Kirkwood confidently predicts Andretti Global is favorite to win Indianapolis 500 pole

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — There was zero hesitation from Kyle Kirkwood when he asked if he and his Andretti Global teammates are favorites to challenge for both the pole and the Indianapolis 500 victory. "We're either the best, or we are very, very close to that," Kirkwood said. "We are very positive at this time and very confident." Those who might disagree? Two-time defending Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden, who has been fast all week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and two-time reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou, winner of four of the first five races this season. The three-car Andretti team, though? Few had even uttered their names before Kirkwood's bold prediction ahead of Fast Friday, the day teams get a 100 horsepower boost to prepare for this weekend's two-day qualifying session. Guess people just weren't paying attention. Kirkwood is, after all, the only driver this season so far to beat Palou with his April victory on the downtown streets of Long Beach, California. "I think they look very strong both speed-wise and traffic running," said Arrow McLaren driver Pato O'Ward, who then cautioned "don't count out the Penskes. They're going to have rockets just like they did last year." Newgarden beat O'Ward on the final lap last year to win his second consecutive Indy 500, and Penske drivers Scott McLaughlin, Will Power and Newgarden swept the front row in qualifying last season. There are 34 drivers going for the 33 spots in the field in Saturday and Sunday qualifying, meaning one car will fail to make the "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing." Among them is NASCAR star Kyle Larson, who for the second year will attempt "The Double" and try to complete 1,100-miles between the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 in North Carolina. His time Friday at Indy was marred by his second crash at the speedway in a month. Larson had only completed four laps all day when he crashed during a mock qualifying run, with his Hendrickcars.com car fielded by McLaren hitting the wall both in the front then spinning and backing into the concrete. Larson also crashed during the open test on April 24. "I'm OK, just comes around quick and once it does, that's a bummer," Larson said. "I'm not too worried about it. I think we'll be fine. Kind of caught off guard a little bit there, but I think we'll be fine. I tend to get over things pretty quickly." It's also going to be a tough turnaround for Chip Ganassi Racing driver Kyffin Simpson, who nearly flipped his car when he crashed in Friday practice. He was uninjured but CGR will have a ton of work to do to get a backup car prepared for Saturday's first day of qualifying. Simpson isn't considered a pole contender, but his CGR teammates Palou and Scott Dixon are, according to other drivers. But Dixon was in the group that believe the trio of Penske drivers are going to be tough to beat this weekend. "I will say that definitely the Penske cars look strong. There's no doubt about that," Dixon said. "They definitely are running some big laps. I don't know. There can always be a weird twist I think that kind of comes, so I would hope that that's true, but you know, right at the minute I don't know." The Honda teams changed their engines Thursday night to prepare for qualifications, but Chevrolet is waiting until after qualifying to make their engine changes. "Ganassi seems to have taken a step forward as well just from kind of playing around with them in traffic," O'Ward said. "It's hard to say right now. You don't know who is hiding what or are both manufacturers showing everything? Not sure, but they do look very strong." Newgarden, meanwhile, is seeking a record third consecutive win in the Indy 500 but not yet comfortable to make any predictions. He's had a tough start to the season with just one podium finish, in the season-opener, and his 12th-place ranking in the IndyCar standings is the lowest of the three Penske drivers. But he's confident it makes little difference when it comes to the Indianapolis 500 and he's been pleased to be at the top of the speed charts each day this week. "It's showing good signs to begin. It's a long process. You can have the quickest car in the field, and that doesn't mean you're going to win the race," Newgarden said. "I think it takes a lot of ingredients, clearly, to win at this place. I think we have a few of them that are starting to show themselves in favorable conditions. "Right now I think the car is in a really good place. We just have to continue to go through the motions. Qualifying is going to be its own thing. We're going to find out exactly where everybody else is at and hopefully we'll be in a good spot there. Then the race will be a whole other animal, and we'll figure that out next weekend."