O’Ward leads first practice at Nashville

Pato O’Ward was the fastest to start the Nashville Speedway weekend in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevy with a lap of 202.357mph to set himself apart from the rest of the field which fell below the 202mph mark.

“That feels good,” O’Ward said. “Happy to go with that into qualifying. I’m thinking we’re in good shape.”

Behind O’Ward, Kyle Kirkwood picked up where he left off at Nashville Superspeedway as the polesitter from the 2024 event was quickest until O’Ward took command, but still managed to run second in the No. 27 Andretti Global Honda with a 201.667mph blast around the 1.33-mile oval.

Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard was third in the No. 7 Chevy (201.645mph) ahead of 2024 race winner Colton Herta in the No. 26 Andretti Honda (201.623mph), Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon in the No. 9 Honda (201.619mph) and AJ Foyt Racing’s David Malukas, who completed the top six in the No. 4 Chevy (201.585mph).

The opening 40 minutes of the 60-minute session was clean, but that changed as the clock wound down to 20 minutes to go when Devlin DeFrancesco slid up into the wall and made light contact. The impact was minor, but it was enough to cause suspension damage that took the No. 30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda off track for repairs ahead of qualifying.

Another caution was needed with 11 minutes remaining when Alex Palou spun exiting pit lane and slid onto the track. He continued without making contact and ended the session in 16th (200.497mph).

RESULTS

Notes:

• All three Team Penske entries are carrying tribute stickers for Karl Kainhofer, Penske Racing’s first employee, who passed last weekend while the series was racing in Milwaukee.

• Barry Wanser, Palou’s team manager and race strategist for the championship-winning No. 10 Ganassi Honda, was all smiles Saturday morning. It was two years ago on this date when Wanser underwent surgery to remove the cancer that grew in his throat; he’s continues to receive good news with each cancer screening that has followed.

• IndyCar might have its first dueling band cars as the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda featuring Metallica has been matched with the No. 76 Juncos Holling Racing Honda sporting branding from the All American Rejects, which are playing at the event.