Pato O'Ward Photo courtesy of Penske Entertainment/Joe Skibinski
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IndyCar News: O’Ward tops final Bommarito 500 practice at WWTR

Lucille Dust

Arrow McLaren Chevy driver Pato O’Ward turned a lap of 25.7572s to top final practice for the Bommarito 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway (WWTR).

The Andretti Hondas of Marcus Ericsson and Colton Herta were 2nd and 3rd, 0.076 and 0.15s behind O’Ward respectively.

The favorite to win on Saturday, Josef Newgarden was 4th in his Penske Chevy, 0.152s behind O’Ward. Newgarden was so happy with his car in final practice, he got out of the car early and said don’t touch anything.

Andretti Honda driver Kyle Kirkwood rounded out the top-5, 0.156s behind O’Ward.

Fastest qualifier Scott McLaughlin was sandbagging in his Penske Chevy and was only 13th. He was able to pass cars with ease, indicating he will be potent come race time. He was, however, 0.26s behind O’Ward in final practice.

Indy NXT Qualifying

Louis Foster’s march toward an INDY NXT by Firestone championship continued in qualifying at World Wide Technology Raceway.

The English driver in Andretti Global stable continued his dominating summer by earning the pole for Saturday’s OUTFRONT Showdown (3:55 p.m. ET, Peacock, INDYCAR Radio Network), and he did in record fashion. Both timed laps were quicker than any of those turned by opponents in the session, and the combination gave Foster a track-record average of 164.109 mph at the 1.25-mile oval. Foster’s second lap was his best: 164.242 mph.

The series’ one- and two-lap qualifying records had stood since 2017 when Juan Piedrahita averaged 161.354 mph and 160.823 mph, respectively. Thirteen of the 18 drivers in this event eclipsed his two-lap average.

SEE: RESULTS

Bommarito 500 Final Practice Results

Pos No Name Time Behind Gap FL Laps Speed Engine Team
1 5 Pato O’Ward 25.7572 0.000s 0.000s 33 75 174.708 Chevy Arrow McLaren
2 28 Marcus Ericsson 25.8337 0.0765 0.0765 45 55 174.191 Honda Andretti Global
3 26 Colton Herta 25.9070 0.1498 0.0733 56 61 173.698 Honda Andretti Global w/Curb Agajanian
4 2 Josef Newgarden 25.9089 0.1517 0.0019 10 62 173.685 Chevy Team Penske
5 27 Kyle Kirkwood 25.9129 0.1557 0.0040 50 57 173.659 Honda Andretti Global
6 7 Alexander Rossi 25.9625 0.2053 0.0496 68 79 173.327 Chevy Arrow McLaren
7 78 Conor Daly 25.9659 0.2087 0.0034 58 64 173.304 Chevy Juncos Hollinger Racing
8 6 Nolan Siegel 25.9717 0.2145 0.0058 69 82 173.266 Chevy Arrow McLaren
9 66 David Malukas 25.9802 0.2230 0.0085 27 60 173.209 Honda Meyer Shank Racing
10 12 Will Power 25.9833 0.2261 0.0031 36 81 173.188 Chevy Team Penske
11 11 Marcus Armstrong 25.9885 0.2313 0.0052 55 67 173.154 Honda Chip Ganassi Racing
12 77 Romain Grosjean 26.0039 0.2467 0.0154 61 73 173.051 Chevy Juncos Hollinger Racing
13 3 Scott McLaughlin 26.0151 0.2579 0.0112 57 60 172.976 Chevy Team Penske
14 9 Scott Dixon 26.0154 0.2582 0.0003 47 48 172.974 Honda Chip Ganassi Racing
15 41 Sting Ray Robb 26.0446 0.2874 0.0292 59 75 172.781 Chevy AJ Foyt Enterprises
16 10 Alex Palou 26.1122 0.3550 0.0676 43 62 172.333 Honda Chip Ganassi Racing
17 60 Felix Rosenqvist 26.1640 0.4068 0.0518 50 77 171.992 Honda Meyer Shank Racing
18 8 Linus Lundqvist 26.1756 0.4184 0.0116 46 63 171.916 Honda Chip Ganassi Racing
19 45 Christian Lundgaard 26.2050 0.4478 0.0294 31 71 171.723 Honda Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
20 21 Rinus VeeKay 26.2440 0.4868 0.0390 56 90 171.468 Chevy Ed Carpenter Racing
21 4 Kyffin Simpson 26.2920 0.5348 0.0480 10 56 171.155 Honda Chip Ganassi Racing
22 18 Jack Harvey 26.3088 0.5516 0.0168 54 64 171.045 Honda Dale Coyne Racing
23 15 Graham Rahal 26.3358 0.5786 0.0270 50 51 170.870 Honda Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
24 14 Santino Ferrucci 26.3686 0.6114 0.0328 30 65 170.658 Chevy AJ Foyt Enterprises
25 51 Katherine Legge 26.6146 0.8574 0.2460 58 59 169.080 Honda Dale Coyne Racing
26 20 Ed Carpenter 26.6960 0.9388 0.0814 13 52 168.565 Chevy Ed Carpenter Racing
27 30 Pietro Fittipaldi 26.7635 1.0063 0.0675 30 61 168.139 Honda Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing