): "We did test here last week so we came back with a solid setup already. We worked on race (set up) a lot. I'm happy with the car so we'll see. We have a day off tomorrow which is very unusual for a race weekend for us. I'm happy. It's going to be a close race. I think everybody is running pretty close together so we'll see. (On what he learned at last week's test): Of course, we tried a bunch of things last week. We used last week's test for the things I call the big things. Things that will take a long time to change. I can't get into much detail but they're changes in the car that will take a couple hours sometimes for you to figure out. And we had a list of three of those that I went through during that day and then we went back to the shop to evaluate those and chose the best that we thought when we came back. It was definitely helpful. The biggest thing I would say for me is it took me, you know it's funny I have been in America for so long now and racing in INDYCAR for 14 years, you figured you have learned every single track and you've been to every single track. And all of the sudden we came to a track that I hadn't raced yet. It took me a little while to learn the track. They don't call it the tricky tri-oval for nothing. I got here, I drove my rental car around and said 'Eh, it's not that bad.' And then I got in my Indy car and I'm like 'OK.' So it took me a few laps to get the confidence and to learn a lit bit about this track."
HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet): "The Hitachi Team Penske boys did a hell of a job today. We got a lot accomplished over the full day of testing and, I have to say, the car is fast and really smooth. It feels good. It's great to be back here racing at Pocono and it was awesome to see some fans out here today just watching testing. Hopefully we'll have a good crowd for the race. I think we will be in good shape for qualifying on Saturday. The Hitachi car is ready to go."
ED CARPENTER (No. 20 Fuzzy's Vodka/Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet): "We were pretty decent this morning, but we tried some things after lunch that didn't work as well. So we went back to other settings and the car was better. I wasn't too happy with changes but the ECR/Fuzzy's team did a good job to get us back in line. We ended up finishing strong. I would have liked to have gotten in a little traffic driving today. Many guys were getting in group running and we had to get the car back the way I liked it. I do think we learned a lot today. I think we can be in the mix but there are some very fast cars out there. Like all season long, the competition is tough. Pocono is definitely like Indianapolis in that the conditions really change a lot. Sometimes the heat or wind can affect the car. You don't have to change much to give you a different feel. We are trying to figure out how the place changes. We are trying to adapt to the changes quicker too. And those things come with the new track for us and the new racing surface."
WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): "Overall, I thought it was good day of testing. We focused on improving the Verizon Chevy and at the end of the day we felt good about what we got accomplished. I'm really looking for a good result this weekend. We've run well on the ovals this year and it would be great to come out of Pocono with a solid finish and some good points before we shift back to the road and street circuits. It was a good job overall by the Verizon team today and now we'll turn our attention to Saturday and get ready for practice and qualifying."
RYAN BRISCOE (No. 4 National Guard Panther Racing Chevrolet): "The Panther crew has done a good job and we've had a productive couple days here in the National Guard Chevy. The car is feeling really good and very consistent as we go through a run. It's solid all the way around the track and seems to get better as the fuel load burns off. Obviously you never want to start last, but I'm thankful Panther gave me the opportunity to run here this weekend and the car is good enough that we'll be OK. I think the Fourth of July livery looks really sharp too, and it's an honor to represent the National Guard on such an important holiday weekend."