Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was dedicated to going fast, and all 34 drivers were happy to oblige by setting blistering quick laps around the 2.5-mile course.
Teams were given extra turbocharger boost to simulate what they will be able to run on Saturday and Sunday for qualifying, leading to roughly 100 additional horsepower.
The entire day was spent with drivers attempting to practice their qualifying runs, which consist of finding clear space on track and setting four consecutive fast laps.
A very common occurrence throughout the day was drivers setting fast times on their first lap, then they would lose considerable pace on their third and fourth laps.
The drivers that were able to hold their pace throughout their runs were the ones that found themselves at the top of the four-lap average speed charts.
At the top of the list for the full runs was Takuma Sato, who set the best average speed of 233.414 MPH late in the afternoon.
Nearly all of the top times were set as the afternoon wore on due to an approaching cold front that brought cooler temperatures to the speedway.
Marcus Ericsson set the second fastest qualifying simulation, continuing Chip Ganassi Racing’s near domination of the Month of May so far.
Josef Newgarden and Will Power set the third and fourth on the timesheets, showing that Team Penske may not be as far off the pace as they showed throughout the week.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, however, looked way off the pace. After a strong showing at the Grand Prix last weekend, the team once again seemed to flounder in the setup department.
Katherine Legge was the fastest of the four RLL drivers, and her four-lap average was only good enough for 28th. The team has a lot of work to do overnight if they plan to qualify well this weekend.
Jack Harvey had the worst luck, as his engine was seen smoking during his final run of the day. Onboard audio gave indications that there was internal damage to the motor as well, and his crew may well be changing for a new Honda powerplant overnight.
Juncos Hollinger Racing and Callum Ilott continued to have troubles they could not track down, just as they have since they tested their speedway car during the open test last month.
There was finally acknowledgement that something needed to change other than the setup, and the team switched to a new chassis late in the afternoon.
However, he was not able to run any shakedown laps before time expired. Ilott will have to feel out his mostly new car Saturday morning, just before making his timed run.
A few drivers had close calls as they trimmed as much downforce of their cars as they could. Takuma Sato was the first driver that was seen flirting with the outside wall.
Throughout the six hour session, Pato O’Ward and Colton Herta also were forced to lift in tricky moments that saw their cars wiggle precariously in the corners.
Tomorrow will see an all-day marathon qualifying session, during which all cars will be guaranteed one run. Time will permit driver to make extra attempts if they wish, after which the middle of the field will be locked in.
The weather will also be cooler, the air will be drier, the sun will be out, and the wind will be coming from the North. All factors that will throw a wrench into the team’s carefully laid plans.
