Two-time IndyCar Series champion and reigning Indianapolis 500 winner Newgarden set the pace with a flying lap of 1m06.7045s in the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet around the 2.3-mile, 17-turn natural terrain road course.
The session occurred just a few hours after he gave an emotional press conference about his disqualification from the opening round at St. Petersburg.
Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward, who led the early portion of the session, concluded the 75-minute session in second at 0.083s behind Newgarden.
Will Power continued to showcase Penske’s prowess to focus forward to wrap up in third, 0.0869. Andretti Global’s Colton Herta collected fourth by session’s end.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Christian Lundgaard finished fifth, ahead of Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Romain Grosjean sixth.
Grosjean had a tense moment with Dale Coyne Racing’s Jack Harvey late in the running, appearing to run him to the grass between Turns 3 and 4, which left Arrow McLaren’s Alexander Rossi to fire through the gap between them while approaching with significantly more pace.
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