Saturday morning, the NTT IndyCar Series set aside one hour for teams to complete one final practice session before the all-important qualifying sessions later in the day.
The time allowed drivers to dial in their setups in the ambient conditions they will experience when the crucial qualifying runs take place a couple hours later.
The full scheduled hour was not available, however, on account of a crash by Marcus Armstrong in Turn 1.
His Meyer Shank Racing #66 entry wiggled after he was seen to be just above the preferred line, and he was not able to catch the spin.
Armstrong spun 180 degrees and smashed into the outside SAFER barrier with the left rear of the car. He continued to slide down the track and came to a rest in Turn 2.
The AMR safety crew was onsite nearly instantly, and needed to help get the 24-year-old out of the cockpit.
Fans cheered as Armstrong gave a thumbs up while sitting on a stretcher, but the racer still needed an extended evaluation in the infield medical center.
He was released nearly an hour after his accident and walked to his garage area under his own power, but the medical staff have not yet cleared him to climb behind the wheel.
The MSR crew immediately began preparing a backup car in case it can be used later in the weekend.
Aside from Armstrong, 22 other drivers chose to set laps during the morning practice session.
Felix Rosenqvist set the fastest lap overall, completing a single lap at 234.176 MPH. Alex Palou and Scott Dixon were second and third fast, continuing their good pace.
Kyffin Simpson completed multiple runs in his #8 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda as the team made extra sure his backup car was completely ready to go for qualifying.
When drivers return to the track, they will do so one car at a time for the first round of qualifying.
Winds are predicted to gust upwards of 30 MPH, which will present a very tricky set of conditions as teams push to remove as much downforce as possible.
Qualifying gets underway at 11:00 AM eastern time and will run until 5:50 PM. At the end, positions 13-30 locked in and the rest will return on Sunday to finalize their positions.
Update: Armstrong was subsequently cleared to return to racing, three hours after being released from the care center.
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