INDY 500: Hunter-Reay, Munoz top Day 3 practice

Ryan-Hunter Reay was fastest during Wednesday's practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but he's also a realist.

"I'm happy at where we are at the moment because I've been here when I couldn't get off the second screen (of the speeds) and dragging around at the bottom because I didn't have a fast race car, and I think I've got one this month," the 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner said after turning a lap of 228.202mph in the DHL Honda. "But I also know better than to get too excited. I fully expect to see the Penske, Ganassi and ECR [Ed Carpenter Racing] cars up front this weekend."

In the second full day of practice for the 100th Indianapolis 500, Andretti Autosport and Honda again showed the way as all 33 drivers practiced and turned an amazing 2,779 laps on a gorgeous day.

It was teammate Marco Andretti who topped the speed charts on Monday, while Hunter-Reay and Carlos Munoz were 1-2 on Wednesday – the only two in the 228mph zone after running in tandem early in the afternoon.

"I think Andretti Autosport has moved the program up a little bit compared to others, but it's way too early to tell what's going to happen," said Hunter-Reay, who along with his three teammates has struggled this season.

"We found some things with the setup we didn't like last year and we've improved on them."

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The last hour of practice looked like race day, as a train of 15 to 18 cars ran nose-to-tail. Hunter-Reay was asked about how tricky the new ride heights made the cars.

"With as nice as it was today with not much wind I was surprised how challenging it was out there today," he replied. "It was tricky enough where you had to have some experience around this place. It might be because of the added ride height, I don't know, but it's the same for everybody."

Will Power was third overall and the quickest Chevrolet at 227.733mph in the Verizon Special while Josef Newgarden, also in a Chevy, was timed at 226.998mph but had the fastest non-tow lap of the day at 224mph.

"Man those Hondas are really fast," Power said, giving Gabby Chaves a little jab during the press conference.

Chaves posted the fifth-fastest lap of 226.889mph in a Dale Coyne Honda and loved the fact that he finally has teammates.

"It's the first time I've worked with a multi-car team at an official event and I'm learning about the benefits of sharing data and ideas," said the 2015 rookie of the year, who drove for Bryan Herta's one-car operation last year. "My car is comfortable and I was running low 223s by myself, so it's a good start to the week."

Mikhail Aleshin's Honda engine exploded going down the backstretch late in the day, but he managed to control it and drive it into the infield grass in Turn 3.

Wednesday's practice speeds can be found here.