NOLA IndyCar: Tony Kanaan leads first practice for Ganassi

Kanaan occupied first position for most of the session, but he confirmed the place by improving his time late on to finish up with a 1m18.8753s.

The Ganassi team appeared set for a one-two until Will Power popped up into second with his final flying lap, bumping Scott Dixon back to third ahead of Sebastien Bourdais.

Chevy's dominance from St Petersburg carried over into the beginning of the NOLA weekend, with its cars claiming the seven fastest times.

Schmidt's James Hinchcliffe was the quickest of the Honda-powered drivers in eighth.

Aside from quick Chevys, the session's other defining theme was red flags. The 90 minutes of allocated running time were interrupted six times by stoppages, most of which were caused by harmless spins.

Of those, three came courtesy of the Dale Coyne Racing stable, with rookie Francesco Dracone looping his car twice in 15 minutes (very nearly collecting Kanaan along the way on one occasion), and Carlos Huertas following suit a short time later.

The only major mechanical problem was reserved for Jack Hawksworth, who triggered the first red just three minutes into the session when his Foyt car stopped with a fuel pressure issue.

He lost several minutes in the pits undergoing repairs, but was later able to rejoin.

PRACTICE ONE TIMES: