Will Power Tops the Charts on Rain-Shortened Indy 500 Opening Day

Will Power set the fastest time during Opening Day for the 109th Indianapolis 500. The Team Penske driver clocked a lap just quicker than teammate Josef Newgarden about 40 minutes before the scheduled end of the session. Shortly afterward, the session had to be called off due to thunderstorms in the area.

The practice sessions for the 109th edition of the Indianapolis 500 got off to a false start on Opening Day. Rain had fallen before the planned start time, and it took another 2.5 hours before the green flag could wave.

This delay impacted the Rookie/Refresher Test, which was only going to be used by Tony Kanaan. By completing this test, he would be eligible to substitute for Kyle Larson during the race. The test has now been rescheduled for Wednesday at 10:00 AM local time.

Once the track was cleared for action, Josef Newgarden was the first to lay down a strong lap after about half an hour. With a speed of 224.319 mph, he became the first driver to break into the 224 mph range, but was soon surpassed by Scott Dixon, who recorded a lap at 225.059 mph. After an hour of running, Newgarden posted another quick lap, coming close to the 227 mph mark with a 226.971 mph run.

With 40 minutes remaining, Will Power became the only driver to crack the 227 mph barrier, recording a lap at 227.026 mph. Ten minutes later, lighting was detected in the vicinity of the track, forcing officials to halt the session. Track activity can only resume after at least 30 minutes without any lightning in the area. With just half an hour left on the clock, this marked an early end to the first day of practice.

Opening Day went by without any significant incidents. The session was only halted once for a routine track inspection.

The biggest issues of the day were faced by the new Prema Racing team. Even with the session starting 2.5 hours later than scheduled, the team had not yet prepared its cars. Only with 1.5 hours left did the cars of Callum Ilott and Robert Shwartzman make their way to the pits. The pair managed just 22 laps combined before the session was cut short.

Practice for the Indy 500 will resume on Wednesday. At 10:00 AM ET, Tony Kanaan is set to complete his refresher test, with a maximum of 30 laps allowed. Full practice is scheduled from noon to 6:00 PM, weather permitting — as rain showers are in the forecast!

Full results of the 1st free practice session on Indianapolis