ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – Front row starter Colton Herta was the fastest driver in Saturday evening’s final REV Group Grand Prix practice session, with a fast time of 1:47.6312 around the 4.014-mile, 14-turn Road America race course.
It was the final practice session for NTT IndyCar Series teams before Sunday’s race at Road America.
Herta’s No. 26 Gainbridge Honda lines up on the outside of row one after he barely lost the pole to Josef Newgarden earlier Saturday afternoon.
Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and IndyCar rookie driver Jimmie Johnson finished 14th in practice, his best practice or qualifying session of the season so far as the driver tries to adapt to an Indy car.
“In qualifying I had enough laps on my tires to get up to temperature, but even on this lap that left me 14th, I had a 13th or 12th left in them,” Johnson explained. “But I feel like I’m at the edge of my comfort level and about to challenge for more position.
“I spent my entire career with slow hands and slow feet in a stock car and that served me with in NASCAR with the way the car drove. But Detroit was a glaring example to me of how quick your hands and feet need to be in the car to maintain grip in the car. I’m making too many mistakes right now to capitalize, but I’m having a blast and things are improving.”
Scott Dixon’s No. 9 PNC Bank Honda was second fastest in the warmup session, but he had a near-miss with Pato O’Ward in turn 12. Dixon went on to finish with a fast time of 1:47.6457.
Dixon will start 13th in the No. 9 PNC Bank Grow Up Great Honda after he was eliminated in the first round of qualifying. Dixon is third in the championship, 36 points behind O’Ward.
The six-time Indy car champion lost about 15 minutes of track time in the morning practice due to repairs of his chassis undertray in the pits after he ran over debris in the fast, sweeping Carousel corner.
“It’s frustrating with how compact these weekends are, and if you lose any kind of sequence of it, the roll-on effect is pretty big,” Dixon said. “It is what it is; you can’t do anything about it. It was something on the track, something I couldn’t avoid in a corner that I couldn’t really avoid.”
Graham Rahal’s No. 15 Honda was third quick at 1:47.6707 followed by pole winner Newgarden’s No. 2 Chevrolet at 1:48.0311. Max Chilton’s No. 59 Chevrolet rounded out the top five at 1:48.0533.
“Tomorrow is going to be a tough day, it’s going to be interesting, but it will be hard coming from 14th (starting spot),” Rahal said.