Palou to the fore in second DC IndyCar practice

The second practice session for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington, D.C. was led by Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou, who posted a lap of 56.614s in the No. 10 Honda on Firestone’s fastest tire compound but saw Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood nearly match the time with a 56.691s lap produced on the harder primary compound with the No. 27 Honda.

“That was brand-new softs,” Palou said of his run. “That was all I had.”

With qualifying up next, Kirkwood’s pace on primes could foretell big things in the run for pole position.

Ganassi’s Scott Dixon was third in the No. 9 Honda with a 56.818s lap to edge the Arrow McLaren trio of Nolan Siegel in the No. 6 Chevy (56.839s), Pato O’Ward in the No. 5 Chevy (56.873s) and Christian Lundgaard in the No. 7 Chevy (56.875s) as Siegel delivered another standout performance to lead his more experienced teammates.

“It is interesting,” Siegel said of the bumpier-than-expected 1.7-mile street circuit. “It adds some character to the track. It makes it a lot of fun to drive. I’m really enjoying myself here in D.C.”

The 40-minute opening run went according to plan until a red flag was required after 10 minutes when Graham Rahal hit the wall and damaged his right-side suspension before coming to a halt in a runoff area. Marcus Ericsson was fastest at the time of the red with a lap of 57.597s.

With 30 minutes gone, it was Palou on top with a 57.106s ahead of Alexander Rossi at 57.117s and Lundgaard at 57.324s.

Another red was needed for another Rahal driver when Louis Foster slewed sideways and broke his front wings from the nose of the car and slid to a stop with seven minutes left. Action resumed with four minutes remaining and Scott McLaughlin jumped to first with a lap of 56.894s to move in front of Palou, Rossi, and Lundgaard.

At the halfway point of the first 12-minute split session, it was Palou on Firestone alternates up front with a 56.614s lap to lead the group. Palou’s lap held to the checkered flag and he was joined by Dixon in P2 with a 56.818s and Siegel in P3 with a 56.839s.

At the halfway point of the second 12-minute split session, it was Kirkwood on Firestone primaries at 56.820s to lead the group. The checkered flag flew with Kirkwood in P1 at 56.691 on primes, O’Ward in P2 on alternates at 56.873s, and McLaughlin in P3 on alts at 56.994s.

UP NEXT: Qualifying, 5pm ET

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