By Steve Wittich
Veteran Andretti Autosport Indy Lights driver Dalton Kellett led both the tow and no-tow lap speeds during an Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires test session at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that was interrupted by moisture and a multi-car incident.
The first of two 90-minute Indy Lights test sessions in preparation for the Carb Day Freedom 100 began at 10 AM. The skies were overcast, the ambient temperature was 71 F, and the track temperature was 88F.
After only a half-hour of installation laps and solo runs, the group running began. With an iffy weather forecast for the afternoon, finding out how your Mazda powered Dallara handles in traffic was more important than finding speed for qualifying.
One group quickly formed with cars running two-wide through Turn 1.
With 27-minutes left in the 90-minute session the yellow flag came out for moisture, and the track remained down for approximately 12-minutes.
The green flag came out with around 15-minutes remaining, but five minutes later the yellow came out for an incident in Turn 2 involving a pair of Belardi Auto Racing cars.
Rookie Belardi Auto Racing w/ Byrd & Baldwin driver Chris Windom, who is making his first Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires start told TSO that he had a moment in Turn 1 and then snapped in Turn 2.
Santi Urrutia tried to avoid his spinning teammate, but could not avoid his spinning teammate.
The cars of Chris Windom (#33) and Santi Urrutia (#5) are brought back to the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires paddock after an on track incident for the Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (TSO Photo by Tony DiZinno)
Both drivers were taken to the IU Health Medical Center and were checked, released and cleared to drive.
The session was extended by until 11:45 AM and the green flag came back out with six minutes remaining.
The four Andretti Autosport, one Team Pelfrey and one Juncos Racing car all went out on track for qualifying simulations.
Here is the timesheet at the end of the session
| RANK | CAR NO. | DRIVER | TEAM | QUICK LAP | QUICK NO-TOW LAP | TOTAL LAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28 | Dalton Kellett | Andretti Autosport | 198.005 | 195.071 | 46 |
| 2 | 27 | Pato O’Ward | Andretti Autosport | 196.190 | 194.032 | 41 |
| 3 | 23 | Victor Franzoni | Juncos Racing | 195.910 | 193.375 | 41 |
| 4 | 48 | Ryan Norman | Andretti Autosport | 194.793 | 194.793 | 43 |
| 5 | 33 | Chris Windom | Belardi Auto Racing w/ Byrd & Baldwin | 194.730 | 189.739 | 35 |
| 6 | 2 | Davey Hamilton Jr | Team Pelfrey | 194.181 | 191.497 | 59 |
| 7 | 5 | Santi Urrutia | Belardi Auto Racing | 191.609 | 191.609 | 9 |
| 8 | 98 | Colton Herta | Andretti Steinbrenner Racing | 191.405 | 191.403 | 29 |
| 9 | 9 | Aaron Telitz | Belardi Auto Racing | 188.989 | 15 |
The Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires series will be back on track on Thursday, May 24, 2018, for a 45-minute practice session at 10:00 am and will qualifying the same day at 1:30 pm. The Freedom 100 will roll off at 12:30 pm on Friday, May 25, 2018.