FEBRUARY 15, 2017

(Shawn Gritzmacher/INDYCAR)
Chevrolet power (and aero kits) dominated the day sessions of the IndyCar open test at the 1.022-mile Phoenix Raceway oval, while those competitors with Honda power filled the top of the leader board for the night practices. The short story? The competition for the 2017 season looks to be as intense as ever. JR Hildebrand (No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Fuzzy's Vodka Chevrolet), who returns to a full-season ride this year with ECR, turned the fastest single lap of the weekend test session at 193.234 mph (19.0401 seconds). The lap came early in this afternoon's session and was better than the track record established last year by Helio Castroneves. Hildebrand's lap is not considered an official record because it did not take place during qualifications or the race. "We'd certainly rather be quick than not and we felt good about the laps we've been putting in," Hildebrand said at the time. "We were running at a really good time of day. The conditions tailed off a little after we ran our time. We went back out later trying to go even quicker and had a little bit of a moment." Hildebrand crashed into the Turn 4 SAFER barrier in the final night practice, but fortunately without injury.

(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)
Ed Carpenter, JR Hildebrand's teammate and boss, had the second-best overall lap of the weekend at 192.404 mph in the No. 20 Fuzzy's Vodka Chevrolet, also logged in today's afternoon practice. The top five spots in the daytime session were filled by Chevrolet-powered cars, a day after the bowtie brigade held the top four spots.

(Photo by Shawn Gritzmacher/INDYCAR)
The final night practice - when cars were fitted into race trim - saw five Honda entries come to the fore, led by Ryan Hunter-Reay (No. 28 Andretti Autosport DHL Honda), who turned in a lap of 189.716 mph.

(Photo by Joe Skibinski/INDYCAR)
Sebastien Bourdais (No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda) at speed during the Phoenix Open IndyCar Test at Phoenix Raceway. Bourdais was second quick in the final night practice session with a speed of 189.495 mph. Honda-powered machines claimed the first six positions on the speed chart in Friday's night practice. "The team did a really good job and we got a lot of really good information," said Bourdais, the four-time Indy car champion who finished in the top 10 of all four open test practices. "Picking a downforce level will be critical when we come back (for the race). It's going to be a ton hotter than it is now. We're just going have to think long and hard about it and see what we come up with. It's definitely not representative now, especially in the night session, of what we're going to be facing in April. Hopefully, we have what we need." The 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season opens with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on the 1.8-mile temporary street circuit March 12 (noon ET, ABC and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network). The Phoenix Grand Prix is the fourth race of the season on April 29 (9 p.m. ET, NBCSN and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network).