Helio Castroneves tops Fast Friday at Indy

Three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves has topped ‘Fast Friday’ practice for the Indianapolis 500 at the Brickyard on the last day of practice before this weekend’s qualifying.

The Brazilian will enter tomorrow’s Pole Day activities holding the fastest time of the month of May so far, with his lap 227.046mph from Practice 2 still the benchmark.

“Certainly with the conditions we had today, we put all of our focus on qualifying,” said Castroneves.

“You want to make sure you get a clean run in and try to simulate a qualifying run as closely as possible. We’re fast and we’re pushing to the limit and trying to make sure that we’re comfortable for tomorrow.”

It was a strong day for Aussie ace Will Power, who was second fastest today and achieved his best lap for the month of May so far. His time today puts him seventh for the month overall as he looks to clinch his first oval win in the biggest race on the IndyCar schedule. The third Team Penske car of Ryan Briscoe was seventh fastest.

“Today was another great day, the best it’s been all week,” said Power.

“The Verizon car feels great out on track, whether I’m in the draft or out on my own. I think we’re prepared for Pole Day, and I know I’m anxious to get out there and give it a go.”

Alex Tagliani continues to impress for the FAZZT Race Team, running third fastest today ahead of Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, who remains the second fastest driver for the month overall entering Pole Day tomorrow and Bump Day on Sunday US time.

RESULTS: Indianapolis 500 – ‘Fast Friday’ Practice 7

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Lap Speed
1.	#3	Helio Castroneves	Team Penske	226.558mph
2.	#12	Will Power	Team Penske	226.429
3.	#77	Alex Tagliani	FAZZT Race Team	226.153
4.	#9	Scott Dixon	Target Chip Ganassi Racing	225.828
5.	#32	Mario Moraes	KV Racing Technology	225.806
6.	#11	Tony Kanaan	Andretti Autosport	225.617
7.	#6	Ryan Briscoe	Team Penske	225.300
8.	#26	Marco Andretti	Andretti Autosport	225.296
9.	#10	Dario Franchitti	Target Chip Ganassi Racing	225.281
10.	#99	Townsend Bell	Sam Schmidt Motorsports	225.177