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Dixon leads Indianapolis 500 Carb Day final practice

By IndyCar Media
Posted 7:18PM on Friday 28th May 2021 ( 3 years ago )

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

Scott Dixon paced Friday's Carb Day final practice for Sunday's Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Photo: Karl Zemlin

http://accesswdun.com/article/2021/5/1009225/dixon-leads-indianapolis-500-carb-day-final-practice

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