Indy 500: Veteran one-off Howard holds P1 at halfway point on Day 4
Jay Howard, who is due to start his first Indianapolis 500 in six years, swiftly moved to the top of the timesheets in the first half of opening practice to clock a 226.744mph lap, which has so far remained unbeaten.
Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images
Howard, the 2006 Indy Lights champion, is campaigning a third Schmidt Peterson Motorsports-Honda this month, making his first IndyCar start since the cancelled Las Vegas race in 2011 that killed Dan Wheldon.
The Briton got a hefty tow on his ninth lap, and has completed a total of 51 laps so far, although his speed without a tow is only 17th fastest.
The absolute opposite has been achieved by Ed Carpenter, the only fulltime team owner/driver in the field, as he sits atop the no-tow speedcharts on 224.051mph but that is also his best speed overall, leaving him 17th.
2014 Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay and four-time top-three finisher Marco Andretti led the Andretti Autosport-Honda charge in second and third, with Andretti also holding P2 on the no-tow speed charts.
Team Penske-Chevrolet’s Josef Newgarden crashed hard this morning but his top speed of 225.455mph has kept him fourth, ahead of Sage Karam (Dreyer & Reinbold Racing-Chevy) and Charlie Kimball in the fastest Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda.
Fernando Alonso has completed 58 laps so far today, with plenty of running in traffic, and getting a good draft has resulted in a commendable P7 for now at an average speed of 225.128mph. He did not record any times without the aid of a tow.
Sebastien Bourdais of Dale Coyne Racing-Honda is eighth, with Mikhail Aleshin’s Schmidt Peterson Motorsports entry, and Penske’s Will Power completing the Top 10.
Hardest-working driver is Helio Castroneves, the three-time Indy 500 winner racking up 99 laps and sitting 13th.
Buddy Lazier's self-entered car has still not appeared on track but the other 32 entrants have all racked up miles, and even the slowest - currently Zach Veach in the third AJ Foyt Racing-Chevrolet - has hit 219mph today.
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