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Alex Palou leads tense Indy 500 drafting practice, Rasmussen crashes

The two-hour session is the last on-track practice until Carb Day on Friday, and all 33 teams took full advantage of it. Alex Palou led the way in the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda with a 226.765mph lap, followed by Helio Castroneves in the No. 06 Meyer Shank Racing Honda at 226.441mph, and Takuma Sato in the No. 75 RLL Racing Honda at 226.087mph.

Jack Harvey was the top Chevrolet in fourth, followed by Ryan Hunter-Reay in fifth, Nolan Siegel sixth, Will Power seventh, Josef Newgarden eighth, Christian Rasmussen ninth, and Conor Daly tenth on the time sheets.

88 laps was the most run by any driver with both Power and Callum Ilott reaching that total.

Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing (Photo by: Penske Entertainment)

The session featured one on-track incident as Rasmussen touched the wall at the exit of Turn 2, breaking the rear rear toe-link. He tried to hang onto the car, but it eventually spun into the infield grass and impacted the inside wall. It was not a significant impact, but it's worth noting that this is the second time this month Rasmussen lost it at the exit of Turn 2.

Robert Shwartzman and Prema Racing shocked the world when they earned pole position for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500, but things didn't go as smoothly in Monday drafting practice. Shwartzman had a huge lock-up while trying to practice his pit entry and the crew struggled in a practice pit stop.

But one of the sketchier moments for Shwartzman came when 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson thought about making a big move late into Turn 3. Thankfully, disaster was avoided as Larson lifted at the last possible second. Larson ranked 11th on the speed charts at 225.056mph while Shwartzman was down in 26th with a fast lap of 222.561mph.

There were several other close calls and big overtakes as focus shifts to race day, including one moment where Newgarden went three-wide down the frontstretch as Graham Rahal moved up towards him, but thankfully, no contact was made.

Photos from Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Past Indy 500 winners: Will Power, Team Penske, Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter Racing, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, Helio Castroneve

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Indy 500 field

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Patricio O'ward, Arrow McLaren, Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Robert Shwartzman, Prema Racing

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Robert Shwartzman, Prema Racing

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Robert Shwartzman, Prema Racing

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Patricio O'ward, Arrow McLaren

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Robert Shwartzman, Prema Racing

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Robert Shwartzman, Prema Racing

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

David Malukas, A. J. Foyt Enterprises

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

General view

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

General view

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Robert Shwartzman, Prema Racing

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Colton Herta, Andretti Global

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Patricio O'ward, Arrow McLaren

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Will Power, Team Penske

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Rinus Veekay, Dale Coyne Racing

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Kyle Larson, Arrow McLaren

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Josef Newgarden, Team Penske

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Robert Shwartzman, Prema Racing

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Robert Shwartzman, Prema Racing

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Patricio O'ward, Arrow McLaren

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Patricio O'ward, Arrow McLaren

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Conor Daly, Juncos Hollinger Racing

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Devlin Defrancesco, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Conor Daly, Juncos Hollinger Racing

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Kyle Larson, Arrow McLaren

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Santino Ferrucci, A. J. Foyt Enterprises

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Patricio O'ward, Arrow McLaren

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

Kyle Larson, Arrow McLaren

2025 Indianapolis 500 - Practice 8

IndyCar
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In this article
Nick DeGroot
IndyCar
Alex Palou
Chip Ganassi Racing
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