MADISON, Ill. — Six drivers surpassed the 180-mph barrier around the 1.25-mile World Wide Technology Raceway in Friday’s first practice session for Sunday’s World Bommarito Automotive Group 500.
Team Penske’s Will Power was the fastest driver with a lap at 180.539 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet for Team Penske.
“We worked on qualifying, like everyone else,” Power said. “A lot of people have good cars, but mine feels really good.”
Power is attempting to claim the 67th pole of his IndyCar career, which would tie him with Mario Andretti for most poles.
Power was followed by 2012 NTT IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou’s 180.208 mph in the No. 10 American Legion Honda. Arrow McLaren SP’s Felix Rosenqvist was third at 180.065 mph.
“Pretty sporty, I think,” Rosenqvist said. “The car felt good. Had that one pretty good qually run. It was a smooth session. Didn’t expect to get a lot of laps in, but we did.”
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin was fourth at 180.047 mph in the No. 3 Chevrolet followed by Marcus Ericsson’s 180.042 mph in the No. 8 Bryant Heating and Cooling Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren Sob rounded out the top six at 180.012 mph in the No. 5 Chevrolet.
With 42 minutes left in the session, Josef Newgarden’s No. 2 jumped to the top spot with a lap at 179.660 mph. Rookie Devlin DeFrancesco was second at 177.070 in the No. 29 Honda for Andretti Autosport.
With 30 minutes left, it was Newgarden at 179.660 mph followed by Scott McLaughlin’s 179.172 mph, De Francesco’s 177.070 mph, and Will Power’s 176.949 mph in the No. 12. Pato O’Ward was fifth in the No. 5 Chevrolet at 176.510 mph.
With 15 minutes left in practice, Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson moved into the second position on the pylon with a lap at 179.172 mph in the No. 8 Bryant Heating and Cooling Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Felix Rosenqvist became the first driver to hit the 180-mph barrier with 10 minutes left in the session. Rosenqvist’s fastest lap was 180.065 mph in the NO. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet. His time at the top didn’t last long as Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing hit 180.208 mph in the No. 10 American Legion Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Two minutes later, Power of Team Penske hit 180.539 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet for Team Penske.
Qualifications are set for Friday at 4:15 p.m. (ET).
“We kept the tires to the minimum, but last car I ran was pretty pleased with it so that should be our qualifying car,” said Andretti Autosport driver Romain Grosjean, who was 18th out of 26 cars with a lap at 177.402 mph in the No. 28 Honda.