Armstrong fastest in Monday afternoon session at Sebring IndyCar test

Meyer Shank Racing newcomer Marcus Armstrong pulled double duty on Monday, driving his No. 66 Honda in the morning session for half of the IndyCar Series field, and returned in the afternoon to pilot teammate Felix Rosenqvist’s No. 60 Honda where he took the car to the top of the second group with a lap of 52.3675s.

The lead changed hands numerous times in the last 20 minutes, and among those to improve their fortunes, Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Conor Daly shot to second (52.5931s) and Tean Penske’s Will Power was third (52.8032s).

With Rosenqvist feeling ill, Armstrong deputized and was rewarded with the quickest lap in the waning moments of the day as the run began to set on a warm and cloudless day in Sebring.

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“To be fair, we didn’t do a lot of laps in the 60 car, but I’m happy to sub for Felix,” the New Zealander told RACER. “I think he’s going to be OK and able to drive in the morning. This afternoon we limited out tire running just to save some tires for him. We ran at the very end and did a decent lap.”

The only misfortune from the afternoon involved Scott Dixon, whose engine appeared to expire. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver was credited with two laps before his car came to a stop. The crew lost the rest of the session while performing an engine change.

Dixon and the rest of the afternoon runners will take the four-hour Tuesday morning slot and hand off to Monday’s morning group, which close the two-day test when they take to the track Tuesday afternoon.

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