INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Scott Dixon refused to relinquish his grip on the fastest car this month at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as he led the final practice Friday for the 105th Indianapolis 500 on Miller Lite Carb Day.
Six-time and reigning NTT IndyCar Series champion Dixon, who won the pole last Sunday at 231.685 mph, turned a top lap of 228.323 in the No. 9 Honda during the rain-delayed and rain-shortened session.
Practice started two hours, 37 minutes late due to persistent morning showers and ended 10 minutes short of its scheduled two hours when rain returned to the 2.5-mile oval. Cloudy skies and temperatures in the high 50s – about 25 degrees cooler than during Crown Royal Armed Forces Qualifying last weekend – increased grip and daring passes during the final practice before Race Day.
“Everybody felt like King Kong out there with the weather conditions,” Dixon said. “That may give you an indication of how the race will be. If it’s like this, it’s going to be mentally draining. There’s going to be a lot of action going on.”
Two Team Penske drivers starting in the back half of the field of 33 cars Sunday showed they have strong cars in traffic by posting the second- and third-fastest laps of the session.
2019 Indy 500 winner Simon Pagenaud, starting 26th, was second at 227.157. Two-time series champion Josef Newgarden, who is starting 21st, ended up third at 226.856.
Conor Daly was fourth overall at 226.399. Daly was scratching his head at some of the aggressive moves by selected drivers during the final practice.
“It was like we were sacrificing our vehicles for a prize today,” Daly said. “Did you win anything today? I didn’t.”
2020 pole sitter Marco Andretti rounded out the top five at 226.396. He will start 25th.
While Team Penske, winner of a record 18 Indianapolis 500s, was shut out of the first five rows in qualifying, the final practice results showed all four of its cars could contend for victory Sunday after strong performances in heavy traffic.
2018 Indy 500 winner Will Power was sixth overall at 226.223 after squeezing into the last row of the field in the Last Chance Qualifying. Rookie Scott McLaughlin, the top Penske qualifier in 17th, was seventh in practice at 226.192.
The green flag for the 105th edition of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” is scheduled for 12:45 p.m. Sunday.
WDUN will carry live IMS Radio Network coverage of the 105th running of the Indianapolis 500 - the "Greatest Spectacle In Racing" - on Sunday beginning at 12 pm on 102.9 FM, at 1 pm on AM 550 and streaming live beginning at 12 pm on AccessWDUN.
WDUN will also carry live PRN Radio coverage of this weekend's NASCAR action from Charlotte Motor Speedway, beginning with Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco 300 at 12:30 pm on 102.9 FM and streaming live on AccessWDUN. Coverage continues on Sunday with the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at 5 pm on 102.9 FM, AM 550 and streaming live on AccessWDUN.
NTT IndyCar Series
Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis 500 – May 28, 2021
Friday’s Carb Day Practice Results
| Rank | Car | Driver Name | C/E/T | Time | Speed | Diff | Gap | Best Lap | Total Laps |
| 1 | 9 | Dixon, Scott | D/H/F | 00:39.4178 | 228.323 | –.—- | –.—- | 6 | 47 |
| 2 | 22 | Pagenaud, Simon | D/C/F | 00:39.6201 | 227.157 | 0.2023 | 0.2023 | 57 | 89 |
| 3 | 2 | Newgarden, Josef | D/C/F | 00:39.6728 | 226.856 | 0.2550 | 0.0527 | 88 | 93 |
| 4 | 47 | Daly, Conor | D/C/F | 00:39.7528 | 226.399 | 0.3350 | 0.0800 | 53 | 70 |
| 5 | 98 | Andretti, Marco | D/H/F | 00:39.7534 | 226.396 | 0.3356 | 0.0006 | 64 | 65 |
| 6 | 12 | Power, Will | D/C/F | 00:39.7838 | 226.223 | 0.3660 | 0.0304 | 8 | 82 |
| 7 | 3 | McLaughlin, Scott (R) | D/C/F | 00:39.7892 | 226.192 | 0.3714 | 0.0054 | 21 | 66 |
| 8 | 48 | Kanaan, Tony | D/H/F | 00:39.8356 | 225.929 | 0.4178 | 0.0464 | 7 | 48 |
| 9 | 30 | Sato, Takuma | D/H/F | 00:39.8757 | 225.701 | 0.4579 | 0.0401 | 65 | 94 |
| 10 | 24 | Karam, Sage | D/C/F | 00:39.9039 | 225.542 | 0.4861 | 0.0282 | 36 | 61 |
| 11 | 5 | O’Ward, Pato | D/C/F | 00:39.9093 | 225.511 | 0.4915 | 0.0054 | 57 | 93 |
| 12 | 59 | Chilton, Max | D/C/F | 00:39.9382 | 225.348 | 0.5204 | 0.0289 | 84 | 89 |
| 13 | 27 | Rossi, Alexander | D/H/F | 00:39.9424 | 225.324 | 0.5246 | 0.0042 | 47 | 51 |
| 14 | 14 | Bourdais, Sebastien | D/C/F | 00:39.9710 | 225.163 | 0.5532 | 0.0286 | 27 | 33 |
| 15 | 06 | Castroneves, Helio | D/H/F | 00:39.9714 | 225.161 | 0.5536 | 0.0004 | 17 | 62 |
| 16 | 86 | Montoya, Juan Pablo | D/C/F | 00:39.9736 | 225.149 | 0.5558 | 0.0022 | 33 | 54 |
| 17 | 1 | Hildebrand, JR | D/C/F | 00:40.0098 | 224.945 | 0.5920 | 0.0362 | 30 | 70 |
| 18 | 18 | Jones, Ed | D/H/F | 00:40.0160 | 224.910 | 0.5982 | 0.0062 | 12 | 71 |
| 19 | 15 | Rahal, Graham | D/H/F | 00:40.0227 | 224.872 | 0.6049 | 0.0067 | 8 | 100 |
| 20 | 28 | Hunter-Reay, Ryan | D/H/F | 00:40.0500 | 224.719 | 0.6322 | 0.0273 | 33 | 71 |
| 21 | 29 | Hinchcliffe, James | D/H/F | 00:40.0808 | 224.546 | 0.6630 | 0.0308 | 19 | 92 |
| 22 | 10 | Palou, Alex | D/H/F | 00:40.0890 | 224.500 | 0.6712 | 0.0082 | 58 | 71 |
| 23 | 8 | Ericsson, Marcus | D/H/F | 00:40.0948 | 224.468 | 0.6770 | 0.0058 | 61 | 84 |
| 24 | 7 | Rosenqvist, Felix | D/C/F | 00:40.1019 | 224.428 | 0.6841 | 0.0071 | 20 | 61 |
| 25 | 4 | Kellett, Dalton | D/C/F | 00:40.1694 | 224.051 | 0.7516 | 0.0675 | 19 | 54 |
| 26 | 25 | Wilson, Stefan | D/H/F | 00:40.1701 | 224.047 | 0.7523 | 0.0007 | 71 | 74 |
| 27 | 45 | Ferrucci, Santino | D/H/F | 00:40.1993 | 223.884 | 0.7815 | 0.0292 | 11 | 77 |
| 28 | 26 | Herta, Colton | D/H/F | 00:40.2378 | 223.670 | 0.8200 | 0.0385 | 26 | 78 |
| 29 | 60 | Harvey, Jack | D/H/F | 00:40.2389 | 223.664 | 0.8211 | 0.0011 | 8 | 76 |
| 30 | 20 | Carpenter, Ed | D/C/F | 00:40.2407 | 223.654 | 0.8229 | 0.0018 | 24 | 61 |
| 31 | 21 | VeeKay, Rinus | D/C/F | 00:40.3464 | 223.068 | 0.9286 | 0.1057 | 10 | 56 |
| 32 | 16 | De Silvestro, Simona | D/C/F | 00:40.3546 | 223.023 | 0.9368 | 0.0082 | 25 | 72 |
| 33 | 51 | Fittipaldi, Pietro (R) | D/H/F | 00:40.5090 | 222.173 | 1.0912 | 0.1544 | 64 | 88 |
(R) Rookie
