The NTT IndyCar Series roared back from a month-long break on Friday to complete the first practice session of the World Wide Technology Weekend.
High heat and humidity greeted drivers as they headed out on track to try to find the best setup for the egg-shaped oval.
Colton Herta set a blazing time early on, completing a lap more than a full mile per hour faster than everyone else in the first part of the session.
He was bested at the end of the run by David Malukas, however, who put his #66 Meyer Shank Racing Honda into the top spot.
Malukas completed his best lap in 25.1635 seconds, averaging 178.830 MPH.
The 22-year-old has driven really well at Gateway throughout his entire feeder series and premiere series career, and looks set to have yet another good result this weekend.
Herta ended the session with the second fastest time, a mere 0.059 seconds slower than Malukas.
A pair of Team Penske drivers logged the third and fourth fastest laps, with Scott McLaughlin edging out Will Power after the one hour session was complete.
Alex Palou, with a fresh Honda engine onboard that will set him back nine positions for the start of the race, completed the fifth best time of the afternoon.
Romain Grosjean set the sixth fastest time, showing an impressive amount of pace in the Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevy.
The Frenchman’s new team-mate Conor Daly was speedy as well, and placed the #78 entry into the 12th spot on the timing sheet.
Linus Lundqvist had a bit of trouble in the first half of the session, coming to a stop on track and requiring assistance from the safety crew to get back to the pits.
The reason for his stoppage was a problem with the car’s hybrid system MGU. The Ganassi crew was able to rectify the system quickly and got him back out on track, but Lundqvist was only able to manage the 14th best time.
Katherine Legge brought up the rear in the #51 entry, and the Dale Coyne Racing team will look to find extra pace before qualifying later this afternoon.
A two-lap qualifying run is next on each driver’s radar, with the 260-lap race taking place Saturday afternoon.
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