Palou leads windy pre-qualifying Indy 500 practice

Two Honda-powered drivers and one Chevy-powered ace produced the fastest no-tow speeds during a windy practice session as Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou (233.437mph), Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist (233.432mph) and Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden (233.173mph) generated the best qualifying simulation laps without the assistance of an aerodynamic tow.

The early morning run ahead of qualifying got under way at 8:30am ET and lasted 12 minutes before a stoppage was required when Meyer Shank Racing’s Marcus Armstrong had a huge crash in Turn 1. The debris field and leaking fluids took 21 minutes to clear and at 9:03am, Ed Carpenter Racing's Alexander Rossi went out to try another qualifying sim.

With the time loss for the Armstrong cleanup, the 30-minute split sessions were shortened to 20 minutes apiece.

AJ Foyt Racing’s David Malukas was the first to lead the group with a 232.037mph with the benefit of a tow, and at the end of the session, Ganassi's Scott Dixon went to P1 with a tow-assisted 232.892mph at 9:08am and Rosenqvist took the lead at 9:09am (234.176mph) with a slight tow and led the no-tow chart at 233.432mph. Andretti Global's Colton Herta moved to P2 with a 232.892mph with a tow.

With the second group taking to the track, Palou had the oval to himself and put up a 233.437mph to place second overall and first on the no-tow. Newgarden was next with a 233.173mph to go third and a 232.773mph without a tow. He added a 232.952mph no-tow on the next lap.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's Takuma Sato went to seventh with a 232.678mph, but was only 16th on the no-tow, and Andretti's Kyle Kirkwood was the other mover in the second group who took eighth with a 232.251mph that came with a tow.

At the end of the combined running, the no-tow leaders were Palou, Rosenqvist, Newgarden, Rossi, Malukas, and ECR's Christian Rasmussen.

UP NEXT: Qualifying, 11am-5:50pm ET

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