Photo Credit: Chris Jones/IndyCar
Team Penske showed speed all last season, winning multiple races, and it seems that they’re still quick going into the new year as Helio Castroneves topped the first test session at Phoenix International Raceway ahead of his Team Penske teammate Will Power.
This year’s event at Phoenix International Raceway will mark the series’ first event at the speedway since 2005. Castroneves is one of six drivers that have previously raced at the Phoenix, Arizona track, scoring a win and four top-10s in five starts. Power, meanwhile, hasn’t run any events at Phoenix previously.
Chevrolet swept the top-four spots as Josef Newgarden slotted his Ed Carpenter Racing entry in the third spot, followed by Team Penske’s Juan Pablo Montoya. While Montoya does not have open-wheel experience at Phoenix, he has ran a stock car there.
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Graham Rahal, who led the way for Honda last year, rounded out the top-five in fifth. Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud was sixth, followed by Andretti Autosport’s Marco Andretti, while last year’s champion Scott Dixon was eighth. Ed Carpenter and Tony Kanaan rounded out the top-10.
The teams will have one more session today on track, followed by a pair of sessions on Saturday.
