Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon set the fastest time in third practice for Sunday’s IndyCar race at Watkins Glen ahead of Alexander Rossi.
Ryan Hunter-Reay completed the top three, with Helio Castroneves in fourth.
Dixon, who also topped second practice on Friday, waited until late-on in the 45-minute session to show his true pace, as his best time of 1m22.644s came with just five minutes remaining.
Rossi’s fastest lap was just 0.022s slower than Dixon, with his Andretti Autosport team-mate Hunter-Reay a further 0.393s back.
Castroneves ended up as the fastest of the Chevrolet-powered runners, albeit over half a second behind Dixon’s best effort.
Sebastien Bourdais, who is returning to action at a road course race for the first time since his violent crash at the Indianapolis 500 in May, rounded out the top five despite spinning on his final lap.
Takuma Sato finished in sixth fastest, ahead of first practice pacesetter Graham Rahal.
Championship leader Josef Newgarden could only manage eighth fastest, as he had visible issues with understeer and traction over the course of the session.
Newgarden’s Penske team-mate Simon Pagenaud was eighth, and Charlie Kimball rounded out the top 10.
Several star drivers ended up well down the field – Tony Kanaan was 12th, while Will Power and James Hinchcliffe could only manage the 16th and 17th fastest times.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | 1m22.6441s | 13 |
| 2 | Alexander Rossi | Andretti Herta | 0.0220s | 18 |
| 3 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti Autosport | 0.4156s | 13 |
| 4 | Helio Castroneves | Team Penske | 0.5879s | 16 |
| 5 | Sebastien Bourdais | Dale Coyne Racing | 0.5965s | 14 |
| 6 | Takuma Sato | Andretti Autosport | 0.6950s | 15 |
| 7 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan | 0.7158s | 18 |
| 8 | Josef Newgarden | Team Penske | 0.7485s | 19 |
| 9 | Simon Pagenaud | Team Penske | 0.8065s | 16 |
| 10 | Charlie Kimball | Chip Ganassi Racing | 0.8159s | 18 |
| 11 | Conor Daly | AJ Foyt Enterprises | 1.0444s | 19 |
| 12 | Tony Kanaan | Chip Ganassi Racing | 1.1270s | 16 |
| 13 | Marco Andretti | Andretti Autosport | 1.1416s | 18 |
| 14 | Spencer Pigot | Ed Carpenter Racing | 1.2204s | 14 |
| 15 | Carlos Munoz | AJ Foyt Enterprises | 1.3277s | 15 |
| 16 | Will Power | Team Penske | 1.3746s | 15 |
| 17 | James Hinchcliffe | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports | 1.5099s | 16 |
| 18 | Ed Jones | Dale Coyne Racing | 1.6871s | 19 |
| 19 | Jack Harvey | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports | 1.7077s | 18 |
| 20 | Max Chilton | Chip Ganassi Racing | 2.1308s | 17 |
| 21 | J.R. Hildebrand | Ed Carpenter Racing | 2.1689s | 18 |