By INDYCAR
INDIANAPOLIS – In a career full of success, winning the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge is one of the few boxes Josef Newgarden hasn’t checked.
That could change this year, if the first day of the Indy 500 Open Test on Thursday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is any indication.
SEE: Test Results
Two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Newgarden was the fastest of 33 drivers on the 2.5-mile oval during the 8.5-hour test, turning a top lap of 227.686 mph in the No. 2 Shell Team Penske Chevrolet. Newgarden’s best finish in 11 previous “500” starts was third in 2016, but he will be one of the favorites next month to deliver Team Penske a 19th Indianapolis 500 victory, extending the team’s record.
Newgarden turned his top lap with about 50 minutes remaining in the afternoon practice, when cars circulated in hectic packs, simulating what will be seen on Race Day, Sunday, May 28.
“Really great day,” Newgarden said. “I wish it was Race Day today. But you can’t choose those. You have to show up on that day and be very good. I told the team that if it was Race Day, don’t touch it because it was very good. Sometimes you show up and the car is great. and sometimes you have to work on it. Today was one of those really good days.
“We got through our list, as well, and we learned a lot, which is always positive. Sometimes you can go around in circles at this place, but today as a team I felt like we were very efficient with our time. We split everything up and divided and conquered. Really, really happy for Team Penske today, and I feel good for next month with the Shell car.”
Indianapolis-area native Conor Daly jumped to second in the final minutes of the afternoon session Thursday with a lap of 227.466 in the No. 20 BitNile Chevrolet.
2008 Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon was third overall at 226.788 mph in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, followed by last Sunday’s Long Beach winner Kyle Kirkwood at 226.727 in the No. 27 AutoNation Honda.
Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato rounded out the top five at 226.265 in the No. 11 Honda, as the second Chip Ganassi Racing driver in the top five.
Teams wasted little time getting busy, as the forecast for the second day of testing Friday called for possible inclement weather. The 33 drivers combined to turn 3,522 laps (8,805 miles) across the three sessions. That’s about 500 miles more than the distance from Indianapolis to Cape…
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