Josef Newgarden has ended final practice ahead of the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at the Gateway Motorsports Park fastest for Penske, as preparations continued for the 248-lap race.
After an intriguing qualifying session around the 1.25-mile oval, the teams and drivers were given one final hour of track time in a bid to finalise their preparations for the all-important race under the floodlights.
Championship leader Newgarden rose to the top during the latter part of the session, after it was extended by five minutes after two caution periods early on.
Ed Carpenter enjoyed a thoroughly competitive end to the final practice session, with the team owner improving to P2 during the final seconds of track action to disrupt Penske’s dominance.
Will Power was therefore forced to settle for third after the late improvements up and down the order, with the Australian racer comfortably securing pole position earlier in the evening.
Brazilian veteran Helio Castroneves was P4 as Chevrolet power continued to dominate proceedings, with the top four positions all occupied by Chevrolet-backed racers.
Alexander Rossi was the fastest Honda-powered racer in fifth for Andretti Herta Autosport, as the majority of the drivers switched to race simulations in preparation for Saturday night’s race.
Throughout the final hour of track action many of the drivers ran in very close proximity to each other, in a bid to simulate race conditions.
Scott Dixon was P6 for Chip Ganassi Racing, with the four-time champion still unable to break into the top three and disrupt Penske’s grip at the top.
Reigning Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato was seventh for Andretti Autosport, ahead of Ed Carpenter Racing’s J.R. Hildebrand in P8.
Tony Kanaan managed to improve substantially following a miserable qualifying performance, with the veteran racer ending final practice ninth for Ganassi.
Meanwhile Conor Daly rounded out the top ten for A.J. Foyt Racing, with the outfit continuing to take advantage of Chevrolet’s upper-hand over Honda.
Further down the order reigning champion Simon Pagenaud could only manage P13 for Penske, ending the outfit’s dominance of the top four positions after a perfect start to their weekend.
The session was interrupted by two caution periods for track inspections, the first after only several minutes of track action after a large piece of debris was deposited on the back straight.
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