New Zealand’s Scott McLaughlin topped Penske teammate Will Power to go fastest on the second day of practice for next weekend’s 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500.
The Kiwi set a best lap of 39.2168 seconds at 229.493 mph (369.333kmh) to better the second-placed Australian by 0.1246 seconds.
For the second consecutive day, weather was a factor at IMS. The session began over five hours late due to persistent morning rain, and once underway, there were three interruptions for light showers before heavier rain washed out the final hour.
In two hours of running, all 34 drivers in the field combined for 2084 laps, with McLaughlin leading from the 40-minute mark on his 14th of 78 laps.
“The Pennzoil Chevy ‘Yellow Submarine’ straight out of the box is pretty good,” McLaughlin said.
“I was able to use that draft and get that speed. Obviously, the car’s got good pace right now. We ran through a lot of items, as much as we can, and I think we’ve gotten in a really good spot.”
Colton Herta was third quickest, 0.2814 seconds off the lead, while last year’s Indy 500 victor, Josef Newgarden, was fourth, making three Penske drivers in the top four.
Scott Dixon, the fastest in Wednesday’s 20 minutes of running, was eleventh quickest with a 39.7977.
Marcus Armstrong, who is making his oval debut in the Indy 500, was 23rd, while rookie Tom Blomqvist was 28th.
NASCAR Cup star Kyle Larson was the fastest of seven rookies in 15th overall as he continues to build up towards running the double of the Indy 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on the same day.
Friday’s practice begins at 2.00 am NZST, with practice 5 at 4.00 am on Saturday.
Day one of Qualifying begins at 3.00 am on Sunday, before the final grid is set at 7.00 am on Monday.
Coverage of the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500 begins at 3.00 am on Monday, May 27.
All sessions are broadcast live on Sky Sport.
Header Image: Penske Entertainment: James Black
