Pocono IndyCar: Tony Kanaan sets practice pace
Tony Kanaan opened this weekend's IndyCar round at Pocono by setting the pace in the opening practice session
Kanaan first moved into P1 in the opening minutes, and then reclaimed the spot from Marco Andretti with just over five minutes left on the clock. His 221.344mph lap - just a shade slower than the track record set by Andretti last year - stood until the end.
The driver who came closest to toppling the Brazilian was Ryan Hunter-Reay, who comes into the weekend looking to remain in contention for the Triple Crown by adding a victory on the 2.5 mile tri-oval to his Indy 500 win in May.
His 220.882mph effort, set on his final lap, was not enough to put him into P1, but it did allow him to leapfrog Andretti, who finished up third fastest.
James Hinchcliffe and Takuma Sato rounded out the top five, the latter moving up at the last moment to clear the time set Juan Pablo Montoya.
Helio Castroneves, who was the benchmark during the first few minutes, ended the morning down in 14th.
A largely uneventful session was interrupted by just two brief spells under caution, both of which were for track inspections.
Pos Driver Team/Engine Time Speed 1. Tony Kanaan Ganassi/Chevy 40.6607s 221.344mph 2. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti/Honda 40.7457s 220.882mph 3. Marco Andretti Andretti/Honda 40.8219s 220.470mph 4. James Hinchcliffe Andretti/Honda 40.8384s 220.381mph 5. Takuma Sato Foyt/Honda 40.8387s 220.379mph 6. Juan Pablo Montoya Penske/Chevy 40.8870s 220.119mph 7. Simon Pagenaud Schmidt/Honda 40.9172s 219.956mph 8. Mikhail Aleshin Schmidt/Honda 41.0104s 219.457mph 9. Will Power Penske/Chevy 41.0126s 219.445mph 10. Carlos Munoz Andretti/Honda 41.0192s 219.409mph 11. Scott Dixon Ganassi/Chevy 41.0390s 219.304mph 12. Ed Carpenter Carpenter/Chevy 41.1189s 218.877mph 13. Josef Newgarden Fisher/Honda 41.1233s 218.854mph 14. Helio Castroneves Penske/Chevy 41.1266s 218.836mph 15. Charlie Kimball Ganassi/Chevy 41.1765s 218.571mph 16. Jack Hawksworth Herta/Honda 41.2882s 217.980mph 17. Sebastien Bourdais KV/Chevy 41.2964s 217.937mph 18. Justin Wilson Coyne/Honda 41.4554s 217.101mph 19. Ryan Briscoe Ganassi/Chevy 41.4837s 216.953mph 20. Graham Rahal Rahal/Honda 41.5017s 216.859mph 21. Sebastian Saavedra KV/Chevy 41.7244s 215.701mph 22. Carlos Huertas Coyne/Honda 42.0664s 213.947mph
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