Saturday Morning Practice in Nashville
Good morning from Nashville Superspeedway! It was an early practice, so I am just now sitting down to write something.
We actually came to the track yesterday afternoon to pick up our credentials and make sure we had a seat in the media center. We always do that if possible. I don’t like surprises on the day when everyone else shows up. We saw a few friends Friday afternoon and had dinner with a friend in nearby Lebanon.
We arrived this morning around 8:30 local time, with practice starting at 9:00. We dropped off our stuff and visited with a few people before we headed out to the pits for practice.
We weren’t very far at all into the practice session before we got our first caution of the weekend. David Malukas lost control of his car in Turn Two, after completing only four laps. He has been transported to a local hospital for further evaluation. He did damage to the SAFER Barrier, so after an extended caution period, IndyCar added an additional ten minutes to the session. Even after crashing out early, Malukas still ended up with the third quickest time of the session. Hopefully he can be cleared to drive before qualifying. His car appeared to have significant damage, especially around the rear of the car. Needless to say, there are a lot questions surrounding the Malukas garage right now.
Kyle Kirkwood ended up leading the session, with a fast lap of 197.097 mph. Points leader Alex Palou was a close second with a speed of 196.966 mph. Malukas was third quick at 196.340 mph. Felix Rosenqvist and Santino Ferrucci rounded out the Top-Five.
Defending race winner and Nashville resident Josef Newgarden had the sixth quickest time, and his Penske teammate, Scott McLaughlin was just behind him with the seventh quickest time. Caio Collet, Nolan Siegel and Scott Dixon finished out the Top-Ten.
Some notable struggles cane from Rinus VeeKay (fifteenth), Will Power (fourteenth), Christian Lundgaard (nineteenth) and Graham Rahal (twenty-fifth).
Qualifying is up next for the NTT IndyCar Series at 2:00 local time (3:00 EDT). Remember that qualifying will be carried on Big FOX. I’ll be back here for a qualifying wrap-up. I may or may not have a final post this evening, after the High Line Practice and Final Practice which will end at 7:00. If there is nothing significant from the Final Practice, we may head out to grab a bite to eat with friends before heading home.
I will close with some of Susan’s photos from this morning’s practice. Please check back later. Hopefully we will know more information on David Malukas before qualifying starts.
George Phillips
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