Christian Lundgaard set the fastest lap in the second practice session for the NTT IndyCar Series at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca ahead of Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey.
The #45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda turned a best lap of 1:07.6154 sec. Rinus VeeKay was second fastest, .0392 seconds behind the Danish racer. Two-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou was third fastest ahead of Alexander Rossi and Kyle Kirkwood to round out the top five.
The session began after the Indy NXT qualifying session was delayed due to adverse weather.
Pato O’Ward brought out the first red flag of the 45-minute session when he lost control entering Turn 3 and hit the tire barrier with the left front corner of the #5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. O’Ward exited the car under his own power and the car did not take part in the rest of the session.
Soon after practice resumed, Will Power brought out the next red flag of the session when the #12 Team Penske Chevrolet lost control under braking for the Corkscrew. Power’s car coasted down the hill to the paddock and the session resumed shortly thereafter.
Santino Ferrucci brought out the third red flag of the session when the No. 14 A. J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet started smoking at the exit of Turn 9 and eventually came to a stop exiting Turn 2 with mechanical failure.
The remainder of the session continued without incident. The top 22 cars were within a second of Lundgaard’s quickest time.
IndyCar qualifying is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. local time or 7:00 a.m. Sunday morning AEST.
Practice results: