Having taken pole position for the Indy 500 during Pole Day at Indianapolis, Scott Dixon emerged on top of the times during a rain-hit day of practice at the Brickyard on Wednesday.
With the weather working against the teams for most of the day, it wasn't until after 5pm before the cars were able to hit the track to turn their first laps, although less than an hour of running was possible before the return of the rain brought the day to a brought the day to an early conclusion.
Despite the delays, it was Dixon who once again emerged on top of the times as he edged out team-mate Dan Wheldon to the fastest lap – finishing just was 0.0042secs ahead of the Briton when the rain returned.
"Because there were so little laps, everybody was out there, so we got to run in traffic a little bit and see how the balance was," he said. "It was pretty decent, but it was basically about who got the biggest tow. It was a good day for Team Target because you learn something every time you are on track."
Behind the Ganassi pair, Marco Andretti led a trio of AGR entries ahead of Hideki Mutoh and Danica Patrick.
Andretti had been the first man to take to the track when the green flag finally flew, and while he admitted it had been nice to take the chance to spend some time with the fans who attended to see the action, he would have preferred more time at the wheel to prepare for the big race itself.
"The weather is the same for everyone but it's still disappointing to get so little time on track in the Indiana Jones/Blockbuster car,” he said. “We still need a couple of days of full-tank runs to get a good handle on the race setup. It has been good though because the rain has given us some extra time to sign autographs and talk to the fans that paid to come out and didn't get to see any action."
John Andretti was sixth fastest and the quickest driver yet to qualify for the race as he continues to get to grips with the Roth Racing Dallara, while the top ten was completed by Buddy Rice, Enrique Bernoldi, Townsend Bell and Bruno Junqueira.
