HONDA - Fast Friday
Honda Drivers Top Speed Chart in “Fast Friday” at Indianapolis
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Marco Andretti, Robert Wickens lead the way in final practice day before qualifying
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Honda drivers take four of top six practice speeds
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Field of 33 to be set on Saturday, pole position qualifying takes place Sunday
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (May 18, 2018) – “Fast Friday” once again lived up to its name today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the Honda duo of Marco Andretti and Robert Wickens claimed the top two positions on the speed chart in the final full day of practice prior to qualifying for the Indianapolis 500.
With turbocharger boost turned up to the higher, qualifying level permitted by series rules, Honda drivers claimed four of the six fastest speeds positions on the day, and six of the top 10. In a one-off appearance for the Scuderia Corsa/Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing effort, veteran Oriol Servia ended the day fourth, joining Andretti, Wickens and Ed Carpenter with laps above 230 miles per hour.
In an impressive return to Indianapolis after a bone-breaking crash in 2017, Sebastien Bourdais posted the sixth-fastest speed today, with Stefan Wilson ninth in his Andretti Autosport Honda. Wilson’s teammate, Alexander Rossi, rounded out the top ten with a best lap of 229.235 mph.
First-round and “Bump Day” qualifying on Saturday will determine the 33-car field from the 35 entries at the Speedway, as well as the nine pole finalists. Sunday’s “Pole Day” qualifying runs will set the starting order for the 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500, capped by a “Fast Nine” shootout to determine the coveted pole position.
Live ABC Network television coverage of qualifying action from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway starts at 4 p.m. EDT, both Saturday and Sunday.
Quotes:
Marco Andretti (Andretti Autosport Honda) Fastest in “Fast Friday” practice: “We've been feeling good, actually, [the car is] pretty good in traffic, and in race trim. I don't know how much better we can get it. I think [for qualifying] going earlier is going to be better. It's always faster in the morning. Today [the track] kind of took a dip [in speeds] in the middle of the afternoon, for sure. Yeah, I think early draw [for qualifying] will be good. Got to nail it on the first [qualifying attempt], especially with -- I think there's weather tomorrow, so at best one [qualifying] attempt tomorrow. So I think we're just going to have to play whatever hand we're dealt and wring it out.”
Robert Wickens (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda) 2nd fastest: “Yeah, [the] first Fast Friday in my IndyCar career, it was interesting. It was pretty crazy at the beginning because everyone thought it was going to rain around lunch, and then it just didn't, so the afternoon was very relaxed because we went through, I think, three sets of tires in the first hour, and we only kind of accounted for five [sets of tires] for the whole day. Everyone is working hard, and we have to make sure we find that little bit more than everyone else. Our goal is to make the Fast Nine [drivers who advance to pole qualifying].”
Indianapolis 500 “Fast Friday” Practice
Circuit: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2.5-mile oval), Indianapolis, IN
2017 Winner: Takuma Sato (Andretti Autosport) 156.395 mph average
Weather: Mostly cloudy, mild, 71 degrees F
Indianapolis 500 “Fast Friday” Full Field Practice Results:
Ps.
Driver
Team
Manufacturer
Best Speed
Notes
1.
Marco Andretti
Andretti Autosport
Honda
231.802
2.
Robert Wickens-R
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
Honda
231.732
3.
Ed Carpenter
Ed Carpenter Racing
Chevrolet
231.066
4.
Oriol Servia
Scuderia Corsa/RLLR
Honda
230.247
5.
Will Power
Team Penske
Chevrolet
229.780
6.
Sebastien Bourdais
DCR with Vasser-Sullivan
Honda
229.740
7.
Tony Kanaan
A.J. Foyt Racing
Chevrolet
229.500
8.
Matheus Leist-R
A.J. Foyt Racing
Chevrolet
229.365
9.
Stefan Wilson
Andretti Autosport
Honda
229.273
10.
Alexander Rossi
Andretti Autosport
Honda
229.235
11.
Gabby Chaves
Harding Racing
Chevrolet
229.135
12.
Helio Castroneves
Team Penske
Chevrolet
229.122
13.
Spencer Pigot
Ed Carpenter Racing
Chevrolet
229.069
14.
Josef Newgarden
Team Penske
Chevrolet
228.994
15.
Kyle Kaiser-R
Juncos Racing
Chevrolet
228.870
16.
Simon Pagenaud
Team Penske
Chevrolet
228.857
17.
Ed Jones
Chip Ganassi Racing
Honda
228.646
18.
Charlie Kimball
Carlin Racing
Chevrolet
228.524
19.
Jay Howard
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
Honda
228.365
20.
Danica Patrick
Ed Carpenter Racing
Chevrolet
228.284
21.
Scott Dixon
Chip Ganassi Racing
Honda
228.233
22.
Carlos Munoz
Andretti Autosport
Honda
228.028
23.
Ryan Hunter-Reay
Andretti Autosport
Honda
227.889
24.
Takuma Sato
Rahal Letterman Lanigan
Honda
227.782
25.
Conor Daly
Dale Coyne/Thom Burns
Honda
227.700
26.
Sage Karam
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Chevrolet
227.593
27.
Zachary Claman De Melo-R
Dale Coyne Racing
Honda
227.315
28.
Zach Veach
Andretti Autosport
Honda
227.314
29.
James Hinchcliffe
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
Honda
227.262
30.
JR Hildebrand
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Chevrolet
227242
31.
Pippa Mann
Dale Coyne Racing
Honda
227.226
32.
Max Chilton
Carlin Racing
Chevrolet
227.089
33.
Graham Rahal
Rahal Letterman Lanigan
Honda
226.811
34.
James Davison
A.J. Foyt Racing
Chevrolet
226.705
35.
Jack Harvey
Michael Shank Racing
Honda
226.611
Dave Chess
Dave Chess has been writing for RIS since the late 1980s during the CompuServe days. His work has also appeared in Auto Week magazine, Chicago Gearhead News newspaper, ATA airlines in-flight magazine, National Speed Sport News and on many websites.