IndyCar headed west this weekend for the first round in a lengthy consecutive streak of races to finish out the season.
Portland International Raceway was first on that list, and drivers took to the track Friday afternoon to sample the track for the first time.
High temperatures caused a bit of trouble with teams finding the right setups, but some go it right from the outset.
Alex Palou was quickest of all drivers, rocketing to the top of the timesheets in his first laps at speed and staying there for the duration.
Palou’s best lap was completed in 58.5716 seconds, which was nearly a full tenth of a second quicker than the next fastest driver and less than two tenths of a second off last year’s pole time.
Kyle Kirkwood was second quick, placing his Andretti Global Honda in a strong position to start the weekend.
The third fastest time was set by Rinus VeeKay, who continues to show that he has serious speed when given a car that handles well.
Will Power and fourth quick, and Louis Foster rounded out the top five.
Dennis Hauger was not able to set a time, as his Dale Coyne Racing #19 was plagued by suspected telemetry issues.
Slowest on course was Alexander Rossi, and he was the only driver to not complete a lap within a second of Palou up front.
Over the limit
A couple drivers went over the limit while testing various lines through Turn 1, and ended up with damage.
Pato O’Ward was the first to clip the inside barrier, which did damage to the right front wheel.
O’Ward spun through the Turn 1-2 complex and bounced over the curbs while sliding backwards.
He was able to get going again and limped back around to the pits under his own power.
Marcus Armstrong committed nearly the same mistake, clipping the inside Armco while cruising through at high speed.
His Meyer Shank Racing #66 also incurred damage, but similar to O’Ward, he was able to continue around the track and returned to turn more laps later in the session.
Drivers will search for very extra inch of track again tomorrow as they complete another practice session followed by a knockout qualifying session at 4:00 pacific time.
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