For the third consecutive day, the 33 drivers of the 110th Indianapolis 500 enjoyed a full day of practice under clear skies.
Six hours of open track time was available for any and all to work through any testing programs they needed in preparation for the year’s biggest race.
There were two different schools of thought during the long day of running. There was some group running to simulate race conditions, but eyes turned more towards qualifying as the session progressed.
The fastest overall lap was turned by Pato O’Ward in his #5 Arrow McLaren Chevy. He completed his best lap early in the day, running 227.308 MPH.
Behind him was the Meyer Shank Racing trio, with Helio Castroneves, Marcus Armstrong, and Felix Rosenqvist all showing impressive race pace.
Alexander Rossi was fifth quick, putting his brand new Chevy engine to use straight away.
With not all drivers completing any group running at all, however, the timesheets do not tell a comprehensive story of who was happiest on Thursday.
There were very few issues and only a couple close calls throughout the entire day. A couple short yellow flag periods for track inspection were the only things that interrupted the track time.
A few teams took the opportunity to complete work on their cars in the garage area, including Dreyer and Reinbold Racing which completed a fuel collector replacement ahead of a busier weekend ahead.
Testing different hybrid strategies
In the no-tow rankings, which previewed qualifying pace, it was veteran Takuma Sato that was quickest. His lap of 223.808 MPH with no car in front was unmatched throughout the day.
Team Penske was also quick, utilizing a different hybrid deployment strategy in the process.
Most drivers have been choosing to use the full supercapacitor charge on the final lap, but Penske drivers have been recharging and discharging each lap of their four-lap simulations.
The different approach seemed to work well, with Scott McLaughlin, David Malukas, and Josef Newgarden all within the top six on the no-tow charts.
Last year’s Indy 500 winner Alex Palou set some fast times late in the day and set the fourth best no-tow time.
Rinus VeeKay was also high up the order, setting the fifth best solo lap in his #76 Juncos Hollinger Racing entry.
Kyle Kirkwood was seventh quick in his solo run, with O’Ward setting the eighth best time. With the popular Mexican driver setting the fastest overall lap as well, he was feeling pretty good heading into the first weekend of this year’s event.
Coming up on Friday, drivers will have extra turbo boost available. The higher power will push speeds quicker and will simulate what will be available for the all-important qualifying runs on Saturday and Sunday.
With the forecasts beginning to show the threat of rain for a portion of the weekend and a compressed qualifying schedule likely, Friday’s practice runs will be some of the most important of the week.