Josef Newgarden topped the weekend’s only practice session from World Wide Technology Raceway, lapping the 1.25-mile oval in 25.1715 seconds.
The average speed of 178.664 was well slower than last year’s qualifying speed, likely on account of the hot and humid conditions present around the track.
Scott McLaughlin put in an impressive lap as well, ending the session just behind his more experienced Team Penske team-mate.
Ryan Hunter-Reay and Graham Rahal laid down laps that were very close to the top two, slotting themselves into third and fourth on the time sheet.
Scott Dixon rounded out the top five, with the six-time series champion hopeful that his car’s performance will translate to a good result in the race as he fights to win yet another championship.
The 90-minute session completed without incident, with only brief stoppages for track inspections. Some drivers got a bit loose while in traffic, but they were able to gather up their car before touching the wall.
An unrepresentative track
The practice session took place just after noon, well and truly under the St. Louis’ hot, Summer sun.
With track temperatures climbing over 120°F, conditions were not at all representative of what the drivers would see for the race, which takes place just as the sun sets.
It was tougher than usual for the teams to come up with a good race setup, with experience behind the wheel proving a key factor in formulating a plan for later in the day.
Adding to the complexity, this weekend is an impound race, meaning that teams have to decide on a car setup before qualifying and leave it fundamentally untouched until the start of the race.
Rookies showing their skill
Despite this being the first short oval race for the two rookies entered, they both showed they have a decent handle on their cars.
Scott McLaughlin, who ended the session just 0.1565 seconds off the top time, showed some real pace in his first ever race weekend around the egg-shaped oval.
The Aussie ran really well at Texas Motor Speedway earlier in the year as well, as he makes a name for himself as an oval specialist.
Romain Grosjean set some good times as well in his first ever oval event, ending the sole practice session in eleventh position.
The rookies, along with everyone else, will not have any more time to dial in their setups, as the next time they see the track will be for qualifying at 4:00 PM Central Time.
