Scott Dixon leads Day 1 of Indy 500 open test at 225mph

A late flyer vaulted Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon to the top of the speed charts, leading the way at 225.182mph. The 2008 Indy 500 winner bested the two-time and defending Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden, who ran as fast a 225.125mph around the iconic 2.5-mile circuit in his No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet.

Takuma Sato clocked in third, Marcus Armstrong fourth, and Colton Herta fifth. Alex Palou, Helio Castroneves, Felix Rosenqvist, Marco Andretti, and Kyle Kirkwood rounded out the top ten.

“It’s testing – just trying to get through the test list, lots of changes,” said Dixon, who has contested a stunning 22 consecutive Indy 500s. “We didn’t do the October test, so first time with the hybrid here, which definitely adds some elements to it and makes it pretty interesting. I think it is going to determine a lot race-wise, maybe even for the shootout at the end. I think it could determine that.

“So, trying to clarify a lot of those situations to make sure that you’re covered muscle memory-wise and memory-wise. It comes down to that. So even in qualifying, I think it be a few different strategies of how to get that right.”

Early delays

The session got off to a slow start, delayed by about three hours due to connectivity issues at the track. On-track activity was then extended by an extra hour to account for the delay.

All 34 drivers who plan to attempt next month’s 500 went out on track with Kyffin Simpson running the most laps at 85 total. Santino Ferrucci ran the fewest laps at just five after smoke started appearing from the rear of the car early in the day.

2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson, who will attempt to complete ‘The Double’ again this year, was solidly 11th in the speed charts, after successfully completing his refresher test in the early afternoon. Marco Andretti, Devlin DeFrancesco, Callum Ilott, and Sato also completed the veteran refresher test.

 Jacob Abel in the No. 51 Dale Coyne Racing Honda was the slowest at 218.738mph. Abel, along with reigning Indy NXT champion Louis Foster and Robert Shwartzman completed the Rookie Orientation Program.

Looking at no-tow speeds, Felix Rosenqvist was the fastest man in Indianapolis at 220.835mph.

In over six hours of tack time, the closest thing to an incident was when Graham Rahal brushed the wall at the exit of Turn 3 late in the session. 

Cars will return to the track at 9:30 am EST on Thursday. Speeds will reach even higher as teams will have access to the turbo boost like on ‘Fast Friday’ every year. This will only take place from 9:30 am EST. to 12 pm EST before being reduced to race levels for the afternoon session.