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IndyCar News: Results of Day 1 for Unser Open Test

Lucille Dust

Team Penske managed to take the top two positions on the timing chart after a four hour Unser Open Test session to allow all the NTT INDYCAR Series team to gain some information on Phoenix Raceway before the March 7th race.

David Malukas, driver of the No 12 Verizon entry for Team Penske, set a fast lap of 20.8569s, beating his teammate Josef Newgarden, whose lap of 20.9277s was 0.0708s slower than Malukas’.

Andretti Global’s Will Power was third with a lap of 20.9661s.

Power’s teammate, Kyle Kirkwood was fourth with a lap of 21.0007s.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou was fifth fastest with a lap of 21.0088s.

Scott Dixon

Photo courtesy of Penske Entertainment: Joe Skibinski

The Firestone tires were tested here last month with Scott Dixon and Alexander Rossi.  It has been eight years since the Series has raced here so the tire compounds had to be matched to the heavier car and the new circuit.

The right front tire is about an inch wider than the left front tire making it better suited to take more of the load when running.  And the test was scheduled after NASCAR tested on the track, simulating the  rubber would be put down before the IndyCar race in March.

Autoracing1 spoke with a Chip Ganassi Racing engineer after the halfway mark of the day.  Dixon had not made his way to the top ten on the timing chart and one would have thought that the team had an edge after the test.

The team personnel explained that the tires were not exactly the same as what was tested and so the setup needed a few tweaks before they could see an improvement in the time.  Dixon was ninth on the timing chart at the end of the session.

 

Caio Collet

Photo Courtesy of Penske Entertainment/Chris Owens

The only incident today happened at 4:03 pm MT, when rookie Caio Collet made slight contact in Turn 4 with his No 4 AJ Foyt Racing entry.  The driver was seen and release by the IndyCar Medical team.

Day 2 testing will start at 9:30 am – Noon and 1:30 -4:30 pm.  The test is open to the public.

Day 1 Open Test Results

Pos No Name Time Behind Gap Laps Speed Engine Team
1 12 David Malukas 20.8569 0.000s 0.000s 68 172.605 Chevy Team Penske
2 2 Josef Newgarden 20.9277 0.0708 0.0708 82 172.021 Chevy Team Penske
3 26 Will Power 20.9661 0.1092 0.0384 89 171.706 Honda Andretti Global
4 27 Kyle Kirkwood 21.0007 0.1438 0.0346 68 171.423 Honda Andretti Global
5 10 Alex Palou 21.0088 0.1519 0.0081 55 171.357 Honda Chip Ganassi Racing
6 66 Marcus Armstrong 21.0626 0.2057 0.0538 56 170.919 Honda Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb‑Agajanian
7 60 Felix Rosenqvist 21.1157 0.2588 0.0531 98 170.489 Honda Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb‑Agajanian
8 3 Scott McLaughlin 21.1227 0.2658 0.0070 77 170.433 Chevy Team Penske
9 9 Scott Dixon 21.1539 0.2970 0.0312 67 170.181 Honda Chip Ganassi Racing
10 20 Alexander Rossi 21.1876 0.3307 0.0337 118 169.911 Chevy Ed Carpenter Racing
11 15 Graham Rahal 21.1914 0.3345 0.0038 78 169.880 Honda Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
12 28 Marcus Ericsson 21.1958 0.3389 0.0044 83 169.845 Honda Andretti Global
13 76 Rinus VeeKay 21.2086 0.3517 0.0128 108 169.742 Chevy Juncos Racing
14 21 Christian Rasmussen 21.2380 0.3811 0.0294 128 169.507 Chevy Ed Carpenter Racing
15 45 Louis Foster 21.2449 0.3880 0.0069 93 169.452 Honda Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
16 5 Pato O’Ward 21.2509 0.3940 0.0060 98 169.405 Chevy Arrow McLaren
17 19 Dennis Hauger 21.2692 0.4123 0.0183 55 169.259 Honda Dale Coyne Racing
18 6 Nolan Siegel 21.3074 0.4505 0.0565 104 168.955 Chevy Arrow McLaren
19 77 Sting Ray Robb 21.3550 0.4981 0.0476 106 168.579 Chevy Juncos Racing
20 7 Christian Lundgaard 21.4307 0.5738 0.0219 78 167.983 Chevy Arrow McLaren
21 8 Kyffin Simpson 21.4985 0.6416 0.0678 97 167.454 Honda Chip Ganassi Racing
22 14 Santino Ferrucci 21.7895 0.8568 0.0023 43 165.217 Chevy A.J. Foyt Enterprises
23 47 Mick Schumacher 21.9504 1.0935 0.0538 109 164.006 Honda Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
24 18 Romain Grosjean 22.0550 1.1981 0.1046 40 163.228 Honda Dale Coyne Racing
25 4 Caio Collet 22.1574 1.2297 0.0191 51 162.474 Chevy A.J. Foyt Enterprises

Lucille Dust reporting live from Phoenix