Will Power has remained fastest after an interrupted final practice session at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course ahead of the INDYCAR Grand Prix.
The 2014 champion was immediately on the pace at the start of the session, producing the initial benchmark as the 22-car field continued their preparations for the 85-lap race.
Once again Chevrolet showed that they still hold an advantage over Honda on one-lap pace, with Penske ending the 45-minute session locking-out the top three positions.
Josef Newgarden ended proceedings in P2 after yet another competitive session, ahead of 1999 champion Juan Pablo Montoya.
The Columbian racer, who is only competing in the two races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2017, improved greatly from the opening session of the day where he was seventh overall.
Reigning Indianapolis 500 winner Alexander Rossi was fourth fastest for Andretti Herta Autosport, ending the session as the fastest Honda-powered driver overall despite struggling with handling issues throughout the session.
Veteran Helio Castroneves enjoyed a much more competitive final practice session for Penske, ending the session P5 despite finishing outside the top ten in the opening session of the weekend.
During practice two the field began opting for Firestone’s softer and faster red sticker tyres, enabling the times to improve drastically and offering the drivers and teams an opportunity to run qualifying simulations for the all-important qualifying session later in the day.
James Hinchcliffe was P6 for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, ahead of former Formula 1 racer Max Chilton.
The Briton was once again competitive, even rising to the top of the timings during the latter stages of the session on the Firestone red sticker tyres.
Reigning champion Simon Pagenaud could only manage seventh for Penske, despite trading the top spot with team-mate’s Power and Montoya earlier in the session.
Sebastien Bourdais was just behind his fellow countryman in P9, ahead of a much improved Conor Daly who rounded out the top ten.
Daly ended the opening session 22nd and last for A.J. Foyt Racing, but will feel encouraged after a productive final practice session.
The session was interrupted by two red flag delays, the first caused by 2012 champion Ryan Hunter-Reay who slowed and was forced to stop on the back straight with a suspected mechanical issue.
After being towed back to the pits the session was briefly resumed, before Carlos Munoz spun on the exit of Turn 7 and stalled in the grass run-off area.
The resulting delay saw the session end under red flag conditions, scuppering the teams and drivers chances of further preparing for the all-important qualifying session later in the day.
