Chevys that made engine changes perform well on Fast Friday at the Indy 500

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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Chevrolet engines that caused some consternation earlier this week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway performed just fine on Fast Friday.

Scott McLaughlin, the 2024 Indianapolis 500 pole winner, turned the fastest no-tow lap of the day at 232.674 mph and had second-fastest four-lap average. Alexander Rossi, the 2016 race winner, turned the second-fastest overall lap at 232.932. And Rossi's teammate, driver-owner Ed Carpenter, was seventh on the speed chart at 232.470. Carpenter has won three Indy poles.

All three made engine changes Tuesday or Wednesday because of mechanical issues, prompting the engine manufacturer to ship each engine back to Detroit for additional inspection.

“Chevrolet is aware of some isolated engine issues experienced by a small number of Chevrolet-powered entries during Indianapolis 500 practice this week,” the company said Friday in a statement. “We are working closely with our teams to review. Our focus is on understanding the facts as quickly as possible while continuing to provide our teams with the performance, reliability and support they need as preparations continue for qualifying and the Indianapolis 500.”

But the Chevy drivers had no problems Friday when IndyCar added about 100 horsepower to each of the 33 cars for race qualifying, The Chevy drivers claimed two of the top three fastest laps of the day and six of the top 10 while also posting four of the six fastest four-lap averages.

Qualifying begins Saturday on Indianapolis Motor Speedway's 2.5-mile oval. The 12-car pole shootout is set for Sunday and all of the estimated 275,000 reserved seats have been sold for “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” on May 24.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing