Simon Pagenaud has ended the opening practice session ahead of the Honda Indy 200 fastest around the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, as preparations got underway ahead of the 90-lap race.
The reigning champion was closely followed by Graham Rahal and Marco Andretti, with both Honda-powered drivers completing late improvements to split the Penskes just as the chequered flag fell.
Helio Castroneves was therefore demoted to P4 during the final seconds of the session, with the Brazilian veteran running as high as P1 at several stages throughout the 45-minute practice session.
Will Power was fifth for Penske, with the Chevrolet-powered outfit enjoying a productive start to the weekend.
The 2014 champion ended proceedings just ahead of former Formula 1 racer Max Chilton, who could only manage P7 despite also running as high as P1 during the early stages of the session.
Josef Newgarden was the lowest placed Penske racer in seventh, ahead of 2012 champion Ryan Hunter-Reay.
Championship leader Scott Dixon fell through the order during the latter stages of the session, eventually ending P9 for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Dixon will be looking to question Penske’s authority later in the weekend, with the four-time champion only three points ahead of Castroneves in the drivers’ championship.
Spencer Pigot rounded out the top ten for Ed Carpenter Racing, ahead of Alexander Rossi, James Hinchcliffe and Mikhail Aleshin, the latter making a return to the series after being replaced by Sebastian Saavedra last time out in Toronto.
Further down the order former F1 racer Esteban Gutierrez suffered a tough start to the weekend for Dale Coyne Racing, with the IndyCar rookie making a mistake at Turn 2 before then aggravating Castroneves later in the session by blocking the Penske racer.
Apart from Gutierrez’s minor mistake at Turn 2 the session ran completely incident-free.
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