Dario Franchitti recorded the fastest lap on "Carb Day," the final practice session at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway before Sunday's Indy 500.
Franchitti topped the times with a 222.360mph lap (40.4749sec) to put him just ahead of teammate Scott Dixon (222.274mph). Marco Andretti (Andretti Autosport) was third fastest with a 221.702mph effort
"The car was good," Franchitti said. "The car was as good as it has been all month, really. Good balance, good grip. It's getting more slippery the more the air temperature goes up, and the more the car moves around, the harder it is behind the wheel. But it's the same for everybody. I think we've got a good set-up for race day, although it would have been nice to have that motor for qualifying."
Rahal Letterman Lanigan's Takuma Sato was fourth quickest ahead of polesitter Ryan Briscoe (Penske) and Justin Wilson (Dale Coyne).
Adding to the uncertainties going into the race, the current weather forecast for Sunday is for a high of 92 degrees, which corresponds to a track temperature of 140 degrees.
"There's still a lot of unknowns," Dixon admitted. "Previously, we knew what to expect because we knew everybody had the same stuff. I think we can expect to see a very tight race with a lot of passing."
Dixon hopes that winning the IZOD Indy 500 Pit Stop Competition (ABOVE RIGHT) could be a good omen for him. The Ganassi driver and his No. 9 Target crew defeated Oriol Servia and his Panther/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing squad in the championship round. Dixon's pit crew received the $50,000 first prize for its speed and accuracy.
The winner of the competition has gone on to win the Indianapolis 500 six times, most recently with Team Penske's Helio Castroneves in 2009. It was the first-ever win for Target Chip Ganassi Racing in the pit stop contest.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap
1. Dario Franchitti Ganassi DW12-Honda 40.4749s
2. Scott Dixon Ganassi DW12-Honda 40.4906s + 0.0157s
3. Marco Andretti Andretti DW12-Chevy 40.5950s + 0.1201s
4. Takuma Sato Rahal DW12-Honda 40.7097s + 0.2348s
5. Ryan Briscoe Penske DW12-Chevy 40.7194s + 0.2445s
6. Justin Wilson Coyne DW12-Honda 40.7396s + 0.2647s
7. Will Power Penske DW12-Chevy 40.8359s + 0.3610s
8. James Hinchcliffe Andretti DW12-Chevy 40.8517s + 0.3768s
9. Tony Kanaan KV DW12-Chevy 40.8733s + 0.3984s
10. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti DW12-Chevy 40.9255s + 0.4506s
11. Helio Castroneves Penske DW12-Chevy 40.9403s + 0.4654s
12. JR Hildebrand Panther DW12-Chevy 40.9517s + 0.4768s
13. Josef Newgarden Fisher DW12-Honda 40.9890s + 0.5141s
14. Charlie Kimball Ganassi DW12-Honda 41.0009s + 0.5260s
15. Graham Rahal Ganassi DW12-Honda 41.0191s + 0.5442s
16. Alex Tagliani Herta DW12-Honda 41.0419s + 0.5670s
17. Rubens Barrichello KV DW12-Chevy 41.0917s + 0.6168s
18. Oriol Servia Panther/DRR DW12-Chevy 41.1249s + 0.6500s
19. Mike Conway Foyt DW12-Honda 41.1591s + 0.6842s
20. Ed Carpenter Carpenter DW12-Chevy 41.2115s + 0.7366s
21. Sebastian Saavedra AFS/Andretti DW12-Chevy 41.2121s + 0.7372s
22. EJ Viso KV DW12-Chevy 41.2262s + 0.7513s
23. Simon Pagenaud Schmidt DW12-Honda 41.3229s + 0.8480s
24. Bryan Clauson Fisher DW12-Honda 41.3230s + 0.8481s
25. Sebastien Bourdais Dragon DW12-Chevy 41.3341s + 0.8592s
26. Katherine Legge Dragon DW12-Chevy 41.3605s + 0.8856s
27. Wade Cunningham Foyt DW12-Honda 41.3836s + 0.9087s
28. Michel Jourdain Jr Rahal DW12-Honda 41.6300s + 1.1551s
29. Townsend Bell Schmidt DW12-Honda 41.7248s + 1.2499s
30. James Jakes Coyne DW12-Honda 42.2364s + 1.7615s
31. Simona de Silvestro HVM DW12-Lotus 43.5534s + 3.0785s
32. Jean Alesi Fan Force DW12-Lotus 44.0202s + 3.5453s
33. Ana Beatriz Andretti/Conquest DW12-Chevy