Tricky conditions plagued the drivers on ‘Fast Friday’ at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the fourth day of practice for the 109th Indianapolis 500. ‘Fast Friday’ is reserved as the last practice before qualifications as the added 100 more horsepower boost is turned up to help aid the speeds.
Throughout the day, drivers and crews battled heavy winds at both the north and south ends of the racetrack, making it difficult to get a gauge on where their cars are at for qualifying. Adding in the hot temperatures, most drivers would back out of a simulated qualfiiying run after a few corners or just one lap.
Drivers like Josef Newgarden would lift and get off the accelerator coming out of Turn 3, scrubbing speed and loosing time. Qualifying for the “500” is flat out for four laps as drivers aim to manage tires and get the best average speed. Track temperatures hit a high of 138 degrees in Turn 1, adding to the slick conditions. As a storm threat rolled into the Indianapolis area at 5 p.m., the drivers faced similar conditions they will see over the weekend and gained a better idea of how the car handles in the cooler weather.
The added factor of the hybrid unit in the rear of all of the cars is a storyline on its own. Adding 100 pounds of weight to the back of a racecar at Indianapolis, a track where you want the car as light as possible, has provided handling challenges for the drivers.
In addition to handling issues, the aspect of using the hybrid during a qualifying attempt has also become the focus. Will Power was floating around the idea of using the added boost going into Turn 3 on every lap, regardless of the percentage available. Others experimented not using it all, going into the first lap, at the end of the last lap, coming out of Turn 4, or through the course of a lap.
The driver to get the most out of the tricky conditions was Scott McLaughlin in the No.3 Pennzoil Chevrolet for Team Penske. The 2024 “500” pole sitter posted a blistering 233.954 mph early in the day to keep him in first on the speed chart. In second, was 2008 “500” winner, Scott Dixon at 232.561 mph. The speed that Dixon put up also secured him the top spot on the no-tow charts. Dixon has been fast all week and is poised to have a good qualifying weekend.
In third was Dixon’s teammate at Chip Ganassi Racing, Alex Palou. Palou ended the day at 232.528 mph, good for second on the no-tow chart. The last two cars in the Top Five was the Andretti Global duo of Kyle Kirkwood and Colton Herta, in fourth and fifth, respectively. Kirkwood posted a quick 232.107 mph late in the day to end up fourth on the no-tow charts to boot in the No.27 Siemens Honda. Herta ended the day at 232.066 mph, good enough for fourth on the no-tow charts.
“There’s been a huge effort from everyone involved, obviously Honda,” Kirkwood said.”Hopefully today is an indicator of how we are tomorrow, but not really sure at this moment.”
McLaughlin put his car in fifth on the no-tow at 232.005 mph as the driver from New Zealand looks to go for pole again.
“Great day. It was a short day,” McLaughlin said. “We went out pretty early in the morning knowing that the conditions were just going to get tougher and tougher and then eventually were really, really good at the end. I thought we did a really good job at the time. I thought our run — we did two full runs, and not many people actually did that, including my teammates as well.
I feel really good in the Pennzoil Yellow Submarine, and I feel like we were able to knock out some really good speed. Then obviously track temps go down, and the ambient temperature is hot, so less drag later on this afternoon. I think we’re in a really good spot for tomorrow, and hopefully we can put a big number up.”
SEE: ‘Fast Friday’ Practice Results
The day started off at noon but after only 48 minutes of running, a caution flew for a scary incident involving Kyffin Simpson. Simpson, the sophomore driver for Chip Ganassi Racing, was on a qualifying simulation and lost the back-end of the No.8 Journie Rewards Honda exiting Turn 4. The car careened into the outside wall, went airborne as the car almost rolled over. The car was able to land on all four tires, and rest at the entrance to pit road. Simpson was ok after the crash as the team switches over to a back-up car.
Another incident occured later in the afternoon around 4:30 p.m when Kyle Larson experienced his second wreck in an IndyCar. The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Champion was on his first run of the day when exiting Turn 3, lost the rear of the car and crashed nose-first into the outside wall on the shortchute in between Turns 3 & 4. The car would spin down to Turn 4 and the attenuator at the rear of the car, hit the wall as the car came to rest in the grass. Larson was seen and released from the medical center. Larson was able to make it back on track after the crew quickly changed the front and rear wing assembly’s with the chassis staying intact.
The favorites for the pole seem to be the Team Penske trio of McLaughlin, Newgarden and Will Power. Kirkwood has continued to show blistering pace for and has placed Top Three in the no-tow charts every single day of practice, showing that the American may be a favorite for the front-row.
Anothe team in the Honda camp in Meyer Shank Racing have flown under the radar with their quick pace. Marcus Armstrong and Felix Rosenqvist both put their cars sixth and seventh, respectively on the charts. Both drivers were sixth and seventh on the no-tow charts to boot, proving that MSR can surprise anyone.
Another surprise, after being down the order all week is Prema Racing. The new IndyCar team in their first season, brought brand new race cars to Indianapolis and have spent the week getting data and dialing the cars in. On ‘Fast Friday’ however, the team has shown speed. Rookie Robert Shwartzman and veteran Callum Ilott put their cars at 13th and 18th, respectively. Friday’s result is the highest the two Prema cars have been on the charts as the crew seem to have the cars pointing in the right direction.
Another driver that will have a sleepless weekend amidst worrying about being bumped, along with Larson and Simpson, would be Graham Rahal. For the third year in a row, the six-time IndyCar race winner is on the bubble of making the field. Rahal missed the field in 2023 but was able to race and fill in for the injured Stefan Wilson after Wilson was injured in a practice crash. The No.15 United Rentals Honda for Rahal Letterman-Lanigan Racing has been off the pace all week, leaving Rahal scratching his head.
“I got a lot of understeer. Can’t feel the car at all. There’s nothing there.” Rahal said on the team radio during one of his runs. The No.15 crew spent most of the day putting teammate Louis Foster’s setup on Rahal’s car in hopes to make the car to the veteran’s liking.
The teams will get a practice session from 8:30-9:30 a.m. on Saturday before qualifying. Marcus Ericsson will roll out first ,as teams juggle for speed and making sure the car balance is there, the pole and the 33rd starting spot is all to play for this weekend.