Scott McLaughlin wrapped up Fast Friday practice with the fastest lap of the day. The New Zealander was slightly aided by a slipstream. On a day when drivers prepared for qualifying, it was Scott Dixon who posted the fastest run in the final hour, ahead of teammate Alex Palou, with McLaughlin in third.

Although rain clouds loomed over the Indianapolis circuit, the fourth day of practice was completed without any precipitation. Strong winds were present, but that didn’t stop the IndyCar drivers from conducting extensive qualifying simulations.

Early in the session, Scott McLaughlin put in a very fast lap, clocking an average speed of 233.954 mph. The Penske driver benefited from a slipstream, allowing him to enter Turn 3 at an average speed of over 240 mph (387 km/h)!

However, the combination of strong winds and qualifying simulations also took its toll. After two hours, Kyffin Simpson lost control of his Chip Ganassi Racing car exiting Turn 4, spun 180 degrees, and slammed into the SAFER barrier. The impact caused the car to briefly lift off the ground and land on its side before settling back on its remaining wheels. Simpson was able to exit the car unharmed, but the same couldn't be said for the car. The team will have to build the backup car for qualifying weekend.


The second crash of the day involved Kyle Larson. The NASCAR driver took a tight line through Turn 3, lost control of the car midway through the corner, spun 360 degrees, and hit the wall head-on. The #17 McLaren then slid through to Turn 4, where the rear of the car also made contact with the wall. Larson was able to walk away unharmed, and the damage appeared to be relatively minor. The car was surprisingly repaired and sent back out within the hour, albeit just for a shakedown lap.


Fast Friday is traditionally a preview of what we might expect in qualifying. Team Penske is looking strong, as expected, but there were some other notable performances as well. One surprise came from Juncos Hollinger Racing, with Conor Daly and Sting Ray Robb both placing solidly in the top ten. After struggling earlier in the week during its first oval outing, the new Prema team showed marked improvement, with Robert Shwartzman and Callum Ilott suddenly looking highly competitive.

Where there are pleasant surprises, there are also disappointments. Ed Carpenter – a consistent top-ten qualifier in recent years – has yet to show strong form. Graham Rahal and Jacob Abel spent much of the session near the bottom of the timesheets but eventually managed to find some speed. Lastly, McLaren still seems to be struggling in qualifying trim, with only Lundgaard making it into the top 20.

At the end of the day, during the so-called "lucky hour," some extremely fast qualifying simulations were run. Despite forgetting a few adjustments inside the car, Scott Dixon recorded the fastest qualifying run of the day half an hour before the session ended. His teammate Alex Palou was just fractions of a second slower over his 16-lap run.

Top 10 over four qualifying laps:
1. Scott Dixon – 232,366 mph
2. Alex Palou – 232,307
3. Scott McLaughlin – 232,212
4. Colton Herta – 231,721
5. Kyle Kirkwood – 231,491
6. Felix Rosenqvist – 231,239
7. Christian Lundgaard – 231,083
8. Robert Shwartzman – 231,077
9. Sting Ray Robb – 230,862
10. Marcus Ericsson – 230,620

Full results of the 4th free practice session on Indianapolis