Scott McLaughlin is sitting pretty after topping the last IndyCar practice session before qualifying at Laguna Seca.
The Kiwi is the first driver to lap under the 71 seconds bracket as he stormed to P1 with a time of 1.10.875.
His nearest rival, Colton Herta, was a tenth and a half further back.
Team Penske has turned up the wick this weekend as all four of their cars were in the top ten.
Along with McLaughlin at the top, Simon Pagenaud and Wil Power were P4 and P5, while Josef Newgarden was tenth quickest.
Points leader Alex Palou was mired in the lower reaches of the pecking order as he spent most of the 45 minutes on the slower primary tyres.
When he donned the red tyres, he was immediately on the pace and went third fastest.
Though it was a less than ideal session for his championship contenders.
Pato O’Ward picked up a flat spot on his tyres and was 20th. Scott Dixon also battled for speed and was 18th.
Turn 4 seems to be the corner of interest this weekend. Twice the session was suspended as drivers ran off the road and into the barriers.
Qualifying is up next for the field and begins at 9.05 am NZT.
