LEBANON, Tenn. — On the verge of his third NTT IndyCar Series championship, Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing was the fastest driver in Saturday morning’s opening practice session for the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix.
Palou’s fastest lap was 199.862 miles per hour in the No. 10 DHL Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing around the 1.33-mile Nashville Superspeedway.
Teammate Scott Dixon’s No. 9 PNC Bank Honda was second at 199.847 mph followed by Colton Herta’s No 26 Gainbridge Honda for Andretti Global at 199.686 mph.
Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren was fourth at 199.180 mph in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet with Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global rounding out the top five at 199.031 mph in the No. 27 Honda.
About 10 minutes into the first practice, rookie driver Nolan Siegel hit the bump in turn four and lost control of Arrow McLaren Chevrolet and crashed into the SAFER Barrier. It punched a hole in the barrier and the IndyCar and track crews had to weld a steel plate to repair the damage.
At that time, points leader Palou was the fastest at 196.830 miles per hour in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. Kyle Kirkwood was second at 193.169 mph in the No. 27 Honda.
“I was just getting up to speed with my laps here, it felt solid, came out of Turn 3 and it came out of nowhere,” Siegel said. “I really hate to start it out this way. The team is working on it, and we will come back strong.
“Not where I want to be, but we’ll get through this.”
After a lengthy repair to the wall, practice resumed, and Alexander Rossi jumped to the top of the timing list at 197.253 mph in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
With 30 minutes to go, Colton Herta was on top at 1988.048 miles per hour in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda. Team Penske’s Will Power was second at 197.756 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet and Pato O’Ward was third at 197.442 mph in the No. 5 Chevrolet.
Marcus Armstrong retired the No. 11 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda early because of clutch issues.
“The alternate tires are not so much different from the primary tires in my opinion,” Armstrong said. “It’s OK, lots of laps. I got a decent rhythm so I can go with that.”
Armstrong has called the bump in Turns 3 and 4 “Lucinda.”
“Lucinda has claimed quite a few cars today,” Armstrong said.
Palou turned a lap at 199.240 to take over the No. 1 speed with 20 minutes left as he began to prepare for a qualifying simulation.
With 11:46 remaining, Scott Dixon turned a lap at 199.847 mph and Colton Herta lapped the track at 199.686 mph to take over the top two positions.
A few seconds later, Palou’s fastest lap was 199.862 mph to take over the No. 1 position.
“I think there is a big difference between the Black and the Red tires,” Dixon said. “Gotta go flat in qualifying.”
Pato O’Ward was fourth at 199.180 mph in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
“I think it’s going to be a good mix in qualifying,” O’Ward said. “Whoever can stay flat will be able to get the pole. It’s a matter of how much you can trim, versus going flat.
“The alternate is quicker. There is quite a bit more you can get out of. It can get gnarly pretty quick.”