Josef Newgarden admitted that he and his Ed Carpenter Racing team-mates tried to use Fast Friday to find the optimum set-up for qualifying at the Indianapolis 500, and the young American was rewarded with the second fast time of the day.
Newgarden set a best time of 38.7356s around the iconic 2.5-mile oval on Friday to become the second driver after Team Penske‘s Will Power to break into the 232mph range, and now turns his attention to qualifying.
The American is hoping Saturday’s qualifying session will see him and his team-mates Ed Carpenter and JR Hildebrand make it into the top nine shootout for pole position at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“It was a good day,” reflected Newgarden. “It was hectic with a little bit of sprinkling, so we were not sure if we were going to get the full day in, but luckily we did.
“We definitely wanted to step through our trim steps. We definitely made progress with all three cars.
“We got a quick Preferred Freezer car, so hopefully all three of us are going to be fast tomorrow inside the top nine. We’ll do a little bit more work tonight and see where we’re at.”
