Friday’s IndyCar practice session was topped by Alexander Rossi, who was able to lap the 4.01-mile course in 1:41.7790.
That time was over three seconds quicker than his pole-setting lap last year, showing just how fast the track is going to be this weekend.
The historic course underwent a full track repave in recent months, and the new surface is extra grippy and very smooth.
Drivers reported that the groove has even more grip than testing last week, and speeds will surely fall further as the weekend progresses.
David Malukas put in the second fastest time of the afternoon, completing a circuit just under a tenth of a second slower than Rossi.
Alex Palou and Scott Dixon were the third and fourth fastest respectively, showing CGR’s continued pace on every type of track the series visits.
Pato O’Ward rounded out the top five, joining his two Arrow McLaren team-mates as the only Chevy-powered drivers in the top 12.
Marcus Armstrong was the fastest rookie, which is not really a surprise by this point in the season. He lapped the course 10th fastest, and was still the slowest Ganassi driver in the field.
There were decidedly few incidents during the 75-minute session. No drivers needed assistance, and there were no interruptions to the opening practice stint.
Santino Ferrucci was seen pushing his AJ Foyt Racing Chevy to the limit a few times, getting loose in the process.
But he was able to gather up his car before leaving track, and continued on his way.
Drivers will have one more practice session Saturday morning, before being tasked with a standard knockout qualifying run in the early afternoon.
