Indy 500 practice: Marco Andretti leads Honda onslaught on Fast Friday

Marco Andretti led a dominant pack of Honda drivers during the Fast Friday practice session for the 104th running of the Indy 500.

With the fastest lap recorded at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in over 24 years, Andretti Herta Autosport’s Marco Andretti topped the speed chart in the Fast Friday practice session for the 104th running of the Indy 500.

This practice session, which was the third of four ahead of qualifying and the third of seven ahead of the race itself, was dominated by Honda drivers.

Andretti led the way by recording a top lap speed of 233.491 miles per hour (38.5454 seconds) around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) oval in Speedway, Indiana behind the wheel of his #98 Honda, more than a full mile per hour clear of his closest challenger.

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While Ed Carpenter Racing’s Conor Daly finished in second place in his #47 Chevrolet, he was the only Chevrolet driver who finished in the top 10. His top lap speed was 232.337 miles per hour (38.7368 seconds).

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing with Citrone/Buhl Autosport’s Spencer Pigot rounded out the top five in third, fourth and fifth place in their #9 Honda, #28 Honda and #45 Honda respectively.

Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh rookie Alex Palou, Andretti Autosport’s James Hinchcliffe, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Takuma Sato, Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi and Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Ericsson rounded out the top 10 in sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th place in their #55 Honda, #29 Honda, #30 Honda, #27 Honda and #8 Honda, respectively.

Of the 33 drivers in the field, 23 recorded laps with an average speed of at least 230 miles per hour. Heading into today, only one driver, Dixon, had exceeded 226 miles per hour for a lap average this week. All but one of the 33 drivers in the field eclipsed that mark today with the speed boost.

Here are the results of the Fast Friday practice session for the 104th running of the Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Rank – Driver – Speed (miles per hour)
1st – Marco Andretti – 233.491
2nd – Conor Daly – 232.337
3rd – Scott Dixon – 232.29
4th – Ryan Hunter-Reay – 232.124
5th – Spencer Pigot – 232.116
6th – Alex Palou – 231.989
7th – James Hinchcliffe – 231.967
8th – Takuma Sato – 231.88
9th – Alexander Rossi – 231.859
10th – Marcus Ericsson – 231.763
11th – Will Power – 231.605
12th – Jack Harvey – 231.6
13th – Colton Herta – 231.595
14th – Graham Rahal – 231.239
15th – Zach Veach – 231.19
16th – Charlie Kimball – 230.861
17th – Josef Newgarden – 230.583
18th – Pato O’Ward – 230.581
19th – Oliver Askew – 230.507
20th – Felix Rosenqvist – 230.432
21st – Rinus VeeKay – 230.331
22nd – Simon Pagenaud – 230.189
23rd – Santino Ferrucci – 230.154
24th – Tony Kanaan – 229.946
25th – Fernando Alonso – 229.788
26th – James Davison – 229.766
27th – Ed Carpenter – 229.563
28th – Dalton Kellett – 229.099
29th – Helio Castroneves – 228.451
30th – J.R. Hildebrand – 228.275
31st – Sage Karam – 228.187
32nd – Max Chilton – 227.61
33rd – Ben Hanley – 222.086

As far as laps run without a tow, Honda dominated there as well. Hunter-Reay led the way with a top lap speed of 232.124 miles per hour (38.7724 seconds), which was actually his best overall lap of the practice session.

Honda drivers took the top nine positions, with A.J. Foyt Enterprises’ Charlie Kimball leading the way for Chevrolet in 10th place in his #4 Ford.

Here are the full no-tow results of the Fast Friday practice session for the 104th running of the Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Rank – Driver – Speed (miles per hour)
1st – Ryan Hunter-Reay – 232.124
2nd – Scott Dixon – 232.027
3rd – Alexander Rossi – 231.859
4th – Marco Andretti – 231.754
5th – Marcus Ericsson – 231.488
6th – James Hinchcliffe – 231.397
7th – Zach Veach – 231.19
8th – Jack Harvey – 230.97
9th – Spencer Pigot – 230.898
10th – Charlie Kimball – 230.861
11th – Takuma Sato – 230.637
12th – Josef Newgarden – 230.583
13th – Pato O’Ward – 230.581
14th – Alex Palou – 230.469
15th – Felix Rosenqvist – 230.432
16th – Graham Rahal – 230.412
17th – Colton Herta – 230.375
18th – Simon Pagenaud – 230.189
19th – Rinus VeeKay – 230.159
20th – Santino Ferrucci – 230.154
21st – Will Power – 230.149
22nd – Oliver Askew – 230.055
23rd – Tony Kanaan – 229.78
24th – James Davison – 229.766
25th – Ed Carpenter – 229.562
26th – Dalton Kellett – 229.098
27th – Conor Daly – 228.521
28th – Helio Castroneves – 228.451
29th – J.R. Hildebrand – 228.275
30th – Sage Karam – 228.187
31st – Fernando Alonso – 228.092
32nd – Max Chilton – 227.61
33rd – Ben Hanley – 222.086

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The final pre-qualifying practice session for the 104th running of the Indy 500 is scheduled to run from 8:30 a.m. ET through 9:30 a.m. ET tomorrow morning, and it is set to be broadcast live from the Brickyard on NBC Sports Gold. Qualifying is scheduled to run from 11:00 a.m. ET through 4:50 p.m. ET and is also set to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Gold.