Rain caused a lengthy delay in Indianapolis 500 rookie and refresher practice, then ended Opening Day proceedings at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway a half-hour ahead of schedule.
About ten minutes into the second practice session of the day, moisture began to fall on the 2.5-mile oval and the resulting delay lasted for over two and a half hours. The rain came back with around 40 minutes left to go, and track officials decided to call it a day.
Ana Beatriz, Simona de Silvestro and Takuma Sato were able to complete two of the four required Rookie Orientation Program speed phases, while Jay Howard and Sebastian Saavedra got through one ROP phase. Howard had the fastest lap amongst the rookies, turning a lap of 215.039 m.p.h. in the No. 66 Sarah Fisher Racing machine.
Tomas Scheckter led Indy 500 veteran drivers who took refresher laps with a lap of 221.616 m.p.h. in the No. 23 Dreyer and Reinbold Racing car. Other notables include Townsend Bell in the No. 99 Chip Ganassi/Sam Schmidt entry (219.943 m.p.h.) and Graham Rahal in the No. 30 Rahal Letterman Racing special (219.624 m.p.h.).
