Fast Friday has been completed at the Indy 500 as the 34 drivers hoping to make the most prestigious IndyCar race got to run in qualifying mode with the boost turned up ahead of qualifying at the weekend, full report and results below.
Kyffin Simpson has a big shunt on Fast Friday at the Indy 500
Pushing hard, CGR’s Kyffin Simpson had a big crash inside the first hour. His car was loose, and it got away from him in turn 4. The rear came around and smacked the wall hard. He got airborne but thankfully did not flip. The car was very secondhand as he ended up on pit road as he went a long way down the track.
After a 38-minute delay to check the safer wall and barriers, the action resumed for Fast Friday at the Indy 500.
Scott McLaughlin fastest early doors
Once again Team Penske looked fast as Scott McLaughlin led the way before the massive crash for Simpson. He logged a 233.954mph on the fastest speed chart. Power made it a 1-2 as he did a 231.870mph for his best tour. Rasmussen, Carpenter, Shwartzman, Palou and Ferrucci were also in the 230mph+ club at this point.
On the no-tow leaderboard, the top 5 was exactly the same as Robert Shwartzman impressed in the PREMA.
A second caution appears at Fast Friday for the Indy 500
Not long after the green flag was thrown following Simpson’s shunt, the yellows were back out. A small piece of bodywork fell off Marco Andretti’s car on the back straight during a qualifying sim.
Dixon does a fine qualifying sim
On his four-lap qualifying run, Scott Dixon did a 231.096mph on his final lap, his best across the four laps as he used the hybrid on the last one. It moved him up to 4th on the fastest speed chart.
Lots of qualifying sims abandoned on Fast Friday at the Indy 50
With the cars really tricky to drive, Will Power, Josef Newgarden and Alex Palou, alongside quite a few others, did not complete qualifying simulations after starting them, whether on the second or third laps.
Herta and Kirkwood do very solid qualifying simulations
Andretti duo Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood completed good qualifying runs in very high temperatures during the afternoon at IMS.
Kirkwood clocked speeds of 231.818, 231.103, 228.992 and 227.619mph across his four laps. Just before that, Colton Herta did his. While he was not as fast on laps one and two, laps of 230.352, 230.609, 230.357 and 230.333 mph were far more consistent across the board.
McLaughlin led Power, Kirkwood, Rasmussen, Dixon, Carpenter, Newgarden, Shwartzman, Palou and Malukas was the top 10 on the fastest speed leaderboard with two hours left.
As the temperature slowly started to drop, Conor Daly was the latest driver to do a very solid qualifying run. Laps of 230.637, 230.107, 230.277 and 228.517mph put him inside the top 10 on the four-lap averages.
Kyle Larson crashes
Attempting a qualifying simulation on Fast Friday at the Indy 500, Arrow McLaren driver Kyle Larson crashed at turn 3. He was very low on corner entry and the car let go on him as the car potentially bottomed out.
The first impact broke the front wing. Larson’s car then nudged the safer barrier with the rear of the car on a second hit.
The accident was nowhere was nasty as Simpson’s as both hits were very square, however. He walked away no problem as well.
Lundgaard and the Meyer Shank Racing drivers come alive as Shwartzman continues to be seriously fast
Danish driver Christian Lundgaard did a sterling job after a quiet day until late in it. A four-lap average of 231.083mph put him into 3rd. PREMA shocked everyone as Robert Shwartzman moved into 4th on that chart as he did a whopping average of 231.077mph.
Two-time Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato vaulted up to P7 on that leaderboard as the action kicked off in the final 75 minutes.
On the fastest speed chart, Marcus Armstrong and Felix Rosenqvist moved Meyer Shank Racing up to P6 and P7 respectively.
Cars going faster and faster as the track and air temp drops dramatically
In the final 45 minutes the four-lap averages continued to be absolutely rapid, with a number of the big names appearing on track and setting it alight.
Chip Ganassi Racing turned up the heat as Dixon (232.561mph) and Palou (232.528mph) went 1-2 on the no-tow chart. Kirkwood, Herta, McLaughlin, Power, Lundgaard, Daly, Armstrong and Robb completed the top 10 on that particular leaderboard.
Four-lap average chart on Fast Friday at the Indy 500
On the four-lap average chart, Dixon (232.366mph) led Palou (232.307mph) and McLaughlin (232.212mph). Herta, Kirkwood, Rosenqvist, Lundgaard and Shwartzman got themselves into the 231mph bracket, with Robb and Ericsson completing the top 10 in the high 230mph region.
