The 2017 IndyCar season is in its 17th and final race with the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma at Sonoma Raceway. Which drivers looked solid in the first practice session?
Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden topped this weekend’s first IndyCar practice session at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California with a top lap speed of 112.390 miles per hour (76.3950 seconds) around the 11-turn, 2.385-mile natural terrain road course.
Newgarden led a top 3 Team Penske Chevrolet sweep in the practice session, with Will Power and Simon Pagenaud rounding out the top 3. Team Penske’s other driver, Helio Castroneves, was 8th fastest in the practice session.
The top Honda driver in the practice session was Alexander Rossi, who was 4th fastest. Honda drivers took four of the top 7 and nine of the top 13 spots on the speed chart despite the fact that they did not take any spots in the top 3.
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The fastest non-Team Penske Chevrolet driver in the session was JR Hildebrand, who was 14th fastest. Sebastien Bourdais was 5th fastest in the session in his Dale Coyne Racing Honda in just his third race back from his nasty wreck in Indianapolis 500 qualifying. Bourdais’ teammate Ed Jones, the lone full-time rookie in the series, was 15th fastest.
Jack Harvey, who is making his second substitution appearance for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports this season, was 20th fastest in the practice session in his Honda car. Zachary Claman DeMelo, who is making his IndyCar debut in a Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda, was 22nd fastest. You can see full practice results from the first practice session at Sonoma here.
Remaining Weekend Schedule
The second practice session for the race takes place this evening at 5:15 PM ET. The third practice session for the race takes place tomorrow at 2:00 PM ET before qualifications begin at 6:30 PM ET. Qualifying will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) tomorrow at 6:30 PM ET.
On Sunday, the final warm-up for the race will be held at 2:30 PM ET before the 85-lap race itself begins at 6:43 PM ET. The race will be broadcast live on NBCSN starting at 6:30 PM ET.
Next: IndyCar Silly Season driver lineup
Who is your pick to win this year’s GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma and the 2017 IndyCar championship? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to follow along with Beyond the Flag for the latest news, opinions and analysis stemming from a number of different motorsports series. You don’t want to miss any of it. Also be sure to follow Beyond the Flag on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.