Honda-powered Simon Pagenaud of Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports led the 33-car starting field Friday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the traditional “Carb Day” final practice session leading up to Sunday’s Indianapolis 500.

Scott Dixon, the 2008 Indy 500 winner, finished the day fourth after leading the time sheets earlier in the hour-long session.  Dixon’s Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, Dario Franchitti, also spent time at the top of the speed charts before ending the day sixth-fastest as Honda drivers took six of the top 10 positions in the session.  James Jakes ran seventh-fastest, for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, followed by Katherine Legge in eighth for the Sam Schmidt organization, with 2011 pole qualifier Alex Tagliani rounding out the top-10 for Barracuda Racing/Bryan Herta Autosport.

The 97th running of the Indianapolis 500 starts at 11 a.m. EDT Sunday, May 26, with live television coverage on ABC. 

Simon Pagenaud (#77 Hewlett Packard Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda) fastest in the final practice prior to the Indianapolis 500:  “The car is really good in race trim. We are really happy with the way it used up the tires, the way it goes through its stints. Honda has done a lot of work before qualifying and after qualifying.  Honda’s mentality is to go racing and that’s exactly what they’re doing. They provided us with an engine that is clearly a lot better, so it’s a good sign for the race.”