INDIANAPOLIS — Target Ganassi's Scott Dixon set the pace during Friday testing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the final day of testing before Saturday's time trials commence for the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500.

Friday's testing resumed after rain forced the cancellation of sessions on both Wednesday and Thursday.

Dixon turned in a quick lap of 226.968 miles per hour and was one of four drivers to eclipse 226 mph. Marco Andretti, who was fastest in Tuesday's session, was second on Friday at 226.710 mph. Andretti's Andretti Green Racing teammate Tony Kanaan was third at 226.688 mph, while Ryan Briscoe led Team Penske at 226.143 mph.

Rookie Hideki Mutoh, also of AGR, was fifth and the top rookie at 225.990 mph.

Danica Patrick, who was eighth behind Ganassi's Dan Wheldon (225.674 mph) and Panther Racing's Vitor Meira (224.811 mph), ended her day after hitting Dale Coyne Racing crew member Charles Buckman, who was transported to Methodist Hospital with a concussions and lacerations to his head and scalp.

INDIANAPOLIS - Practice Friday for the 92nd Indianapolis 500 IndyCar Series
event on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with position, car number
in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine and speed:
 
1. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 226.968
2. (26) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 226.710
3. (11) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 226.688
4. (6) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 226.143
5. (27) Hideki Mutoh, Dallara-Honda, 225.990
6. (10) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 225.674
7. (4T) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 224.811
8. (7) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 224.744
9. (12) Tomas Scheckter, Dallara-Honda, 224.712
10. (17) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 224.125
11. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 224.016
12. (15) Buddy Rice, Dallara-Honda, 223.593
13. (16) Alex Lloyd, Dallara-Honda, 223.549
14. (99) Townsend Bell, Dallara-Honda, 223.518
15. (06) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 223.291
16. (5) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Honda, 223.023
17. (2) A.J. Foyt IV, Dallara-Honda, 222.980
18. (14) Darren Manning, Dallara-Honda, 222.750
19. (20) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 222.559
20. (02) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 222.459
21. (8) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 222.311
22. (33) EJ Viso, Dallara-Honda, 222.095
23. (67) Sarah Fisher, Dallara-Honda, 221.978
24. (22) Davey Hamilton, Dallara-Honda, 221.026
25. (18) Bruno Junqueira, Dallara-Honda, 220.923
26. (44) Max Papis, Dallara-Honda, 220.429
27. (25) Marty Roth, Dallara-Honda, 219.268
28. (23) Milka Duno, Dallara-Honda, 219.030
29. (24) Jay Howard, Dallara-Honda, 218.971
30. (19) Mario Moraes, Dallara-Honda, 218.293
31. (96) Mario Dominguez, Dallara-Honda, 217.918
32. (36T) Jaime Camara, Dallara-Honda, 216.138
33. (36) Enrique Bernoldi, Dallara-Honda, 214.808

Thursday

For the first time since 2006, rain forced the cancellation of a second consecutive day of on-track activity at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The lack of track time adds to the drama and tension as teams prepare for qualifying for the Indianapolis 500.
 A key moment in the month-long pursuit to become the Indianapolis 500 champion comes May 10 when drivers compete for the top 11 starting positions for the 92nd running of the 500-Mile Race, including the PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award presented by AutoZone and it’s $100,000 prize.
But, for the 11 driverss who don’t qualify on Pole Day, there’s still hope. Three times in the last 10 years, the winner has come from outside the top 11 spots.
Eddie Cheever, Jr. drove to Victory Lane from the 17th starting position in 1998. Helio Castroneves won from 13th in 2002, and Dan Wheldon started 16th when he won in 2005.
“Your primary goal at this race is to win the race,” said Wheldon, who led 30 laps in 2005. “You can get very caught up in qualifying, and it’s a very proud achievement for everyone on the team to be on pole for the race. You have to make a very disciplined approach to that and understand that if your car is not necessarily a pole contender, you can waste a lot of tires trying to do that.”

Wednesday

Practice for the Indianapolis 500 was canceled Wednesday (May 7) after persistent showers plagued the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 11:30 a.m. until 3:15 p.m.
Practice is scheduled to resume from noon-6 p.m. Thursday (May 8), followed by 'Fast Friday' from noon-6 p.m. Friday. Pole Day is Saturday.

