Andretti Autosport – Practice Report: Verizon IndyCar Series

Round 2 of Verizon IndyCar Series competition is underway as the series took to the streets of Long Beach, California, beginning the weekend with two practice sessions on the 1.968-mile street circuit. The field of 21 will return to the track for morning practice followed by qualifying with live broadcast on NBC Sports Network at 3:30 p.m. PT.

No. 27 United Fiber & Data Honda – Marco Andretti

Turned 32 total laps of practice to end the day second overall
Recorded his fastest lap time at 01:07.3576

“The UFD car is on edge, but I think that’s where we need to be to be quick. I like the predictability of the car. I felt like I could drive it to the limit, which is important to be able to wring it out in qualifying. I’m pleased with the pace and the pace we had all through testing, so it’s good to keep the pace here and back it up. We really need to convert this pace into results, and I really think we can.”

No. 26 Andretti Autosport Honda – Takuma Sato

The 2013 Long Beach race winner finished the day fourth overall

“It was a good day. It’s always good to be back in Long Beach, this is a special event and it’s always fun. We had a busy Practice 1 but we got it sorted out and in the second session it felt much better. We tried various setups across the car and it was quite a productive day. Today was actually the first time that I tried the red tires in practice because I missed the opportunity in St. Pete. It was a good feeling and I feel prepared for tomorrow.”

No. 28 DHL Honda – Ryan Hunter-Reay

Placed the DHL Honda fifth on the time charts, looking for a second Long Beach victory after taking the twin-checkers in 2010

“We seemed to overstep it a little that session, just got a little bit too aggressive with the car. I was starting to protect the entry too much where I’m trying to turn in and the rears always threatening and on a street circuit you just can’t drive that way. It’s something that we need to pay attention to, make the right decisions and try to guess right for tomorrow. Make it so that I can really hustle the car. I almost felt like in that session it was starting to drive me, I just couldn’t attack it. We just need to make some changes and I have faith that if we make the right ones, we can get the No. 28 DHL car in the front row.”

No. 98 NAPA AUTO PARTS / Curb Honda – Alexander Rossi

Finished 11th in practice today for the first of two home-state races

“It was a mostly positive day. On black (primary) tires, I think, we’re in the top three cars. I missed the balance there a bit on the red (alternate) Firestones, but that’s the positive of using the red tires this year in practice – you can have an understanding of what they have to do before you go in to qualifying. If we just adjust that overnight, then the NAPA AUTO PARTS car will be looking good.”