INDIANAPOLIS – Marcus Ericsson is hot after scoring his second NTT IndyCar Series win last Sunday in Nashville, Tenn.
The Chip Ganassi Racing driver continued his streak of success as the fastest driver in Saturday’s early-morning warm-up session for Saturday afternoon’s Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.
Ericsson’s best time was 1:11.3705 around the 14-turn, 2.439-mile IMS Road Course in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Honda.
“I have a very good race car and the No. 8 Huski car was very good today, we made some changes last night and I am really happy with the way the car feels now,” Ericsson said after the session. “I feel very good now.
“I have a feeling today’s race will have more cautions than normal so there will be a lot more things happening out there. We qualified 11th and will have some overtaking to do.”
Ericsson’s win in last Sunday’s Big Machine Music City Grand Prix was his second this season, tying him with teammate Alex Palou and Pato O’Ward as the only two-time winners in the NTT IndyCar Series this season.
Alexander Rossi hopes to break a 32-race winless streak in the NTT IndyCar Series. He took a step in the right direction with the second-fastest time, 1:11.3895.
Rossi’s last victory came on June 23, 2019, when he dominated the REV Group Grand Prix at Road America.
Josef Newgarden was the third fastest driver in the 30-minute session. Newgarden, who had a disappointing qualifying effort in Friday’s two-round knockout session, ran a fast time of 1:11.4639.
Newgarden also incurred a six-grid position penalty before Friday’s activity began for an unapproved engine change. That means he will start 20th in Saturday’s race, which begins at 1 p.m. Eastern Time.
Jack Harvey was fourth in the No. 60 Honda at 1:11.4951. Harvey is leaving the team at the end of this season, presumably to move over the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, where he is expected to take over the No. 45 Honda.
Max Chilton rounded out the top five with a best time of 1:11.5760.
Pole winner O’Ward was 23rd in Saturday’s session. Four-time Brickyard 400 winner and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson was 25th.
Cody Ware was the slowest in the 28-car field at 1:13.5703.
The NBCSN telecast begins at 12:30 p.m. ET.