Castroneves fastest as Indy practice begins

Tony Kanaan wasn't the fastest driver during Opening Day of preparations for the 2010 Indianapolis 500, but he was one of the busiest.

The 2004 IZOD IndyCar Series champion shook down all five Andretti Autosport cars entered in the Indianapolis 500 before regular drivers Marco Andretti, John Andretti, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Danica Patrick took hold of their cars.

Defending race winner Helio Castroneves posted the fastest lap of the day of 39.7170 seconds (226.603 mph) on the 2.5-mile oval. Twenty-seven driver/car combinations recorded 451 incident-free laps before yielding to rookies and drivers undertaking a refresher course. None of the seven rookies attempting to qualify for the race completed all four phases of the Rookie Orientation Program, though Simona De Silvestro, Ana Beatriz and Takuma Sato successfully completed two of the four phases.

Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Dario Franchitti (226.535 mph) and Scott Dixon (226.237) – who won the 2007 and 2008 Indy 500s, respectively – were next on the list. Dan Wheldon, runner-up to Castroneves in the 500 Mile Race last year, was fourth (225.609) in the No. 4 National Guard Panther Racing car.

Ed Carpenter, competing in an IZOD IndyCar Series event for the first time since the '09 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, was seventh quick (224.592 mph) in the No. 20 Panther/Vision Fuzzy's Vodka entry for Panther Racing.

Results

1. (3T) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 39.7170 (226.603)
2. (10T) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 39.7290 (226.535)
3. (9T) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 39.7813 (226.237)
4. (4) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 39.8921 (225.609)
5. (43) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 40.0369 (224.793)
6. (11) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 40.0560 (224.685)
7. (20) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 40.0726 (224.592)
8. (26) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 40.0952 (224.466)
9. (6T) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 40.1098 (224.384)
10. (43) John Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 40.1206 (224.324)
11. (12T) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 40.1251 (224.299)
12. (32) Mario Moraes, Dallara-Honda, 40.1906 (223.933)
13. (06T) Hideki Mutoh, Dallara-Honda, 40.1959 (223.903)
14. (7) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 40.2412 (223.651)
15. (26) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 40.2655 (223.516)
16. (7) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 40.3212 (223.208)
17. (14) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 40.3248 (223.188)
18. (2) Raphael Matos, Dallara-Honda, 40.3844 (222.858)
19. (8) EJ Viso, Dallara-Honda, 40.4196 (222.664)
20. (67) Sarah Fisher, Dallara-Honda, 40.4703 (222.385)
21. (18) Milka Duno, Dallara-Honda, 40.5314 (222.050)
22. (37) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 40.5942 (221.707)
23. (23) Tomas Scheckter, Dallara-Honda, 40.6107 (221.616)
24. (24) Mike Conway, Dallara-Honda, 40.6317 (221.502)
25. (19) Alex Lloyd, Dallara-Honda, 40.6612 (221.341)
26. (37) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 40.6817 (221.230)
27. (22) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 40.7143 (221.053)
28. (30) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 40.9197 (219.943)
29. (99) Townsend Bell, Dallara-Honda, 40.9791 (219.624)
30. (15) Paul Tracy, Dallara-Honda, 40.9996 (219.514)
31. (66) Jay Howard, Dallara-Honda, 41.8529 (215.039)
32. (25) Ana Beatriz, Dallara-Honda, 42.0950 (213.802)
33. (78T) Simona de Silvestro, Dallara-Honda, 42.0961 (213.797)
34. (5) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 42.6546 (210.997)
35. (29) Sebastian Saavedra, Dallara-Honda, 42.6684 (210.929)
36. (34) Mario Romancini, Dallara-Honda, 48.5300 (185.452)
37. (36) Bertrand Baguette, Dallara-Honda, 01:06.2179 (135.915)
38. (41) AJ Foyt IV, Dallara-Honda, 01:23.3060 (108.035)

Rookie Results