Today’s question: What was your main takeaway from oval testing Oct. 10-11 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway?

Curt Cavin: I was intrigued by Conor Daly driving the Juncos Hollinger car. Though the race team is based only a few blocks south of IMS, it is still relatively new to the Racing Capital of the World. JHR also hasn’t had a driver with the Indy experience of Daly, who has made 11 starts in the “500” with six different teams, having worked with both engine manufacturers. Daly has led 69 laps over the past four “500s” -- only Scott Dixon, Alex Palou and Pato O’Ward have led more in that span – so he’s a proven commodity here. It is still to be determined what JHR will do with its two Chevrolet-powered entries in 2025, but surely it benefitted from having Daly at the wheel for this session.

Eric Smith: Rinus VeeKay being third-fastest of the day was THE story for me. Alex Palou and Josef Newgarden were the only drivers faster than VeeKay, but that’s expected. Palou won the 2023 Indianapolis 500 pole and is the two-time defending NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion. Newgarden is the two-time defending “500” winner. VeeKay leading everyone else for a team that had both cars in the Last Row Shootout for the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500 was a statement. Moreso, unemployed VeeKay wasn’t planning on being in the car 48 hours prior to strapping in Friday, and the only name he knew on that team was “Dale” for team owner Dale Coyne Racing. He flew to Indy Wednesday just to be around, received a call from DCR at noon Thursday inquiring about his services, and after retrieving his belongings from his past team Ed Carpenter Racing down the street, he beat almost everyone in the test. Impressive is an understatement here.

Paul Kelly: Graham Rahal and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing caught my attention last Friday. It’s no secret RLL has struggled to find speed in recent years at Indy, with Rahal missing the show in 2023 and the team’s three cars starting in the last two rows last May. So, it was a pleasant surprise to see Rahal fourth overall on the speed chart last Friday, ahead of Indy 500 winners Marcus Ericsson of Andretti Global, Helio Castroneves of Meyer Shank Racing, Alexander Rossi of Ed Carpenter Racing and Ryan Hunter-Reay of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. Rahal has made 17 “500” starts without a win – only Ed Carpenter and Marco Andretti have more starts without tasting the milk among last year’s Indy starters – and it’s safe to say that a Graham victory would be very popular. A Rahal victory also would be historic and a model of perseverance, as it would set a record for the most starts before breaking through with a first win. It also would place Bobby and Graham Rahal as only the second father-son combo to win “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” joining Al Unser and Al Unser Jr.