Day 3: Redon quick, Jones crashes

Practice started more than three hours late at 2:08 p.m. and ended 19 minutes early when PJ Jones crashed heavily in Turn 1. He lost control of his Menard Dallara-Chevrolet in Turn 1, and the car hit the SAFER wall system backwards before careening into an armco barrier in the infield. Jones, who was sixth fastest on the day with a lap of 227.251 mph, was awake and alert after the crash, and he was transported by ground to Methodist Hospital.

Redon, a 29-year old from Saint-Chamond, France, has driven in six IRL events with a best finish of third earlier this year at California Speedway. However, he was criticized there for excessive weaving during the race. The 1995 French Formula 3 champion arrived in the US last year after spending the last four years bouncing between sports cars and Formula 1 testing.

"For sure I was not expecting that speed," said Redon. "I had a good tow right at the end, but the problem with a tow here is getting the gearing right. We looked at the data and the slowest point on the lap was 226.5 mph. So I was fairly sure we could do the best lap of the day, but not a 229."

Eddie Cheever was fifth fastest, demonstrating the potential of the Infiniti (Nissan) engine.

"The speeds are quick - Redon's time is very fast," said the owner/driver. "I'm glad to see that it's an Infiniti on top of the charts.

Paul Tracy was the only other driver to hit the wall on Tuesday. Just nine minutes into the start of the session. Tracy's 7-11 Dallara-Chevrolet hit the outer wall in Turn 1, but the Canadian got it turned enough to limit the damage to slightly bent right-rear suspension links. He managed just 219.8 mph before scraping the wall, while his Team Green colleagues Michael Andretti and Dario Franchitti were 20th (225.231 mph) and 22nd (224.997 mph) respectively.