Andretti Autosport teammates Ryan Hunter-Reay and Carlos Muñoz paced Wednesday’s Verizon IndyCar Series practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with two quick laps early in the day’s session.
Hunter-Reay’s 228.202mph lap during the first half hour of the session lasted as the quickest lap among all 33 competitors to set a time. Muñoz, who was running with Hunter-Reay at the time, slotted in just behind him with a speed of 228.066mph.
Will Power led the way for Chevrolet, setting a speed of 227.733mph to go third on the grid.
Josef Newgarden and Gabby Chavez completed the top five, with Charlie Kimball, Townsend Bell, Sage Karam, Marco Andretti and Graham Rahal rounding out the top 10.
Spencer Pigot became the first to test INDYCAR’s safety updates for this year’s 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500. The rookie was making a run toward the midway point of the six-hour session when he lost control of his Rahal Letterman Lanigan machine, slamming hard into the outside wall.
Thankfully, the car didn’t flip up into the air, as seen multiple times in 2015. Pigot climbed out of his machine unhurt. His backup is expected to be ready for Thursday’s practice.
Toward the end of the session, Mikhail Aleshin’s Honda engine gave out as the Russian drove down the backstretch. Aleshin quickly maneuvered his car into the infield grass, and practice continued after a brief yellow to remove fluids from the racing surface.
The IndyCar Series will return on Thursday for another practice session from 12-6 p.m. ET.
Aaron Bearden is a Frontstretch alumnus who’s come back home as the site’s Short Track Editor. When he isn’t working with our grassroots writers, he can be found talking about racing on his Morning Warmup newsletter, pestering his wife/dog or convincing himself the Indiana Pacers can win an NBA title.