Tuesday

INDIANAPOLIS — Marco Andretti was the fastest of 31 drivers who completed laps on the first day practice for the 92nd Indianapolis 500 was opened to all drivers.
Andretti, who finished second in the race as a rookie in 2006, lapped the historic 2.5-mile oval in 39.7177 seconds, 226.599 mph in the No. 26 Team Indiana Jones presented by Blockbuster car.
"The Indiana Jones car is on it so far, but unfortunately it's still early,” said Andretti. “But we'll take it. Obviously I had a very big tow, but I think you need the mechanical balance to be able to stay flat so you can get a (good) time. I've been very pleased with the guys so far. It was a good start, but this place changes."
Tony Kanaan, Andretti's Andretti Green Racing teammate, was second fastest with a lap of 225.269 mph. Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Scott Dixon and 2005 winner Dan Wheldon were third and fifth, respectively, while Team Penske teammates Ryan Briscoe and two-time Indy winner Helio Castroneves were fourth and sixth, respectively.
"I've really been looking forward to coming to Indianapolis as part of Team Penske,” said Briscoe. “What this organization has been able to do here is truly remarkable. Just turning my first laps this afternoon really was a special feeling for me. We tried to start with a comfortable setup on the car today and just turn some laps to see if we could learn anything new. We really haven't done a lot in terms of trimming the car out to go for pure speed, but I'm sure that will come as the week goes on. Today was really about me getting comfortable with my crew and my engineer on this track and learning how to communicate what I need from the car here. The good news is that we were in pretty good shape on the speed charts, so we're pleased with what we accomplished today."
The veterans were on track for the first time in May, following two days of Rookie Orientation. Twenty veterans and 11 rookies combined for the most drivers to practice on the first day since 1999, when 33 drivers completed laps.
All drivers have three more days of practice before PEAK Motor Oil Pole Qualifying on Saturday.
On Sunday, 10 drivers completed all four phases of the Indianapolis 500 Rookie Orientation Program at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the track opened for the 92nd Running of 500-Mile Race.
Will Power was the quickest among a class of 13 rookies, the most since 1997. Power's fastest lap in the No. 8 Aussie Vineyard-Team Australia entry was 40.7804 seconds, 220.694 mph.
Eleven rookies and two-time Indianapolis 500 starter Max Papis, who along with Davey Hamilton must complete a refresher test, combined to complete 661 incident-free laps. All Indianapolis 500 rookies must pass a four-phase orientation program, demonstrating consistent car control for 10 laps each at four increasing levels of speed.
Power, Jaime Camara, Jay Howard, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Alex Lloyd, Hideki Mutoh, Graham Rahal, Oriol Servia, E.J. Viso and Justin Wilson passed all four phases. Enrique Bernoldi completed three phases and completed the fourth phase on Monday to beceome the 11th driver to pass the rookie orientation program.
Mario Moraes completed three laps late in the day, while Mario Dominguez did not take the track. Both drivers must complete the first three phases of ROP Monday to remain eligible to compete in the Indianapolis 500 on May 25.
phase later in the month.

INDIANAPOLIS — Practice Tuesday for the 92nd Indianapolis 500 IndyCar Series
event on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with position, car number
in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine and speed:
1. (26) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 226.599
2. (11) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 225.269
3. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 225.011
4. (6) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 224.804
5. (10) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 224.727
6. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 224.576
7. (12) Tomas Scheckter, Dallara-Honda, 224.436
8. (15) Buddy Rice, Dallara-Honda, 224.170
9. (7) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 224.095
10. (8) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 223.550
11. (02) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 223.461
12. (4T) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 223.352
13. (27) Hideki Mutoh, Dallara-Honda, 223.225
14. (33) EJ Viso, Dallara-Honda, 222.643
15. (20) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 222.633
16. (16) Alex Lloyd, Dallara-Honda, 222.620
17. (99) Townsend Bell, Dallara-Honda, 222.583
18. (06) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 222.552
19. (5) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Honda, 221.883
20. (22) Davey Hamilton, Dallara-Honda, 221.684
21. (17) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 221.640
22. (2) A.J. Foyt IV, Dallara-Honda, 221.615
23. (14) Darren Manning, Dallara-Honda, 221.314
24. (36T) Enrique Bernoldi, Dallara-Honda, 220.978
25. (18) Bruno Junqueira, Dallara-Honda, 220.961
26. (44) Max Papis, Dallara-Honda, 220.686
27. (25T) Marty Roth, Dallara-Honda, 220.460
28. (96) Mario Dominguez, Dallara-Honda, 218.552
29. (19) Mario Moraes, Dallara-Honda, 218.159
30. (67) Sarah Fisher, Dallara-Honda, 217.866
31. (23) Milka Duno, Dallara-Honda, 217.412