Team Penske led the only practice session ahead of the Hy-Vee Doubleheader at Iowa Speedway, with Scott McLaughlin topping the field of 27 cars at 185.891 mph in the No. 3 Chevy.
The 90-minute afternoon session was characterized by the high heat and humidity Iowa is known for—temperatures reached 85 degrees, and the newly-paved track surface exceeded 120F. Drivers like McLaughlin, who led with 112 laps, focused on chassis setup changes, trying out new, slightly softer right-side Firestone tires. The session saw rampant damper and spring adjustments and qualifying simulations that resulted in the fastest laps.
Championship leader Alex Palou followed closely in second with a 185.536 mph run in the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. NTT IndyCar Series’ recent winner Pato O’Ward came in third at 184.154 mph in the No. 5 Chevy. Meyer Shank Racing’s David Malukas was fourth in the No. 66 Honda at 184.112 mph. O’Ward’s teammate Alexander Rossi was fifth at 183.784 mph in the No. 7 Chevy, and Scott Dixon rounded out the top six in the No. 9 Ganassi Honda at 183.620 mph.
“From the start, the car felt pretty good even with the changes to the downforce and tire for this race,” McLaughlin said. “Ultimately, it felt solid. I knew we had pace as I built up to the run. I got a clean enough run to put up a good lap. Hopefully, we get a good starting place. We need to adjust a couple of things for turn four because it’s easy to get up in the marbles, but I think that will be difficult for everyone. So far, so good.”
Wind and harmless spins also played a role on Friday. Cautions were called for Agustin Canapino’s clean spin in Turn 2, Katherine Legge’s contact-free spin out of Turn 4, and McLaughlin himself had a spin with 90 seconds left while exiting Turn 4. Marcus Ericsson from Andretti Global was the only one unlucky enough to damage his car; his No. 28 Honda spun early in Turn 4, rotated, and hit the rear and front of the car.
Ericsson was unharmed and will be back in action on Saturday at the start of qualifying. However, his crash, which happened just 10 minutes into the session, means he’ll go straight into qualifying with limited mileage on the new right-side tires and will need to push hard in the repaired car.
McLaughlin’s teammate Josef Newgarden, who has won three of the last four Iowa races, surprisingly finished 15th. His 105 laps—more than all but three others—did not produce the expected speed.
Before the session, IndyCar held a 30-minute high-lane rubbering-in outing. Graham Rahal expressed confidence that the added rubber above the low lane would enhance passing opportunities in the races.
“It’s gonna be there, for sure,” Rahal said. “This helps tremendously.”