Niall Quinn comes out of nowhere to lead Lights Practice 2

Niall Quinn made quite an impression during Firestone Indy Lights practice at Barber Motorsports Park.

It was the first extended competitive track time in the No. 37 Palm Beach Indy Racing car for the native of Dunboyne, Ireland (he tested with the team at Putnam Park in March). Quinn topped the time chart with a quick lap (the last of his 25) of 1 minute, 16.8500 seconds on the 2.38-mile, 17-turn course in preparation for the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama on April 11.

“It feels pretty good," said Quinn, who was the champion of the 2008 Formula Palmer Audi Autumn Trophy and competed in British and German Formula 3. “It was pretty difficult, but I got comfortable on old tires and we tried new tires to simulate a qualifying run and I’m pretty happy. P1 is a good place to be and I want to stay there now.

“It was a surprise (to be on pace right away). I’ve race against a lot of these guys in junior formulas and I knew how competitive it would be. The team did a great job. We’re low on staff this weekend, but to do this shows how good they are."

Charlie Kimball, driving the No. 26 Levemir Flexpen car for AFS Racing/Andretti Autosport, was second on the combined practice sheet (two sessions) with a quick lap of 1:17.0378 in the morning practice.

"We were quickest this morning, and this afternoon we had a problem with track grip a bit," he said. "We ended up P4 in this session, though I know some of the other guys changed to new tires. As hot as it is and the way the track takes the grip out of the tires, that's a big advantage. The No. 26 Levemir FlexPlen car has been solid all day, and I think that'll make the difference when it comes to race time on Sunday."

James Hinchcliffe, the pole sitter at St. Petersburg two weeks ago, was third overall (1:17.0415) in the No. 2 TMR-Xtreme Coil Drilling car. Qualifications are at 9:15 a.m. (ET) April 10.

“The track is actually a little bit difficult right now," Hinchcliffe said. “It is a lot hotter here than when we tested back in February and since Grand Am hadn’t been running then. It took us a little bit of time to lay down some Firestone rubber, but we are getting there and the track is coming to us. Second is obviously not a bad place to be in and the guy who was at the top ended up putting on new tires at the end. It’s a small victory and I think we have a great car for qualifying."

Martin Plowman in the No. 27 Automatic Fire Sprinklers Inc. car for AFS Racing/Andretti Autosport was fourth quick (1:17.2388) and Sebastian Saavedra was fifth (1:17.2425) in the No. 29 William Rast/Bryan Herta entry.

Firestone Indy Lights Series
Session: Practice 2 April 9, 2010