First session results || Second session results || Combined practice results
Figuring the fastest way around Indianapolis Motor Speedway in "race trim" was the theme of the day as Verizon IndyCar Series teams held a practice session the day following the completion of Indianapolis 500 Mile Race qualifications for the second straight year.
Chip Ganassi Racing Teams drivers Sage Karam and Scott Dixon, who won the Verizon P1 Award for the 500, paced the day with best laps of 227.831 and 226.542 mph, respectively, followed by CFH Racing's JR Hildebrand (226.308) to give Chevrolet-powered entries the top three spots on the time chart.
"After yesterday's qualifying, it feels good to be up at the top of today's practice session," said Karam, driver of the No. 8 Comfort Revolution/Big Machine Records Chevrolet who qualified 23rd. "My car has been so fast all month and yesterday just didn't show it at all. We have a lot of good data and a good setup for the race on Sunday."
James Davison, who stepped back into the No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing entry after Tristan Vautier had qualified the car for him a day earlier, was the fastest Honda, fourth overall at 226.109. Davison practiced in the car last week before relinquishing the cockpit so he could drive in a sports car event in Canada. He flew back to Indianapolis late Sunday night.
"I'm obviously pleased with the job that Tristan did to put the car in the show," said Davison, the 28-year-old Australian who made his first Indianapolis 500 start in 2014. "He did the professional job that I knew he was hired to do. No surprises there, but great to know everything was fully executed and he was able to look after the car like I was confident he would."
Most of the best laps for the 32 drivers who logged laps today came while drawing a tow from cars cutting the air in front of them, as teams raced in packs much of the day to get their cars best suited for those conditions on race day May 24. Now there remains only a one-hour practice session on Coors Light Carb Day, May 22, before the 99th running of "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing."
The practice session was interrupted less than an hour after it started when James Hinchcliffe, driver of the No. 5 Arrow/Lucas Oil Schmidt Peterson Honda, crashed hard into the SAFER Barrier in Turn 3. Hinchcliffe, 28 and a four-time Indy 500 starter, was transported by ground to IU Health Methodist Hospital. Dr. Michael Olinger, INDYCAR medical director, reported that Hinchcliffe underwent surgery for an injury to his left upper thigh. He has been transferred to the Intensive Care Unit and remains in stable condition.
Practice was halted for track repairs and for INDYCAR officials to investigate the cause of the crash. A Honda spokesperson said a broken right front suspension piece led to the incident. Teams were given 105 minutes of practice later in the afternoon.
Tony Kanaan, fifth fastest on the day at 225.969 in the No. 10 NTT Data Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, said that it's upsetting anytime a fellow competitor is injured. But it's the profession race car drivers have chosen.
"That's what makes us different than other people," Kanaan said. "That's why not everybody can do this. It's never easy to see a friend of yours get hurt or lose a friend of yours, but this is the sport that we chose."