Speeds Drop as Temps Move Upward Around the Speedway
by Allan Brewer
allan@indyproracer.com
The final Firestone Indy Lights practice ahead of Thursday afternoon qualifying at the Brickyard found Panther's Dillon Battistini at the head of the field.
Battistini's lap of 190.009 mph edged aside RLR Andersen's Andrew Prendeville's 189.370 mph effort.
"So far so good," Dillon said afterwards of his first journey around the Speedway on a pre-race card ahead of actual competition.
"The car was good straight out of the box, so we just fine tuned it a bit," he added.
"It's really quick. I hope I can get in a couple of good laps and we'll see what happens. It seems as though the pole's there for the taking."
Sam Schmidt Motorsports' James Davison turned the third-quickest lap at 189.125 mph.
Wade Cunningham in the No. 33 Brian Stewart car was fourth-fast, and J R Hildebrand fifth.
Mark Olson had a brush with the wall, white-walling the tires in Turn 4; but otherwise the Indy Lights machines escaped damage over the morning run-in at speed.
A total of 395 laps were made during the 45-minute session.
Temperatures moved into the high sixties, headed higher, in the period which began at 11 AM EDT. As a result the speeds fell slightly over the big 2.5 mile oval.
"There's less downforce as the temperature rises," said Alliance Motorsports' Chris Festa. "The morning was cooler, so the engines had more power then, too."
There is a one hour and thirty minute break before the next on-track activity: qualifying for the Firestone Freedom 100.
Festa will lead, setting off in the No. 24 car on a two-lap average speed attempt to join the 27-car field.
Firestone Indy Lights Freedom 100 Practice Session Two Results
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