After an eventful season opener last week, the excitement continues for IndyCar today in Phoenix. The drivers hit the track for Practice 1 earlier today.
David Malukas Goes Fastest at Phoenix Raceway
He showed some incredible pace last week in St. Pete, and today, David Malukas has set the fastest lap time of Practice 1. The driver of the number 12 for Team Penske was swapping positions with Pato O’Ward when the track went back to green. Malukas managed to pull ahead and set the fastest lap time of the session with five minutes left to go.
Malukas set an average speed of 175.605 mph. The top five fastest were David Malukas, Pato O’Ward, Josef Newgarden, Christian Rasmussen and Will Power.
Major Incident Brings out Yellow Flag
The first and only yellow flag of the session came out when Felix Rosenqvist backed into the wall at Turn 2. The incident caused extensive damage to the car, and it’s unclear at this time if it will be fixed in time for the sessions later today. Rosenqvist was seen and released by the IndyCar medical team shortly after.
Comparison to Open Test
IndyCar was in Phoenix a few weeks ago for their Open Test ahead of the start of the season. The testing results were a fairly accurate indicator of the standings we saw today in Practice.
Aside from the shift in order, a majority of the drivers in the top five from the open test made their way to the top five in Practice 1.
| Testing Results | Practice 1 Results |
| Alexander Rossi | David Malukas |
| Josef Newgarden | Pato O’Ward |
| Álex Palou | Josef Newgarden |
| David Malukas | Christian Rasmussen |
| Pato O’Ward | Will Power |
This weekend is running on a shortened two-day schedule. Qualifying takes place at 2 p.m. followed by High-Rise Practice at 4:30 p.m. and Practice 2 at 5 p.m.
The race gets going tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. EST where we’ll find out who takes home a win in Phoenix for the first time in eight years. (All times written according to Eastern Standard TIme)
The Girls Who Eat, Breathe and Dream Motorsport will be following closely and will be providing updates all weekend long.