Dario Franchitti led Scott Dixon in a Ganassi 1-2 on Carb Day, the final practice session before Sunday's Indianapolis 500.
This morning's traditional one-hour practice period is the only opportunity for teams to do any mileage between the end of qualifying and the race itself. Polesitter Helio Castroneves (Penske) was fastest early on, before Franchitti moved to the front with a lap of 39.8983sec (225.574mph) on his 12th tour of the hour. Dixon then moved up to second, 0.0735sec behind, with second-place qualifier Will Power third in the quickest of the Penske entries.
FAZZT impressed yet again, with Bruno Junqueira a remarkable fourth fastest. The Brazilian only got in the car for the first time in morning practice before Bump Day qualifying last Sunday, then produced a speed that would have got him in the top ten had he participated in Pole Day. He will start 25th. Junqueira's teammate Alex Tagliani, who qualified an impressive fifth, was 10th today.
Castroneves ended the hour fifth, followed by KV Racing's EJ Viso, 2005 Indy winner Dan Wheldon (Panther), Viso's teammate Mario Moraes, and De Ferran Dragon driver Raphael Matos.
Marco Andretti was the top Andretti Autosport driver in 12th position. His teammate Danica Patrick's troubles continued, as only a late effort got her as high as 21st.
But the driver who struggled for pace most today was Graham Rahal (Rahal Letterman Racing), who was at the tail of the field in 33rd. The American qualified ninth last weekend.
The Carb Day hour passed without incident, running entirely uninterrupted by yellow flags.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Dario Franchitti Ganassi 39.8983s
2. Scott Dixon Ganassi 39.9718s + 0.0735s
3. Will Power Penske 40.0012s + 0.1029s
4. Bruno Junqueira FAZZT 40.0182s + 0.1199s
5. Helio Castroneves Penske 40.0439s + 0.1456s
6. EJ Viso KV 40.1036s + 0.2053s
7. Dan Wheldon Panther 40.1353s + 0.2370s
8. Mario Moraes KV 40.1582s + 0.2599s
9. Raphael Matos De Ferran Dragon 40.2358s + 0.3375s
10. Alex Tagliani FAZZT 40.2644s + 0.3661s
11. Ryan Briscoe Penske 40.2698s + 0.3715s
12. Marco Andretti Andretti 40.2814s + 0.3831s
13. Ed Carpenter Panther/Vision 40.2939s + 0.3956s
14. Townsend Bell Ganassi/Schmidt 40.3611s + 0.4628s
15. Takuma Sato KV 40.3633s + 0.4650s
16. Vitor Meira Foyt 40.4286s + 0.5303s
17. Mike Conway Dreyer & Reinbold 40.4287s + 0.5304s
18. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti 40.4441s + 0.5458s
19. Tomas Scheckter Dreyer & Reinbold 40.4518s + 0.5535s
20. Tony Kanaan Andretti 40.4657s + 0.5674s
21. Danica Patrick Andretti 40.4847s + 0.5864s
22. Mario Romancini Conquest 40.5367s + 0.6384s
23. Bertrand Baguette Conquest 40.5424s + 0.6441s
24. Simona de Silvestro HVM 40.5996s + 0.7013s
25. Davey Hamilton De Ferran Dragon 40.6017s + 0.7034s
26. Hideki Mutoh Newman/Haas 40.6190s + 0.7207s
27. John Andretti Andretti 40.6515s + 0.7532s
28. Alex Lloyd Dale Coyne 40.7120s + 0.8137s
29. Justin Wilson Dreyer & Reinbold 40.7189s + 0.8206s
30. Sarah Fisher Sarah Fisher 40.7389s + 0.8406s
31. Sebastian Saavedra Herta 40.7957s + 0.8974s
32. Ana Beatriz Dreyer & Reinbold 40.8393s + 0.9410s
33. Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman 40.9095s + 1.0112s