Marcus Ericsson leading the pack at Indianapolis. (Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)
SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Pace can be an enigma with those daring to master Indianapolis Motor Speedway. However, Marcus Ericsson’s No. 8 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda was all about mastering pace all across the board.
Not only the defending Indianapolis 500 champion was fastest in overall speed during Thursday’s practice at 229.607 mph, but also in no-tow speed with 224.414 mph leading the category. Raw pace is extremely crucial as rain remains a concern for Fast Friday where the session may or may not have been the turning point leading up to qualifying.
Either way, Ericsson is not slowing down anytime soon as his quest of being the first back-to-back winner since Helio Castroneves in 2001 and 2002 seems at large.
“A really good day for the whole Chip Ganassi team,” Ericsson said. “Yesterday we worked a lot on the race cars. We were good straightaway. Then today we built on that. I think we did some changes overnight that helped me in my feeling in the car. Felt really happy with my race car.”
“In the end, we just did some stuff for tomorrow, some preparation for tomorrow one run in, managed to be P1 on the no tow as well. Very positive day. Hats off to the Ganassi team. The organization has done a really good job again this year with really good cars.”
That in mind, there is no telling how the rest of the month will unfold, even if Ericsson and CGR look stronger than a year ago.
“It’s only practice,” he said. “I feel really good. Like, I feel really confident in the car. It’s doing what I want. We need to keep working hard. Like I said I feel we are stronger than last year, but I feel like everyone else is getting stronger, as well.
“Yes, it was a good day, but tomorrow is a new day. High boost, so you never know what happens. We need to be working hard, trying to improve again. That’s the name of the game, for sure.”
Business as usual for Ericsson during the Month of May. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
Ericsson’s teammate, Scott Dixon, was second quickest at 229.186 mph, backing up his overall best speed from Wednesday as once again reached the 229+ mph barrier. Dixon ended up fifth in no-tow at 224.192 mph as he will aim for the pole three-peat should he advance into Sunday’s Firestone Fast 12.
Rounding out the top-three was 2019 Indy 500 champion, Simon Pagenaud, who turned 39 years old today. His No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing topped at 228.681 mph late in the session, an improvement from the organization who’s looking for their second Indy 500 triumph in three years.
“Two good days. Very studious yesterday,” said Pagenaud. “Another one today with, like a lot of people, did some fine details working on the qualifying, then we switched to race running mid afternoon.
“Got hot, which is good, because it’s going to be a hot race day. You obviously want to know what the car is going to do in those conditions. We had a monster tow at the end and took it. Felt really good. Happy to put a big number up the charts and give a big smile on my crew’s face and everybody at Meyer Shank Racing.”
A positive birthday for Pagenaud after a top-three practice session. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
Once again, Ed Carpenter Racing looked sporty in both race traffic and in mock qualifying runs at the 2.5-mile oval. Out of the ECR trio, it was Noblesville, Indiana’s Conor Daly who led the way at 228.215 mph, good enough for sixth overall in the session.
Setup wise, Daly felt good about how things are going in that department and content how this year’s No. 20 Chevrolet has not required mass adjustments like a year ago. But there is always room for improvement as the month progresses.
“We’re all still going to try to do a bunch of stuff on Monday and get a little bit more dialed in,” said Daly. “But realistically there’s not a ton of changes overall compared to last year, I would say. We want to try to dial in a few more things.
“When we come to Sunday, next weekend, raw speed is going to be really what helps. If we can just get our cars to go faster, it’s a little less work to go that fast, then we’ll be in a good spot.”
Daly continues to showcase Ed Carpenter Racing’s strong pace at Indy. (Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)
Fast Friday kicks off at noon ET on Peacock as teams look to maximize the extra boost and put on a flyer of mock qualifying run. Drivers and teams hope they can get the entire six-hour session in if Mother Nature cooperates.
Top 10 Practice Results: Ericsson (229.607 mph), Dixon (229.186), Pageaud (228.681), Power (228.577), Herta (228.240), Daly (228.215), Sato (227.818), O’Ward (227.734), Palou (227.718), Rossi (227.713)
Top 5 Practice “No-Tow” Results: Ericsson (224.414 mph), Power (224.283), Ferrucci (224.277), McLaughlin (224.253), Dixon (224.192)
