Source: Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment / other
SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Josef Newgarden picked up where he left off from late May last year in Wednesday’s Indy 500 Open Test.
Newgarden, along with the rest of the 27 veterans took advantage of the first two hours of the rain-shortened day to get an initial look at what they have for the upcoming month of May.
Getting some traffic running with his Penske teammates, Newgarden turned a top lap of 228.811 mph. Believe it or not, it’s the third year in a row Newgarden has led the first day of April testing.
Though Newgarden paced the field, it was the performance of Kyle Larson that made everyone’s eyes pop out of their head. Larson, who is attempting “The Double” this year with Arrow McLaren and Hendrick Motorsports, ended the day second on the leaderboard behind Newgarden with a best lap at 226.384 mph.
Larson said even though it was a shortened day due to the rain, the time he got on the track Wednesday was invaluable.
“Getting in some traffic and feeling the turbulent air. The first time I got in traffic, I think my tires still had good grip, so I was surprised,” Larson said.
“I’m just trying to learn all that and process all that and knowing what I can do in the car to cope with that. I’m just trying to figure out any bit of racecraft today, which I know is tough. Just get notes in my head and all that.”
The day also saw more of the veterans and rookies get their Rookie Orientation and their refreshers out of the way. Marco Andretti, who called his refresher program “a waste of time, but those are the rules” on the Peacock broadcast, joined Pietro Fittipaldi in getting back in the swing of things. Katherine Legge, announced as one of the Dale Coyne drivers just yesterday, also finished her veteran refresher.
Nolan Siegel, Kyffin Simpson, and Christian Rasmussen completed their ROP.
The “All-Swim” session that followed in the early afternoon only lasted about 30 minutes before rain came and eventually ended the day early. Drivers are due to have more testing in store for Thursday, but that session is unlikely to happen as more rain is expected.
Cars won’t be back on the IMS oval until the start of Indy 500 practice in mid-May. Race day is set for May 26th.
