Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward has one of the best finishing averages among NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers at World Wide Technology Raceway, and he put his speed again on display in the final practice ahead of Saturday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline.
O’Ward, who has an average finish of 2.6 in series races here, topped Friday evening's speed chart at 174.708 mph. Marcus Ericsson of Andretti Global was second at 174.191 mph.
SEE: Results
One driver happy to have the post-qualifying session was Colton Herta, who lost control of his Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian machine during the second lap of qualifying. Herta (pictured) had hit the Turn 1 wall the rear of his No. 26 Gainbridge Honda, damaging the wing and gearbox, among other items. With repairs made, he posted a best lap of 173.698 mph in the practice, good for third overall.
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, who has the pole for the 260-lap race, was 13th at 172.976 mph.
The field of 27 car-and-driver combinations got 60 minutes of practice with the track’s lights on as they will be late in the late stages of the race, with another 15 additional minutes for each entry in a session designed to add tire rubber to the high grooves for increased additional passing.
There were no incidents to speak of, although Conor Daly brushed the Turn 2 wall with the No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet that he is driving for the first time.
The broadcasts on USA Network, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network will begin at 6 p.m. ET with the green flag for the 260-lap race waving at approximately 6:30 p.m. ET.
This will be the first of five races – four on oval tracks – to end the season. The starting order will look different than the qualifying results as four cars will serve nine-position grid penalties for unapproved engine changes since last month’s race in Toronto. Those cars are piloted by Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou and Scott Dixon, plus Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist and Dale Coyne Racing’s Katherine Legge.
Palou brings a 49-point lead over Team Penske’s Will Power into Saturday’s race.
Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden has won four of the past eight series races at the track. Dixon won last year in an impressive fuel-saving displaying, winning by 22.2 seconds over O’Ward.