Alex Palou has led a Chip Ganassi Racing one-two-three in the penultimate practice for this year’s Indianapolis 500, which was marred by a hefty hit for Dalton Kellett.
Last year’s IndyCar Series winner Palou clocked a session-best 229.441mph (369.249km/h) lap on the 2.5-mile oval leading team-mates Scott Dixon and Jimmie Johnson.
Dixon in the #9 was the only other driver to clock a time in the 229.000mph (368.540km/h) bracket while team-mate Johnson wasn’t far behind on a 228.467mph (367.681km/h) lap.
Takuma Sato (Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing) in the #51 broke the Chip Ganassi Racing stranglehold, finishing the session fourth ahead of Marcus Ericsson in the #8.
Sato also completed the most laps of anyone in the session, ending the session with 106 to his name.
Josef Newgarden was the best of the Chevrolet-powered entries, leading Team Penske’s efforts in sixth ahead of Conor Daly (Ed Carpenter Racing), Marco Andretti (Andretti Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian), Sage Karam (Dreyer & Reinbold Racing), and Simon Pagenaud (Meyer Shank Racing).
Outside the top 10, Scott McLaughlin wound up 16th while Team Penske stable-mate Will Power was 20th.
The session wasn’t without incident for McLaughlin, who spun leaving his pit box.
Practice 8 was interrupted by a big hit for Dalton Kellett, who earned the unenviable title of the first to crash on the oval during the Month of May.
The AJ Foyt Racing driver lost control of his car at Turn 1, spinning, then slamming the left side of his car into the outside wall. Fortunately, the Canadian escaped uninjured.
The final practice session of this year’s Indianapolis 500 dubbed Carb Day takes place on Friday local time (Saturday morning AEST).
Results: Practice 8
| Rank | Car | Driver Name | C/E/T | Time | Speed | Diff | Gap | Best Lap | Laps |
| 1 | 10 | Alex Palou | D/H/F | 00:39.2257 | 229.441 | 3 | 31 | ||
| 2 | 9 | Scott Dixon | D/H/F | 00:39.3013 | 229 | 0.0756 | 0.0756 | 10 | 32 |
| 3 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson (R) | D/H/F | 00:39.3930 | 228.467 | 0.1673 | 0.0917 | 46 | 67 |
| 4 | 51 | Takuma Sato | D/H/F | 00:39.4078 | 228.381 | 0.1821 | 0.0148 | 87 | 106 |
| 5 | 8 | Marcus Ericsson | D/H/F | 00:39.4707 | 228.017 | 0.245 | 0.0629 | 3 | 38 |
| 6 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | D/C/F | 00:39.6543 | 226.962 | 0.4286 | 0.1836 | 33 | 98 |
| 7 | 20 | Conor Daly | D/C/F | 00:39.6660 | 226.895 | 0.4403 | 0.0117 | 77 | 96 |
| 8 | 98 | Marco Andretti | D/H/F | 00:39.6868 | 226.776 | 0.4611 | 0.0208 | 59 | 77 |
| 9 | 24 | Sage Karam | D/C/F | 00:39.7003 | 226.699 | 0.4746 | 0.0135 | 77 | 86 |
| 10 | 60 | Simon Pagenaud | D/H/F | 00:39.7597 | 226.36 | 0.534 | 0.0594 | 28 | 83 |
| 11 | 28 | Romain Grosjean (R) | D/H/F | 00:39.8238 | 225.996 | 0.5981 | 0.0641 | 63 | 101 |
| 12 | 30 | Christian Lundgaard (R) | D/H/F | 00:39.8908 | 225.616 | 0.6651 | 0.067 | 84 | 100 |
| 13 | 6 | Helio Castroneves | D/H/F | 00:39.9255 | 225.42 | 0.6998 | 0.0347 | 71 | 88 |
| 14 | 18 | David Malukas (R) | D/H/F | 00:39.9340 | 225.372 | 0.7083 | 0.0085 | 5 | 91 |
| 15 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin | D/C/F | 00:39.9527 | 225.266 | 0.727 | 0.0187 | 33 | 102 |
| 16 | 23 | Santino Ferrucci | D/C/F | 00:39.9866 | 225.075 | 0.7609 | 0.0339 | 62 | 85 |
| 17 | 26 | Colton Herta | D/H/F | 00:39.9981 | 225.011 | 0.7724 | 0.0115 | 86 | 100 |
| 18 | 77 | Callum Ilott (R) | D/C/F | 00:40.0046 | 224.974 | 0.7789 | 0.0065 | 64 | 97 |
| 19 | 27 | Alexander Rossi | D/H/F | 00:40.0305 | 224.829 | 0.8048 | 0.0259 | 75 | 89 |
| 20 | 12 | Will Power | D/C/F | 00:40.0394 | 224.779 | 0.8137 | 0.0089 | 70 | 82 |
| 21 | 5 | Pato O’Ward | D/C/F | 00:40.0575 | 224.677 | 0.8318 | 0.0181 | 29 | 79 |
| 22 | 1 | Tony Kanaan | D/H/F | 00:40.0861 | 224.517 | 0.8604 | 0.0286 | 27 | 31 |
| 23 | 45 | Harvey, Jack | D/H/F | 00:40.0957 | 224.463 | 0.87 | 0.0096 | 83 | 85 |
| 24 | 33 | Ed Carpenter | D/C/F | 00:40.1000 | 224.439 | 0.8743 | 0.0043 | 55 | 78 |
| 25 | 21 | Rinus VeeKay | D/C/F | 00:40.1073 | 224.398 | 0.8816 | 0.0073 | 52 | 74 |
| 26 | 15 | Graham Rahal | D/H/F | 00:40.1090 | 224.389 | 0.8833 | 0.0017 | 36 | 77 |
| 27 | 11 | JR Hildebrand | D/C/F | 00:40.1136 | 224.363 | 0.8879 | 0.0046 | 50 | 82 |
| 28 | 25 | Stefan Wilson | D/C/F | 00:40.1240 | 224.305 | 0.8983 | 0.0104 | 32 | 88 |
| 29 | 6 | Juan Pablo Montoya | D/C/F | 00:40.1439 | 224.193 | 0.9182 | 0.0199 | 32 | 40 |
| 30 | 14 | Kyle Kirkwood (R) | D/C/F | 00:40.1635 | 224.084 | 0.9378 | 0.0196 | 15 | 91 |
| 31 | 7 | Felix Rosenqvist | D/C/F | 00:40.2527 | 223.587 | 1.027 | 0.0892 | 47 | 78 |
| 32 | 4 | Dalton Kellett | D/C/F | 00:40.3848 | 222.856 | 1.1591 | 0.1321 | 6 | 65 |
| 33 | 29 | Devlin DeFrancesco (R) | D/H/F | 00:40.4398 | 222.553 | 1.2141 | 0.055 | 76 | 85 |
