Indianapolis 500 drivers have productive day of testing after technical issues cause late start

Two-time defending Indianapolis 500 champion Josef Newgarden waited nearly three hours to start turning test laps Wednesday.

Colton Herta took advantage of the delayed start to hit some extra balls on the Brickyard golf course — in his fire suit. Kyle Larson, the 2021 Cup champion, 2020 Indy pole winner Marco Andretti and two-time Indy winner Takuma Sato, delayed their refresher courses until mid-afternoon.

Eventually, everything worked out.

All four Indianapolis 500 newcomers have passed the rookie orientation program, each veteran who needed the refresher course was cleared and 2008 Indy winner Scott Dixon overcame the 2-hour, 45-minute delay for an internet connectivity issue to post the fastest lap of the day at 225.182 mph on Indianapolis Motor Speedway's historic 2.5-mile oval.

“How can you not love being here? I really love it a lot more after the last two years,” said Newgarden, who was second-fastest at 225.125. “For most everybody here, it's putting basically a new car on the track and hoping it goes fast. It doesn't mean everything's going to be smooth sailing, but hopefully it goes well the next few weeks.”

The day certainly didn't start well for Newgarden or the other 31 IndyCar drivers. They wanted to see how the hybrid system and changing weight distribution would impact racing and tires the series fastest track.

Instead, they waited for the internet connectivity issue to be resolved.

The original schedule called for series regulars to start their first two-hour session at 10 a.m., followed by another two-hour window for rookies and refresher course drivers before opening the track to everyone for four hours, ending at 6 p.m.

Track officials adapted by shortening the first and third test sessions while still allowing the full two-hour slot for rookies and the veteran IndyCar non-regulars, extending testing until 7 p.m. as a smattering of disappointed fans sat patiently in the infield grandstand and in the seats on the outside of Turn 2. Finally, at 12:45 p.m., the green flag came out as the schedule was revised.

At least that was a sufficient solution on a perfect racing day — sunny, temperatures in the 70s and relatively tame winds for a session reigning Brickyard 400 winner Kyle Larson acknowledged he needed.

"It feels a little different, not quite the same balance I had last year,” the 2021 Cup champ said. “Overall, I felt comfortable but still felt rusty on small, little things, like hitting the buttons. Good to get all that out of the way today and hopefully we'll be better tomorrow.”

Larson is attempting racing's Memorial Day weekend double for the second straight year — completing all 1,100 miles of racing at Indy and Charlotte on the same day. He said he's undecided about giving it a shot again in 2026 while noting this may be his last IndyCar for the foreseeable future.

The series has had trouble establishing radio and data communications between the series new production truck and IndyCar teams, which has been a recurring theme through the first three races this season. New broadcast partner Fox also has had trouble receiving the necessary data for its telecasts.

But series officials issued a statement Wednesday night saying the connectivity issue was unrelated.

“This morning, IndyCar identified a connectivity issue with the series' upgraded software, which temporarily limited the series' timing and scoring and communication capabilities,” the statement read. “While there was a delay to the start of the two-day Indy 500 open test, corrective measures were implemented and the test resumed without further delays. IndyCar will continue to analyze and monitor the software to avoid any delays in the future.”

Still, it was unusual.

“That was the first one, but I’m glad they fixed it,” four-time Indy winner Helio Castroneves said when asked whether he'd ever waited through a delay because of connectivity problem. “It didn’t hurt the program, so far from what I understand.”

Things didn't go perfectly on the track, either.

Within the first hour, the cars of Jack Harvey and Santino Ferrucci both stopped on the track, bringing additional stoppages. Larson thought something was wrong with his car, too, and Graham Rahal's car appeared to tap the wall near the end of testing.

Series officials will crank up the boost for drivers Thursday, producing faster speeds on the second and final day of this week's testing.

Indianapolis will host its annual IndyCar road race May 10. Indianapolis 500 qualifying will be held May 17-18, and the Greatest Spectacle in Racing is set for May 25.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

FILE - The main gate of Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis is shown Nov. 4, 2019. (AP Photo/AJ Mast, File)

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — In the aftermath of a fire inside a Swiss Alpine bar that killed 40 people celebrating the new year, survivors, friends and family members, the region’s top authorities and even Pope Leo have spoken to the public in remarks in French, Italian, German and English, reflecting the tradition of Swiss multilingualism.

Another 119 people were injured in the blaze early Thursday as it ripped through the busy Le Constellation bar at the ski resort of Crans-Montana, authorities said. It was one of the deadliest tragedies in Switzerland’s history.

Investigators said Friday that they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fatal fire when they came too close to the ceiling of the crowded bar.

Here’s a look at what people said in the wake of the disaster:

— “I’m looking everywhere. The body of my son is somewhere,” Laetitia Brodard told reporters Friday in Crans-Montana as she searched for her son, 16-year-old Arthur. “I want to know, where is my child, and be by his side. Wherever that may be, be it in the intensive care unit or the morgue.”

— “We were bringing people out, people were collapsing. We were doing everything we could to save them, we helped as many as we could. We saw people screaming, running,” Marc-Antoine Chavanon, 14, told The Associated Press in Crans-Montana on Friday, recounting how he rushed to the bar to help the injured. “There was one of our friends: She was struggling to get out, she was all burned. You can’t imagine the pain I saw.”

— “It was hard to live through for everyone. Also probably because everyone was asking themselves, ‘Was my child, my cousin, someone from the region at this party?’” Eric Bonvin, general director of the regional hospital in Sion that took in dozens of injured people, told AP on Friday. “This place was very well known as somewhere to celebrate the new year,” Bonvin said. “Also, seeing young people arrive — that’s always traumatic.”

— “I have seen horror, and I don’t know what else would be worse than this,” Gianni Campolo, a Swiss 19-year-old who was in Crans-Montana on vacation and rushed to the bar to help first responders, told France's TF1 television.

—“You will understand that the priority today is truly placed on identification, in order to allow the families to begin their mourning,” Beatrice Pilloud, the Valais region's attorney general, told reporters Friday during a news conference in Sion.

Pope Leo said in a telegram Friday to the bishop of Sion that he " wishes to express his compassion and concern to the relatives of the victims. He prays that the Lord will welcome the deceased into His abode of peace and light, and will sustain the courage of those who suffer in their hearts or in their bodies.”

— “We have numerous accounts of heroic actions, one could say of very strong solidarity in the moment,” Cantonal head of government Mathias Reynard told RTS radio Friday. "In the first minutes it was citizens — and in large part young people — who saved lives with their courage.”

— “Switzerland is a strong country not because it is sheltered from drama, but because it knows how to face them with courage and a spirit of mutual help," Swiss President Guy Parmelin, speaking on his first day in the position that changes hands annually, told reporters Thursday.

People bring flowers near the sealed off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)

A woman holding a stuffed animal, whose daughter is missing, gather with others near the sealed-off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

People light candles near the sealed off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)