Indy 500 Test: McLaughlin fastest but Palou tops race trim speed

The two names atop the speed charts Thursday came as little surprise on the final day of the Indy 500 Open Test, which featured two segments with distinct engine performance setups.

Last year’s Indy 500 pole winner Scott McLaughlin was fastest during the morning session at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, that had cars using the same elevated turbo boost levels as “Fast Friday” practice May 16 and PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying on May 17-18.

McLaughlin’s top lap was 232.686 mph in the No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet, the fastest trip around the 2.5-mile oval in two days of testing this week.

“We had a really good day, a good couple of days,” McLaughlin said. “(I) felt like we got through a lot from a hybrid perspective.

“Then I felt like the morning qualifying session – the high-boost session – was a bit of a crapshoot. (There were a) couple yellows. When the track got better, it was a bit dirty from some of the shunts, as well. Then everyone was trying to cram a lot into 40 minutes. But overall, a really solid (car) balance to kick off the Month of May.”

Three-time and two-time reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou topped the speed charts during the afternoon session, which featured boost levels reduced to the same levels that will be used on Race Day for the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 25. Current championship leader Palou’s top lap in the afternoon was 223.993 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

“You need to keep on always chasing it and trying to make it better,” Palou said. “Trying to make it more comfortable when running in traffic, trying to make it faster when you’re alone. That’s the car that gives me a chance (to win), for sure.”

Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato was second fastest in the “boosted” session in the morning with his lap of 232.565 mph in the No. 75 AMADA Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Sato’s lap also was the fastest of the test without the benefit of an aerodynamic “tow” from the slipstream of a leading car.

But Sato’s glory was short-lived and showed the risks of living on the edge of a lightning bolt with cars in tricky, low-downforce, high-boost qualifying setups. Sato had completed just eight laps in the morning session, with his best lap on Lap 3, when his car made heavy contact with the SAFER Barrier in Turn 1 and came to a stop in Turn 2 with heavy damage.

2017 and 2020 Indy winner Sato was uninjured, but the sight of his crumpled race car specifically built and massaged for the “500 was painful.

“I lost it; I simply lost it,” Sato said. “It’s hard. My body is fine. It’s just the car … I lost the car. That’s heartbreaking.”

2018 Indianapolis 500 winner Will Power was third in the “boosted” session at 232.278 in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, followed by Felix Rosenqvist at 232.100 in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda fielded by Meyer Shank Racing. Palou rounded out the top five at 231.843.

All but two of the 34 cars on track returned to running in thickets of traffic in the afternoon session to simulate Race Day. Palou and Rosenqvist were the only drivers in the top five in both sessions today, as Rosenqvist backed up his strong performance with extra boost by ending up second in the afternoon with a best lap of 223.366.

Long Beach winner Kyle Kirkwood was third in the afternoon session at 223.362 in the No. 27 Andretti Global Honda. Conor Daly was fourth at 223.298 in the No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, while two-time reigning “Indy 500” winner Josef Newgarden rounded out the top five at 223.255 in the No. 2 Shell V-Power NiTRO+ Team Penske Chevrolet.

Sato wasn’t the only driver to contact the SAFER Barrier Thursday. 2024 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Kyle Larson also crashed in the morning session, hitting the SAFER Barrier in Turn 1 in the No. 17 Hendrickcars.com Arrow McLaren Chevrolet before secondary contact in Turn 2.

2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Larson was unhurt, but like Sato, he didn’t return to the track for the rest of the day. Larson is attempting May 25 to race the “double” of the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Chevrolet enjoyed a solid rebound Thursday, as Chevy-powered drivers took two of the top five spots in each of the sessions. Honda engines powered nine of the 10 fastest drivers Wednesday.

Over two days of testing, the 34 drivers combined to turn 5,804 laps, or 14,510 miles.

Indy 500 Open Test Race Trim Results

(R) Rookie

Indy 500 Open test Overall Results – Qualifying Trim with Tow