The NTT IndyCar Series held its first practice session of the weekend on Saturday morning, with all 25 drivers tackling the 1.25-mile oval at World Wide Technology Raceway.
After a typical lull in the action for the first 10 minutes as teams evaluated systems, the track remained busy for the rest of the hour allotment.
The quickest driver of the session was Pato O’Ward, who completed a circuit of the egg-shaped oval at an average speed of 172.696 MPH.
Speeds were down a bit due to previous years, partially on account of a lower downforce package and partially due to the hot and humid weather that is present this weekend.
Alex Palou was second quick, showing as ever that he can be one of the fastest drivers in nearly any situation.
The pair of Meyer Shank Racing drivers was next on the timesheets, with Felix Rosenqvist just beating out Marcus Armstrong.
Rounding out the top five was Marcus Ericsson, who was just ahead of the first Team Penske driver David Malukas.
Speeds varied quite a bit up and down the order, with over five miles per hour separating the top and bottom of the charts.
That gap may narrow throughout the weekend as teams find their best setups.
There was one stoppage when Rinus VeeKay spun coming off of Turn 4. The #76 Juncos Hollinger Chevy backed into the wall, taking off the rear wing and damaging the rear suspension.
The impact was not terribly severe, however, and it appeared there would be little to no damage to the drivetrain.
VeeKay was inside the top 5 in the standings when the crash happened, and he admitted that he was pushing one final lap when the incident occurred.
Drivers will be back on track at 3:30 PM for qualifying, which will be two solo laps to determine the grid.
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