After rain washed out what would have been the opening day of Indy 500 practice on Tuesday, blue skies greeted all 34 drivers as they put in laps on Wednesday.
As soon as the green flag flew on the six hour session, the Team Penske trio were the first to hit the track in order to drive side by side for a photo opportunity across the yard of bricks.
The Penske crew has made a habit of this exact action in recent years, giving a bit of extra flourish for the team that’s owned by the same man that owns the IMS facility itself.
At the end of the lengthy practice session, which was only interrupted a few times to clean up debris, it was the two-time Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato was what at the top of the charts.
The veteran’s best lap was completed in 39.2261 seconds and an average speed of 229.439 MPH.
Sato’s speed was quicker than last year’s fastest time from the first day of practice, a time that was set by him as well, by exactly half of a mile per hour.
Chip Ganassi Racing filled out both of the top two positions, with Scott Dixon lapping just a fraction slower than his team-mate in his #9 entry.
Dixon was at the head of the timesheets for much of the afternoon, but was bested in the final hour of running.
Santino Ferrucci put in a late lap that boosted him up to the third position, just ahead of yet another Ganassi driver Alex Palou. Scott McLaughlin rounded out the top five.
The most laps were run by Rinus VeeKay, who completed 151 circuits of the 2.5-mile oval, over three quarters of a full race distance.
The Ed Carpenter Racing trio looked really strong on the no-tow times as well, which measures laps that were put in without any drivers creating a wake in front of them.
ECR is often one of the fastest teams without a draft, and VeeKay topped that list on Wednesday, which bodes well for the solo qualifying efforts that will take place this upcoming weekend.
Unfortunately for Juncos Hollinger Racing, Callum Ilott continued to have handling troubles in his Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevy.
His car had been nearly undriveable in the open test in late April, and those troubles were still present in the opening day of true Indy 500 practice.
The team was not able to nail down an exact cause of the issue, but chose to continue to make adjustments throughout the day rather than bring out the backup car too hastily.
Ilott finished the day in the 34th and final position over six miles per hour off the pace, with his rookie team-mate Agustin Canapino finishing in 22nd with a notably better handling car.
RC Enerson was given track time to himself in the morning hours to complete his Rookie Orientation Program.
He and his Abel Motorsports team flew through the progression with ease, and Enerson was able to join his compatriots for the afternoon open session. He ended the day in 33rd with plenty of data to process.
Graham Rahal had the closest call of the day when his RLL Honda drifted wide in turn 3. He admitted that it was a lapse in concentration that caused the incident, and the only damage to his car was a scuffed set of Firestone tires.
3,450 laps were completed in total, and another six-hour practice session is scheduled for Thursday.
On Friday, teams will be given extra boost in their turbochargers to allow them to simulate qualifying runs, which take place Saturday and Sunday.
