INDIANAPOLIS — Just two days ago, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway basked in sunshine and blue skies as a crowd of over 50,000 fans came to the iconic facility to witness a total solar eclipse. It was post-card weather for Central Indiana in early April.
Less than 48 hours later, normal Indiana weather returned in time to dramatically impact the two-day Indianapolis 500 Open Test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Click here for the full results.
With more than a full-field of competitors who will compete in the 108th Indianapolis 500, including 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson, the test session began on schedule at 9 a.m. and was briefly interrupted a few times for moisture, before heavy rain began to fall at 2:06 p.m. Eastern Time.
The session was called at 4:01 p.m. Eastern Time.
The Thursday schedule remains the same with the session beginning at 10 a.m. Eastern Time. However, there is a 95 percent chance of rain in the Indianapolis forecast.
By the numbers, there were 34 car/driver combinations that ran a total of 1,327 laps around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Josef Newgarden, the winning driver from the 107th Indianapolis 500 last year, was the fastest at 228.811 miles per hour in the No. 2 Chevrolet for Team Penske.
“We’re not trying to do it because I had no idea,” Newgarden said of leading the Open Test for a third straight year. “I didn’t know it was three years in a row. We want to check off things on our list. Obviously, it’s been right at the front, which is a good sign.”
The second-fastest driver is one of the biggest names in racing but has never competed in an IndyCar series race.
It’s Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion who will compete in the No. 17 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren/Hendrick Motorsports. His best lap was 226.384 mph, but he credits that speed with a massive tow from another driver in the draft.
Despite the shortened session, Larson believed it was valuable to “get in some traffic and feeling the turbulent air.”
“The first time I got in traffic, I think my tires still had good grip, so I was surprised,” Larson continued. “It didn’t feel that different in traffic. Then the last time, I was building understeer, and Newgarden got by me, and I was super tight behind him.
“I’m just trying to learn all that and process all that and knowing what I can do in the car to cope with that. I’m just trying to figure out any bit of race craft today, which I know is tough. Just get notes in my head and all that.”
Scott Dixon, a six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion and winner of the 2008 Indianapolis 500, was third at 226.346 mph in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing. Two-time and defending IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou was fourth at 226.201 mph in the No. 10 DHL Honda for CGR.
Colton Herta of Andretti Global rounded out the top five at 225.907 mph in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda.
There were no incidents in the Wednesday’s test session.
Graham Rahal, who was bumped out of last year’s race during the Last Chance Qualifying, only to be reinstated to the lineup as a replacement to the injured Stefan Wilson, explained what he learned in the abbreviated session.
He was 19th fastest at 222.366 mph in the No. 15 Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
“It was a good first morning,” Rahal said. “As far as time on track, we were running by ourselves to see what we have learned from the offseason. It was an awesome morning. The car felt good. It had good balance, and the car was a joy to drive.”
All drivers in Tuesday’s Rookie Orientation Program and Refresher laps were able to pass on Tuesday.
That included veteran driver and 2020 Indy 500 Pole Winner Marco Andretti, who had a best lap of 222.734 mph.
The other drivers who breezed through the ROP or Refresher laps included Katherine Legge of Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing, Pietro Fittipaldi of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and rookies Christian Rasmussen of Ed Carpenter Racing, Nolan Siegel of Dale Coyne Racing and Kyffin Simpson of Chip Ganassi Racing.
Larson passed his ROP last October and was thankful that he didn’t have to take those laps with so many other cars at the Speedway on Wednesday.
“Doing the ROP last year, doing the Phoenix test helped the nerves and moves right now leading into May,” Larson said. “I don’t even know who’s out there the ROP doing right now, but I would feel way overwhelmed if I was doing that right now.
“So, I’m happy that we’ve done it the way we’ve done it.”