Indy 500 practice update: Carpenter hits 230; rain hits IMS once again (UPDATED) - MotorSportsTalk

“Fast Friday” at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway appears to have taken on two meanings this Friday, May 16:

It saw the fastest laps of the month.

It also has seen the fastest period of on-track activity from start-to-finish, with barely 20 minutes complete between the delayed start and the rain halting just before 3:30 p.m. Temperatures were only in the 50s, in-between the rain coming to IMS. Heavier rain and hail fell began just after 3:30.

In the few moments of green flag running, defending Indianapolis 500 polesitter Ed Carpenter became the first driver to set a 230-plus mph lap, at 230.522 mph in the No. 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolet for his Ed Carpenter Racing team.

Per Chevrolet ace PR rep Judy Dominick, Carpenter’s best lap was tow-assisted, but his 229.1 and Helio Castroneves’ 229.8 laps did not have a tow.

But it wasn’t just 230 that was hit with the boosts turned up on the cars to help create more power.

The best lap speed of 227.166 set prior to today, from Castroneves on Thursday, was eclipsed by each of the top 17 drivers. The top 12 were all over 228 mph.

After Carpenter was Castroneves and three young Americans, Marco Andretti, JR Hildebrand and Josef Newgarden.

UPDATED, 4:20 p.m. ET: Due to the weather, track activity has concluded for the day.

Here are the times, then, from the final day of practice before qualifying:

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The NBC Sports IndyCar power rankings naturally were as jumbled as the action on the streets of St. Petersburg after a chaotic opener to the 2023 season.

Pato O’Ward, who finished second because of an engine blip that cost him the lead with a few laps remaining, moves into the top spot ahead of St. Pete winner Marcus Ericsson and Alexander Rossi, who finished fourth in his Arrow McLaren debut. Scott Dixon and St. Pete pole-sitter Romain Grosjean (who led 31 laps) rounded out the top five.

St. Pete pole-sitter Romain Grosjean (who started first at St. Pete after capturing his second career pole position) Callum Ilott (a career-best fifth) and Graham Rahal entered the power rankings entering the season’s second race.

Three drivers fell out of the preseason top 10 after the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – including previously top-ranked Josef Newgarden, who finished 17^th after qualifying 14^th.

Heading into Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, here’s NBC Sports’ assessment of the current top 10 drivers through the first of 17 races this year (with previous preseason rankings in parenthesis):

NBC Sports’ IndyCar Power Rankings

1. Pato O’Ward (5) – If not for the dreaded “plenum event” in the No. 5 Chevrolet, the Arrow McLaren driver is opening the season with a victory capping a strong race weekend.

2. Marcus Ericsson (7) – He might be the most opportunistic driver in IndyCar, but that’s because the 2022 Indy 500 winner has become one of the series’ fastest and most consistent stars.

3. Alexander Rossi (10) – He overcame a frustrating Friday and mediocre qualifying to open his Arrow McLaren career with the sort of hard-earned top five missing in his last years at Andretti.

4. Scott Dixon (3) – Put aside his opening-lap skirmish with former teammate Felix Rosenqvist, and it was a typically stealthily good result for the six-time champion.

5. Romain Grosjean (NR) – The St. Petersburg pole-sitter consistently was fastest on the streets of St. Petersburg over the course of the race weekend, which he couldn’t say once last year.

6. Scott McLaughlin (6) – Easily the best of the Team Penske drivers before his crash with Grosjean, McLaughlin drove like a legitimate 2023 championship contender.

7. Callum Ilott (NR) – A quietly impressive top five for the confident Brit in Juncos Hollinger Racing’s first race as a two-car team. Texas will be a big oval litmus test.

8. Graham Rahal (NR) – Sixth at St. Pete, Rahal still has the goods on street courses, and Rahal Letterman Lanigan remains headed in the right direction.

9. Alex Palou (4) – He seemed a step behind Ericsson and Dixon in the race after just missing the Fast Six in qualifying, but this was a solid start for Palou.

10. Will Power (2) – An uncharacteristic mistake that crashed Colton Herta put a blemish on the type of steady weekend that helped him win the 2022 title.

Falling out (last week): Josef Newgarden (1), Colton Herta (8), Christian Lundgaard (9)