INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Tony Kanaan found himself in a familiar place atop the speed chart Friday at the final practice for the Indianapolis 500, while Honda appeared to find a little more speed on Carb Day.
Kanaan paced the field with a lap of 227.791 mph, underscoring the might that Chevrolet has shown all month. But he was followed by three Honda-powered cars driven by Scott Dixon, Marco Andretti and Sebastien Bourdais, a sign of just how wide open Sundays race figures to be.
Ive started first. Ive started last. So Ive been at both ends, said Kanaan, who will start 10th for A.J. Foyt Racing. If it goes right we have a pretty good chance. I think we can get there.
Danica Patrick was the eighth-quickest in the final practice session of her racing career. Patrick posted her lap of 223.653 early in the hour-long session, before an electrical issue sent her to the garage. Her team from Ed Carpenter Racing was elbows-deep in the engine bay but managed to correct the problem, sending her back onto the track for the final six minutes of practice.
That was enough time to make sure the car was ready and to practice a full pit stop.
These are the things youre glad for because had it been Sunday, wed have been done for good, Patrick said. The car was good when I first took off, turned really well, felt good. Made a little change as we were about to go out for the second time and it made it a little worse.
Much like Kanaan, whose engineers also toyed with his car through practice, Patrick was planning to go back to her original setup when she starts from the inside of the third row Sunday.
The cars seem to be finicky for balance, Patrick said of the redesigned IndyCar chassis, but Im just happy to know it was good when we first took off.
Carpenter, who won the pole, was 14th quickest but steered clear of trouble, and he said later not to put too much stock into lap times.
