Kanaan set the pace before the rain kicked in... (LAT Photo)
Tony Kanaan was fastest in practice Thursday as in preparation for the Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi.
Kanaan was clocked at 27.2453 seconds -- 200.842 mph -- in the No. 11 Andretti Green Racing Dallara-Honda during the afternoon session, which was interrupted because of showers. More rain is expected Friday when the 18-car field is scheduled for qualifying at 12:30 a.m. ET.
"Because this track is used only a couple of times a year, it's very dirty at the start and most of the first practice session is spent putting some rubber down," Kanaan said. "Then the real work took place in the afternoon. Once again, I think we have a very good car, a car that is capable of winning, but that's probably also true for Scott (Dixon) and several other guys here this weekend.”
If qualifying is rained out, cars will line up according to current standings. That bodes well for Helio Castroneves, the current points leader, and Dixon and Kanaan, who are second and third, respectively, in the standings after the first two races of the season.
Dixon recorded the second-best lap of the afternoon session, 200.390 mph in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara-Honda, followed by teammate Dan Wheldon at 200.250 mph in the No. 10 Ganassi Dallara-Honda. Castroneves was fourth fastest in the No. 3 Team Penske Dallara-Honda.
"We were going for speed, as were most people, with race setup because (of the forecast), so it might be the only time we get on the track," Dixon said. "So we tried to cover as many bases as possible."
The race is one of two points events this weekend for the IndyCar Series. Champ Car teams, some of which are making the transition to the IndyCar Series, are competing this weekend in the final Champ Car race at Long Beach.
Kanaan, last year’s winner at the tricky 1.52-mile oval, said his team needs more work to find a balance on the track’s different corner radii. Turns 1 and 2 have a wider turning radius than the sharper third and fourth turns.
"I'm not quite happy with the balance of the car, but we still have two days to go and a lot of work to do,” Kanaan said. “It's Turn 4 where I'm having the problem, so we're trying to make the car better there. Turns 3 and 4 are the key to have a balanced car for the race; that's where you're going to make the pass."
Ed Carpenter had the fifth-fastest lap in the No. 20 Vision Racing Dallara-Honda.
“We are happy to put in times that are good enough for the top five, but we also want to keep working to go faster," Carpenter said. "So far this year our oval package has been good for us, so the goal now is to keep building off of that and keep improving it. I hope the rain holds off so we can try to qualify and see how we stack up with everybody else in qualifying."
Marco Andretti had the sixth-fastest lap, followed by Ryan Briscoe, Danica Patrick, Townsend Bell and Hideki Mutoh.
Another practice session is scheduled before Friday’s qualifying session. The race is scheduled to begin shortly after 12 a.m. ET Saturday.
