Hunter-Reay tops Practice 2 at Laguna Seca

Ryan Hunter-Reay
Ryan Hunter-Reay

When all the drivers except Alexander Rossi switched to the softer red Firestone tires in practice 2 Andretti Honda ace Ryan Hunter-Reay turned the fastest lap in practice for the Firestone GP of Laguna Seca.

Hunter-Reay's lap of 1m09.910s was 0.02s faster than both Ganassi Honda rookie Felix Rosenqvist and Harding Steinbrenner Honda rookie Colton Herta.

Simon Pagenaud was 4th quick for Team Penske while the third rookie Santino Ferrucci of Dale Coyne Racing rounded out the top-5.

Alexander Rossi was the only driver not to try the red tires and he was down in 23rd. It appears he wants an extra new set of reds for qualifying.

Ryan Hunter-Reay (Andretti Autosport Honda) Fastest in Friday practice:
“I’m feeling better about the car, but it’s still very tricky out there. There’s a very small window to get it right. I’m not really resting on this one, we have a lot more to do still. It’s tough out there for everyone, and the margin is very, very thin. I think we can still make the car better. We’re going to work to head in the right direction and hopefully put the DHL car on the front row."

Practice 2 Results

Pos No Name Time Diff Gap Speed Engine Tire Team
1 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay 1:09.910 –.—- –.—- 115.244 Honda Reds Andretti Autosport
2 10 Felix Rosenqvist (R) 1:09.930 0.0200 0.0200 115.212 Honda Reds Chip Ganassi Racing Teams
3 88 Colton Herta (R) 1:09.932 0.0212 0.0012 115.210 Honda Reds Harding Steinbrenner Racing
4 22 Simon Pagenaud 1:10.135 0.2248 0.2036 114.875 Chevy Reds Team Penske
5 19 Santino Ferrucci 1:10.207 0.2961 0.0713 114.758 Honda Reds Dale Coyne Racing
6 2 Josef Newgarden 1:10.225 0.3143 0.0182 114.729 Chevy Reds Team Penske
7 9 Scott Dixon 1:10.272 0.3617 0.0474 114.651 Honda Reds Chip Ganassi Racing Teams
8 12 Will Power 1:10.335 0.4245 0.0628 114.549 Chevy Reds Team Penske
9 7 Marcus Ericsson 1:10.391 0.4805 0.0560 114.458 Honda Reds Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
10 23 Charlie Kimball 1:10.436 0.5254 0.0449 114.385 Chevy Reds Carlin
11 98 Marco Andretti 1:10.443 0.5321 0.0067 114.374 Honda Reds Andretti Herta w/Marco & Curb-Agaj
12 30 Takuma Sato 1:10.447 0.5363 0.0042 114.367 Honda Reds Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
13 21 Spencer Pigot 1:10.463 0.5527 0.0164 114.341 Chevy Reds Ed Carpenter Racing
14 25 Conor Daly 1:10.463 0.5528 0.0001 114.340 Honda Reds Andretti Autosport
15 59 Max Chilton 1:10.635 0.7241 0.1713 114.063 Chevy Reds Carlin
16 26 Zach Veach 1:10.662 0.7515 0.0274 114.019 Honda Reds Andretti Autosport
17 4 Matheus Leist 1:10.701 0.7904 0.0389 113.956 Chevy Reds AJ Foyt Enterprises
18 18 Sebastien Bourdais 1:10.706 0.7956 0.0052 113.948 Honda Reds Dale Coyne Racing wVasser-Sullivan
19 5 James Hinchcliffe 1:10.773 0.8625 0.0669 113.840 Honda Reds Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
20 15 Graham Rahal 1:10.881 0.9702 0.1077 113.667 Honda Reds Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
21 20 Ed Jones 1:10.885 0.9741 0.0039 113.661 Chevy Reds Ed Carpenter Racing
22 14 Tony Kanaan 1:10.948 1.0379 0.0638 113.559 Chevy Reds AJ Foyt Enterprises
23 27 Alexander Rossi 1:11.023 1.1129 0.0750 113.439 Honda Blacks Andretti Autosport
24 60 Jack Harvey 1:11.058 1.1479 0.0350 113.383 Honda Reds Meyer Shank Racing w/Arrow SPM