Will Power fastest in Mid-Ohio IndyCar practice

The Australian set the pace with a best lap of 1m06.8632, putting him 0.1581 seconds clear of closest rival Scott Dixon. Michael Andretti, Simon Pagenaud and Graham Rahal rounded out the top five.

Most teams arrived armed with information from last week's test, although Friday's warmer conditions and lower grip levels left several drivers feeling that their times were unrepresentative of their potential. Power is one of those who expects the track to evolve, but he said that getting a strong start to the weekend was important.

"The weather is going to change a lot over the next day or so," he said. "It was good to get a clean, fast lap and get confidence going into tomorrow."

The session was interrupted by a few cautions, including Alex Tagliani hitting the barriers at Turn 9 and Simona de Silvestro stopping on the track, but the latter was still encouraged by her first taste of the updated Lotus engine.

"We didn't test here when it was really grippy, so we're just taking it step by step," said the Swiss, who finished up 24th. "I think we've improved quite a bit. It was a good session."

Friday also marked the return of Giorgio Pantano, who has been subbed in to replace the injured Charlie Kimball at Ganassi.

"I have a good feeling about today," the single-seater veteran said. "I think in tomorrow's practice I'll be able to put myself more in the front."

Pos  Driver               Team/Car                   Time        Gap
 1.  Will Power           Penske Dallara-Chevy       1m06.8632s
 2.  Scott Dixon          Ganassi Dallara-Honda      1m07.0213s  + 0.1581s
 3.  Marco Andretti       Andretti Dallara-Chevy     1m07.0644s  + 0.2012s
 4.  Simon Pagenaud       Schmidt Dallara-Honda      1m07.1063s  + 0.2431s
 5.  Graham Rahal         Ganassi Dallara-Honda      1m07.1088s  + 0.2456s
 6.  James Jakes          Coyne Dallara-Honda        1m07.2401s  + 0.3769s
 7.  Josef Newgarden      Panther Dallara-Honda      1m07.3133s  + 0.4501s
 8.  Alex Tagliani        Herta Dallara-Honda        1m07.3463s  + 0.4831s
 9.  Dario Franchitti     Ganassi Dallara-Honda      1m07.3574s  + 0.4942s
10.  Mike Conway          Foyt Dallara-Honda         1m07.3899s  + 0.5267s
11.  Sebastien Bourdais   Dragon Dallara-Chevy       1m07.4599s  + 0.5967s
12.  Oriol Servia         Panther/DRR Dallara-Chevy  1m07.5207s  + 0.6575s
13.  JR Hildebrand        Panther Dallara-Chevy      1m07.5361s  + 0.6729s
14.  Helio Castroneves    Penske Dallara-Chevy       1m07.5518s  + 0.6886s
15.  Ryan Briscoe         Penske Dallara-Chevy       1m07.5909s  + 0.7277s
16.  Ryan Hunter-Reay     Andretti Dallara-Chevy     1m07.6638s  + 0.8006s
17.  James Hinchcliffe    Andretti Dallara-Chevy     1m07.6766s  + 0.8134s
18.  Justin Wilson        Coyne Dallara-Honda        1m07.7670s  + 0.9038s
19.  Takuma Sato          Rahal Dallara-Honda        1m07.7677s  + 0.9045s
20.  Rubens Barrichello   KV Dallara-Chevy           1m07.8628s  + 0.9996s
21.  EJ Viso              KV Dallara-Chevy           1m07.9241s  + 1.0609s
22.  Tony Kanaan          KV Dallara-Chevy           1m07.9520s  + 1.0888s
23.  Giorgio Pantano      Ganassi Dallara-Honda      1m08.0753s  + 1.2121s
24.  Simona de Silvestro  HVM Dallara-Lotus          1m08.4263s  + 1.5631s
25.  Ed Carpenter         Carpenter Dallara-Chevy    1m08.9171s  + 2.0539s