Ryan Hunter-Reay stole the spotlight from the championship contenders Friday as he led the way in first practice. Hunter-Reay turned a 110.681 mph (01:17.5742) lap around the Sonoma Raceway to put his No. 28 on top of the board. Scott Dixon finished second in the session with a 110.322 mph lap making him the fastest of the four championship contenders.
Will Power, part of the Team Penske championship standings tie, put his No. 12 in third on the speed charts followed by Simon Pagenaud and Marco Andretti.
Alexander Rossi finished the practice session in eighth while the fourth and final championship contender Josef Newgarden failed to turn a lap during the session due to fuel pressure issues. The driver of the No. 1 is also fighting a case of food poisoning.
Newgarden rebounded from fuel pressure issues in the first session to top the second session of the day. Newgarden turned a 110.338 mph (1:17.815) lap to put his No. 1 Verizon Chevrolet on the top of the speed charts. Dixon was right behind the No. 1 with a lap that was 0.0836-seconds off of the top.
The 2018 Indy Lights Champion Patricio O’Ward, who is making his IndyCar Series debut this weekend, finished the session in third. Power and James Hinchcliffe rounded out the top five in speeds.
Rossi gained a little speed from what he missed in the first session, finishing sixth. Rossi was the worst of the championship contenders during the session.
Qualifying for the IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma will kick off at 6 p.m. ET Saturday while the race itself is slated to go green at 6:30 p.m. ET Sunday (September 14th).
Day 1 Combined Practice Results
.@scottdixon9 finds a little dirt ? Watch Practice 2 now:
? NBCSN (https://t.co/xPjuPblb4s)
? https://t.co/SAdeSxADLx
? Verizon INDYCAR Mobile
? Advance Auto IndyCar Radio Network#INDYCAR // #SonomaGP pic.twitter.com/aJanslLqxP— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) September 14, 2018
Long day… feeling a little under the weather and we missed practice 1 with an fueling issue. @team_penske is the absolute best… sorted out the issue and we took P1 in Practice 2.
I’m ready to get some rest and come back tomorrow to make a run at the @verizon P1 award. pic.twitter.com/3y2jUAiK1x
— Josef Newgarden (@josefnewgarden) September 15, 2018
Double the points, but just one opportunity.
? Hear from Will about his outlook on the @IndyCar Championship @RaceSonoma.#INDYCAR #SonomaGP @Team_Penske pic.twitter.com/9n743eOOEc
— Will Power (@12WillPower) September 14, 2018
Let’s gooooo. #sonomaGP #indycar pic.twitter.com/oIP2QbI6XS
— Alexander Rossi (@AlexanderRossi) September 14, 2018
About the author
His favorite tracks on the circuit include Barber Motorsports Park, Iowa Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville, and Bristol Motor Speedway.
During the season, Christian also spends time as a photographer with multiple other outlets shooting Monster Energy AMA Supercross, Minor League & Major League Baseball, and NCAA Football.
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