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Kanaan keeps Ganassi ahead in Carb Day Indy 500 practice; Herta, Malukas crash
One car crashed, another car flew, and the Chip Ganassi Racing team continued its event-long dominance after Tony Kanaan led a CGR 1-2-4 on a rain-shortened Carb Day.
Kanaan’s No. 1 Honda (227.114mph) was closely trailed by teammate Marcus Ericsson in the No. 8 Honda (227.004mph), Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing’s Takuma Sato was third in the No. 51 Honda (226.839mph) and Indy 500 polesitter Scott Dixon was fourth in the No. 9 entry (226.696mph), giving Honda a reason to be encouraged on Sunday.
In fifth, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s Sage Karam was the first representative from Chevrolet with the No. 24 car (226.512mph) and in sixth, Team Penske’s Will Power (226.032mph) stacked another Chevy in the mix.
After the top six, notable speed was were generated by Christian Lundgaard (P12) and Stefan Wilson (P15).
The session was halted with 45 minutes remaining when David Malukas crashed after being hit in the right-rear corner entering Turn 1. Heavy damage was incurred with the No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports Honda after Malukas moved left to pass Santino Ferrucci entering the corner, and for reasons unknown, Ferrucci turned in before Malukas was clear and hit the Coyne car with his left-front wheel. The No. 18 Honda was thoroughly pummeled after spinning and striking the wall; Malukas popped out of the car without apparent injury. Ferrucci was given a 20-minute stop-and-hold penalty to close the session.
“I am all OK,” Malukas said. “That was one of the biggest hits I’ve felt.”
“It’s my mistake,” Ferrucci acknowledged. “I just misjudged.”
Practice stopped again with 25 minutes left to go when Colton Herta slid to a stop upside down with the No. 26 Andretti Autosport Honda after experiencing a monstrous crash that destroyed the chassis. Herta got sideways in Turn 1, attempted to correct the slide, regained traction and lost the car with the rear impacting the SAFER barrier first. The collapsed right-front suspension appeared to roll under the front of the car and tip the nose upwards, which sent the No. 26 sailing and flipping; he’d hit the wall a second time before the crash would conclude.
https://twitter.com/IndyCar/status/1530254420121858048
Herta informed his team he was OK and seconds later, IndyCar’s AMR safety team was onsite and working to flip the car over and let Herta climb from the cockpit under his own power.
“It sucks,” Herta said. “I’m all good. Thankful for the AMR safety team.”
Malukas and Herta were checked, released and approved to race in the Indy 500.
Marshall Pruett
The 2026 season marks Marshall Pruett's 40th year working in the sport. In his role today for RACER, Pruett covers open-wheel and sports car racing as a writer, reporter, photographer, and filmmaker. In his previous career, he served as a mechanic, engineer, and team manager in a variety of series, including IndyCar, IMSA, and World Challenge.
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