Practice week for the 109th running of the Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is underway, and the first practice session for the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" is scheduled to begin this afternoon.
But a late schedule change was announced for the Tuesday practice session. From 12:00 p.m. ET to 2:00 p.m. ET, the plan was for the rookie and veteran refresher tests to be run.
With many drivers having already fulfilled the requirement in the April open test, this part of the session is effectively for Tony Kanaan, the 2013 Indy 500 winner who is set to be Kyle Larson's backup driver in the event that the race itself is delayed by rain.
Indy 500 practice schedule changed
Now that portion of the session is scheduled to take place from 2:00 p.m. ET to 4:00 p.m. ET, and all cars (including Larson's, with Larson, not Kanaan, driving) will be allowed to take to the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval from 12:00 p.m. ET to 2:00 p.m. ET.
After the refresher tests, all cars are set to be allowed to take to the track once again until 6:00 p.m. ET. This portion of the session could begin before 4:00 p.m. ET, depending on when the refresher tests wrap up.
Rain could impact the schedule further, as according to The Weather Channel, there is a 90% chance of thunderstorms throughout the afternoon and into the evening.
It is rare than an entire Indy 500 practice week is not impacted by bad weather in some way, shape, or form, and there is also a 50% chance of showers tomorrow. However, the forecast looks clearer throughout the rest of the week and into qualifying weekend, so hopefully there will be no unexpected schedule changes.
Practice for all cars is scheduled to take place from 12:00 p.m. ET to 6:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and qualifying is scheduled to take place on Saturday and Sunday. Two additional practices, one next Monday and one next Friday, are on the schedule before the race itself is scheduled to take place on Sunday, May 25.
Live practice coverage is set to begin on Fox Sports 2 at 12:00 p.m. ET this afternoon. Start a free trial of FuboTV and don't miss any of the action from the "Racing Capital of the World"!