Notes: Penske sets the pace at Road America

ELKHART LAKE – If practice Friday afternoon was an accurate indication, Sunday’s Kohler Grand Prix is shaping up as a four-man race.

Four men. One team.

With newcomer Josef Newgarden leading the way, Team Penske Chevrolets filled the first four spots on the speed chart, separated by four-tenths of a second.

Will Power, who led 46 of 50 laps on his way to victory last year, was second. Simon Pagenaud ranked third and Helio Castroneves fourth.

“Definitely we just keep learning off each other,” Power said. “That's going to be the key this weekend.

“I'm pretty sure we'll all be at the front in qualifying. It’s about doing a good job and trying to get the most out of your car, understand where your teammate's faster.”

Newgarden’s best lap around the 4.014-mile, 14-turn course was 1 minute 42.8229 seconds for an average speed of 140.537 mph. Power won the pole last year with a 1:42.2015 for the first Verizon IndyCar Series race at the track.

After one more practice Saturday morning, qualifying is set for 3 p.m. Saturday and the race for 12:15 p.m. Sunday.

Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi was best of the rest with his Honda-powered lap of 1:43.3285 from the first session holding up for fifth overall. Rossi’s number was on top of the board when he ran off course midway through the afternoon session.

“It was a bit of a disjointed session with the off in the beginning, so we were kind of playing catch up after that, but I think the car is good,” Rossi said, offering hope for some variety the rest of the weekend.

“We need to make a couple of little tweaks overnight to get me more comfortable, but I feel good about the pace the car has today."

Rossi’s teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay was the only driver to bring out the red flag. He also bounded through the gravel and into the tires that cover the wall at the exit of 14.

Teamwork helped put the Penske drivers in their position Friday, and as much as they want to beat one another, there’s no holding back now.

“We have on-board cameras, have Dartfish (analysis software), have data, have notes from the session,” Power said.

“No joke,” Newgarden added. “It's 100% impossible to hide anything.”

Filling in: Robert Wickens doesn’t expect to make his IndyCar racing debut, but the 28-year-old Canadian did practice.

He is filling with Schmidt Peterson Racing while Russian Mikhail Aleshin works out immigration issues with the hope of getting to the track in time for the Kohler Grand Prix on Sunday.

“I think what the team aims to get out of today is just simple data,” Wickens said. “I'm sure there's going to be test items. I'm hoping I can contribute to setup, my general feeling with the car.

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“Hopefully if Mikhail shows up for tomorrow, he'll have a car that is better off than if it just didn't run today.”

Aleshin, who was stuck in France after racing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, tweeted early Friday morning he was headed back to the United States. Team owner Sam Schmidt later told the IndyCar Radio Network he believed Aleshin had made a flight to Chicago.

Adjustment time: Transitioning from Formula One to Formula E to IndyCar has tested Esteban Gutierrez. Becoming an IndyCar driver midway through the season is even tougher.

“You have many competitive teams and many competitive drivers at IndyCar, many with a lot of experience, many, many years,” Gutierrez said.

“But I am a racer. I like to compete. This is my passion. I'm ready for this challenge.”

The 25-year-old Mexican was confirmed this week by Dale Coyne Racing as the replacement for the injured Sebastien Bourdais for the rest of the season. Sunday will be his third race, following a tryout in the Detroit doubleheader three weeks ago.

Gutierrez spent three of the past four seasons in Formula One, the first two with Sauber and then one with the America-owned HaasF1 Team after a one-year hiatus. He opened this year in Formula E, the all-electric international series that includes a handful of former F1 drivers.

Indy Lights: Brazilian Matheus Leist, who got acclimated with Road America last week while testing an Andretti Indy car, won the pole for the first Indy Lights race at noon Saturday.

“It was nice to know the track already because of the IndyCar test, but it’s a completely different car and a different way to drive,” said Leist, 19.

“It’s good, though, to drive a faster car because when you come back, it seems almost easier."

Birchwood native Aaron Telitz, who swept the Pro Mazda races last year at Road America, encountered with brake problems and was 12th in qualifying for his first Lights race at the track.

The series races twice this weekend. Qualifying for Sunday’s race is set for 7:50 a.m. Saturday.

Pro Mazda: Brazilian Victor Franzoni, who won in USF2000 last year at Road America, got around Anthony Martin and then pulled away from the field by more than 12 seconds for his third consecutive victory.

The series races again at 2:05 p.m. Saturday.

USF2000: Dutch 16-year-old Rinus VeeKay, driving for Oconomowoc-based Pabst Racing, dominated the first of two races for his first victory in the series. He’ll go for a sweep at 1:10 p.m. Saturday.

Global MX-5 Cup: Championship leader Patrick Gallagher passed Bryan Ortiz to lead only the final few of the race and won by 0.0263 of a second. The second round of the weekend is set for 10:05 a.m. Saturday.