Reigning IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou kicked off his title defense in style, setting the fastest lap on the first day of practice for the 110th Indianapolis 500 on Tuesday. The Spanish driver, piloting the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, initially struggled with a balancing issue and remained quiet for most of the six-hour session. However, he returned in the final 10 minutes to clock a blistering 225.937mph lap, topping the speed charts.
Marcus Armstrong of Meyer Shank Racing held the top spot for most of the day with a 225.895mph lap, only to be bumped late by Palou. Conor Daly, in the No. 23 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet, was the fastest Chevy driver and third overall at 225.838mph. Two-time Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden, driving for Team Penske, finished fourth at 225.121mph, while six-time series champion Scott Dixon was fifth at 225.087mph in the No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
Graham Rahal (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) took sixth, followed by Kyle Kirkwood (Andretti Global) in seventh. Scott McLaughlin (Team Penske), Romain Grosjean (Dale Coyne Racing), and David Malukas (Team Penske) rounded out the top 10.
In addition to featuring in the top 10 overall, Kirkwood posted the fastest no-tow speed of 222.062mph. Will Power, the 2018 Indy 500 winner, was second in no-tow runs at 221.455mph, while Jack Harvey of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing was third.
Alexander Rossi of Ed Carpenter Racing completed a session-high 116 laps, the only driver to surpass the 100-lap mark. Daly and Christian Rasmussen each logged 89 laps. At the other end, Ryan Hunter-Reay, the 2014 Indy 500 winner making a one-off appearance with Arrow McLaren, ran just 27 laps, with Palou second-fewest at 28 laps. The session saw no incidents.
Leading speeds from Day 1 of Indy 500 practice saw Palou (225.937mph) ahead of Armstrong (225.895mph), Daly (225.838mph), Newgarden (225.121mph), and Dixon (225.087mph). The remaining top 10 included Graham Rahal, Kyle Kirkwood, Scott McLaughlin, Romain Grosjean, and David Malukas. More than 30 drivers took to the track, with many teams focusing on race setup and tow runs ahead of qualifying.