Josef Newgarden has won the last two editions of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, and he showed strong pace Saturday morning on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Newgarden leaped to the top of the time charts of the warmup for the Sonsio Grand Prix with his final lap in the No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet, 1 minute, 10.5606 seconds.

SEE: Warmup Results | Starting Lineup/Tire Choice

Newgarden is starting sixth in the 85-lap race that starts at 4:30 p.m. today (FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).

Christian Lundgaard, starting 14th, was second at 1:10.6477 in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Six-time series champion Scott Dixon was the quickest Honda-powered driver, third at 1:10.8647 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Dixon is starting 16th.

Series points leader and NTT P1 Award winner for this race, Alex Palou, ended up fourth at 1:10.9731 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Palou has won three of the first four races this season, finishing second in the other.

Kyffin Simpson, who tied his career best by qualifying 10th, continued his strong weekend by rounding out the top five at 1:11:0010 in the No. 8 Journie Rewards Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Simpson’s performance put all three CGR cars in the top five of the 25-minute session on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course.

There was one red flag that flew three minutes into the session after thick white smoke trailed from the rear of the No. 14 AJ FOYT RACING/SEXTON PROPERTIES Chevrolet driven by Santino Ferrucci.

Ferrucci wasn’t the only driver with a technical problem. Colton Herta also had a shifter issue on his No. 26 Gainbridge Honda, Andretti Global strategist and Chief Operating Officer Rob Edwards told FOX Sports.