The tricky triangle of Pocono Raceway is living up to its name ahead of the ABC Supply 500, but so far it has been conquered by rookie Zach Veach as he topped Saturday’s practice session in his Andretti Autosport Honda.
“I’ve always liked this place in [Indy] Lights,” Veach said, “I’m just glad it has transferred over to IndyCar.”
A wet track meant yellow flags fell on the triangle track. Cars returned to the track for the final two minutes of the session after jet drying trucks circled the course, but without significant time to improve on previous laps. As such, the effectiveness and conditions for qualifying remain to be seen as IndyCar and its teams continue to keep an eye on the weather forecast ahead of the session.
Behind Veach, the top five was riddled with championship contenders. Josef Newgarden was second fastest, ahead of Alexander Rossi in P3. Rossi, Veach’s teammate at Andretti Autosport, continues to try and best points leader Scott Dixon who ended the session in P5.
All eyes were on Will Power heading into the race weekend. With wins at the two previous Pocono races and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 under his belt, the Team Penske driver is a favourite to win come Sunday. He finished the session P11 with a focus on improvement in Saturday afternoon’s qualifying session.
