INDIANAPOLIS — Scott Dixon’s opinion about Sunday’s crash hasn’t modified, nor has Pato O’Ward’s respect for the six-time IndyCar champion.

4 days after the 2 drivers tangled in Lengthy Seaside, they arrived for the primary of two Indianapolis 500 take a look at classes with out talking to at least one one other.

“No,” Dixon mentioned when requested if his perspective had modified. “I assumed it was fairly wild there was no penalty on each automobiles. But when that is how it may be, then that is what they should stick with. Nevertheless it appeared like there was no race management there.”

The dispute started after O’Ward dove inside Dixon heading into the eighth flip of the road course. When their tires touched on Lap 20, Dixon went nostril first right into a tire barrier as O’Ward navigated his means by the contact and drove to a seventeenth place end.

Dixon managed to finish 17 extra laps after dropping from sixth to twenty fifth earlier than changing into the primary automobile to drop out of the race. After Dixon’s quest for record-tying seventh collection crown took a success, the 42-year-old veteran mentioned he wouldn’t have made the transfer. The New Zealander’s spouse, Emma, additionally complained on social media that inconsistent calls give the collection a foul look.

The 23-year-old O’Ward, in the meantime, made an identical transfer in the identical flip later within the race and spun. The Mexican driver wound up getting shuffled again within the pack, slipping from the general factors result in second.

O’Ward appeared in no hurry to patch issues up.

“I truly have not seen [Dixon]. I attempted to search for him within the driver’s assembly and I noticed Marcus [Ericsson], I noticed [Alex] Palou and I noticed [Takuma] Sato,” O’Ward mentioned earlier than taking a lighter stance. “I did not see Scott, although. I’ll give him an enormous bear hug.”

O’Ward downplayed the dispute with Dixon.

“We’re large boys. The man’s in all probability been by it many instances in his profession and it is in all probability not going to be the final time we’ve a disagreement on monitor,” O’Ward mentioned. “Nevertheless it undoubtedly would not take away from the respect. He is my hero. He was considered one of my heroes rising up. Simply because we had a bit incident on monitor, individuals made it look like it was the top of the world. Nevertheless it was, you understand, racing.”

Disputes amongst drivers over on-track conduct are normal fare. How lengthy they linger and whether or not they truly dissipate usually will depend on if or how they’re resolved. And that is not all the time a easy apology.

“You by no means ought to dispute proper after the race,” four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves mentioned. “You have to settle down, analyze movies and in case you nonetheless consider you are on the appropriate facet then the one that believes he is proper ought to name and say, ‘Why? What have been you considering?'”

That might nonetheless occur earlier than the collection returns to Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama subsequent week.

Throughout Thursday’s prolonged follow session on a heat, windy day, Ericsson, the Swedish defending Indy 500 champ and Dixon’s teammate with Chip Ganassi Racing, posted the quickest lap within the morning portion at 224.330 mile per hour (361.02 kph).

Whereas there was chatter about R.C. Enerson presumably changing into the thirty fourth driver to aim to qualify for the Might 28 race — an entry that will guarantee bumping subsequent month — Brazilian Tony Kanaan, the 2013 Indy 500 winner, accomplished his refresher course. He’s hoping to make his twenty second consecutive, and presumably, closing 500 begin.

“It will not be the identical, so I’ll get pleasure from it,” Kanaan mentioned, acknowledging one other looming retirement. “We accomplished the 2 hours, so we took it again to make some changes and we will run as a lot as we will.”

That was a typical strategy with Friday’s forecast calling for a robust probability of rain. As a result of monitor staff usually want 2 1/2 to a few hours to dry the monitor, Friday might be rained out.

“Two hours goes quick,” two-time collection champ Josef Newgarden mentioned. “It appears uncertain we will run [Friday] so everybody’s type of jamming every little thing into this condensed one-day session and so they’re making an attempt to get rather a lot executed.”