the end for Sato!

The very last free workout session with this Carb Day was led by Takuma Sato. From now on, 33 pilots are expected on the grid, this Sunday, May 28, of the 107th edition of the 500 miles of Indianapolis.

Takuma Sato was the fastest driver in Friday’s free practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, leading the final session before the 107th running of the Indy 500.

Indy 500, Carb Day led by Sato

Takuma Sato, a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, led the way with a lap of 39.4988 seconds, or 227.855 mph, driving the #11 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda Deloitte, leaving this Sunday from eighth place.

“The car is holding up well, which is what I wanted,” Sato said. “My guys did a good job all week. The team did a good job, so I’m happy.”

The 33 drivers at the start drove 2,355 laps (5,887.5 miles) in just two hours of racing without a major incident. Scott Dixon finished second at 227.285 mph driving the #9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, under sunny skies and temperatures around 25°C. Dixon, the 2008 Indy 500 winner, will start sixth on Sunday.

“Honestly, the start wasn’t great,” Dixon said of the two-hour session. “The car was unbalanced. We had to work on it a bit. There were very strong competitors. Number 10 for Alex Palou. Where we ended up was a big improvement, so it’s good there. Again, I think we still have things to discover.”

Will Power, the defending series champion and 2018 “500” winner, was third today at 226.953 mph driving the #12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. Power will start at 12 on Sunday.

Alex Palou finished fourth at 226.945 mph driving the #10 Honda The American Legion, giving Chip Ganassi Racing three of the top four cars. Kyle Kirkwood rounded out the top five with a 226.872 driving the #27 Andretti Autosport Honda AutoNation. Kirkwood will start at No. 15 on Sunday. Interruption intervened because Katherine Legge was off the track, Devlin DeFrancesco punctured the right front tire, while he was able to avoid touching the wall.