Indy 500 | Final Practice | McLaughlin leads and crashes out

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At the Indy 500 it’s time for a final practice session before the Last Chance and Fast 12 Qualifying segments, set to take place in a couple of hours.

Fast Twelve Practice

O’Ward was the first driver to sign a lap in the first segment of practice, reserved to the Top 12 drivers, with a 232.792mph. Yesterday’s P1 leader Palou’s early best effort put him in P2, a mere 0.5 miles behind the McLaren driver.

Ganassi’s Dixon records a new fastest speed in 233.240mph, whereas Rosenqvist, who has had some strong days at Indy so far as well, slots in third place.

McLaughlin had a strong crash with 43 minutes left in the session. The Penske driver went airborn at Turn 2, with his car flipping and destroying in the process after the rear hit. McLaughlin was able to exit the car on his own, but was left visibly shaken by the impact. He has also removed a chunck of

Just like with Kirkwood’s crash last year, McLaughlin’s car no 3 lost a tyre, which went flying away. The session was stopped in order to check the asphalt and barriers. In fact, he had removed a chunck of pavement from the track.

https://twitter.com/IndyCar/status/1924155186865385963

Practice resumed with 12 minutes to go, as McLaughlin still holds the fastest speed, roughly 0.300 miles faster than the crashing Penske.

More and more drivers sign fast laps, but the top 5 remains the same. Lundgaard, Newgarden, Power, Malukas and Sato complete the provisional top 10.

Last Chance qualifiers

The second hour was reserved to the drivers fighting to secure a spot for the 500. Dale Coyne drivers Jacob Abel and Rinus Veekay immediately began running.

However, the duo is not able to turn in consistent perfromances. In fact, Abel sets a fastest speed of 227.9mph, while Veekay can’t even reach 226mph.

The Dutch driver mentions on the radio the incredible lack of feeling with his car no.18. Ahead of both of them is Marcus Armstrong following his incredibly severe crash, with a more positive 228.45mph.

Marco Andretti also sets an average four lap speed in the 228mphs, while Veekay has returned to the pits to try and change his car setup. The Andretti driver managed to improve his run to 229.781mph, setting himself up as the best runner of the second hour of racing.

Penske informs that McLaughlin won’t take part in the upcoming Fast 12 section of qualifiyng, meaning that the Kiwi driver will start the Indy 500 from P12 following his massive crash during final practice.

Veekay has managed to improve his average speed to 226mph, but that ‘s still not enough to move up from last place in the provisional standings.

After 15 laps Abel pits for a setup change, as soon as his teammate returns on track. Veekay improves his personal best to 228.800mph.

Who will be on pole and who will be bumped from the Indy 500 will be found out after this final practice session. Tune in in an hour for Qualifying!