Andretti Global’s Colton Herta led Saturday morning’s IndyCar practice session with the No. 26 Honda. Herta’s 1m.00.1331s lap was well clear of Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden in the No. 2 Chevy (+0.2541s) and Penske’s Will Power in third with the No. 12 Chevy (+0.2770s).
“The car’s been good so far,” Herta said. “I felt good that session and we got two really decent runs. Good to feel the car in that environment before qualifying.”
The Chevy brigade continued with Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward in fourth, Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Romain Grosjean in fifth, and Ed Carpenter Racing’s Rinus VeeKay in sixth.
Andretti’s Kyle Kirkwood set the fourth-fastest lap about halfway through the session, but clouted the wall with the right-side suspension and headed to pit lane to have bend components changed. His quick lap would get knocked down to seventh by the end of the hour-long window.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1408]
Friday’s fastest driver, Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist, was 11th, while reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou was a surprise 20th for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Of the 27 drivers, only one failed to participate in the session after Santino Ferrucci’s No. 14 A.J. Foyt Racing Chevy encountered a problem on pit lane and was taken back to the garage.
Up next is qualifying, which starts at 2pm ET and is televised on Peacock’s streaming platform.