Auto racing roundup: Power enjoys power boost at Indy 500 practice

Will Power and Josef Newgarden finally got Chevrolet to the top of the speed chart Friday.

Now they’ll have to do it all over again in qualifying – at least twice.

The Australian driver for Team Penske took advantage of a power boost by producing the fastest lap all week in Indianapolis 500 practice, going 232.672 mph, while Newgarden finished second at 232.344.

“I’m really impressed with the speeds,” said James Hinchcliffe, the top Honda driver at 231.972. “I really didn’t think we’d hit those numbers.”

The numbers also can be deceptive.

Power acknowledged his impressive lap came with a tow, something he won’t benefit from when each of the 33 drivers make their first four-lap qualifying runs individually Saturday.

The nine fastest drivers advance to Sunday’s pole shootout while the remaining 24 will battle for starting position in their own group Sunday.

Power understands what it will take to start on the inside of Row 1 on the traditional three-car, 11-row grid. He’s qualified on the front row in three of the past six 500s and in the second row the other three times..

Newgarden also has some experience in the shootout. The young American, who drives for Ed Carpenter Racing, has started in the top nine each of the past two years at Indy.

Yet the most intriguing question heading into qualifying might is this: Can the Honda drivers regain the edge they appeared to have before series officials added almost 30 horsepower to the cars Friday?

“I think it’s good and fast,” Power said of his car. “I think it’s going to be really tight for the pole and I think I’m going to be right there.”

Honda drivers posted the best speeds each of the first three days of practice, and they took nine of the top 11 spots Friday, too.

Hinchcliffe, a Canadian driver with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports led the contingent at just a tick under 232.

Andretti Autosport has been the strongest team all week and each of its five drivers finished in the top 10 on the final full day of practice. Carlos Munoz led the Andretti pack. He was fourth at 231.952 while American Marco Andretti finished fifth at 231.824.

“The car feels great, it’s really good for sure,” Munoz said. “We have still some margin to go for tomorrow, like I think everyone does. We’ll see what we go.”

Rain disrupts NASCAR

Rain washed out all track activity Friday at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, which will now try to cram it’s All-Star weekend into one day.

The steady showers forced NASCAR to call off the scheduled Sprint Showdown, a race that will send five drivers not already qualified for the All-Star race, into the main event. The Truck Series race also was postponed.

Both events were rescheduled for early Saturday, with the $1 million All-Star Race still scheduled to go off in the evening. NASCAR set the showdown field by points.

The lack of track time Friday could be problematic for many race teams. NASCAR only announced the format for the all-star race on May 6, and the rules were not given to teams until earlier this week.