Scott Dixon Leads Sunday Morning Warm-Up in Nashville – Motorsports Tribune

By David Morgan, Associate Editor

NASHVILLE – Scott Dixon led the way in Sunday morning warm-up for the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix, snagging the top spot in the waning minutes of the session.

The six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion, who will start 14^th in the race, put up a lap of one minute, 15.605 seconds in his No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda to jump to the top of the scoring pylon on his 16^th and final lap on track.

Colton Herta was second fastest, as he looks to rebound from his missteps in qualifying, followed by Scott McLaughlin in third, Kyle Kirkwood in fourth, and defending series champion Alex Palou in fifth.

Standout rookie Christian Lundgaard clocked in in sixth position, with Josef Newgarden, Graham Rahal, Will Power, and Felix Rosenqvist rounding out the top-10.

The only red-flag inducing incident of the half-hour practice session came when Dalton Kellett locked up getting into Turn 9, forcing him into the runoff area. After spinning his No. 4 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet around to rejoin the track, the car stalled out, bringing out the red as the safety workers came to his aid to get the car refired.

As a result, Kellett was handed a five-minute time penalty. He will start 12^th when the green flag flies for the race.

Alex Palou and Graham Rahal also ran off track during the session, but their excursions into the runoff did not necessitate a red flag.

Also, the Honda of David Malukas found itself stopped on the frontstretch at the end of warm-up, noting a loss of power over the radio.

The green flag for the Music City Grand Prix is scheduled for 3:30 pm ET on NBC.