Ryan Hunter-Reay has ended the first practice session at the Pocono Raceway fastest for Andretti Autosport, after an intriguing start to the ABC Supply 500 race weekend around the 2.5-mile “Tricky Triangle”.
The opening session ran completely incident-free for the first hour before three late caution periods disrupted proceedings and resulted in an extra seven minutes being added to the session to enable the drivers to finalise their preparations for qualifying later in the day.
After over an hour of uninterrupted action a track inspection was required due to debris, and shortly afterwards Ed Carpenter lost control of his car at the final corner and slammed into the retaining wall.
With only a handful of minutes remaining the third and final caution period was caused when rookie Ed Jones spun at Turn 2 and lightly brushed the wall with the front of his car, causing minor front-wing damage and prematurely ending his session.
Due largely to the interrupted nature at the end of the session the times improved drastically as the drivers returned to the track on lower fuel levels, with reigning champion Simon Pagenaud slotting into P2 during the final minutes of track action.
Tony Kanaan was third fastest for Chip Ganassi Racing, after a productive start to the weekend for the outfit.
Marco Andretti sat atop the classification for the majority of the session, but was usurped during the latter minutes and was therefore forced to settle for fourth after the numerous late improvements.
Four-time champion Scott Dixon was P5 ahead of reigning Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato, with Andretti Autosport in particular performing well with all four drivers comfortably within the top ten.
Alexander Rossi was seventh for Andretti Herta Autosport, as Honda power took control of proceedings with only three Chevrolet-powered drivers breaking into the top ten.
Graham Rahal was P8 ahead of Brazilian veteran Helio Castroneves, with the Penske racer in particular producing the first timed lap of the extended practice session earlier in the day.
Gabby Chaves rounded out the top ten for Harding Racing, with the rookie outfit competing in only their third IndyCar race after making their debut at the Indianapolis 500 earlier in the year.
Despite the team’s lack of track action in relation to the rest of the field Chaves looked thoroughly at home around the 2.5-mile oval, as Harding Racing continue to pursue a full-time grid slot for 2018.
Further down the order Will Power was a lowly P18 for Penske, behind the likes of Carlos Munoz and Esteban Gutierrez.
Discussion about this post