After just 23 minutes of running in the morning, the IndyCar Series has cancelled the first day of Indianapolis 500 practice due to persistent rain in the area. Storms closed in on the Speedway at around 10 a.m. this morning, and rendered the track unusable for the remaining practice time throughout the day.
With qualifying just three days away, some drivers think a longer session on Saturday morning may be needed:
“They need to do something. You gotta change chassis set up a little bit because of the extra speed and stuff like that. But I’ve not heard of any talk [of an longer practice session], at least at this stage with how much rain is forecasted for this week.
– Graham Rahal on the potential for an additional or lengthened practice session before qualifying on Saturday.
The cancellation marks the second consecutive year that the opening day of 500 practice has been called off, as 2023 saw minimal running on day one as well. This could affect some of the rookie driver’s in this year’s field, like Meyer Shank Racing’s Tom Blomqvist.
“To be honest, I’m glad I managed to get out a few laps before that rain came in.” said Blomqvist. “To this day, I actually haven’t had any running in traffic.”
In the limited running time this morning, no driver ran more than 13 laps. Scott Dixon posted the fastest lap at just over 229 miles per hour, with 2020 polesitter Marco Andretti and two-time 500 winner Takuma Sato second and third-fastest after 23 minutes. Dixon was the only driver for Chip Ganassi Racing to turn laps in the morning.
Rain is forecasted on multiple days for the remainder of the week. Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday all have showers in the forecast, which could affect IndyCar’s on-track schedule over the next five days.
To makeup for the lost time, practice will start at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow, with no break until the scheduled end at 6:00 p.m.
