Honda has "great confidence" in engines despite overnight changes

A trio of overnight engine changes kept the Chip Ganassi Racing and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing crews working late into Friday evening.

Motor swaps for Scott Dixon’s No. 9 Honda, Alex Palou’s No. 10 Honda, and Jack Harvey’s No. 30 Honda were required – the need for Harvey’s change was obvious after the Briton suffered an engine failure in the final minutes of Friday’s practice session, but the two for CGR were precautionary based on a known problem Honda Performance Development has been monitoring and managing among its fleet of 17 cars at the Indianapolis 500.

“A few weeks ago, we identified a supplier part issue that has caused some engine problems,” a Honda representative told RACER. “We have already implemented a countermeasure. But, because the engines are built well in advance of each race, we’re now seeing some of this surface on track.”

Winners of the last three Indy 500s, Honda-powered drivers have paced the three days of practice leading into this weekend’s run for pole position at the 107th edition of the great American race.

“With that said, We have great confidence in the 17 Honda engines that will attempt to qualify today for the Indy 500,” the Honda rep added. “And we’re looking forward to trying to win our fourth straight Indy 500 next Sunday.”

Using his new engine, Palou posted the third-fastest lap during the morning practice session with a run to 232.823mph; Arrow McLaren’s Tony Kanaan led the group with a 233.026mph fast lap in his No. 66 Chevy.