INDIANAPOLIS -- Graham Rahal took advantage of a coin flip Friday. He's hoping it pays off all weekend.
Minutes after completing Friday's Indianapolis 500 practice, the 31-year-old IndyCar driver and his two teammates with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing all wound up picking top 10 spots in Saturday's qualifying line.
Rahal will be the first driver to make a four-lap qualifying run. Takuma Sato, the 2017 Indy winner, is second and the team's third driver, Spencer Pigot, goes seventh.
The early times could be especially critical this year after drivers got a glimpse of what the afternoon track conditions could look like with extra weight from the new aero screens and a boost of horsepower on a sun-soaked track.