Marco Andretti has ended the second practice session ahead of the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama fastest, after an action-packed afternoon at the Barber Motorsports Park.
Despite the threat of showers later in the day, the session took place in dry and overcast conditions, with the drivers once again wasting no time in taking to the scenic track.
Andretti’s overall fastest lap time was completed during the latter stages of the session, enabling the Honda-powered racer to end proceedings just ahead of Penske’s Will Power.
The Australian racer spent the majority of the session at the sharp end of the order, trading places at the top with Penske team-mate Simon Pagenaud who eventually ended the session P3.
The reigning champion finished practice one earlier in the day fastest overall, and was eager to continue with his preparations for the weekend ahead.
Helio Castroneves was fourth for Penske, with the Chevrolet-powered cars looking extremely competitive after the first two practice sessions.
After the opening two races of the season Honda has had the initial advantage, with the Chevrolet-powered teams understandably keen for a change of fortune at Barber.
Four-time champion Scott Dixon managed to improve on his pace from practice one, ending the session P5 after initially sitting at the top during the early stages.
Charlie Kimball and Mikhail Aleshin were sixth and seventh respectively, ahead of Josef Newgarden in the Penske.
Championship leader Sebastien Bourdais could only manage P9 for Dale Coyne Racing, ahead of Ryan Hunter-Reay who rounded out the top ten.
The 2012 champion was lucky to escape with minimal front-wing damage during the latter stages of the session, after he ran extensively wide at Turn 2 and lightly tapped the barrier.
However, Hunter-Reay’s mistake did not result in a red flag delay. The same cannot be said for Max Chilton and rookie Ed Jones.
Only several minutes into the session Chilton spun at Turn 14, importantly avoiding the barrier but stalling and therefore requiring assistance.
Meanwhile Jones was involved in a similar mishap at Turn 5, spinning and stalling to create a momentary red flag delay.
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