INDIANAPOLIS -- Team Penske's Will Power turned the fastest practice lap of the week in preparation for the Indianapolis 500 late Friday afternoon, reaching 232.672 mph in his Team Penske Chevrolet.
Josef Newgarden (Ed Carpenter Racing) also topped 232 mph as cars with Chevrolet engines and aerodynamics paced the action for the first time all week. But Honda's entries are right there, taking positions 3-10 on the speed charts, led by James Hinchcliffe (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports) at 231.972 mph. All five Andretti Autosport Hondas posted top-ten speeds.
The lead-up to qualifications for the historic 100th running of the Indy 500 was notably safer than what took place a year ago, when three Chevrolet cars got upside down during a treacherous week of practice.
Last year, the series reacted by taking away the extra turbo boost intended for qualifying and required teams to qualify their cars in race trim. That resulted in a relatively low pole speed by Scott Dixon of 226.790 in a year when series officials openly talked about trying to break the IMS track record of 236.986 mph established by Arie Luyendyk in 1996.
In general, the 2016 model Indy cars from Honda and Chevrolet, with a year's worth of subtle aerodynamic development, look to be more stable than those from a year ago. On Friday, teams were granted the extra 1.5 inches of turbocharger boost, resulting in an additional 40-50 horsepower, and speeds jumped about 3 mph from those recorded earlier in the week.
But even though there was only one accident this week - believed to be caused by a cut tire - drivers reported that this year's cars are still extremely difficult to drive on the limit.
"It looks like it took everyone a longer time to get down to the downforce levels or trim levels for qualifying than they did last year," said Newgarden, whose best lap Friday was 232.344 mph. "It's going to be difficult to drive four consistent laps because you're going to slide too much. It's just going to be tough.
"I think we're getting there, but it took longer to figure it out and a lot more work on the car," he added. "The car has been a little trickier to drive, but not impossible."
Drivers predicted the pole speed would be in the mid-231 mph range, similar to the 231.067 mark recorded by Ed Carpenter during his 2014 pole run.
Townsend Bell (Andretti Autosport Honda) logged the fastest "no-tow" lap Friday at 231.344 mph.
"You might see somebody go 232.0 on their own for one lap, but it's tough to say because no one has really gone flat out yet to know what it is," said Hinchcliffe. "It's higher than I thought it would be, for certain."
Power owns 36 career pole positions, but he has never started from the top spot at the Indianapolis 500. Last year, he started from the middle of the front row and finished second to his Penske teammate Juan Pablo Montoya.
Power claimed he "got a good tow" on his fast lap of the day, but computer timing suggested he was right on pace with Bell by turning a 231.339-mph "no-tow" lap.
"Even when the car is out of traffic, it feels pretty good, pretty solid," said the 2014 IndyCar Series champion. "To get pole here, it's just got to be your day and everything needs to work out. That's the way it is around this place. Qualifying is good this year because you really are on the limit and you're really having to work hard to do your laps. When your foot starts shaking on the throttle, you know that maybe you trimmed a little too much!
"I think it's going to be really, really tight for the pole," he added. "There's a lot of quick guys out there and the Hondas are right there too."
There won't be any bumping drama in Indy qualifying this year, as there are only 33 entries competing for the traditional 33 starting spots. Once known as Pole Day, the first day of qualifying now simply ranks the 33 contenders, with the fastest nine eligible for a pole shootout on Sunday.
Weekend Indianapolis 500 coverage can be seen on ESPN3 and ABC, with ABC carrying live coverage from 4-6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.