The second practise session of the weekend in Nashville features pouring rain, delaying the actual start of the session from its scheduled beginning at 10:40 am. Some drivers, like Ryan Hunter Reay, are already strapped in in their car in spite of the delay.
The session was shortened to thirty minutes, starting at 11:30 local time, as the cars were wheeled back on track. First driver out on track was yesterday’s FP1 leader Alex Palou, followed by his Ganassi teammate Marcus Ericsson and Scott McLaughlin.
The championship leader is the first driver to ran wide in the runoff today, but he is still able to slot in the lead with the provisional best time of 1:35.0152s, quickly improved by his teammate Ericsson in 1:33.98s
Santino Ferrucci has been black flagged by race direction due to his raining lights not working.
The 2022 Indy 500 winner becomes the session leader with ten minutes to go, followed by McLaughlin and Armstrong, as more drivers join them on track. Ed Carpenter Racing’s Rinus Veekay slots in P2 with one of his early attempts.
Photo credits: Penske Entertainment | Chris Jones
Power ran wide at Turn 11, making a trip around the runoff, followed by Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Callum Illot shortly after. Hunter Reay narrowly manages to avoid hitting the wall in the very damp conditions.
2023 Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden has no power in his car no.2, but after some time in the pits he is able to rejoin the session.
The first red flag of the session is issued when Meyers Shank’s newest driver Linus Lundqvist runs wide off track at Turn 4, exiting his car to assess the damage. He is able to resume the session, but the red flag was lifted with only seconds to go until the end of the session, leaving only two drivers on track for a last lap that didn’t affect the final classification.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Ericsson leads the second practise session of the weekend as the only driver in the 1:31s, mentioning brakes issues after the end of the session, followed by Rinus Veekay and Will Power. Scott McLaughlin, Marcus Armstrong, Scott Dixon, Ryan Hunter Reay, Josef Newgarden, Alex Palou and Agustin Canapino round off the top ten, for an impressive Ganassi display of strength on the very wet track.
