INDIANAPOLIS — Team Penske’s trio of drivers led by 2018 Indianapolis 500 winner Will Power led the way in Tuesday’s Opening Day practice for this year’s Indy 500.
Power was the fastest at 227.026 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet.
“Not bad,” Power said. “Definitely, a good change at the end. I felt more comfortable. I’m not sure where we stand, we’ll know that Saturday. I’m in a more comfortable place than where I was last year, and we made some big philosophy changes from last year.”
Power’s teammate, two-time and back-to-back Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden was second at 226.971 mph in the No. 2 Shell Chevrolet. IndyCar Series points leader Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing was third at 226.673 mph in the No. 10 DHL Honda followed by teammate and 2008 Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon’s 225.059 mph in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda.
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, last year’s Indy 500 pole winner, was fifth at 225.005 mph in the No. 3 Pennzoil Chevrolet.
“Happy we were able to get out today after the rain seemed like it wouldn’t stop,” McLaughlin said. “The Pennzoil Chevy came off the truck quick and now we have a good baseline to attack the rest of the week. Having Simon (Pagenaud) on the timing stand today is something you can’t put a price on, and it means a lot to me that he is here. He has been a tremendous help to me on ovals and he’s someone whose advice I value a lot.”
The first day of practice ended at 5:29 p.m. Eastern Time instead of the schedule 6 p.m. as rain and lightning returned to the area.
Although Kyle Larson was 24th in speed, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion realizes it’s the first day of a long week of practice at the Indianapolis 500.
“It doesn’t seem any different,” Larson told me afterwards. “It’s just practice. It’s not a huge deal. Last year was just practice, as well.
“You have plenty of time to make some laps.”
Larson is a true racer. On Sunday, he blew away the NASCAR Cup Series field to win at Kansas Speedway. Monday night, he was in the High Limits Sprint Car at Kokomo Speedway, finishing sixth.
Tuesday meant a return to the Indy car for Opening Day at the Indianapolis 500.
There is no driver in racing more versatile than Kyle Larson.
“Our day was good,” Larson explained. “I kind of took it easy to start in clean air, made sure our balance was comfortable, which it was, so was happy about that. There at the end I finally got in some traffic and as normal, had some understeer.
“But just happy with the first day. It was a nice smooth day. Good place to start from.”
It’s going to be a busy week and a busier weekend for Larson. After a full week of practice, Larson will attempt to win the Indy 500 Pole during the two days of qualifications beginning Saturday and concluding Sunday. He will also fly back to North Wilkesboro Speedway on Sunday night for the NASCAR All-Star race in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.
“For me and definitely for Rick Hendrick and Hendrick Motorsports, I think no matter through this whole experience, especially this year, Cup should be the priority,” Larson said. “I just assume we’re going to run the All-Star Race no matter what.
“Hopefully we run into that predicament because that means our car is fast.
“It would be extremely nice to go for the pole at the Indianapolis 500, but at the same time it’s hard to turn down an opportunity to race for a million dollars.
“Like I said, I hope we’re in that predicament.”
