ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — Less than one month after the team won its second Indianapolis 500 as Felix Rosenqvist won the 110th Indy 500, Meyer Shank Racing turned the two fastest laps in Friday’s practice at Road America.
Marcus Armstrong of New Zealand was the fastest driver around the 4.014-mile, 14-turn Road America road course with a time at 1:44.2714 in the No. 66 Honda.
The XPEL Grand Prix at Road America IndyCar Series race is Sunday.
“It’s good to top the Friday 500 here at Elkhart Lake,” Armstrong said. “The car feels great. I’m as sick as a dog so I have proven to myself that I can still be fast on two-hours of sleep.
“It’s nothing big. It’s flu season.
“It’s good to roll out of Blacks and be fast and roll out on Reds and still be fast, so it’s all good.”
His teammate, Rosenqvist, was second fastest at 1:44.3501 in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Honda.
Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing was third fastest at 1:44.3659 in the No. 10 Honda.
“Every lap, man, I enjoy this place,” Palou said. “It’s hard work. It’s never easy to put a good lap together at Road America, but it’s fun.
“With the different tires, we expected the alternates to have a bigger jump. It will be interesting for both qualifying and the race and be able to nail and have a good balance. It’s fun and this is what we enjoy the most, especially when we have a fast car.”
In the early moments of practice, there were few takers as only 11 drivers took the track in the first 20 minutes of practice as many conserved their tires for later in the session.
Team Penske IMSA driver Felipe Nasr was on standby in case he needed to replace Josef Newgarden, who continues to recover from an injured left foot.
“I have a lot of respect for Josef what he has been doing, trying to do because of the injury,” Nasr said. “It’s pretty impressive what he has been trying to do in the car. As a team member I have to be ready and I’m here to support the team and help them as much as they need me. I had my chance to get prepared in the simulator, sit down with the team and learn about the regen and hybrid stuff.
“It’s a track that I know. But let’s wait and see.”
Nasr has been one of the top drivers in IMSA at Porsche Penske Motorsport and spoke of his desire of competing in an Indy car.
“I always wanted to have a proper chance to drive in IndyCar and I’ve driven those cars in the past,” Nasr said. “I don’t know if it will be this weekend or not, but it was an honor to be called as the first option to be around. Team Penske gave me a few opportunities to test in the car. That’s all I have to say right now, but let’s see what the opportunity holds.”
Through the first 30 minutes of the practice, Arrow McLaren held the top position with Pato O’Ward at 1:44.3688 in the No. 5 Chevrolet followed by Felix Rosenqvist at 1:44.7084 in the No. 60 Honda. INDYCAR Series points leader Alex Palou was third at 1:44.8212 in the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda before he turned the fastest lap at 1:44.3659 a few minutes later in the session.
With 10 minutes left, Rosenqvist lowered the lap time to 1:44.3501 to take over the fastest speed up to that point.
Prior to that, Sting Ray Robb spun into the tire barrier in Turn 14 to bring out the Red Flag. Although there was little damage to his Juncos Hollinger Chevrolet, he was assessed a five-minute penalty for bringing out the Red Flag.
In the closing moments of the session, it was Marcus Armstrong that set fast time with a lap at 1:44.2714 in the No. 66 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing. When the checkered flag waved, the top five included Armstrong, Rosenqvist, Palou, Pato O’Ward (1:44.3688), Nolan Siegel (1:44.4328) and Caio Collet (1:44.4651).
The top three cars were Hondas and the next three that followed were Chevrolets.
Josef Newgarden, who continues to recover from a left foot injury he sustained in a hard crash in the 110th Indianapolis 500, was 14th at 1:45.0035.
There were 419 laps run during Friday’s practice session.