With about one hour, 45 minutes to go in the opening practice for the 110th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, Alex Palou pulled into pit lane and thought there was a mechanical gremlin in his car.
Ninety minutes later, there were no problems whatsoever.
Reigning “500” winner and NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Palou led the first day of track activity for this year’s edition of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” turning a top lap of 225.937 mph with less than 15 minutes remaining in the six-hour session Tuesday. The fast lap came on the first run Palou made on the 2.5-mile oval after his crew evaluated his No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda for nearly 90 minutes, as he pulled into the pits around 4:15 p.m. ET because he sensed a problem with the right rear of the car.
SEE: Practice Results
“Yeah, it’s good; it’s good now,” Palou said. “We had a couple of issues, but we fixed them. It wasn’t a mechanical issue or anything. It was just balance, not being super happy with it. We found something that explained what I was feeling, and it was good to go back out today before we go to sleep so we can be a bit happier.”
Four-time series champion Palou is driving a different car this month than he used in the Indy 500 Open Test on April 28-29 at IMS and a different machine than the one he drove to his first career oval victory in last year’s Indy 500. He turned just 28 laps, tied for the third fewest among the 33 drivers on track today.
“You always want to do a lot more,” Palou said. “We didn’t do a many laps today, but still we understood a lot of stuff. Feeling much better than (earlier this afternoon).”
Marcus Armstrong was fastest for most of the day until Palou’s late dash but ended up second at 225.895 in the No. 66 Acura Honda fielded by Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian. Indianapolis-area native Conor Daly was third at 225.838 in the No. 23 DRR KINGSPAN Chevrolet of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.
Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden ended up fourth at 225.121 in the No. 2 Shell Fuel Rewards Team Penske Chevrolet, while 2008 “500” winner Scott Dixon rounded out the top five as the last driver faster than 225 mph with his best lap of 225.087 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
All top speeds were produced with the benefit of an aerodynamic “tow” from leading cars. Kyle Kirkwood was the fastest driver running alone, turning a top solo lap of 222.062 in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda of Andretti Global. His teammate and 2018 Indy 500 winner Will Power was second on the “no-tow” list at 221.455 in the No. 26 TWG AI Honda.
Jack Harvey was third fastest without a tow at 220.853 in the No. 24 DRR INVST Chevrolet of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. That validated Harvey’s performance without aerodynamic help in the Open Test, when he was fastest both days on the “no-tow” list.
All 33 cars entered in the event this year were on track today under sunny skies and air temperatures in the mid- to upper 70s, combining to turn 1,996 laps. 2016 Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi was the busiest driver, the only competitor with more than 100 laps after turning 116 circuits in the No. 20 Java House Chevrolet of Ed Carpenter Racing.
Practice resumes from noon-6 p.m. ET Wednesday (noon-4 p.m., FS2; 4-6 p.m., FS1; FOX One, INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls).
The 110th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge is scheduled for Sunday, May 24 (10 a.m. ET, FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX One, INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls).
