Palou leads Ganassi 1-2 in Nashville practice

The effects of Hurricane Francine were nowhere to be found Saturday morning at Nashville Superspeedway as a blend of clouds and blue sky and warm temperatures met the field of 27 NTT IndyCar Series drivers for a 90-minute practice session.

Championship leader Alex Palou was fastest at 23.9565 seconds/199.862mph in the No. 10 Honda and was shadowed by teammate Scott Dixon at 199.847mph in the No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Andretti Global’s Colton Herta made it three Hondas in the top three with the No. 26 entry at 199.686mph, and he had Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward behind him in fourth at 199.180mph in the No. 5 Honda. Fifth went to Andretti’s Kyle Kirkwood in the No. 27 Honda at 199.031mph and the top six was completed by Team Penske’s Will Power with a 198.942mph in the No. 12 Chevy.

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Two key factors evolved during the session as a significant bump in Turn 4 that caught out a number of Indy NXT driver earlier in the morning also tripped up Arrow McLaren’s Nolan Siegel, who spun and crashed 10 minutes into the action. Damage done to the SAFER barrier with the No. 6 Chevy’s gearbox meant speedway worked needed quite some time to weld a plate over the hole that was punched in the wall.

Siegel was unhurt, but his car was in a poor state afterwards; an engine change was also required, which will cost the rookie nine spots after qualifying.

Teams also spent time -- less than anticipated -- learning the characteristics of Firestone’s new alternate tires. Most of the session was spent on Firestone’s primaries.

UP NEXT: Qualifying, 2:15pm ET

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