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Dixon fastest on day two of Indy 500 practice as Alonso crashes

Chip Ganassi racer Scott Dixon topped the speed charts on the second day of Indy 500 practice, while double Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso became the first driver to crash

Five-time IndyCar champion Dixon clocked a 226.102mph lap in the final hour of the day's running, around 0.4mph ahead of Takuma Sato's top time from the morning, while Marco Andretti slotted his Andretti Herta Autosport machine into third to make it a Honda 1-2-3.

Conor Daly again looked strong for Ed Carpenter Racing, landing P4 - the last of the cars under the 40s barrier and the top Chevrolet runner - while fastest rookie was Alex Palou's Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh entry in fifth.

Colton Herta took sixth - and second fastest speed set without the aid of a tow, beaten only by Jack Harvey in the Meyer Shank Racing-Honda, which broke into the 222mph zone.

PLUS: Why 2020 offers a second-generation racer his best Indy 500 shot

The earlier speed of Charlie Kimball (A.J. Foyt Racing-Chevrolet) kept him seventh, as improvements became scarce as temperatures climbed and speeds dropped.

But one of the major talking points was Alonso's shunt in the final hour.

He was trailing a crocodile of cars with barely 45 minutes left to run in the 6hr30min day two practice, when he went over the concrete strip at the apex of Turn 4.

The #66 Arrow McLaren SP-Chevrolet became unsettled and slid high and hard into the outside wall before bouncing off, spinning through 180 degrees and sliding backwards down pitlane.

Alonso, who is due to make his second start in the Indy 500 next week, was checked and cleared by medical staff.

Alonso tweeted: "126 laps today and good day in general, until last hour that I made a mistake and touch the wall."

Despite the shunt, he was still fastest Arrow McLaren SP driver, although he was only a couple of spots ahead of rookie Oliver Askew.

The pair were separated by another Coyne car, the 'extra' entry - in partnership with Rick Ware Racing/Byrd/Belardi - driven by James Davison.

Team Penske-Chevrolet's drivers were only 16th, 18th, 23rd and 27th.

Felix Rosenqvist (Ganassi) and Dalton Kellett (Foyt) turned the most laps of the day at 141 each.

The cars' twin BorgWarner turbos will now be increased from 1.3-bar to 1.5-bar for Friday's practice session, which will yield 80-90 extra horsepower.

This is in preparation for qualifying weekend, in which the cars run with this increased level of power and are trimmed out aerodynamically for the four-lap runs that set the grid.

Day 2 practice result

Pos Driver Team Car Gap
1 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Honda 39.8050s
2 Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan Dallara/Honda 0.0722s
3 Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Dallara/Honda 0.1508s
4 Conor Daly Ed Carpenter Racing Dallara/Chevrolet 0.1762s
5 Alex Palou Dale Coyne Racing Dallara/Honda 0.2001s
6 Colton Herta Andretti Harding Dallara/Honda 0.2576s
7 Charlie Kimball A.J. Foyt Enterprises Dallara/Chevrolet 0.2640s
8 Fernando Alonso Arrow McLaren SP Dallara/Chevrolet 0.3085s
9 James Davison Dale Coyne Racing Dallara/Honda 0.3172s
10 Oliver Askew Arrow McLaren SP Dallara/Chevrolet 0.3451s
11 Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Dallara/Honda 0.3459s
12 Rinus Van Kalmthout Ed Carpenter Racing Dallara/Chevrolet 0.3613s
13 Jack Harvey Meyer Shank Racing Dallara/Honda 0.4044s
14 Tony Kanaan A.J. Foyt Enterprises Dallara/Chevrolet 0.4318s
15 Zach Veach Andretti Autosport Dallara/Honda 0.4351s
16 Helio Castroneves Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet 0.4395s
17 James Hinchcliffe Andretti Autosport Dallara/Honda 0.4401s
18 Josef Newgarden Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet 0.4424s
19 Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Dallara/Honda 0.5000s
20 Patricio O'Ward Arrow McLaren SP Dallara/Chevrolet 0.5138s
21 Santino Ferrucci Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan Dallara/Honda 0.5410s
22 Spencer Pigot Citrone Buhl Autosport with RLL Dallara/Honda 0.5460s
23 Will Power Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet 0.5577s
24 Felix Rosenqvist Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Honda 0.6181s
25 Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Honda 0.6208s
26 Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Dallara/Honda 0.6297s
27 Simon Pagenaud Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet 0.6961s
28 Dalton Kellett A.J. Foyt Enterprises Dallara/Chevrolet 0.7430s
29 J.R. Hildebrand Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara/Chevrolet 0.8118s
30 Ed Carpenter Ed Carpenter Racing Dallara/Chevrolet 0.8155s
31 Sage Karam Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara/Chevrolet 0.8253s
32 Max Chilton Carlin Dallara/Chevrolet 0.9917s
33 Ben Hanley DragonSpeed Dallara/Chevrolet -


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