INDYCAR: Marcus Ericsson Fastest in Thursday Indianapolis 500 Practice – Full Results

After dominating the first full day of practice yesterday, Chip Ganassi Racing did more of the same today. Defending race winner Marcus Ericsson put down the fastest lap of the month so far at 229.607 mph to claim the top spot on the speed chart. For the second straight day, Scott Dixon was second-fastest, behind a teammate. Takuma Sato was fastest on the first day, and ended up 7th today. Alex Palou was 9th to complete the four-car lineup for Ganassi.

The top-four drivers on the speed chart today are all former winners, with Simon Pagenaud and Will Power each laying down a lap slightly quicker than Andretti Autosport driver Colton Herta. The rest of the top-ten were Conor Daly, Sato, Pato O'Ward, Palou, and Alexander Rossi. There were no major surprises, but Santino Ferrucci just missed out on the top-ten after being third-fastest yesterday for the AJ Foyt Racing team.

Teams were tasked with working on race day setup and qualifying trim during today's session. There was a familiar name at the top of the no-tow charts, with Ericsson again pacing the field at 224.414 mph by himself. Happy Hour gave several drivers a chance to work on the handling of their cars in traffic.

This was the second straight day without any on-track incidents during the six-hour session. There was a close call late in the day when O'Ward was nearly taken out by RC Enerson on pit exit. Enerson veered down onto the pitlane exit, where O'Ward was just coming out to go on track. "I’m sure he didn’t do it on purpose but that was definitely a close one," O'Ward said. "Exiting pitlane I was not expecting that. He must’ve seen me, and I know these oval cars are difficult to stop, but that could’ve been nasty for sure." Enerson reportedly lost contact with his spotter.

Tomorrow is Fast Friday at the speedway, where teams are given an extra boost of engine power. The added horsepower will create higher speeds, which will be on the cars throughout the end of qualifying on Sunday. Friday's practice session will again run from Noon to 6 PM with a busy day on Saturday ahead of qualifications.