The 2025 Fast Friday presented by Turtle Wax at Indianapolis Motor Speedway held true to tradition in showcasing raw speed — but with a significant twist.

While teams usually use the final practice before PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying to push their cars to the edge with increased turbo boost, this year they faced a new variable – the debut of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES hybrid power unit on the 2.5-mile track.

For the first time, drivers had to balance the 100 extra horsepower from the elevated turbocharger boost with the performance characteristics introduced by the hybrid system, which adds weight and a new layer of energy management strategy. The six-hour session wasn’t just about sheer speed — it became a complex exercise in optimization.

“There is so much more that goes into this than I think people realize or recognize,” said Graham Rahal, driver of the No. 15 United Rentals Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. “All of us will be trying something different to learn, to try to see what is best for us.

“It's an interesting thing. The hybrid is quite powerful here. On a single lap, if you utilize it correctly, it does make a hell of a difference in lap time or lap speed. There's a lot to be learned there.”

Making Friday even more complex was how much on the knife edge the cars have become under these circumstances, especially with the 90-degree heat and gusty winds.

Teams typically use this session to simulate full four-lap qualifying runs, mimicking the exact conditions they’ll face in qualifying. But this year, those attempts were few and far between — and for good reason.

Several drivers experienced hair-raising moments trying to complete mock runs, ultimately deciding it wasn’t worth risking the car on the eve of qualifying.

“The speeds are slower this year, but the cars are harder to drive,” said Kyle Kirkwood, driver of the No. 27 Siemens Honda for Andretti Global.

The general sentiment in the paddock was clear that the car is less forgiving. That has added a layer of uncertainty no one has fully mastered yet.

As a result, pit lane saw almost more traffic than the straightaways after Lap 2, with drivers opting to abort runs rather than push into the danger territory. That means Saturday’s qualifying could be even more unpredictable, with teams still unsure of where they truly stack up over the full four-lap stint.

“We haven’t seen anyone’s full potential,” said Tim Cindric, Team Penske president.

Indy 500 Sophomores Simpson, Larson Crash

Friday’s treacherous conditions led to crashes by a pair of second-year “500” drivers, Kyffin Simpson and Kyle Larson.

Simpson spun in Turn 4 in his No. 8 Journie Rewards Chip Ganassi Racing Honda and made hard left-side contact with the outside SAFER Barrier. The car briefly got airborne before coming down on its left side. The car then did a quarter-roll back on its wheels and came across the track, making secondary light contact with the inside pit wall.

Simpson climbed from the car without assistance from AMR INDYCAR Safety Team and was seen and released from the IU Health Emergency Medical Center.

“I’m all good,” Simpson said. “Just a weird crash. Everything about it was weird, even from the out lap, just something didn't really feel quite right. Never really felt the way I expected it to. We'll go back look at some data and try to make sure it doesn't happen again.”

Simpson’s team elected to go to the backup car, which was used in April’s Open Test.

At 4:29 p.m. ET, Kyle Larson got loose in Turn 3 and did a three-quarter spin before making front-end contact with his No. 17 HendrickCars.com Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.

Larson’s car skidded down the track and made secondary rear contact in Turn 4. He also climbed out of his car without assistance from the AMR INDYCAR Safety Team.

“Felt it come around and it comes around quick once it does that,” Larson said. “Bummer but it is what it is. I’m not too worried about it. I think we’ll be fine. We’ll still be fast. I tend to get over things pretty quickly. I know I spun but my balance felt pretty good.”

Larson also crashed in Day 2 of the two-day Open Test on April 24.

Dixon Putting In Extra Work Friday Night

Scott Dixon is firmly cementing his legacy at the Indianapolis 500, and he’s now on the verge of matching one of the race’s most prestigious records – Rick Mears’ six pole positions. Dixon already holds the record for most laps led at the “500” with 677, and with five Indy 500 poles to his name, he’s just one shy of tying Mears.

Three of Dixon’s poles have come in the last eight years, showing that even deep into his career, the six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion remains at the peak of his performance. With a consistently fast No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda under him, Dixon enters PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying not just with history on the line, but with a real shot at it.

His focus is unwavering. Instead of taking Friday night to rest, Dixon is working.

“Even tonight, I'll probably get back to the sim out here in Brownsburg, and I'll run through some different scenarios just to make sure that we're covered,” Dixon said.

Red Racer Books Will Have Book Signings, Story Times for Kids

Red Racer Books launched the INDY 500 Kids Book Tour, and Josef Newgarden’s wife, Ashley, will tour Indianapolis for book signings, story times and special appearances this weekend in the Indianapolis area.

Ashley Newgarden will sign books from 10-11 a.m. Saturday at Little Tulip Tree in Carmel, and she will sign from noon-1 p.m. Sunday and read to kids in the IMS Kids Zone in the Speedway’s infield.

Red Racer has published “Goodnight Racetrack” and “Josef’s BIG Dream” by Josef and Ashley Newgarden. Other kids’ books from Red Racer include the “ABCs of INDYCAR Racing” and “Kat’s Magic Helmet.” The latter book is about Indy 500 veteran Katherine Legge.

Odds And Ends

  • Dixon’s wife, Emma, drew his qualifying position for Saturday. He said this was the first time in 23 attempts she pulled the number. Dixon is 14th in the qualifying line Saturday.
  • Ed Carpenter Racing has 12 consecutive qualifying shootout appearances for “500” qualifying, the longest active streak among NTT INDYCAR SERIES teams.
  • Chevy-powered drivers swept the front row in 2018 and again in 2019, and Honda then swept the front row and took 11 of the top 12 spots in 2020. Honda had nine of the top 11 qualifiers in 2021 and four of the top six in 2022. Honda won the pole in 2023, but Chevy had eight of the top 12 starters that year. Last year, Chevy had the top eight starters and nine of the top 12.
  • According to Firestone, the asphalt in Turn 1 was 138 degrees Fahrenheit at 3:15 p.m. That was the highest temperature since Firestone started measuring temperatures in each corner of the track in 2015.