One day after veterans dominated the speed chart, rookie Caio Collet rode the aerodynamic wave to the fastest overall speed of the Indianapolis 500 Open Test on Wednesday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
2025 INDY NXT by Firestone series runner-up Collet turned a top lap of 226.381 mph in the No. 4 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet during the early moments of testing Wednesday, the start of which was delayed 75 minutes by damp track conditions created by overnight and morning rain. That speed was better than Tuesday’s best of 225.394 by Conor Daly in the No. 23 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet, as drivers with at least 10 Indy 500 starts posted the five fastest speeds on the first day of the test.
SEE: Test Overall Speeds | Test Overall No-Tow Speeds | Wednesday AM | Wednesday PM
“No, no, never expected that,” Brazilian driver Collet said. “Obviously, the team has a good background here and has done really, really well the last couple of years, especially last year. As a rookie, I was just trying to learn things and see how everything went. But the team, they did a really good job and got me up to speed quickly, and I got really comfortable.
“Obviously, a lot of things I still have to learn, especially in traffic. I have to understand how to manage traffic and how to get by people. But I think by myself I felt really good, and the team gave me a really good car both days.”
Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden was second at 226.223 in the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet, also turned early in the session. Newgarden also led the afternoon session at 225.617.
Reigning Indianapolis 500 winner and NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou stepped up the speed chart by ending up third at 225.272 in the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Two-time “500” runner-up Pato O’Ward was fourth at 225.109 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato rounded out the top five today at 224.957 in the No. 75 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda.
All the top speeds over the two-day test on the historic 2.5-mile oval were boosted by a “tow,” the phenomenon when cars deeper in a line gain speed due to the leading cars creating a slipstream.
Once again, veteran Jack Harvey was the fastest driver running without a “tow.” His top solo lap of 221.112 in the No. 24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet was even faster than his best solitary lap of 220.318 that led the “no-tow” charts Tuesday.
But there was a damper to Harvey’s continued solo speed. A large, billowing plume of white smoke erupted from the rear of his car between Turns 3 and 4 in traffic midway through the afternoon, and Harvey hurried into the pits. His day was over due to a mechanical problem.
“I had a little bit of a hesitation on the exit of (Turn) 3 and just looked down and saw the smoke immediately,” Harvey said. “I’ve had engines that have had issues here in the past, and when it happens it’s normally very obvious. What happened then wasn’t.
“Not how we wanted to end the day, but I still think overall it’s been a pretty productive test.”
Katherine Legge completed her veteran refresher test in the No. 11 HMD Motorsports with AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet. All 33 drivers are eligible to participate when practice for the 110th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge opens Tuesday, May 12, as all four rookies and four other veterans completed their required testing Tuesday.
All 33 cars combined to turn 4,697 incident-free laps – 11,742.5 miles – over the two-day test. Other than Harvey’s mechanical problem, the closest thing to an incident Wednesday occurred when a fox ran on the racing surface from the infield, triggering an immediate caution flag until the animal scurried from the facility.
Up next for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES is the Sonsio Grand Prix, which opens the Month of May on May 8-9 on the IMS road course. The 110th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge is scheduled for Sunday, May 24.
For more information or to buy tickets for both events, visit IMS.com.
