Arrow McLAREN 109th Indianapolis 500 Day 1 Practice Report
"I think we had a solid first day"
Practice 1 of the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 started the same way it ended – with rain. However, the weather cleared up for a few hours in the middle of the scheduled session and allowed for drivers to turn valuable laps.
Nolan Siegel was among the drivers to turn the most laps, and he also was the highest-ranking Arrow McLaren driver on the timing charts. All four papaya drivers left the first day on the world-famous oval feeling strong about their respective cars and are confident heading into the rest of the week.
The Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team will be on track again tomorrow, starting with a refresher session for Team Principal Tony Kanaan at 10:00 a.m. EDT and followed by full-field Practice at noon EDT on FS2.
| Location | Indianapolis, Ind. |
| Practice Date | May 13 |
| Round | 6 out of 17 |
| Total Laps | 200 laps |
| Total Race Distance | 500 miles / 804.7 km |
| Length | 2.5Â miles / 4.0Â km |
| Number of Turns | 4 |
Nolan Siegel, Driver, No. 6 NTT DATA Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
| Practice | 221.822 mph | 20th |
| Total Laps | 69 | Â |
"I think we had a solid first day. We got the car in a comfortable window that matched where we were at the Open Test. It was comfortable very quickly, so I'm happy with where we rolled off. We just need some small changes and fine-tuning from here. We'll find a little bit of raw speed, and if we keep the balance comfortable, I think we'll be in a good spot come Qualifying. I didn't get to run in traffic a ton, but when we do, I'm confident that a car with good balance in clean air will be a car with good balance in traffic. We're in a good spot."
Christian Lundgaard, Driver, No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
| Practice | 221.262 mph | 23rd |
| Total Laps | 51 | Â |
"It was a pretty good first day. I think we found some improvements since the Open Test and really we're just moving on from there. We really wanted to focus on what the No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet could do today. Looking ahead at Wednesday's practice, we really want to see what the other cars have to say and pick out the best bits and pieces to combine them and see where we're really at. But I feel that we've left Tuesday in a really good place compared to where we were at the Open Test, so I'm much happier and confident at this point."
Kyle Larson, Driver, No. 17 HendrickCars.com Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
| Practice | 221.207 mph | 24th |
| Total Laps | 48 | Â |
"Our day was good. We kind of took it easy to start. We got out in clean air and made sure our balance was comfortable, which it was, so I was happy about that. We got in some traffic at the end and, as normal, had some understeer. I'm happy with the first day. It was a nice and smooth, so a good place to start."
Pato O'Ward, Driver, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
| Practice | 220.263 mph | 29th |
| Total Laps | 35 | Â |
"I did a lot of laps by myself today. We didn't get quite as much traffic running as I wish we could have had, but good thing there's plenty of time to get those runs sorted out to see where the car is at."
Remaining Session Times
| Practice 3 | Wednesday, 12:00 - 6:00 p.m. ET | FS2 |
| Practice 4 | Thursday, 12:00 - 6:00 p.m. ET | FS2 |
| Practice 5 | Friday, 12:00 - 6:00 p.m. ET | FS2 |
| Practice 6 | Saturday, 8:30 - 9:30 a.m. ET | FS2 |
| Qualifying | Saturday, 11:00 a.m. - 5:50 p.m. ET | FS1 |
| Practice 7 | Sunday, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. ET | FS2 |
| Qualifying | Sunday, 4:05 - 6:15 p.m. ET | FOX |
| Practice 8 | Monday, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. ET | FS1 |
| Carb Day | Friday, May 23 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. ET | FS1 |
| Race Tune-In | Sunday, May 25 10:00 a.m. ET | FOX |
| Green Flag | Sunday, May 25 12:45 p.m. ET | FOX |