Ganassi duo fastest on blustery day at Indy
Scott Dixon recorded the fastest lap of the day, 40.9119 seconds, 219.985 mph, driving his back-up car. His teammate, IndyCar Series points leader Dan Wheldon, was second fastest with a lap of 219.773 mph, also in a back-up car.
A.J. Foyt Racing's Darren Manning was third, while Vision Racing's Ed Carpenter and Davey Hamilton rounded out the top five.
None of the five Andretti Green Racing cars practiced while Team Penske's Helio Castroneves, the pole sitter for the race, and Sam Hornish Jr. combined for only 11 laps in their back-up cars as their teams spent the day practicing pit stops.
Among drivers who have not yet qualified for the 33-car field, Stephan Gregoire was the fastest at 217.851 mph, but the Frenchman later crashed into the outside retaining wall exiting Turn 1.
Gregoire was transported to Methodist Hospital where he was diagnosed with an endplate fracture of the third thoracic vertebrae. He will be held overnight and is expected to be released on May 18. His driving status will be evaluated after his release from the hospital.
Al Unser Jr. and Roger Yasukawa also turned laps faster than 217 mph.
John Andretti, cousin of Michael Andretti, turned his first laps of the month in the No. 33 Camping World Panther entry. His best lap was 216.737 mph.
TOP SPEEDS
1. (9T) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 219.985
2. (10T) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 219.773
3. (14) Darren Manning, Dallara-Honda, 219.116
4. (2) Tomas Scheckter, Dallara-Honda, 218.230
5. (20) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 217.995
6. (02) Davey Hamilton, Dallara-Honda, 217.975
7. (22) A.J. Foyt IV, Dallara-Honda, 217.893
8. (77) Stephan Gregoire, Panoz-Honda, 217.851
9. (8T) Scott Sharp, Dallara-Honda, 217.680
10. (50) Al Unser Jr., Dallara-Honda, 217.590
11. (17T) Jeff Simmons, Dallara-Honda, 217.590
12. (24) Roger Yasukawa, Dallara-Honda, 217.230
13. (55) Kosuke Matsuura, Dallara-Honda, 217.210
14. (33) John Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 216.737
15. (31) Phil Giebler, Panoz-Honda, 216.441
16. (21) Jaques Lazier, Panoz-Honda, 216.309
17. (99) Buddy Lazier, Dallara-Honda, 216.181
18. (4) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 216.081
19. (25) Marty Roth, Dallara-Honda, 215.499
20. (23) Milka Duno, Dallara-Honda, 213.460
21. (40) P.J. Jones, Dallara-Honda, 212.541
22. (6T) Sam Hornish Jr., Dallara-Honda, 106.873
23. (3T) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 99.894
FASTEST NON-QUALIFIED DRIVERS:
Pos. Car Name C/E/T Speed
1 77 Stephan Gregoire P/H/F 217.851 mph
2 50 Al Unser Jr. D/H/F 217.590 mph
3 24 Roger Yasukawa D/H/F 217.230 mph
4 33 John Andretti D/H/F 216.737 mph
5 31 Phil Giebler P/H/F 216.441 mph
6 21 Jaques Lazier P/H/F 216.309 mph
7 25 Marty Roth D/H/F 215.499 mph
8 23 Milka Duno D/H/F 213.460 mph
9 40 PJ Jones D/H/F 212.541 mph