Takuma Sato has taken the honors of finishing in the top position after the first day of Indianapolis 500 practice.
The two-time Indy 500 winner completed a lap at 228.939 MPH near the end of the three-hour session, and bumped Scott Dixon out of the top spot that he held for most of the time.
Dixon ended the afternoon session in second, having a good performance after he topped the timesheets in the morning session. The consistent pace shows that the #9 Honda-powered machine is good in both cool and warm conditions.
Jimmie Johnson looked good as well, and placed himself third on the timing board, directly in front of another team-mate of him Marcus Ericsson.
Overall Chip Ganassi cars placed in four out of top six positions, making an early statement to the rest of the field.
The track temperature was nearly 130°F under the strong Midwest sun, perfectly encapsulating a normal May day. Thus the conditions seen today are likely to match the ones drivers will see for the race in 10 days.
Ed Carpenter Racing looked strong just as they usually do on the 2.5-mile oval, with Rinus VeeKay and Ed Carpenter topping the no-tow list that represents speed obtained without the help of a slipstream.
Rookie David Malukas looked fast as well, and ended the session in seventh ahead of the first member of the Team Penske squad Josef Newgarden.
Helio Castroneves, the fan favorite that will attempt to win a record fifth Indy 500 later this month, completed nearly half of a race distance in the afternoon session alone, the most of anyone.
The Dreyer and Reinbold duo of Santino Ferrucci and Stefan Wilson placed at the very rear of the standings after having a really fast start in the morning session. They only completed 30 laps between them, however, so time will tell where their real pace lies.
Rain is forecast for Wednesday, so this may be the last running drivers get until later in the week. Starting Friday, turbocharger boost pressures are increased to simulate qualifying running, which takes place over the weekend.
