Barber: Kimball leads opening Lights practice

Team PBIR rookie Niall Quinn made a strong first impression by topping the combined practice sessions in Firestone Indy Lights. The Irishman, who recorded a lap of 1:16.8500 in the afternoon session, was followed by series veterans Charlie Kimball and James Hinchcliffe.

Morning Results

Pos	Driver/Team	No	Time	Speed	Diff	Gap
1	Charlie Kimball AFS Racing/Andretti Autosport	26	01:17.0378	107.480	–.—-	–.—-
2	James Hinchcliffe Team Moore Racing	2	01:17.0415	107.475	0.0037	0.0037
3	Martin Plowman AFS Racing/Andretti Autosport	27	01:17.2388	107.200	0.2010	0.1973
4	Sebastian Saavedra Bryan Herta Autosport	29	01:17.2425	107.195	0.2047	0.0037
5	Stefan Wilson Bryan Herta Autosport	28	01:17.4057	106.969	0.3679	0.1632
6	Jonathan Summerton Walker Racing	40	01:17.5499	106.770	0.5121	0.1442
7	J.K. Vernay Sam Schmidt Motorsports	7	01:17.6439	106.641	0.6061	0.0940
8	Pippa Mann Sam Schmidt Motorsports	11	01:17.8779	106.320	0.8401	0.2340
9	Gustavo Yacaman Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing	10	01:18.0177	106.130	0.9799	0.1398
10	Junior Strous HVM Racing	6	01:18.3241	105.715	1.2863	0.0744
11	James Winslow Sam Schmidt Motorsports	77	01:18.5148	105.458	1.4770	0.1907
12	Philip Major Sam Schmidt Motorsports	49	01:18.5488	105.412	1.5110	0.0340
13	Adrian Campos Jr. Team Moore Racing	22	01:18.8757	104.975	1.8379	0.3269
14	Carmen Jorda Andersen Racing	4	01:20.4262	102.952	3.3884	1.2169
15	Rodrigo Barbosa PDM Racing	18	01:34.4875	87.631	17.4497	14.0613

POST-PRACTICE QUOTES:

NIALL QUINN (No. 37 Team PBIR, fastest of the day): "It feels pretty good. I came here with no testing and never been in the car before. 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. (On being on pace right away): "It was a surprise. 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 (No. 26 Levemir FlexPen, second-fastest): "Today was really good. We were quickest this morning, and this afternoon we had a problem with track grip a bit. 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. We're looking forward to qualifying tomorrow morning. The #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 (No. 2 Xtreme Coil Drilling – TMR, third-fastest): "The track is actually a little bit difficult right now. It is a lot hotter here than when we tested back in February 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 tomorrow. Let's just hope I can do one position better. "