Points leader Scott Dixon topped final practice ahead of qualifying for Sunday’s INDYCAR Grand Prix of Sonoma (6:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN).
Dixon’s best lap of the session came in at 1:17.9697, actually just over a tenth of a second slower than Josef Newgarden’s fast lap (1:17.8156) from Practice 2, and four tenths of a second off Ryan Hunter-Reay’s quick lap from opening practice, which came in at 1:17.5742.
Nonetheless, Dixon, who was second fastest in each of Friday’s practices, appears to be one of the drivers to beat ahead of Saturday qualifying.
Leading the way in our final practice? Take a guess.
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) September 15, 2018
Of course it's @scottdixon9.
P2: @12WillPower
P3: @RyanHunterReay
P4: @AlexanderRossi
P5: @josefnewgarden
📈 https://t.co/SAdeSxADLx
📲 @verizon INDYCAR Mobile
📻 @AdvanceAuto IndyCar Radio Network#INDYCAR // #SonomaGP pic.twitter.com/CO0DII1Zhv
Will Power, who trails Dixon by 87 points, was second in Practice 3 with a time of 1:17.9793 - Dixon and Power were also the only two drivers below the 1:18 mark in the session.
Ryan Hunter-Reay ended practice in third, while Dixon’s main title rival Alexander Rossi, 29 points behind Dixon entering the weekend, was fourth.
Josef Newgarden, who like Power is still mathematically in the title picture at 87 points off the lead, was fifth. Of note: Newgarden was forced to sit out the final ten minutes of Practice 3 after hitting personnel during pit stop practice on Friday.
Simon Pagenaud, Zach Veach, Takuma Sato, Santino Ferrucci, and Marco Andretti rounded out the top 10. Other notables include Patricio O’Ward (21st), Colton Herta (22nd), and Tony Kanaan (23rd).
The lone stoppage of the session came with less than two minutes remaining after Carlos Munoz spun in Turns 9 and 9a, which comprise the chicane before the final hairpin.
After this @CarlosMunoz034 spin, we'll have one more lap in Practice 3 🏁
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) September 15, 2018
📈 https://t.co/SAdeSxADLx
📲 @verizon INDYCAR Mobile
📻 @AdvanceAuto IndyCar Radio Network#INDYCAR // #SonomaGP pic.twitter.com/ti4VOaJXx1
However, Munoz was able to continue, and IndyCar officials allowed teams and drivers one extra lap of practice before displaying the checkered flag. Munoz ended up 19th.
Results are below. Qualifying begins at 6:00 p.m. ET (3:00 p.m. local time), and will air on NBCSN at 8:00 p.m. ET.
