Opening Day of Practice Bodes Well

INDIANAPOLIS (May 17, 2022)--The opening day of practice for the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500 went well for AJ Foyt Racing with Santino Ferrucci clocking in the third fastest speed overall in the No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet.

Ferrucci, who posted his speed of 228.977mph during Happy Hour (5 - 6p.m.), logged 79 of the 3455 laps posted today around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Santino Ferrucci chats with Team President Larry Foyt during practice.

“After the Open Test, I don’t think we were feeling too strong, so to roll out of the box here and after the first few laps in the car, I just got out and said, 'Hey, look, the car’s good,' said Ferrucci. "We just broke for lunch, went down for a couple of hours to get things sorted, but the raw speed of the car out of the box was phenomenal. To make two or three small changes, a couple of little aero or ride height things, you’re not looking at mind-blowing reinventing the wheel changes. By the time we were done, we went out with new tires and even passed some cars. We were just working on trying to follow closer, and the lap time was there. To be the fastest Chevy in the No. 14 is pretty cool to start the month of May off, and we just have to carry the momentum.”

With 34 drivers on track today, rookie Benjamin Pedersen was 21st quickest in the No. 55 Sexton Properties Chevrolet after posting a speed of 225.480mph. Pedersen spent the most time on track, logging 114 laps.

Benjamin Pedersen gets ready for practice today at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“Really good day here to start the Month of May, or the month of the 500," said Pedersen who turned 24 on May 11th. "P21 to finish the day, but honestly we were much higher up most of the day. I think it’s a great starting point – we’re both really happy with our cars, Santino and I – and really excited for tomorrow.”

Ferrucci was enthused about his car's maneuverability in race trim.

“I’ve said this all year, and I feel Chevys have been really good on top-end," said Ferrucci. "And I felt that not just on the ovals, but on the road courses as well. So, I think today to be in your fastest lap and then pass a car, and almost pass another into Turn 1, on the same second half of the track is pretty impressive and pretty stout. I feel really comfortable being in the Chevy for the top-end wise this year, especially in race trim. I’d like to see if we can obviously bring home the Borg Warner (trophy) for Chevy. That’d be pretty awesome and spectacular for our team.”

Two-time Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato topped the session with a speed of 229.439mph. He was followed by teammate Scott Dixon, Ferrucci, Alex Palou and Scott McLaughlin. Teams have two more days of practice before qualifying for the 500 starts this Saturday and the run for the pole concludes Sunday afternoon.