IndyCar: Colton Herta tops first 2019 Laguna Seca practice

Colton Herta topped the speed chart in the opening practice session for the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, the 2019 IndyCar season finale.

Harding Steinbrenner Racing rookie Colton Herta opened up the final race weekend of the 17-race 2019 IndyCar season by topping the speed chart in the first practice session for the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Herta topped the speed chart in the opening practice session for this 90-lap race by recording a top lap time of 70.7335 seconds (113.9036 miles per hour) around the 11-turn, 2.238-mile (3.602-kilometer) WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca natural terrain road course in Monterey, California in his #88 Honda.

Herta led a top three Honda sweep and a top three rookie sweep in this practice session, as Chip Ganassi Racing rookie Felix Rosenqvist and Dale Coyne Racing rookie Santino Ferrucci finished in second and third place in their #10 Honda and #19 Honda, respectively.

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Team Penske’s Will Power was the fastest Chevrolet driver in this practice session. He finished in fourth place in his #12 Chevrolet ahead of Andretti Autosport’s Zach Veach in fifth in his #26 Honda.

Of the four championship contenders, Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud was the fastest in this practice session. He finished in sixth place in his #22 Chevrolet ahead of Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan’s Sebastien Bourdais and Ed Carpenter Racing’s Spencer Pigot in seventh and eighth in their #18 Honda and #21 Chevrolet, respectively.

Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden was he second fastest championship contender in this practice session. He finished in ninth place in his #2 Chevrolet ahead of A.J. Foyt Enterprises’ Matheus Leist in 10th in his #4 Chevrolet.

The other two championship contenders, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon and Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi, finished in 14th and 24th place in their #9 Honda and #27 Honda, respectively.

Here are the full practice results of the opening practice session for the 2019 Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Practice Results
1st – Colton Herta
2nd – Felix Rosenqvist
3rd – Santino Ferrucci
4th – Will Power
5th – Zach Veach
6th – Simon Pagenaud
7th – Sebastien Bourdais
8th – Spencer Pigot
9th – Josef Newgarden
10th – Matheus Leist
11th – Marco Andretti
12th – Marcus Ericsson
13th – Max Chilton
14th – Scott Dixon
15th – Ryan Hunter-Reay
16th – Charlie Kimball
17th – Tony Kanaan
18th – Takuma Sato
19th – Jack Harvey
20th – Conor Daly
21st – Graham Rahal
22nd – James Hinchcliffe
23rd – Ed Jones
24th – Alexander Rossi

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The second practice session for the 2019 IndyCar season finale is set to be broadcast live from WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on NBC Sports Gold beginning at 5:10 p.m. ET this evening. The third and final practice session for the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey is set to be broadcast live tomorrow on NBC Sports Gold beginning at 1:00 p.m. ET.

The qualifying session for this race is scheduled to get underway tomorrow afternoon at 4:35 p.m. ET, and it is set to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET. The race itself is scheduled to get underway at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 22, and it is set to be broadcast live on NBC beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET.