IndyCar: Ryan Hunter-Reay tops first 2018 Sonoma practice session

Ryan Hunter-Reay topped the speed chart in the opening practice session for the 2018 IndyCar season finale, the IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma.

Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay opened up the final race weekend of the 2018 IndyCar season by topping the speed chart in the first practice session for the IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma at Sonoma Raceway.

Hunter-Reay topped the speed chart in this practice session by recording a top lap time of 77.5742 seconds (110.681 miles per hour) around the 12-turn, 2.385-mile (3.838-kilometer) Sonoma Raceway road course in Sonoma, California in his #28 Honda.

Championship standings leader Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing, who enters the weekend with a 29-point advantage in the standings over Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi, finished the practice session in second place in his #9 Honda, giving Honda drivers a 1-2 sweep.

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Team Penske teammates Will Power and Simon Pagenaud were the highest finishing Chevrolet drivers in this practice session. They finished it in third and fourth place in their #12 Chevrolet and #22 Chevrolet, respectively.

Honda drivers took the remaining eight positions in the top 12 on the speed chart. Andretti Herta Autosport’s Marco Andretti, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Ed Jones, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Graham Rahal and Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi rounded out the top eight in fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth place in their #98 Honda, #10 Honda, #15 Honda and #27 Honda, respectively.

Andretti Autosport rookie Zach Veach and Dale Coyne Racing teammates Sebastien Bourdais, rookie Pietro Fittipaldi and rookie Santino Ferrucci rounded out the top 12 in ninth, 10th, 11th and 12th place in their #26 Honda, #18 Honda, #19 Honda and #39 Honda, respectively.

Ed Carpenter Racing’s Spencer Pigot was the highest finishing non-Team Penske Chevrolet driver in this practice session. He finished in 13th place in his #21 Chevrolet.

The first practice session for the IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma is set to re-air on NBC Sports Network at 4:00 p.m. ET this afternoon. The second practice session is set to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET.

The third practice session for the race is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. ET tomorrow afternoon, and it is set to be broadcast live on IndyCar RaceControl, the IndyCar mobile app, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Qualifications are set to be broadcast live on these platforms as well beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET tomorrow evening, and they are set to re-air tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network.

The race itself is set to be an 85-lap race, and it is scheduled to get underway at 6:40 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 16. It is set to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Here are the full results of the first practice session for the 2018 IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma at Sonoma Raceway.

Practice Results

1st – Ryan Hunter-Reay

2nd – Scott Dixon

3rd – Will Power

4th – Simon Pagenaud

5th – Marco Andretti

6th – Ed Jones

7th – Graham Rahal

8th – Alexander Rossi

9th – Zach Veach

10th – Sebastien Bourdais

11th – Pietro Fittipaldi

12th – Santino Ferrucci

13th – Spencer Pigot

14th – Takuma Sato

15th – James Hinchcliffe

16th – Colton Herta

17th – Jack Harvey

18th – Charlie Kimball

19th – Tony Kanaan

20th – Matheus Leist

21st – Carlos Munoz

22nd – Jordan King

23rd – Max Chilton

24th – Patricio O’Ward

25th – Josef Newgarden

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Be sure not to miss any of the remaining practice sessions for the IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma, and be sure not to miss qualifications for the race or the race itself. As the 17th and final race of the 2018 IndyCar season, this race will end with the crowning of a new champion.