WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Three-time Watkins Glen race winner Scott Dixon turned heads when he led first practice today for the INDYCAR Grand Prix at The Glen presented by Hitachi. The Kiwi’s performance in the afternoon practice affirmed his dominance on the 3.37-mile permanent road course, when he posted a fast lap of an astounding 1 minute, 22.8740 seconds (146.391 mph).

The quick lap for Dixon in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet was more than five seconds better than the official track record of 1:28.1332 set by Ryan Briscoe in 2009. The entire field, in fact, was under than the official record, which is expected to fall in Saturday’s Verizon P1 Award qualifying.

“I think the car rolled off really strong,” said Dixon, the defending Verizon IndyCar Series champion. “All in all, I think all the Ganassi cars have been very quick. (Teammate Tony Kanaan) already is in fourth, but he'll be right by me, and same with Max (Chilton) and Charlie (Kimball). The team has done a great job coming here and hopefully we can use that to our advantage.”

CLICK HERE: Practice 2 results; Combined practice results

Dixon was followed on the combined practice speed chart by Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves (No. 3 Hitachi Chevrolet, 1:23.0327) and Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet, 1:23.0717), Kanaan (No. 10 NTT Data Chevrolet, 1:23.1692) and Team Penske’s Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 2 PPG Automotive Refinish Chevrolet, 1:23.3646).

The session featured three red-flag interruptions, with Takuma Sato (No. 14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Honda) bringing out the first early in the session when he ran out of fuel on track and Josef Newgarden (No. 21 Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka/ECR Chevrolet) the second when he stopped on course with a cut tire.

The session ended a few seconds prematurely when Kanaan and championship leader Simon Pagenaud (No. 22 Hewlett Packard Enterprises Team Penske Chevrolet) went off course in separate incidents in Turns 6 and 7, respectively. Kanaan avoided the barrier in his spin, but Pagenaud suffered damage to the left front of his car when he hit the tires. Pagenaud walked away from the incident.

A recent repave of the 3.37-mile circuit makes Watkins Glen International faster than it has ever been. Drivers have been lauding the sensation of speeding around the track with lap averages above 145 mph.

“The (G-force) loading is through the roof,” said Dixon. “There's no real time that you get to rest … It's a lot of fun. Love being back here at The Glen. I was super excited when they announced this race and I know with the Verizon IndyCar Series and everybody involved, we can definitely make this a fantastic race for the future, and hopefully we can build on it.”

Castroneves, a three-time Watkins Glen pole sitter, agreed that the repaved circuit is a thrill to drive.

“It's like an amazing experience,” the 41-year-old Brazilian said, “and what a lot of fun this place is. It's unbelievable … The car looks good, the Hitachi car. We are very, very slowly but steady working in the car.

“Since this track is so much smoother compared to what it used to be in the past, there was so much details not only in the setup, (but) the driving and the grip. Every time, the Firestone tires, you put on new tires, the track changed.”

Preparations for Sunday’s 60-lap race continue Saturday with practice at 11 a.m. ET and qualifying at 3 p.m. Both will stream live on RaceControl.IndyCar.com. A tape-delayed telecast of Verizon P1 Award qualifying can be seen on NBCSN at 6 p.m. ET.

Coverage of the INDYCAR Grand Prix at The Glen presented by Hitachi begins at 2 p.m. ET Sunday and can be found on NBCSN and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network.

Practice 2 results are below:

(R) Rookie (C)hassis: D=Dallara | (A)erokit: C=Chevy, H=Honda | (E)ngine: C=Chevy, H=Honda | (T)ire: F=Firestone

Total Laps: 687