Photo Credit: IndyCar
2015 Indianapolis 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya would top the charts in the final practice session for the Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway. Montoya will start the event from the fifth spot as he enters this weekend as the series points lead at the halfway mark of the season.
“I think we are pretty good,” he commented post-qualifying. “The balance is not there yet. We need some work to do to be a little quicker, but it is what it is. The aero kits drive a little different. We are just trying to figure out what we need to do and where we need to run. We have options to run a lot more downforce if we want to. It is a big penalty so you have to figure out what is the best compromise.”
Graham Rahal, coming off a pair of top-five finishes in Detroit, was second quickest as Honda appears to be closing the gap on Chevrolet. Chevrolet has dominated early this year, but Honda was able to place three cars in the top-five during final practice. Rahal is hoping to keep the positive momentum going after qualifying sixth for Saturday night’s race. Rookie Gabby Chaves was third quickest in final practice, followed by Tony Kanaan and Ryan Hunter-Reay. Hunter-Reay appears to have his weekend heading down a positive road after making contact with the SAFER barrier in the first practice.
Simon Pagenaud, who led the first practice, was sixth quickest, followed by Helio Castroneves, Carlos Munoz, Scott Dixon and Sebastien Bourdais. Firestone 600 pole sitter Will Power was 11th quickest.
