The NTT IndyCar Series took to the rollercoaster Barber track on Saturday morning for the second practice session of the weekend.
The weather was pleasant, as it has been for the entire weekend, with some clouds and a light breeze.
Conditions were just right for Rinus VeeKay, who put his Ed Carpenter Racing Chevy into the top spot after the 45-minute session was over.
The Dutchman lapped the course in 1:06.5463, and was locked in throughout. His team has hit upon the right setup and is fully prepared for qualifying later in the day.
Romain Grosjean was the second fastest of the morning, setting a lap just 0.0356 seconds slower than VeeKay.
Scott McLaughlin was third fastest, making for the second practice session in a row where Chevy powered cars filled the top three positions.
RLL took the next two positions, with Graham Rahal and Christina Lundgaard getting fourth and fifth on the timesheets.
A few drivers earned themselves a trip through the grass when they pushed too hard while simulating their qualifying runs.
Kyffin Simpson had the most dramatic tip off course, bouncing his way through the grass at the exit of Turn 1.
The front wing of his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda even dug into the dirt while he bounced violently, but the car was unharmed and he continued on his way.
Pietro Fittipaldi did not get a single flying lap under his belt, with his car suffering a bizarre steering failure while going through Turn 1 for the first time at speed.
His front wheels suddenly became disconnected from his steering inputs, and he could not help but to skid into the gravel as his wheels flopped back and forth ahead of him.
Fittipaldi was lucky to not impact the wall, but he and his team will have to diagnose why the car suffered such a critical failure.
Felix Rosenqvist also did not get as many laps in as he would have liked, after his MSR team noticed an engine problem and told him to park the car.
The Swede only turned seven laps, and will likely need an engine change ahead of qualifying this afternoon.
Teams do not have much time to rest, as knockout qualifying takes place in just over two hours’ time at 2:30 PM central time.
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