The Pit Window by Mike Silver

Pato O’Ward set to go out for high boost practice.

IndyCar testing concluded with a smooth, on time schedule Thursday afternoon. Weather conditions were ideal, although the wind picked up in the second half of the afternoon.

Some observations:

The two day test was good for the teams, drivers, and fans. The days had an atmosphere resembling a prequalifying practice day. Fan turnout was amazing considering the test took place in the middle of the week.

There were laps at more than 230 mph and even some qualification day type drama when Takuma Sato, one of the quickest this morning, crashed.

Hondas dominated the top half of the speed chart with only a Team Penske Chevy spoiling the party. Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin have traded turns in the top five.

Kyle Kirkwood has shown hints of being very quick, and he could become a contender when the series returns for 500 practice. Kirkwood currently heads the non-tow chart. It appears that Andretti may have a stronger presence in May than they have had the last few years.

Scott Dixon and Helio Castroneves have also shown speed.

Of course, this all could change when practice officially begins May 13.

IMS Acquires 14 Cars from Ganassi

Thge IMS Museum today received 14 cars from Chip Ganassi Racing. It is the museum’s largest acquisition. Included are five Indianapolis 500 winning cars:

• Juan Pablo Montoya’s 2000 Indianapolis 500 Winner,
• Scott Dixon’s 2008 Indianapolis 500 Winner,
• Dario Franchitti’s 2010 Indianapolis 500 Winner,
• Dario Franchitti’s 2012 Indianapolis 500 Winner,
• Marcus Ericsson’s 2022 Indianapolis 500 Winner, Huski Chocolate

The remainder of the collection includes Scott Dixon’s championship winning car from 2015.

The 500 winning caes will be on display in the museum in thew future.

Thanks for following along these past two days. Next weekend the series moves to Barber for the last race before three glorious weeks at IMS.

The technical glitch which stole more than two hours of the IndyCar Open Test at IMS was quickly forgotten when cars finally took to the track at 12:45 this afternoon.

It is great to be back at the Speedway watching cars zip around the oval. The highlight of the two days comes tomorrow morning when the qualifying boost is added.

Cars left pit lane at 10 am for install laps, but as they returned to the pits, network connections failed. Race control could not communicate with teams, and timing and scoring did not work. After a two-hour, 45 minute delay, the Speedway’s first oval action of 2025 began. The shortened session was interrupted first for Jack Harvey stopping on the backstretch, followed by Santino Ferrucci coming to a halt in nearly the same place.

Alex Palou had the fastest time in the early running.

The rookie and refresher tests had 120 minutes to complete their programs. Kyle Larson ran just a few laps before returning to pit lane with an issue. he got back on track, but he needed time in the all car session to complete his laps. Jacob Abel and Marco Andretti also needed some extra time.

New at the Track

More of a return than new, LED panels now crown the pagoda, showing the top 10 positions. This was a great help to those sitting in Turn 2 who can’t see the pylon and don’t want to wait for the order to scroll on the video boards.

A large merchandise tent has sprouted along the drive just west of Pagoda Plaza. This is a good move and will take pressure off nthe new, more compact gift shop in the museum.

Some cars on track

I will publish the results of today later. As I write, Josef Newgarden has the fastest lap, with a tow, of 225125. Felix Rosenqvist has the quickest lap without a tow, 220. 418.