Indianapolis 500 polesitter Andretti holds top spot in Sunday practice
Marco Andretti doubled up on his Indianapolis 500 pole position with the fastest time in IndyCar's Sunday afternoon practice, just beating Penske's Helio Castroneves to top spot

Soon after Andretti's narrow victory over Dixon in qualifying, IndyCar ran a two-hour and 30 minute session in which the turbos were wound down to the permitted race-day boost of 1.3-bar and with race-day downforce levels.
While six drivers turned 100 laps or more, Andretti turned just 27 - and yet the 21st of these was the fastest of the session, a 224.122mph effort which just shaded the best effort of Team Penske-Chevrolet's three-time Indy 500 winner, Helio Castroneves.
The Brazilian was one of four Chevrolet cars in the Top 10, which seemed stronger relative to their Honda-powered rivals with the boost dialled back and in traffic, compared to qualifying trim.
Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon, who placed unintentionally stole the show with a 218mph spin coming off Turn 4 after hitting a bump.
Dixon clipped the outside wall with his rear wing, spinning across to hit the pitwall.
Less than hour later, the #9 Chip Ganassi Racing crew had his car repaired and ready to return to action - and the 2008 Indy 500 winner briefly launched to the top of the timesheets with the first lap into the 223mph bracket.
Ryan Hunter-Reay of Andretti Autosport was fourth quickest ahead of Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan's Santino Ferrucci, who won the 2019 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year award.
Conor Daly, as he had on Wednesday and Thursday, looked very strong in traffic for the Chevrolet-powered Ed Carpenter Racing outfit, as did his team owner Ed Carpenter who has suffered some uncharacteristic struggles with his car's handling this past week.
Rookie Alex Palou made it two Coyne cars in the Top 10, but the third one - co-entered by Rick Ware Racing/Byrd/Belardi - was not in action, as its driver James Davison was competing in the NASCAR race at Daytona.
Both Fernando Alonso and one of his Arrow McLaren SP-Chevrolet teammates Pato O'Ward turned 115 laps - more than anyone else - and both looked comfortable in traffic and able to pass.
Alonso, however, did have a half-spin-and-stall exiting his pit box during the session.
Indianapolis 500 Sunday practice results
Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Marco Andretti | Andretti Autosport | Dallara/Honda | 40.1567s |
2 | Helio Castroneves | Team Penske | Dallara/Chevrolet | 0.0099s |
3 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dallara/Honda | 0.0782s |
4 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti Autosport | Dallara/Honda | 0.1429s |
5 | Santino Ferrucci | Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan | Dallara/Honda | 0.1790s |
6 | Conor Daly | Ed Carpenter Racing | Dallara/Chevrolet | 0.1907s |
7 | Marcus Ericsson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dallara/Honda | 0.2280s |
8 | Patricio O'Ward | Arrow McLaren SP | Dallara/Chevrolet | 0.2456s |
9 | Ed Carpenter | Ed Carpenter Racing | Dallara/Chevrolet | 0.2966s |
10 | Alex Palou | Dale Coyne Racing | Dallara/Honda | 0.3093s |
11 | Fernando Alonso | Arrow McLaren SP | Dallara/Chevrolet | 0.3195s |
12 | Alexander Rossi | Andretti Autosport | Dallara/Honda | 0.3202s |
13 | Will Power | Team Penske | Dallara/Chevrolet | 0.3629s |
14 | Zach Veach | Andretti Autosport | Dallara/Honda | 0.3849s |
15 | J.R. Hildebrand | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | Dallara/Chevrolet | 0.4108s |
16 | Felix Rosenqvist | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dallara/Honda | 0.4154s |
17 | Spencer Pigot | Citrone Buhl Autosport with RLL | Dallara/Honda | 0.4404s |
18 | Max Chilton | Carlin | Dallara/Chevrolet | 0.4741s |
19 | Rinus Van Kalmthout | Ed Carpenter Racing | Dallara/Chevrolet | 0.4775s |
20 | Josef Newgarden | Team Penske | Dallara/Chevrolet | 0.4775s |
21 | Colton Herta | Andretti Harding | Dallara/Honda | 0.4907s |
22 | Tony Kanaan | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | Dallara/Chevrolet | 0.5169s |
23 | Simon Pagenaud | Team Penske | Dallara/Chevrolet | 0.5352s |
24 | Sage Karam | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | Dallara/Chevrolet | 0.5994s |
25 | Dalton Kellett | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | Dallara/Chevrolet | 0.6092s |
26 | Takuma Sato | Rahal Letterman Lanigan | Dallara/Honda | 0.6140s |
27 | Jack Harvey | Meyer Shank Racing | Dallara/Honda | 0.6142s |
28 | James Hinchcliffe | Andretti Autosport | Dallara/Honda | 0.6855s |
29 | Oliver Askew | Arrow McLaren SP | Dallara/Chevrolet | 0.6981s |
30 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan | Dallara/Honda | 0.7087s |
31 | Charlie Kimball | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | Dallara/Chevrolet | 0.8265s |
32 | Ben Hanley | DragonSpeed | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1.1959s |
33 | James Davison | Dale Coyne Racing | Dallara/Honda | - |

Previous article
Andretti beats Dixon to claim 2020 Indy 500 pole position
Next article
VeeKay: "Most amazing qualifying" at Indy 500

About this article
Series | IndyCar |
Drivers | Marco Andretti |
Author | David Malsher |
Indianapolis 500 polesitter Andretti holds top spot in Sunday practice
Trending
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
How Dixon held on in IndyCar's most unpredictable season
Three wins on the trot gave the Chip Ganassi Racing superstar the cushion he needed to hang on for a sixth title in the face of Josef Newgarden's late challenge. Here's the rundown of a typically frantic IndyCar campaign in an extraordinary year
The balancing act required for improving racing at Indy
Calls for an improvement in the racing spectacle at the Indianapolis 500 have been met with small aerodynamic tweaks from IndyCar on superspeedways. But where such high speeds are involved, even minor adjustments require significant planning
The departing IndyCar hero who can't let go
He's an IndyCar champion and an Indianapolis 500 winner, but there's more to Tony Kanaan's legacy than sheer numbers according some key rivals, team-mates and friends from his 20-year top-flight US open-wheel career