Ganassi Leads Charge During Monday Indy 500 Practice

The two-hour final practice before Carb Day saw Chip Ganassi Racing-Hondas of Alex Palou, Scott Dixon and Jimmie Johnson clock fastest times, while Dalton Kellett suffered the first shunt of the month.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s ownership of the speed charts continued on Monday during the two-hour practice session held in cool, windy, and overcast conditions. Second-place Indy 500 starter Alex Palou led the day at a peak speed of 229.441mph in the No. 10 CGR Honda ahead of teammate and Sunday’s polesitter Scott Dixon, who managed a 229.000 in the No. 9 Honda. Late in the session, CGR’s Jimmie Johnson shot to third to give Ganassi a 1-2-3 with the No. 48 Honda at 228.467mph.

“We were just getting everything ready for race trim,” Palou said. “The car is even stronger than qualifying. We had a really good day as well.”

Hondas were also found in fourth with Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing’s Takuma Sato in the No. 51 entry at 228.381mph and CGR’s Marcus Ericsson in fifth with the No. 8 car at 228.017mph.

First among the Chevys was Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden in sixth with a 226.962mph in the No. 2 Bowtie. Third-place qualifier Rinus VeeKay was 25th on the day and first on the no-tow report, which could be important if he’s able to spend a lot of time in clean air during the race.

Elsewhere, the Cusick Motorsports/DragonSpeed entry driven by Stefan Wilson turned its first laps since Saturday morning. The No. 25 Chevy, which starts 33rd and last due to its lack of a qualifying run, posted the 28th-fastest lap at 224.304, directly behind JR Hildebrand, the fastest of the A.J. Foyt Racing team which leased the car to Cusick/DragonSpeed.

The first and only crash so far this month came courtesy of Foyt’s Dalton Kellett, who was uninjured in the impact suffered by his No. 4 Chevy.

UP NEXT: Friday, Carb Day, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. ET.