Recap: Indy 500 practice includes two crashes

The first full 2024 Indianapolis 500 practice is Thursday, May 16, on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. Most of the first two days of scheduled practice was washed out by rain, and Friday's forecast is questionable, so this session is valuable.

Teams will be looking for setups that work in traffic, and some might do simulated qualifying runs to prepare for the weekend. Here is the qualifying procedure.

Nathan Brown is your best Indy 500 follow, and we have updates and highlights here.

Abbreviated session:McLaughlin has fastest lap in weather-shortened session

Look at those lids:Driver helmets honor friends, family, hospital patients, Indiana

6 p.m.: Indy 500 practice report

Rain interrupts Indianapolis 500 practice for the third straight day, but the drivers have close to 6 hours of green flag running, logging 1,896 laps.

Pato O'Ward sets the fast lap early at 228.861 mph. Colton Herta has the best no-tow lap (running alone, as cars do during qualifying) at 224.182. Rookie Linus Lundqvist and 2022 race winner Marcus Ericsson are uninjured during practice crashes.

Conor Daly logs 86 laps. Kyle Larson, who is attempting the Indy 500-NASCAR double, gets in just 29. Sting Ray Robb runs the fewest laps (14) and has the slowest lap average (219.990).

Tomorrow is Fast Friday, when speeds will jump significantly because race officials allow more horsepower in preparation for this weekend's qualifying. Track action starts at noon ET.

Indy 500 practice top lap speeds Thursday

Includes car number, driver, engine, team, top speed average in mph

1. 6, Pato O'Ward, Chevrolet, Arrow McLaren, 228.861
2. 3, Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, Penske, 227.316
3. 10, Alex Palou, Honda, Chip Ganassi Racing, 226.915
4. 26, Colton Herta, Andretti Global, 226.828
5. 2, Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, Penske, 226.684
6. 98, Marco Andretti, Honda, Andretti Global, 226.554
7. 8, Linus Lundqvist, Honda, Chip Ganassi Racing, 226.621
8. 20, Ed Carpenter, Chevrolet, Ed Carpenter Racing, 226.115
9. 12, Will Power, Chevrolet, Penske, 225.675
10. 9, Scott Dixon, Honda, Chip Ganassi Racing, 225.636

Indy 500 practice top no-tow laps Thursday

Top laps for cars running by themselves, like in qualifying

1. 26, Colton Herta, Honda, Andretti Global, 224.182
2. 27, Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, Andretti Global, 223.387
3. 06, Helio Castroneves, Honda, Meyer Shank, 222.852
4. 15, Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan, 222.669
5. 21, Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, Ed Carpenter Racing, 222.672
6. 3, Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, Penske, 222.505
7. 98, Marco Andretti, Honda, Andretti Global, 222.417
8. 28, Marucs Ericsson, Honda, Andretti Global, 222.408
9. 66, Tom Blomqvist, Honda, Meyer Shank, 222.369
10. 12, Will Power, Chevrolet, Penske, 222.333

3:50 p.m.: Marcus Ericsson hits hard in Turn 4

Marcus Ericsson, the 2022 race champ, hits the outside wall in Turn 4, then spins into the inside wall near the pit entrance, and then the pit road attenuator. It appears he drove too far into the inside curbing, forcing him out of control. He reports on the team radio that he is OK and leaves the car on his own.

"I think I brushed the curb a little bit, enough to send it," Ericsson said after leaving the medical care center. "Then you're a passenger."

3:45 p.m.: Kyle Larson wants more laps

Kyle Larson is an Indy 500 rookie and the engine on his No. 17 Chevrolet was changed this morning. The team has made plenty of necessary adjustments through the day, which leaves Larson off the track more than he'd like. He had taken 18 laps with a best of 222.805 mph.

"It's just been a long day of not a whole lot," he said on pit lane.

The top lap speeds have not changed since earlier.

2 p.m.: Indy 500 drivers practice on their own

Several drivers have taken simulated qualifying runs, though 4-lap speed averages are not available. Pato O'Ward's lap with a tow, and Colton Herta's without a tow remain the day's best. Josef Newgarden's 71 laps are the most by any driver so far.

12:05 p.m.: Pato O'Ward has hot lap early

The track is empty for a few minutes after 33 drivers turn a total of 931 laps over 2+ hours. Only Sting Ray Robb doesn't get on the track. Kyle Larson, who is attempting the Indy-NASCAR double, got an engine replaced and was on track 11 laps early.

Pato O'Ward's 228.861 mph lap is the best. Among no-tow laps (in which the driver does not get pulled along in the aerodynamic tow of a leading driver), Colton Herta hit 224.182.

11:30 a.m.: Linus Lundqvist crashes

Linus Lundqvist sustains the first crash in 2024 practice.

The 25-year-old rookie driving for Chip Ganassi Racing was 6th on the speed chart over the first hour-plus of Thursday's practice at 225.621 mph before sliding through Turn 2 and hitting the outside wall.

His car skidded along the grass on the inside of the back straightaway, he exited the car on his own and was soon cleared to drive.

"I'm all right. Just want apologize to team," a dejected Lundqvist said outside the medical center. "It sucks. It's my mistake."

Meet the rookies:They include NASCAR Cup star Kyle Larson, a couple of 19-year-olds

Lundqvist won the 2022 Indy Lights championship and ran some IndyCar races for Meyer Shank Racing in 2023. He finished 3rd in Alabama earlier this season and stands 14th in points.

"It’s a place you spend so many years on the sidelines, watching this race and dreaming about driving around (IMS) and to finally be able to do it in my first outing with CGR, that’s very special. I feel very fortunate to be in this position. I thoroughly enjoyed today,” he said after his first IMS test last fall.

The top 5 laps in practice before the crash: Pato O'Ward, 228.861 mph; Scott McLaughlin, 227,316; Alex Palou, 226.915; Josef Newgarden, 226.684; Colton Herta, 226.605. Top no-tow speeds: Herta, 224.182 mph; Helio Castroneves, 222.852; Graham Rahal, 222.669.