The time sheets perhaps didn’t tell the entire story Saturday in the pre-qualifying practice for the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix powered by AmFirst at Barber Motorsports Park.

David Malukas was a surprise leader, pacing the field at 1 minute, 8.1661 seconds in the No. 4 AJ FOYT RACING Chevrolet. But that lap came on Firestone Firehawk slick tires before intensifying rain arrived at the 17-turn, 2.3-mile natural-terrain road course with about 20 minutes left in the session.

SEE: Practice Results

Nearly every team mounted Firestone Firehawk rain tires for the last 10 minutes of the session, simulating the conditions that could continue through NTT P1 Award qualifying at 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday (FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). During that stint, NTT INDYCAR SERIES leader and two-time reigning champion Alex Palou was quickest in the 1:21 lap time range in the No. 10 HRC Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

Three-time series champion Palou also was quick in the dry, sealing his status as the pole favorite later today. He ended up second on the speed charts at 1:08.1958. Christian Lundgaard was third at 1:08.3082.

"We got a little bit lucky with the timing of the new tires and the rain coming in, but overall I still think it's a very fast lap time that sets us up in a good spot for qualifying," Malukas said. "Thankfully also at the end of this session we managed to get some rain running in."

Two-time series champion Will Power was fourth at 1:08.5496 in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. Just as importantly, two-time Barber winner Power was among the drivers closest to Palou in the wet, running laps in the 1:22 range along with Colton Herta of Andretti Global in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda.

Rookie Louis Foster rounded out the top five at 1:08.5567 in the No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Foster and veteran Alexander Rossi of Ed Carpenter Racing were among the very few drivers who didn’t try rain tires in the heavy downpour at the end of the session, instead staying in the pits.

“It’s going to be either dry or pop-ups (showers) or wet-to-drying track, so there are a lot of variables that everyone is going to have to deal with,” Rossi said.

Those variables caught out Friday practice leader Marcus Ericsson and triggered a red flag with 18 minutes left in the session. Ericsson spun his No. 28 Bryant Honda across the gravel and grass in Turn 13, hopping a curb and bouncing to a stop while the underside of his car shed carbon fiber. Ericsson was unhurt, but his Andretti Global team faced a thrash to repair the car for qualifying.

That was the second red flag of the 60-minute session. Pato O’Ward nosed off track in Turn 17 with 33 minutes left in the session, as his No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet made heavy front contact with the tire barrier. But the sturdy car was able to continue, and O’Ward then headed to the pits for steering column repairs.

The 90-lap race is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. ET Sunday (FOX, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network).