Hunter-Reay Leads Honda Field in Friday Practice at Sonoma
- Ryan Hunter-Reay ends opening day at Sonoma Raceway in fifth
- Watkins Glen race winner Alexander Rossi runs sixth
- Championship contender Scott Dixon posts seventh-fastest time
Ryan Hunter-Reay, Alexander Rossi and Scott Dixon – the drivers who completed an all-Honda podium two weeks ago at Watkins Glen – led the way for Honda today in practice at Sonoma Raceway for Sunday's season finale GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma.
Hunter-Reay, third at the most recent Verizon IndyCar Series round at Watkins Glen, was quickest for Honda today and fifth overall on the time sheets. His Andretti Autosport teammate, 'Glen winner Alexander Rossi, ended the day sixth overall.
Scott Dixon, second at the Glen and in the thick of the battle for the Verizon IndyCar Drivers' Championship, ended the day seventh. All were within just 34 one-hundredths of a second of Josef Newgarden's pace-setting time of one minute,16.2485 seconds around the 2.385-mile Sonoma Raceway circuit. Dixon trails Newgarden by only three points as the series heads into Sunday's double-points season finale. Activities at Sonoma continue tomorrow, with final practice and qualifying. Coverage of Sunday's 85-lap championship-deciding race starts at 3:30 p.m. EDT, live on the NBC Sports Network.
Ryan Hunter-Reay (Andretti Autosport Honda): "I think we had a pretty good Friday to start the race weekend. We went from seventh or eighth yesterday [during testing] to fifth today and we are the top Honda. We just have to turn that into a top-five tomorrow, get into that Firestone Fast Six [in qualifying] and go from there. Certainly, the Penske's are what looks like our toughest competition right now, so we're going to have to make another step overnight but so far, so good for the No. 28 DHL Honda."
Verizon IndyCar Series Go Pro Grand Prix of Sonoma
| Circuit: | Sonomal Raceway (2.385-mile road course), Sonoma, Calif. |
| 2016 Winner: | Simon Pagenaud (Team Penske) 101.181 mph average |
| Weather: | Sunny, mild, 77 degrees F |
Top-10 Friday Practice Session Results:
| Ps. |
Driver |
Team |
Manufacturer |
Best Time |
Notes |
|
1. |
Josef Newgarden |
Team Penske |
Chevrolet |
1:16.2485 |
Practice 2 |
|
2. |
Simon Pagenaud |
Team Penske |
Chevrolet |
1:16.2871 |
Practice 2 |
|
3. |
Helio Castroneves |
Team Penske |
Chevrolet |
1:16.3471 |
Practice 2 |
|
4. |
Will Power |
Team Penske |
Chevrolet |
1:16.4322 |
Practice 1 |
|
5. |
Ryan Hunter-Reay |
Andretti Autosport |
Honda |
1:16.4829 |
Practice 2 |
|
6. |
Alexander Rossi |
Andretti Herta Autosport |
Honda |
1:16.5720 |
Practice 1 |
|
7. |
Scott Dixon |
Chip Ganassi Racing |
Honda |
1:16.5863 |
Practice 2 |
|
8. |
Marco Andretti |
Andretti Autosport |
Honda |
1:16.5999 |
Practice 2 |
|
9. |
Sebestien Bourdais |
Dale Coyne Racing |
Honda |
1:16.6060 |
Practice 1 |
|
10. |
Tony Kanaan |
Chip Ganassi Racing |
Honda |
1:16.7484 |
Practice 1 |
Other Honda Results
| 11. |
Takuma Sato |
Andretti Autosport |
Honda |
1:16.7542 |
Practice 2 |
|
12. |
Graham Rahal |
Rahal Letterman Lanigan |
Honda |
1:16.8121 |
Practice 2 |
|
13. |
Charlie Kimball |
Chip Ganassi Racing |
Honda |
1:17.0106 |
Practice 2 |
|
14. |
Max Chilton |
Chip Ganassi Racing |
Honda |
1:17.0545 |
Practice 2 |
|
15. |
James Hinchcliffe |
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports |
Honda |
1:17.1210 |
Practice 1 |
|
17. |
Ed Jones-R |
Dale Coyne Racing |
Honda |
1:17.2681 |
Practice 2 |
|
21. |
Jack Harvey-R |
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports |
Honda |
1:17.6168 |
Practice 1 |
|
22. |
Zachary Claman DeMelo-R |
Rahal Letterman Lanigan |
Honda |
1:17.9506 |
Practice 1 |
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