Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi in the No.27 NAPA Auto Parts AutoNation Honda was the pace-setter in the opening practice session ahead of Saturday’s Gallagher Grand Prix of Indianapolis on the IMS road course.
Rossi set a fastest time of 01:10.0919s ending the morning ahead of Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden who showed no ill affects from his accident in iowa and will be re-evaluated before qualifying.
Colton Herta was third just ahead of Penske’s Scott McLaughlin while Alex Palou was fifth for Chip Ganassi Racing.
It was a great session for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Graham Rahal in the No.15 One Cure Honda as he was P6 just ahead of Felix Rosenqvist who split Rahal and his team-mate Christian Lundgaard.
Helio Castroneves was ninth for Meyer Shank Racing while Conor Daly rounded outcthe top ten.
Marcus Ericsson was 11th for Ganassi while Callum Ilott, fresh from announcing a new multi-year deal with Juncos Hollinger Racing was P12.
David Malukas was P13 for Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports just ahead of Jack Harvey.
Six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon in the No.9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda was P15 with a time of 01:10.6038s just ahead of Simon Pagenaud, Devlin DeFrancesco and Will Power.
Rinus VeeKay was 19th just ahead of Pato O’Ward and Romain Grosjean.
Kyle Kirkwood was 22nd just ahead of Takuma Sato and Jimmie Johnson while Dalton Kellett rounded out the order.
In the meantime Josef Newgarden has been cleared to continue all racing activities. The NTT IndyCar Series confirmed the news:
After being evaluated by INDYCAR Medical Director Dr. Geoffrey Billows following this morning’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the driver of the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet, Josef Newgarden, has been cleared to resume all racing activities.
The next on-track session on the IMS road course is NTT INDYCAR SERIES qualifying scheduled for 1 p.m. ET. The Gallagher Grand Prix is scheduled for noon ET Saturday, July 30.