IndyCar News: End of Test Day 1 Report from IMS

The weather was excellent this afternoon, with bright sunshine and temperatures in the mid-60s, to finish Day 1 of testing for the 2026 Indy 500. Nearly all 33 drivers took to the track, with only Jacob Abel and Katherine Legge sitting out the session.

Conor Daly, driving the No. 23 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet, set the fastest time of the afternoon with a speed of 225.394 mph.

Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves, who is chasing a historic fifth victory, moved into second place with a lap of 225.200 mph.

Takuma Sato, winner of the 2017 and 2020 Indy 500s, was third fastest at 224.800 mph.

Scott Dixon, the 2008 Indy 500 champion who started that race from the pole, placed fourth with a speed of 224.564 mph.

Alexander Rossi, the 2016 winner, rounded out the top five at 224.367 mph.

Autoracing1 also spoke with a smiling Caio Collet, driver of the No. 4 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet. The 24-year-old Brazilian was pleased with his progress on his first day running at the Speedway. He acknowledged that he still has moments where he needs to slow down to avoid damage, showing good maturity. While the team focused on qualifying setup earlier in the day, Collet specifically wanted to run in traffic late in the afternoon, as navigating traffic will be his biggest challenge in next month’s 500-mile race.

The only yellow flag of the day came with 25 minutes remaining in the session when Christian Rasmussen, driving the No. 21 ECR Chevrolet, stopped on the backstretch shortly after pulling out of the pits.

More to follow…..

Lucille Dust reporting live from IMS