LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Practice 1 on the streets of Long Beach was deja vu for James Hinchcliffe, who topped the time sheet with a lap of 1 minute, 9.8110 seconds. Last April, the Andretti Autosport driver in the No. 27 entry was quickest in the opening session the 1.968-mile, 11-turn course at 1:08.9187. One notable difference is that the team switched to the twin-turbocharged Honda engine this season.

Eight different teams were represented in the top 10, and the top 17 cars were separated by less than a second.

Helio Castroneves, driving the No. 3 AAA Southern California Team Penske car, was .1795 of a second behind Hinchcliffe. Justin Wilson in the No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing car was third (1:10.0080) and Ryan Hunter-Reay was fourth (1:10.0340) in the No. 28 DHL car for Andretti Autosport.

Click it: Practice 1 results

Drivers also were practicing for the standing start -- the first of the season and the first at Long Beach since 2008 -- for the 80-lap race April 13.

A second 45-minute practice is scheduled for 5 p.m. (ET). Practice preceding the three rounds of qualifications is set for 1 p.m. (ET) April 12. The IMS Radio Network broadcasts all sessions in conjunction with Timing & Scoring on www.indycar.com and the INDYCAR 14 app. The broadcast also is on Sirius 209 and XM 209.

NBCSN will telecast qualifications (6-7 p.m. ET) and the race (4-7 p.m. ET). The Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires race telecast on NBCSN (2:30 p.m. ET) precedes the Verizon IndyCar Series telecast. 

Circuit: 1.968 miles, 11 turns
Pit box dimensions: 40 x 15 feet
Race day fuel: 60 U.S. gallons of E85 (60 gallons for practice/qualifying)

Verizon IndyCar Series on-track times (all times local/PDT):
Saturday, April 12: 10-10:45 a.m. (Practice 3)
                             2-3:10 p.m. (Qualifications, including Firestone Fast Six)

Sunday, April 13: 9-9:30 a.m. (Warm-up)
                          1 p.m. pre-race and NBCSN/IMS Radio Network on air; 1:50 p.m. green flag

Qualifications: Three rounds of knockout qualifying to determine the Verizon P1 Award winner and set the first three rows. Twelve cars from 10-minute Segment 1 (six quickest from Groups 1 and 2) advance to 10-minute Segment 2. Top six advance to 10-minute Firestone Fast Six session to determine Verizon P1 Award.