Will Power steps up the pace in Indy 500 practice

Autosport

Penske and Chevrolet jumped to the top of the order for the first time in 2016 Indianapolis 500 practice with Will Power on the final day of running before qualifying.

Power’s 232.672mph effort came on his 24th of 32 laps on ‘Fast Friday’ and put him ahead of fellow Chevy runner Josef Newgarden’s 232.344mph for Ed Carpenter Racing.

“Yes, I got a good tow,” Power said.

“Even when the car is out of traffic, it was pretty good, pretty solid. I think it’s fast.

“I think it’s going to be really, really tight for pole. There are a lot of quick guys out there and I think Honda is right there, too.”

Power said Penske’s low-key results earlier in the week were due to its focus on race trim.

“We’ve been working on the race set-up, obviously,” Power said.

“When we’re running race downforce, you can definitely get like a five-car tow type of thing and put out some good speeds.

“But I think in qualifying it’s good this year because you really are on the limit.

“Your foot starts shaking on the throttle, you know you kind of trimmed a little bit much, which is how it should be.”

James Hinchcliffe led a flurry of Honda runners in positions third to 11th, ahead of Andretti Autosport’s Carlos Munoz, Marco Andretti, Townsend Bell and 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay.

Schmidt Peterson driver Hinchcliffe was not surprised to see Power leap to the top.

“He’s in a Penske,” Hinchcliffe said. “I’m not surprised at all.

“That’s what they do here. Roger Penske didn’t win 15 Indianapolis 500s without knowing when to show his speed. It’s never a surprise to see one of them up there.”

Hinchcliffe was pleased with the speed he was able to get from his Honda and said the team will not participate in Saturday morning’s practice session.

“We’re going to see some quick times,” Hinchcliffe said. “We still have a little bit of speed to find in our car but we’ve had a hell of a run so far.

“We aren’t going to run in the morning. We’re ready to go.”

Eighteen cars turned laps over 230mph and nine over 231mph on Friday.

The real key to potential entering Saturday’s first round of single-car qualifications was the ‘no tow report’.

Bell led that one at 231.342mph followed by Power at 231.339mph, and Hunter-Reay at 231.284mph.

Drivers can make multiple qualifying attempts during Saturday’s first round, which runs from 11am to 5.50pm local time.

The fastest nine cars from Saturday go into a pole position shootout on Sunday, after the rest of the field have fought for positions 11-33 in the group one qualifying session.

FRIDAY PRACTICE RESULTS

PosDriverTeamCarSpeedTimeLaps
1Will PowerTeam PenskeDallara/Chevrolet232.67238.6810s32
2Josef NewgardenEd Carpenter RacingDallara/Chevrolet232.34438.7356s58
3James HinchcliffeSchmidt Peterson MotorsportsDallara/Honda231.97238.7978s37
4Carlos MunozAndretti AutosportDallara/Honda231.95138.8012s31
5Marco AndrettiAndretti AutosportDallara/Honda231.82438.8226s54
6Townsend BellAndretti AutosportDallara/Honda231.55838.8670s29
7Ryan Hunter-ReayAndretti AutosportDallara/Honda231.28438.9132s41
8Gabby ChavesDale Coyne RacingDallara/Honda231.13638.9381s43
9Mikhail AleshinSchmidt Peterson MotorsportsDallara/Honda231.06438.9502s41
10Alexander RossiAndretti HertaDallara/Honda230.84738.9867s59
11Oriol ServiaSchmidt Peterson MotorsportsDallara/Honda230.75739.0020s35
12Scott DixonChip Ganassi RacingDallara/Chevrolet230.46539.0514s29
13Simon PagenaudTeam PenskeDallara/Chevrolet230.44239.0554s27
14J.R. HildebrandEd Carpenter RacingDallara/Chevrolet230.34539.0717s38
15Helio CastronevesTeam PenskeDallara/Chevrolet230.33239.0739s29
16Ed CarpenterEd Carpenter RacingDallara/Chevrolet230.23439.0907s47
17Graham RahalRahal Letterman LaniganDallara/Honda230.13939.1067s46
18Juan Pablo MontoyaTeam PenskeDallara/Chevrolet230.05139.1217s17
19Pippa MannDale Coyne RacingDallara/Honda229.91839.1444s30
20Tony KanaanChip Ganassi RacingDallara/Chevrolet229.75339.1725s39
21Sebastien BourdaisKVSH RacingDallara/Chevrolet229.61039.1969s42
22Jack HawksworthAJ Foyt EnterprisesDallara/Honda229.56439.2046s35
23Max ChiltonChip Ganassi RacingDallara/Chevrolet229.45139.2240s46
24Matthew BrabhamTeam MurrayDallara/Chevrolet229.25239.2580s57
25Conor DalyDale Coyne RacingDallara/Honda229.18739.2693s53
26Spencer PigotRahal Letterman LaniganDallara/Honda229.12439.2799s66
27Takuma SatoAJ Foyt EnterprisesDallara/Honda228.92539.3141s44
28Charlie KimballChip Ganassi RacingDallara/Chevrolet228.86739.3241s26
29Alex TaglianiAJ Foyt EnterprisesDallara/Honda228.59339.3713s41
30Sage KaramDreyer & Reinbold RacingDallara/Chevrolet228.01739.4707s50
31Bryan ClausonJonathan Byrd’s RacingDallara/Honda227.80539.5074s37
32Stefan WilsonKVSH RacingDallara/Chevrolet226.56639.7234s40
33Buddy LazierLazier Burns RacingDallara/Chevrolet225.68339.8789s47

Will Power steps up the pace in Indy 500 practice

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