James Hinchcliffe paced the opening Indy 500 practice Wednesday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, turning a 224.526 mph lap in his No. 29 Dallara-Honda.
Hinchcliffe, who is running the last of three races in a part-time schedule while also working as an IndyCar on NBC analyst this year, was one of three Andretti Autosport drivers in the top five. Marco Andretti (224.345) was second, and Ryan Hunter-Reay was fourth (223.341)
“It’s always nice rolling off the truck here with a car that’s got good pace,” Hinchcliffe told Dillon Welch on the NBC Sports Gold broadcast. “It’s a huge credit to everyone at Andretti Autosport. They’ve got a bunch of quick cars.
PRACTICE SPEEDS: Click here for Day 1 at IMS
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“We just need to work on it a little bit and get the balance better working in a big group but can’t ask much more for the first day.”
Day 1 is in the books, and @Hinchtown is off to a solid start.
— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) August 12, 2020
The @FollowAndretti driver finished P1 after 80 laps in #Indy500 practice at @IMS. pic.twitter.com/nW3LwrACi1
Other notables: Scott Dixon was third at 224.047 mph, and Fernando Alonso was fifth at 223.238.
The rest of the top 10 were: Josef Newgarden (223.188), Jack Harvey (223.178), Alex Palou (223.128), Conor Daly (223.020) and Helio Castroneves (222.929).
There were no incidents during the six and a half hour session, which included the Rookie Orientation Program.
Click here for the full list of speeds on the first practice day for the 104th Indy 500.