Rahal set the pace on Friday for Newman/Haas. (LAT photo)
Graham Rahal emerged fastest in the sole Friday practice hour for the Mid-Ohio IZOD IndyCar Series race. The Newman/Haas driver jumped to the top late on to beat championship leader Will Power (Penske) by 0.024sec. Power's team-mate Helio Castroneves was also within 0.0718sec of Rahal's pace in third.
Ryan Hunter Reay was quickest for a while and ended up fourth for Andretti Autosport, ahead of Penske's Ryan Briscoe.
Early pacesetter EJ Viso (KV) slipped to sixth by the end of the hour, which put him just ahead of a spectacular debut by JR Hildebrand. The reigning Indy Lights champion, who is occupying the injured Mike Conway's Dreyer & Reinbold seat for the next two rounds, was seventh in his first official IndyCar session.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Graham Rahal Newman/Haas 1m08.3061s
2. Will Power Penske 1m08.3301s + 0.0240s
3. Helio Castroneves Penske 1m08.3779s + 0.0718s
4. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti 1m08.4692s + 0.1631s
5. Ryan Briscoe Penske 1m08.5437s + 0.2376s
6. Ernesto Viso KV 1m08.6244s + 0.3183s
7. JR Hildebrand Dreyer & Reinbold 1m08.6340s + 0.3279s
8. Mario Moraes KV 1m08.6386s + 0.3325s
9. Tony Kanaan Andretti 1m08.6495s + 0.3434s
10. Dan Wheldon Panther 1m08.6527s + 0.3466s
11. Bertand Baguette Conquest 1m08.7154s + 0.4093s
12. Scott Dixon Ganassi 1m08.7281s + 0.4220s
13. Simona de Silvestro HVM 1m08.7752s + 0.4691s
14. Justin Wilson Dreyer & Reinbold 1m08.7971s + 0.4910s
15. Dario Franchitti Ganassi 1m08.8376s + 0.5315s
16. Hideki Mutoh Newman/Haas 1m09.0533s + 0.7472s
17. Adam Carroll Andretti 1m09.1088s + 0.8027s
18. Marco Andretti Andretti 1m09.1325s + 0.8264s
19. Danica Patrick Andretti 1m09.1579s + 0.8518s
20. Takuma Sato KV 1m09.1824s + 0.8763s
21. Raphael Matos De Ferran Dragon 1m09.2168s + 0.9107s
22. Alex Tagliani FAZZT 1m09.2814s + 0.9753s
23. Vitor Meira Foyt 1m09.3351s + 1.0290s
24. Alex Lloyd Dale Coyne 1m09.3594s + 1.0533s
25. Francesco Dracone Conquest 1m11.0931s + 2.7870s
26. Milka Duno Dale Coyne 1m12.8372s + 4.5311s
27. Jay Howard Sarah Fisher 1m14.9038s + 6.5977s