Josef Newgarden leads Indy 500 Carb Day practice

Newgarden logged 55 laps with a session best 228.342 mph lap on his 11th lap.

Christian Rasmussen was second-fastest for Ed Carpenter Racing while third place starter David Malukas was third for Team Penske.

Although fastest, Newgarden downplayed the significance of his top time.

“I don’t know that we were that great today,” he said.

“I put up a fast lap. That’s really all it is. It’s always there is positivity to that in that when the car can do that lap, that is a good thing, but that’s not the whole story when it comes to our race car.

“I think we’ve been relatively solid all month, but you get these fluctuations every single day with temperature and wind, and you take the car apart, you put it back together, it’s never quite the same thing every time you go out.

“The one day that’s going to matter is in 48 hours. That’s what it boils down to. I think our race car has been in a really good spot for the most part, and even through all the variability that I just spoke about. We’ve just got to make sure it’s right as Sunday comes around.”

New Zealand’s leading interest Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske was eighth ahead of compatriot Marcus Armstrong in ninth for Meyer Shank Racing.

Scott Dixon ended the day in 14th with 96 laps on the board – the most of any driver in the 33-car field.

Will Power completed 89 laps on his way to 26th for Andretti Global.

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Carb Day was particularly important for Alexander Rossi and Pato O’Ward, who drove their backup cars for the first time since crashing earlier in the week.

Rossi was seen hopping to and from his Ed Carpenter Racing car to keep as much weight off his injured ankle as possible.

“I feel amazing,” said Rossi.

“I just want to talk about the IndyCar doctors and everyone at Indiana University Health and what they accomplished in order to get us back to this process.

“After getting in the car today, it’s pretty exceptional. It took a huge amount of things to go correctly and a great group of people that I’m incredibly thankful for.

“And then the #20 car crew for what they did to bring a car back to the speedway that feels just as good as the car we qualified.

“We had a very specific plan for today to get through to make sure that everything that we thought would happen would happen, and it all did.

“We’re in a really good spot for Sunday. All three ECR cars seem incredibly strong. It’s a testament to the organisation and the resolve that everyone has.”

Rossi ended the session in 31st with 48 laps on the board while O’Ward was 20th.

Rossi will start from second place alongside pole position winner Alex Palou (Chip Ganassi Racing) and third place qualifier David Malukas (Team Penske).

Coverage of the Indianapolis 500 is live and exclusively on Stan Sport in Australia.

The 110th Indianapolis 500 takes place on Monday, May 25 (AEST). The green flag is scheduled for 2:45am AEST.

Results: 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500, Carb Day