LIVE BLOG: Grand Prix of Indianapolis

2:47 PM ET — I’m stuck in the media center waiting for my phone to charge, so I might as well type up an update!

While practice sessions were continuing for the Mazda Road to Indy, I made my way back down to Northwest Vista because I forgot to check out the deck level when I was there this morning (epic fail). I was very glad that I did because the view from there is spectacular. Heart-stopping. You get all of the front straight and pits plus turns 1 through 6 from an incredible vantage point. You sure would need some sunscreen being up that high all day, though!

Then, I made my way through the tunnel at the north end of the Speedway and walked from the turn 5 grandstand around to the spectator mounds beside turn 8. It turns out this is where all the people are today. There are some concessions open selling a decent selection of refreshments (including of the adult persuasion), and a decent crowd is there basking in the sun and watching the action. With the golf course and in-field lake in the background, it’s a pretty spot as well. The spectator mound between turns 7 and 8 is going to be the prime general admission real estate on Saturday, so if that’s where you want to be then be sure to arrive early to stake your claim!

I also noticed on my way back to the media center that the IndyCar Fan Village has been set up immediately to the east of the Pagoda/media center area just inside the straight between turns 6 and 7. And there’s a National Guard tent in it. That dispute that had been taking place about it must have been resolved somehow.

To note, from INDYCAR:

INDYCAR has penalized #98 Hawksworth and #67 Newgarden for being late to the mandatory weigh-in after the first practice session. #98 Hawksworth will be penalized three minutes at the end of the session and #67 Newgarden will be penalized six minutes.

And the top 5 from the two sessions that ran earlier today: in Pro Mazda we had Spencer Pigot in P1 (again) followed by Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing teammates Scott Hargrove and Neil Alberico, then Jose Gutierrez and MFW driver blogger Shelby Blackstock. In Indy Lights, Gabby Chaves led the way followed by Luiz Razia, Juan Piedrahita, Alex Baron, and Zack Meyer.

The Verizon IndyCar Series practice session just ended with Scott Dixon at the top of the sheet and Simon Pagenaud, Will Power, Mikhail Aleshin (!) and James Hinchcliffe rounding out the top 5. I’ll head to the post-practice press conference to see whether the fastest drivers of the day have anything interesting to say. To follow along live, check us out on Twitter at @MoreFrontWing.

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NEXT PAGE: Earlier live blog posts from the Grand Prix of Indianapolis