The NTT IndyCar Series began the weekend on Friday on the streets of Long Beach, which lies just outside of Los Angeles, CA, for the 2021 season finale.
The quick 45-minute session was interrupted by a few red flags, and the field of 28 cars had trouble getting flying laps in while looking to gain valuable information about the track.
During what time that was available, Colton Herta was able to put in the fastest lap around the 1.968-mile street course with a time of 1:09.2680.
Herta was seen pushing hard, using quick reflexes to keep his Honda-powered machine just barely under control around the bumpy circuit.
He headed up a strong session by Andretti Autosport, which took four of the top nine positions on the timesheet.
Simon Pagenaud finished second, well ahead of the rest of his Team Penske team-mates, and higher up the order than the Frenchman has been able to achieve lately.
All eyes were on the three championship contenders, however, which got off to varied starts to the weekend.
Alex Palou topped the timesheets early, and finished the session down in third. As the fastest of the people still in the title fight, the young driver was comfortable with his performance.
Pato O’Ward was much less happy with his afternoon, however, finishing 16th and relaying that his car was just off the pace everywhere. His Arrow McLaren SP team will have work to do overnight to find more speed.
Josef Newgarden spun in turn 9 early on, and stalled his Chevy engine while trying to get going. A quick red flag to get him underway means that he will be penalized five minutes of practice later in the weekend.
Oliver Askew also had trouble in the third RLL Honda, breaking his rear suspension by smacking the concrete barriers at the exit of turn 1 that tend to reach out and bite drivers that push too hard.
Reigning series champion Scott Dixon brought out a red flag as well after running long in the same corner, earning himself his own loss of track time.
Jimmie Johnson also had a couple spins during his first session on his home track, as he struggled to master the bumpy course with cold tires.
There are more sessions to come, with the second practice run coming Saturday at noon Eastern Time, and the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach taking place Sunday at 3:00PM.
