Conor Daly was fastest in the final practice for the Bommarito Automoitve Group 500 at World Wide Technology raceway at Gateway Friday evening, positing a lap 181.931 mph with less than 10 minutes remaining in the session.
But the positive emotions surrounding the Carlin Racing team would quickly turn to mixed ones, as teammate Charlie Kimball made contact with the inside wall exiting Turn 4 just minutes later, which caused significant damage to his car and prematurely ended the session under the caution flag. Kimball walked away from the accident safely.
The caution, however, could not have come at a worse time for race polesitter Josef Newgarden, who finished the session second-fastest with a 181.312 mph lap.
Newgarden’s No. 2 Chevrolet was in the pits when the yellow came out for Kimball’s accident, as his Team Penske crew was attempting to diagnose engine issues. Because Newgarden was unable to return to the track before the session ended, the team now faces the tough question of whether or not an engine change will be necessary,
Zach Veach (181.033 mph) ended the session third-fastest, with Takuma Sato (180.947 mph) and Felix Rosenqvist (180.806 mph) ending the session fourth and fifth-fastest, respectfully.
Live, flag to flag coverage of the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 begins Saturday evening on NBCSN and streaming live on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.