Takuma Sato jumps up to the top of the speed charts in the closing minutes of the second practice for the 106th Indianapolis 500.
The two-time Indy 500 winner ran 64 laps in the three-hour session for all cars laying down the fastest lap of 228.939 mph with his No. 51 Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing Honda around the 2.5-mile superspeedway.
Directly behind Sato was Chip Ganassi Racing in 2-3-4 led by Scott Dixon, who was out front for the majority of the session until being nipped as his top speed of 227.768 mph was exceeded. Dixon was quickest in the morning two-hour practice for oval veterans.
Jimmie Johnson, making his month of May debut, was third after the session sitting 0.2101s off the fastest time with a speed at 227.722 mph. Marcus Ericsson was fourth clocking a quickest lap at 227.094 mph and 0.3193s slower than Sato.
Rinus VeeKay represented Ed Carpenter Racing by rounding out the top five. Alex Palou, separated from his CGR teammates, was sixth in the session.
Fastest rookie and Sato’s teammate, David Malukas put the No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports Honda in seventh. Josef Newgarden, Tony Kanaan and Marco Andretti filled rest of the top 10.
Prior to the final three-hours of the day, the rookie orientation and refresher programs were set for two-hours. The No. 25 DragonSpeed / Cusick Motorsports Chevrolet of Stefan Wilson completed the refresher course with a track only to himself.
The Brit completed 49 laps and was able to give the team a shake down of the car. In the second part of the session, Wilson went back out late and put another 10 laps down, averaging a best lap at 222.232 mph.
There were three cautions during the practice, two for debris and one for a fox running in between the middle of Turns 3 and 4.
