Takuma Sato turned the fastest lap of the day in the last few minutes of the afternoon practice session. Sato’s lap of 228.939 was the fastest of the day. Scott Dixon, the leader of the morning round, held the lead for most of the three hour session.

Eight Hondas were in the top 10. Rinus VeeKay in fifth and Josef Newgarden in eighth were the only Chevys in the top 10.

The session stopped three times, twice for debris and once when a quick brown fox jumped over the Speedway fence.

Scott Dixon cautioned against reading too much into today’s speeds.

“It’s just the first day,” he said.

Rinus VeeKay was fifth this afternoon, but he was first on the no two speeds. His Teammate Ed Carpenter had the second fastest no tow lap.

“I’m very comfortable in the car,” VeeKay said.

Teams of Note

Dale Coyne Racing cars were first and seventh with David Malukas finding speed late in the session.

All five Chip Ganassi Racing drivers were in the top 10. After Dixon, Jimmie Johnson was third, Marcus Ericsson fourth, Alex Palou sixth, and Tony Kanaan ninth. Dixon said they did do any group running today but plan to later in the week.

Notes

Stefan Wilson completed his refresher test then ran 10 more laps in the practice session.

A nice size crowd was on hand for today’s opening.

Results: