Conor Daly throttled to the top of the timesheets to lead the second day of practice for the 110th Running Indianapolis 500.
On a gusty and chilly day, the native Hoosier received a massive tow and put down a stout run of 228.080mph in the #23 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou, the four-time and reigning IndyCar Series champion who is also the defending race winner of the Indy 500, backed up his top-of-the-charts on Tuesday’s opening day of practice by being second on Day 2. He was a slim 0.0093s behind (228.027mph) Daly’s pace and the only other driver to break the 228mph barrier.
David Malukas, driving the #12 Team Penske Chevrolet, was third at 0.1636s behind (227.139mph). Despite spending a good chunk of the session near the bottom, the #15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda of Graham Rahal vaulted up to fourth in the last 30 minutes with a quick lap of 226.835mph. Romain Grosjean’s #18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda ended up fifth after a best showing of 226.591mph.
Six-time IndyCar champion and 2008 Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing) was sixth, ahead of Scott McLaughlin (Team Penske) in seventh, Josef Newgarden (Team Penske) in eighth, Santino Ferrucci (AJ Foyt Racing), and Kyle Kirkwood (Andretti Global) in 10th.
Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward, a two-time Indy 500 runner-up, was the fastest among the no-tow list at 221.409mph. ECR’s Alexander Rossi was second at 221.392mph, with Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson in third at 221.204mph.
Palou logged the most laps on the day with 118, with Ferrucci the only other driver above the century mark with 102 laps. Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Sting Ray Robb ended up running the fewest laps with 44. ECR’s co-owner/driver Ed Carpenter did 48 laps, the second-fewest on the day.
There were once again no incidents, and FOX Sports reported that Rossi ended up in the garage near the end of the session as the team undergoes an engine change.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
– The Motorsport.com Team