Ryan Hunter-Reay, winner of the 2014 Indianapolis 500, was fourth at 223.341 mph in the No. 28 DHL Honda. Two-time Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso was fifth at 223.238 mph in the No. 66 Arrow McLaren SP Racing Honda.
“Today was good,” Alonso said. “I think we had the day that we wanted, which was a clean day with no issues and trouble-free. In the morning, we got up to speed with the refresher, and in the afternoon, we cut it a bit short to work on the car. We may have potentially missed one run in traffic, but it’s nothing we can’t make up tomorrow. We are working step by step, improving the car a little bit each time. We are working on the balance and getting used to the speed again, more in my case than the team.
“The team is was maybe more ready than me on this first day. We will grow together and got some good mileage today. We have a good understanding of the car and will hopefully have a good setup ready to go tomorrow.”
It was a flawless day as 32 of the 33 cars entered in the 104th Indianapolis 500 were on track. There were zero incidents in the session that began with a virtual green flag via video from 1963 Indianapolis 500 winner Parnelli Jones, who celebrated his 87th birthday Wednesday at his Southern California home.
Ben Hanley was the only driver not on track during the regular sessions.
Track activity was divided into a veteran practice, Rookie Orientation Program and veteran refresher tests, and then a final practice for all cars. Drivers combined to turn 2,444 incident-free laps, with Marcus Ericsson completing 129 laps in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, more than any other driver.
All five rookies in the field – Oliver Askew, Dalton Kellett, Pato O’Ward, Alex Palou and Rinus VeeKay – completed the rookie test. Seven of the eight drivers required to take veteran refresher tests completed the mandatory laps, with Hanley attempting his refresher Thursday.
Practice continues from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursday for all drivers, with live coverage on IndyCar Pass on NBC Sports Gold. Cars will receive increased turbocharger boost – generating extra horsepower and higher speeds – on Fast Friday practice in preparation for Crown Armed Forces Qualifying Weekend on Saturday and Sunday, which will set the field for the race Sunday, Aug. 23.
“Friday is going to be super-interesting with the extra boost,” Hinchcliffe said. “That’s going to be new for everybody, double the boost that we normally get is going to be exciting for the engineers and the drivers alike.
“Obviously, being good over 10 miles (four-lap qualifying run) is important but being good over 500 miles is a lot more important. So, I think a lot of people put a lot of emphasis on the race setups for today and tomorrow. Most of that work will go to until Friday, when you get the extra boost, because it’s going to be such a dramatic jump in everything from aero configurations to gearing to tire pressures. That’s all going to change. So, Friday is going to be a little more frantic, I think, then we’ve seen in the last few years.”
Hinchcliffe is hopeful a positive performance at Indianapolis will provide him with a full-time opportunity in the NTT IndyCar Series in 2021.
“It never hurts,” Hinchcliffe said. “A strong result in the 500 is an important thing. Being known as someone that can compete well here is going to make you an asset to a race team and sponsors as well.
“We go out and try to perform well in every race. We go out and try to benefit our team in every race. This one’s no different. We’ll take the same approach we’ve been taking. If it goes well, yeah, hopefully it plays into our favor for next year.”