Will Power has ended the final practice session ahead of the ABC Supply 500 fastest at the Pocono Raceway, as the teams and drivers began to finalise their preparations ahead of the 200-lap race.
After a thrilling qualifying session earlier in the day, the focus up and down the paddock soon shifted to completing race simulations, with many drivers during the final 30 minutes of track action trying their best to replicate race conditions by running in close proximity of each other.
Simon Pagenaud was second for Penske, with the outfit gradually improving throughout the day after a difficult start to proceedings during the first practice session.
Max Chilton was the fastest Honda-powered racer in P3 for Ganassi, with the British racer ending the session only just ahead of team-mate Tony Kanaan.
The Brazilian veteran has been on fine form around the 2.5-mile oval, and will be looking to translate his pace when the grid reconvene for the race on Sunday,
Helio Castroneves managed to bounce back in fifth for Penske after a heavy shunt during qualifying, with his mechanics performing a masterful turnaround on his car to allow him to complete valuable laps after a far from straightforward day.
Josef Newgarden was P6 after a dismal display during qualifying for Penske, after the championship leader struggled with oversteer in Turn 1 in particular.
All four Penske drivers managed to finish the session within the top ten, which will give both the team and Chevrolet renewed confidence after a tough start to the weekend.
Marco Andretti was the fastest Andretti Autosport racer in seventh, after a topsy-turvy day for the outfit.
Although Takuma Sato managed to secure pole position after a strong display of pace from the team in practice one, Ryan Hunter-Reay was involved in a big incident at Turn 3 during qualifying and has since been transferred by ground to the Leigh Valley Hospital for further evaluation after limping out of his wrecked car.
Former Formula 1 racer Esteban Gutierrez ended final practice in P8 for Dale Coyne Racing, as the IndyCar rookie continued to gain valuable experience in his first race weekend on a superspeedway oval.
Sebastian Saavedra and Alexander Rossi rounded out the top ten, with Saavedra doing a superb job for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports after stepping in to replace Mikhail Aleshin at short notice.
Further down the order four-time champion Scott Dixon could only manage P14, despite initially topping the session before a caution period for a track inspection disrupted proceedings.






Discussion about this post