Posting a fast lap of 1 minute, 7.7134 seconds (122.280 mph), Andretti Autosport’s Marco Andretti put his No. 27 Honda atop the time sheets in Practice 2 this afternoon for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by America’s First.
Andretti, who still laments a should-have-been win at Barber Motorsports Park in 2011, edged Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet) by less than four hundredths of a second, as the Australian clocked a fast lap of 1:07.7454 (122.222 mph) on the 2.3-mile permanent road course.
Team Penske locked out the top four spots in Practice 1 earlier today. Though the powerful team did not claim P1 in Practice 2, it did take second through fourth with Power, defending race winner Simon Pagenaud (No. 1 Menards Chevrolet, 1:07.8305) and Helio Castroneves (No. 3 AAA Insurance Chevrolet, 1:07.9044).
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon (No. 9 NTT Data Honda) rounded out the top five at 1:07.9119 (121.923 mph). Team Penske’s fourth driver and 2015 Barber winner Josef Newgarden was eighth quick in the session, his No. 2 Fitzgerald Glider Kits Chevrolet lapping the 2.3-mile course at 1:08.2304 (121.354 mph).
The red flag flew early in the session when Dixon’s teammate Max Chilton (No. 8 Gallagher Honda) spun in Turn 14. The Briton’s 26th birthday was a struggle on track, as Chilton ran 20th quick in the opening session and posted the 17th-fastest lap in Practice 2 at 1:08.6668 (120.582 mph).
A second red flag flew when Dale Coyne Racing rookie Ed Jones (No. 19 Boy Scouts of America Honda) spun at the Turn 5 hairpin. Jones, who has scored two top-10s in his first two Verizon IndyCar Series races, recovered to post the 20th-fastest lap of the session at 1:08.8129 (120.326 mph).