INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, April 9, 2021) – Josef Newgarden has won the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship twice in the last four years, so he freely admits winning the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge is the biggest box left to check in his racing career.
If the speed chart from the second day of the Indy 500 Open Test on Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is any indication, that dream could become reality this May.
Newgarden, from Nashville, Tennessee, was the fastest driver today and overall from two days of testing, turning a top lap of 226.819 mph in the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet under mostly sunny skies on the 2.5-mile oval. That easily eclipsed the top speed from the rain-hampered first day Thursday, 224.427 by Sebastien Bourdais in the No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet.
“It was a pretty good day,” Newgarden said. “I was happy enough with the car. I think we still need some work, for sure, but to just get an initial read on where we’re at is good. Obviously, there are a lot of new parts and differences to the last couple of years, so we’re just trying to assess what we need to really work on these last couple of weeks before we get back here in May. But I’m pretty happy.”
Indy 500 winners and INDYCAR SERIES champions dominated the top of the speed chart. Two-time and reigning Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato was second at 226.369 in the No. 30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda, with two-time Indy winner and 1999 CART champion Juan Pablo Montoya third at 226.123 in the No. 86 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet.
Six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion and 2008 Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon was fourth at 225.906, while Graham Rahal rounded out the top five at 225.644 in the No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda.
RLL was the only team to power two drivers into the top five today, and Rahal was the fastest driver without the benefit of an aerodynamic tow in traffic, at 221.949. Sato won the 104th Indianapolis 500 last Aug. 23, with teammate Rahal third.
The speed limit increased today in more favorable conditions and larger, more aerodynamic packs. The top 12 drivers laid down laps faster than Bourdais’ chart-topper Thursday.
Passing raindrops and track inspections only briefly interrupted the nine-hour session. Rookie Scott McLaughlin turned 195 laps in his No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet, more than any driver and just five laps shy of the full 500-mile race distance.
Up next for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES is the 2021 season opener, the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by AmFirst on Sunday, April 18 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. NBC and the INDYCAR Radio Network will provide live coverage starting at 3 p.m. (ET).
The 105th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge is scheduled for Sunday, May 30 at IMS.
IMS Open Test
Results of Session
Practice 3
Rank Car Driver Name C/E/T Time Speed Diff Gap Best Lap Total Laps
1 2 Newgarden, Josef D/C/F 00:39.6792 226.819 –.—- –.—- 60 121
2 30 Sato, Takuma D/H/F 00:39.7534 226.396 0.0742 0.0742 47 60
3 86 Montoya, Juan Pablo D/C/F 00:39.8013 226.123 0.1221 0.0479 43 68
4 9 Dixon, Scott D/H/F 00:39.8395 225.906 0.1603 0.0382 65 126
5 15 Rahal, Graham D/H/F 00:39.8859 225.644 0.2067 0.0464 40 157
6 47 Daly, Conor D/C/F 00:39.8868 225.639 0.2076 0.0009 119 137
7 12 Power, Will D/C/F 00:39.9112 225.501 0.2320 0.0244 51 162
8 60 Harvey, Jack D/H/F 00:39.9527 225.266 0.2735 0.0415 139 140
9 5 O’Ward, Pato D/C/F 00:39.9790 225.118 0.2998 0.0263 108 156
10 06 Castroneves, Helio D/H/F 00:39.9868 225.074 0.3076 0.0078 105 128
11 22 Pagenaud, Simon D/C/F 00:39.9999 225.001 0.3207 0.0131 104 184
12 28 Hunter-Reay, Ryan D/H/F 00:40.0091 224.949 0.3299 0.0092 119 134
13 26 Herta, Colton D/H/F 00:40.1422 224.203 0.4630 0.1331 42 164
14 20 Carpenter, Ed D/C/F 00:40.1524 224.146 0.4732 0.0102 144 146
15 10 Palou, Alex D/H/F 00:40.1545 224.134 0.4753 0.0021 20 112
16 7 Rosenqvist, Felix D/C/F 00:40.1835 223.973 0.5043 0.0290 112 126
17 18 Jones, Ed D/H/F 00:40.1956 223.905 0.5164 0.0121 15 104
18 3 McLaughlin, Scott (R) D/C/F 00:40.2131 223.808 0.5339 0.0175 151 195
19 27 Rossi, Alexander D/H/F 00:40.2440 223.636 0.5648 0.0309 117 136
20 45 Ferrucci, Santino D/H/F 00:40.2650 223.519 0.5858 0.0210 85 137
21 16 De Silvestro, Simona D/C/F 00:40.2760 223.458 0.5968 0.0110 50 92
22 29 Hinchcliffe, James D/H/F 00:40.2760 223.458 0.5968 0.0000 87 127
23 48 Kanaan, Tony D/H/F 00:40.3404 223.101 0.6612 0.0644 38 99
24 24 Karam, Sage D/C/F 00:40.3415 223.095 0.6623 0.0011 71 81
25 98 Andretti, Marco D/H/F 00:40.3923 222.815 0.7131 0.0508 113 138
26 14 Bourdais, Sebastien D/C/F 00:40.4263 222.627 0.7471 0.0340 119 125
27 59 Chilton, Max D/C/F 00:40.4935 222.258 0.8143 0.0672 3 114
28 8 Ericsson, Marcus D/H/F 00:40.5159 222.135 0.8367 0.0224 147 188
29 51 Fittipaldi, Pietro (R) D/H/F 00:40.5509 221.943 0.8717 0.0350 135 144
30 4 Kellett, Dalton D/C/F 00:40.8727 220.196 1.1935 0.3218 63 97
31 52 Ware, Cody (R) D/H/F 00:41.2017 218.438 1.5225 0.3290 25 58
(R) Rookie Total Laps: 3956
(C)hassis: D=Dallara | (E)ngine: C=Chevy, H=Honda | (T)ire: F=Firestone
Day 2 Rookie Orientation/Refresher Results
Results of Session
Practice 2
Rank Car Driver Name C/E/T Time Speed Diff Gap Best Lap Total Laps
1 06 Castroneves, Helio D/H/F 00:40.7241 220.999 –.—- –.—- 27 29
2 59 Chilton, Max D/C/F 00:40.7376 220.926 0.0135 0.0135 28 28
3 86 Montoya, Juan Pablo D/C/F 00:41.1100 218.925 0.3859 0.3724 29 35
4 51 Fittipaldi, Pietro (R) D/H/F 00:41.1654 218.630 0.4413 0.0554 13 26
5 16 De Silvestro, Simona D/C/F 00:41.1686 218.613 0.4445 0.0032 19 30
6 29 Hinchcliffe, James D/H/F 00:41.2154 218.365 0.4913 0.0468 5 21
7 24 Karam, Sage D/C/F 00:41.3675 217.562 0.6434 0.1521 7 17
8 18 Jones, Ed D/H/F 00:41.3897 217.445 0.6656 0.0222 16 23
9 52 Ware, Cody (R) D/H/F 00:41.4281 217.244 0.7040 0.0384 20 29
10 4 Kellett, Dalton D/C/F No Time No Speed 0.0000 0.0000 0 0
11 14 Bourdais, Sebastien D/C/F No Time No Speed 0.0000 0.0000 0 0
(R) Rookie Total Laps: 238
