Fontana IndyCar: Marco Andretti fastest in night practice
Marco Andretti topped the times in IndyCar's Friday evening session at Fontana; the final practice session ahead of Saturday night's race
Andretti's best average speed of 218.755mph came on just his second lap, but it proved good enough to remain unbeaten.
Helio Castroneves came close, the Brazilian logging a 218.745mph average.
Ed Carpenter, Tony Kanaan and polesitter Will Power completed the top five; the latter just edging out Scott Dixon.
Unlike the morning outing, the session passed without incident, and provided a final chance at track time for those whose running had been curtailed earlier.
These included Takuma Sato and Pippa Mann, both of whom crashed during morning practice, and Justin Wilson, who was unable to participate in qualifying after suffering a mechanical problem on his out-lap.
Meanwhile, the green flag time for Saturday's race has been put back by 10 minutes in an effort to eliminate the visibility problems caused by the setting sun during the opening laps of last year's race.
The track is aligned east-west, meaning that when the sun reached a certain position in the sky, the drivers were effectively blinded on the entry to Turn 3.
Pos Driver Team/Engine Time Gap 1. Marco Andretti Andretti/Chevy 32.9135s 2. Helio Castroneves Penske/Chevy 32.9151s +0.0016s 3. Ed Carpenter Carpenter/Chevy 33.0053s +0.0918s 4. Tony Kanaan KV/Chevy 33.0059s +0.0924s 5. Will Power Penske/Chevy 33.0829s +0.1694s 6. Scott Dixon Ganassi/Honda 33.1266s +0.2131s 7. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti/Chevy 33.1469s +0.2334s 8. Alex Tagliani Ganassi/Honda 33.2184s +0.3049s 9. Charlie Kimball Ganassi/Honda 33.3203s +0.4068s 10. Simoa de Silvestro KV/Chevy 33.3414s +0.4279s 11. AJ Allmendinger Penske/Chevy 33.3910s +0.4775s 12. James Hinchcliffe Andretti/Chevy 33.4099s +0.4964s 13. Oriol Servia Panther/Chevy 33.4354s +0.5219s 14. Sebastien Bourdais Dragon/Chevy 33.4363s +0.5228s 15. Josef Newgarden Fisher/Honda 33.5370s +0.6235s 16. James Jakes Rahal/Honda 33.5567s +0.6432s 17. Justin Wilson Coyne/Honda 33.5975s +0.6840s 18. Pippa Mann Coyne/Honda 33.5981s +0.6846s 19. JR Hildebrand Herta/Honda 33.6072s +0.6937s 20. Takuma Sato Foyt/Honda 33.6666s +0.7531s 21. Carlos Munoz Andretti/Chevy 33.6785s +0.7650s 22. Simon Pagenaud Schmidt/Honda 33.6903s +0.7768s 23. Sebastian Saavedra Dragon/Chevy 33.7667s +0.8532s 24. Graham Rahal Rahal/Honda 33.8087s +0.8952s 25. Tristan Vautier Schmidt/Honda All drivers use Dallara DW12 chassis
Previous article
Fontana IndyCar: Will Power takes pole for championship decider
Next article
James Hinchcliffe stays at Andretti IndyCar team
About this article
| Series | IndyCar |
| Drivers | Marco Andretti |
| Author | Mark Glendenning |
Can Penske redress the balance in IndyCar's battle of the titans?
IndyCar's gold standard teams Ganassi and Penske are set for another slugfest beginning this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park. A poor start to the first season with the new aeroscreen left Josef Newgarden with too much ground to make up on Scott Dixon in the title chase, but his strong end to 2020 suggests a battle royale lies ahead...
The six major IndyCar subplots to follow in 2021
From rookies arriving with big reputations to veterans who still have the fire and an F1-linked squad pushing to join the big leagues, IndyCar has it all this year. Here are six of the key storylines to keep track of
The Indycar season that proves Michael Andretti is better than F1 showed
Often unfairly characterised as a car-breaker, judged for his lack of an Indianapolis 500 win and a disappointing part-season of Formula 1 in 1993, Michael Andretti was highly respected by his rivals and only thwarted greater success by ill-fortune. When it all came together in 1991, he was a truly formidable force
How McLaren is striving towards IndyCar's elite
The second year of McLaren's full-time IndyCar return is looming, with Patricio O'Ward and Felix Rosenqvist leading its line-up. Strong team personnel and work behind the scenes means that 2021 could be the year it joins the established elite
The enigmatic legacy of a misunderstood Indy stalwart
Flashes of brilliance amid spells of obscurity have been too common for Marco Andretti. While the third-generation racer has opted to bring his full-time IndyCar career to a close, his peaks and troughs have never been for want of trying
Why American racing's top dog is without equal
A byword for success in business and in motorsport for over 50 years, Roger Penske's importance to the US scene cannot be understated. In an exclusive interview, the custodian of the IndyCar Series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway reflects on his journey
The McLaren that rendered its Indy rivals obsolete
When founder Bruce McLaren died in June 1970, his team could have folded. Instead, his loyal band rallied to produce a string of winners - including an Indycar game-changer that won its third Indianapolis 500 five years after its debut
Why Newgarden's best IndyCar season yet wasn't enough
Josef Newgarden feels he didn't put a foot wrong in 2020, yet his finest season-long run of performances failed to yield a third series championship. But in a warning shot to Scott Dixon, Team Penske's team leader has vowed to redouble his efforts in 2021
