Yahoo Autos Ericsson tops delayed, rain-affected second Nashville practice
Marcus Ericsson led Rinus VeeKay and Will Power in a delayed and wet second practice session for Sunday’s Big Machine Music City Grand Prix in Nashville.
Heavy rain that flooded the 2.1-mile Nashville street course in various patches delayed second practice by 50 minutes. When the green flag finally dropped on an abbreviated 30-minute session, the surface was still very wet, and Felix Rosenqvist’s Arrow McLaren Chevrolet and points leader Alex Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing Honda were the first to venture out.
Gradually the others got more brave, and Ericsson – who finished Friday’s dry session outside the top 20 – proved his class with a 1m31.7999s that, at the time, was 1.3s clear of the field, at that point led by Scott McLaughlin.
Ed Carpenter Racing’s Rinus VeeKay whittled Ericsson’s margin down to 0.9s, with Friday pacesetter Will Power slotting into third, ahead of fellow Antipodeans McLaughlin, rookie Marcus Armstrong of Ganassi and Scott Dixon, defending Nashville winner.
Ryan Hunter-Reay was seventh fastest in the second Carpenter car, while local hero Josef Newgarden was eighth.
The session was interrupted briefly when series debutant and Indy NXT champion Linus Lundqvist was one of many drivers to end up in a run-off area. The Meyer Shank Racing Honda stalled, which brought out a red flag.
UP NEXT: Rain-delayed qualifying is scheduled to begin at 6:15pm ET.
