Kanaan tops Carb Day speeds at Indy

UPDATE This story was updated.

Tony Kanaan

05/27/16

He may be starting 18th in Sunday's 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil, but Tony Kanaan believes he has a car that can win the historic race.

Kanaan, who will start on the outside of Row 6 in the No. 10 NTT Data Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi Racing, was fastest in today's Miller Lite Carb Day practice with a best lap of 226.280 mph on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.

Carlos Munoz was second at 224.772 mph in the No. 26 United Fiber & Data Honda, just ahead of Kanaan's teammate, Scott Dixon, third at 224.606 mph in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.

"I'm happy with my car," said Kanaan, the 2013 Indy 500 winner. "Obviously, I have to pass 17 people before I get really happy with my car. After the struggle in qualifying, we really focused – me and Dixon – on the race. And you can see both of us at the top there.

"If anybody counts us out (for Sunday's race), it will be a big mistake."

Munoz, who will start the race from the middle of the second row, said Carb Day practice confirmed the strength of his car.

"Today was just a check to see the car was running good," said Munoz, who finished second to Kanaan as an Indy 500 rookie in 2013. "Everything was running good. The conditions will be different on Sunday. Every practice and qualifying I've been on the top of the charts, but that doesn't matter."

Verizon IndyCar Series points leader Simon Pagenaud, riding a three-race winning streak, was 22nd in today's practice with a speed of 222.581 mph in the No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevy.

Juan Pablo Montoya, the reigning Indianapolis 500 champion and two-time race winner, was 13th at 223.571 mph in the No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevy. Teammate Helio Castroneves, the three-time Indy 500 winner, was 10th at 223.959 mph.

Will Power, runner-up to Montoya in last year's race, had the fourth-fastest speed (224.384 mph) in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. Ryan Hunter-Reay was fifth (224.327 mph) in the No. 28 DHL Honda.

Pole sitter James Hinchcliffe was 12th fastest at 223.925 mph in the No. 5 Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda. More than 1,300 laps were turned in the 70-minute session, with Pagenaud and Charlie Kimball (No. 42 Tresiba Chevy) each logging 52.

The only incident of the session came when Pippa Mann spun and crashed in Turn 4, backing her No. 63 Susan G. Komen Honda into the SAFER Barrier. Mann was uninjured.

"I'm absolutely fine," Mann said. "I just really feel sorry for the crew. I was trying to find some clean air in pack running there, got a little too low on the inside. Dropped the ball and gave them some work to do overnight.

"The good news is the damage wasn't too bad," Mann added. "Hopefully it's the right rear corner, rear attenuator, rear wing and that's all we have to fix."

The 33 cars now sit idle until Sunday's epic race. Coverage on ABC and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network begins at 11 a.m. ET Sunday.

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