Indy 500 practice: Scott Dixon on top; Takuma Sato, Marco Andretti shine

Scott Dixon topped the speed chart in the second practice session for the 104th running of the Indy 500, leading a Honda top three sweep.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon led another Honda top three sweep in the second of seven practice sessions for the 104th running of the Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway behind the wheel of his #9 Honda.

Yesterday, it was Andretti Autosport’s James Hinchcliffe who led a top four Honda sweep behind the wheel of his #29 Honda. Andretti Herta Autosport’s Marco Andretti finished in the top three on both days, finishing in second place yesterday and third today behind the wheel of his #98 Honda.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Takuma Sato sat atop the speed chart for much of today’s practice session before Dixon bumped him off of the top spot in the closing minutes. He finished in second place in his #30 Honda.

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Dixon topped the speed chart in today’s practice session by recording a top lap speed of 226.102 miles per hour (39.8050 seconds) around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Brickyard oval in Speedway, Indiana and was the only driver who topped 226 miles per hour.

Ed Carpenter Racing’s Conor Daly was the fastest Chevrolet driver in this practice session. He finished in fourth place in his #47 Chevrolet. The top four drivers all topped 225 miles per hour, one day after only three drivers topped 224.

Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh rookie Alex Palou and Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Racing’s Colton Herta gave Honda five of the top six spots, finishing in fifth and sixth place in their #55 Honda and #88 Honda, respectively.

A.J. Foyt Enterprises’ Charlie Kimball, Arrow McLaren SP’s Fernando Alonso, Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing and Byrd Belardi’s James Davison and Arrow McLaren SP rookie Oliver Askew rounded out the top 10 in seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th place in their #4 Chevrolet, #66 Chevrolet, #51 Honda and #7 Chevrolet, respectively.

Alonso was the lone driver who crashed out of the practice session with a late wreck in turn four.

Of the 33 drivers slated to compete in the race, 32 participated in today’s practice session at some point. Just like yesterday, DragonSpeed’s Ben Hanley was the only driver who did not turn a lap behind the wheel of his #81 Chevrolet as the team continue to deal with electrical issues.

Here are the full practice results of the second practice session for the 104th running of the Indy 500.

Rank – Driver – Speed (miles per hour)
1st – Scott Dixon – 226.102
2nd – Takuma Sato – 225.693
3rd – Marco Andretti – 225.249
4th – Conor Daly – 225.106
5th – Alex Palou – 224.971
6th – Colton Herta – 224.648
7th – Charlie Kimball – 224.613
8th – Fernando Alonso – 224.363
9th – James Davison – 224.315
10th – Oliver Askew – 224.159
11th – Ryan Hunter-Reay – 224.154
12th – Rinus VeeKay – 224.068
13th – Jack Harvey – 223.828
14th – Tony Kanaan – 223.676
15th – Zach Veach – 223.657
16th – Helio Castroneves – 223.633
17th – James Hinchcliffe – 223.63
18th – Josef Newgarden – 223.617
19th – Graham Rahal – 223.297
20th – Pato O’Ward – 223.221
21st – Santino Ferrucci – 223.07
22nd – Spencer Pigot – 223.043
23rd – Will Power – 222.978
24th – Felix Rosenqvist – 222.645
25th – Marcus Ericsson – 222.63
26th – Alexander Rossi – 222.581
27th – Simon Pagenaud – 222.216
28th – Dalton Kellett – 221.959
29th – J.R. Hildebrand – 221.583
30th – Ed Carpenter – 221.563
31st – Sage Karam – 221.51
32nd – Max Chilton – 220.606

As for laps run without a tow, Honda dominated there as well, led by Meyer Shank Racing’s Jack Harvey with a top lap speed of 222.123 miles per hour (40.5181 miles per hour) in his #60 Honda. No other driver has topped 222 miles per hour yet this week.

Herta finished in second place ahead of Andretti Autosport teammates Ryan Hunter-Reay in third place in his #28 Honda and Hinchcliffe in fifth. Ed Carpenter Racing rookie Rinus VeeKay led the Chevrolet drivers in fourth in his #21 Chevrolet.

Ed Carpenter Racing’s Ed Carpenter, Arrow McLaren SP rookie Pato O’Ward, Alonso, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Graham Rahal and Sato rounded out the top 10 in sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th place in their #20 Chevrolet, #5 Chevrolet, #66 Chevrolet, #15 Honda and #30 Honda, respectively.

All 32 drivers who participated in this practice session recorded at least one lap without a tow.

Here are the full no-tow practice results of the second practice session for the 104th running of the Indy 500.

Rank – Driver – Speed (miles per hour)
1st – Jack Harvey – 222.123
2nd – Colton Herta – 221.895
3rd – Ryan Hunter-Reay – 221.777
4th – Rinus VeeKay – 221.693
5th – James Hinchcliffe – 221.421
6th – Ed Carpenter – 221.383
7th – Pato O’Ward – 221.004
8th – Fernando Alonso – 220.97
9th – Graham Rahal – 220.707
10th – Takuma Sato – 220.699
11th – Tony Kanaan – 220.618
12th – Charlie Kimball – 220.185
13th – Oliver Askew – 219.896
14th – Marco Andretti – 219.833
15th – Alex Palou – 219.77
16th – Zach Veach – 219.759
17th – J.R. Hildebrand – 219.355
18th – Spencer Pigot – 219.164
19th – Max Chilton – 219.134
20th – Simon Pagenaud – 219.097
21st – Conor Daly – 219.008
22nd – Dalton Kellett – 218.932
23rd – Will Power – 218.734
24th – Alexander Rossi – 218.657
25th – Scott Dixon – 218.464
26th – Josef Newgarden – 218.163
27th – Santino Ferrucci – 218.081
28th – Helio Castroneves – 217.913
29th – Marcus Ericsson – 217.463
30th – James Davison – 217.106
31st – Sage Karam – 215.136
32nd – Felix Rosenqvist – 214.201

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The third practice session for the 104th running of the Indy 500 is the Fast Friday practice session and is scheduled to take place tomorrow from 11:00 a.m. ET to 5:30 p.m. ET. The horsepower is set to be turned up, and lap average speeds are expected to exceed 230 miles per hour. This session is set to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Gold.