The reigning Indy 500 winner, Josef Newgarden, led the field on Wednesday’s Indy 500 practice session. Rain shortened the first day of the Indianapolis 500, presented by Gainbridge Open Test. Of the 1327 laps run by the competitors, Newgarden’s 39.3338-second lap placed him firmly on top of the pilon at 228.811MPH. Newgarden’s time sits at just .4216 seconds and 2.427MPH faster than Rookie and 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kyle Larson’s fastest lap.

Larson, who runs full time in NASCAR’s highest series, is competing in what is referred to as “The Double”, where a driver competes in both the Indy 500 in Indianapolis, Indiana and the Coka-Cola 600 in Charlotte, North Carolina. If he completes both events, he will have run 1,100 miles in the same day (Plus the 430-mile flight). No driver has ever won one of the events while attempting to compete in the double. The closest attempt was Tony Stewart in 2001 who finished P. 3 in the 600.

Wednesday’s Open Tests were halted numerous times for rain and featured separate sessions for Veterans, Rookie Orientation Program, and refresher tests. The Top 15 times were all within one second of Newgarden’s time with four of those drivers being rookies.

Image: Chris Jones