Nasr tops five-car Mid-Ohio IndyCar test

AJ Foyt Racing’s Caio Collet was fastest among the five drivers who participated in Wednesday’s private IndyCar Series test for rookies and evaluation runs at Mid-Ohio until the last outing, when Brazilian countryman Felipe Nasr jumped to the top of the chart for Team Penske.

Nasr, the ex-Formula 1 driver who competes as a factory pilot in IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Porsche Penske Motorsport, pipped Collet with a 1m05.715s in the No. 2 Chevy. The reigning IMSA GTP champion, a frequent choice by Penske for its IndyCar evaluation runs, edged Collet, who placed second in last season’s Indy NXT standings and was making his IndyCar debut in the No. 14 Foyt Chevy.

His lap of 1m05.861s was impressive in terms of speed, and stood out among the others as Collet was the only driver to complete the day without incident.

“I think Caio did a great job,” team president Larry Foyt told RACER. “He did exactly what was asked of him. And just ran clean all day. The speed was just there all day. And every set of tires that we threw at him, he went quicker. Just never seemed to be over his head. It seemed just to really come natural to him. Very, very happy with how it went.”

It’s believed Collet could be in line to join the Foyt team as the replacement for David Malukas. If it were to happen, Collet’s performance at Mid-Ohio suggests he would be ready for the challenge.

“We know how hard the IndyCar championship is, but I was really impressed with his consistency today, and his feedback was very good,” Foyt added. “I think definitely he could be ready. So we'll probably talk about that kind of stuff very soon and just see where everything lands.”

Third was new Dale Coyne Racing signing Dennis Hauger, who lost the morning session after crashing moments after taking to the track. With his repaired No. 18 Honda, the reigning Indy NXT champion turned a best lap of 1m06.232s, ahead of Chip Ganassi Racing NXT driver Niels Koolen who produced a 1m06.649s in Ganassi’s No. 8 Honda.

Completing the quintet was Meyer Shank Racing’s Kakunoshin ‘Kaku’ Ohta, the front-running Japanese Super Formula and MSR IMSA GTP enduro driver who posted a 1m06.850s in the No. 60 Honda.

"My first IndyCar test was not only about learning the car, but also about understanding the track, the tires, and the setups, which made it an incredibly valuable experience,” Ohta said. “I'm truly grateful to Mike and Meyer Shank Racing for giving me this amazing opportunity. It was a challenging day, but I'm very satisfied with many aspects and at the same time confident that I can do even better the next time I get behind the wheel. It would be fantastic to compete in this series in the future, and I truly hope it will become a reality."