Photo: Kyle McInnes
Tony Kanaan led this afternoon’s only track practice for tomorrow’s ABC Supply 500. Kanaan’s top lap of 216.354 was the only lap in the 216 range. Scott Dixon had the second best time with a 215. 761. Dixon’s lap came late in the session. Simon Pagenaud in 5th and Charlie Kimball in eighth were the other Chevys in the top ten. Alexander Rossi was fourth.
Rookie Santino Ferrucci led the session for a few minutes before settling for third quickest. Ferrucci was one of the few drivers who seemed to be able to pass cars at will.
Ed Carpenter Racing struggled during the session. Spencer Pigot was 21st and Ed Carpenter was last. ECR usually does very well on super speedways. Points leader Josef Newgarden also had trouble finding speed, finishing 17th. Teammate Will Power ended 20th.
The Top Ten:
Notes:
NBCSN did a nice job pointing out the different wickers teams were using. I’m glad the teams have options. Even thought the wickers configurations are difficult to see, it does give the cars some differentiation.
Rossi seemed to have the setup to be able to pull away from cars behind him.
Passing will be difficult tomorrow. Some of the attempted passes looked like what you see on a road course when a driver can get his nose up to the car but has to drop back. It looks like track position, fuel mileage, and good restarts will be keys to success Sunday.
I’ll be back to morrow with a quick morning preview and then post race coverage.
Race coverage begins at 2 pm on NBCSN. green flag around 2:45. Thanks for following along on this crazy, jumbled day.