The NTT IndyCar Series held its traditional final Indy 500 practice session on Friday, known affectionately as Carb Day.
This year, clouds and cool weather provided a grippy track for the race’s 33 drivers to dial in their final race setups.
Instead of looking for clean track, drivers made sure to seek out traffic so they could gather how their car would behave in dirty air and with fuel save strategies.
Josef Newgarden looked competitive on track while making moves at speed, and indeed was the quickest of the day. After two hours were complete, his fast lap was run at 228.342 MPH.
Christian Rasmussen was second quick, with David Malukas slotting into third and giving Chevy three cars in the top three on the day.
All eyes were on Alexander Rossi, who returned to the cockpit after suffering a spectacular crash on Monday and undergoing surgery that evening.
He donned a carbon fiber boot on his right foot, but overall reported that he was in no pain while driving. He also made sure to compliment his team, who were able to prepare a backup car over the past few days.
Scott Dixon turned the most laps of all at 96, completing nearly one half of a race distance in his #9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
Overall, 2,169 laps were completed by all drivers, which nearly matched how many were completed on each of the six-hour practice days last week.
There were no incidents during the final practice session, which will give the garage area a much calmer feel over the next two days.
There are no further on track sessions scheduled, and the next test for these 33 drivers in the Indianapolis 500 itself. Green flags wave shortly after 12:00 eastern time on Sunday, May 24.
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