Rahal, Honda lead field in Opening Day Practice at Road America
• Graham Rahal heads the afternoon session, day for Honda
• Munoz, Hawksworth also post top-five times
• Indy cars return to Road America after seven-year absence

Graham Rahal led the way for Honda and his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team as the Verizon IndyCar Series returned to the famed Road America Circuit in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, leading the 22-car field in Friday practice for Sunday’s Kohler Grand Prix of Road America.

Rebounding after an electrical issue limited his running in the morning practice, Rahal posted a lap time of 1:43.0224, for an average speed of 140.265 mph, around the scenic, 4.0-mile road course. That topped the time charts for both the afternoon session and the day. Carlos Munoz put his Andretti Autosport Honda fourth overall, with a 1:43.5560 time recorded in the morning session, while Jack Hawksworth made it three Hondas in the top five for the day with a 1:43.6747, also posted in the first practice.

Activities at the Kohler GP of Road America continue tomorrow, with final practice and qualifying. Sunday’s 50-lap race starts at 1 p.m. EDT, with live network television coverage on the NBC Sports Network.

Graham Rahal (#15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda): “I think it was obviously a good run there, to do that lap. We were a little conservative, so I was pleased with the lap overall. We all know it’s [only] Friday. We have a long weekend to go. The car feels decent. I’ve got a little work to do. Everybody does. As you can see, it’s pretty tough out there right now, pretty slippery, different types of rubber being laid down [by the various series running this weekend]. It’s tricky. At the end of the first day, we feel decent. But we’ll come back out here in the morning and see how we go. Everybody is going to have a lot to work on, and we’re included.”