Dixon third fastest on return to Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Scott Dixon looked right at home in today’s first open test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, ending the session third fastest.

The defending series champion completed nine laps before a heavy shower of rain put paid to the two-hour session.

Dixon recorded an average speed of 220.575mph on his penultimate lap to leave him third on the timesheets.

Conor Daly ended the opening day in the top spot, with a best lap of 222.714mph.

Notably, the first six cars posted laps that were tow-affected. Colton Herta finished the day a respectable seventh, with his 219.846 the fastest non-tow lap.

Dixon’s best time left him as the fastest Honda-powered driver. His Chip Ganassi teammates Alex Palou and Marcus Ericsson were sixth and 14th.

While poor weather conditions resulted in a premature end to the day, a hefty shunt by Rinus VeeKay at turn one in the opening few minutes brought out an early red flag.

Veekay was starting only his fifth lap when his Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet pitched itself into a spin midway through turn one.

The unrestrained car then shot up towards the outside barrier, scrapping the wall until grinding to a stop on the entry to turn two.

VeeKay suffered a broken finger but was otherwise cleared by the medical team.

The other New Zealander in the field, Scott McLaughlin, set 21 laps before the rain arrived and ended up 20th in the standings.

McLaughlin looked satisfied with his day, describing the Indianapolis Oval as ‘badass.’

Penske looked to be holding back their full potential, with Will Power, the squad’s highest-placed driver in ninth.

An 80-minute ‘rookies and refresher’ session wrapped up the day, with Sebastien Bourdais rocketing to the top of the timesheets with a late effort.