Josef Newgarden appears ready to defend his Indianapolis 500 crown. The reigning winner of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” was the fastest driver Wednesday during the rain-shortened first day of the Indianapolis 500 Open Test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Newgarden turned a hot lap of 228.811 mph in the morning session aboard his No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet to lead the speed charts. It marked the third consecutive year that the two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion has paced the preseason open test on the 2.5-mile oval.

“We’re not trying to do it because I had no idea,” said Newgarden about leading three straight years. “We want to check off things on our list. Obviously, it’s been right at the front, which is a good sign.”

While Newgarden’s performance was impressive but expected given his oval prowess, the driver turning the second-fastest lap was an eye-opener. NASCAR star Kyle Larson, preparing for his Indianapolis 500 debut as part of the “Hendrick 1100” double with the Coca-Cola 600, was second at 226.384 mph in the No. 17 Hendrickcars.com Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.

“I’m just trying to learn all that and process all that and knowing what I can do in the car to cope with that,” Larson said about running in traffic. “I’m just trying to figure out any bit of racecraft today, which I know is tough.”

Six-time INDYCAR champion Scott Dixon was third quickest, followed by reigning series champion and teammate Alex Palou. Colton Herta rounded out the top five.

The first day of testing featured separate sessions for veterans and rookie orientation/refresher programs. All three refresher tests for Marco Andretti, Pietro Fittipaldi and Katherine Legge were completed, as were rookie orientation runs for Christian Rasmussen, Kyffin Simpson and Nolan Siegel.

Testing resumes Thursday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. ET with live coverage on Peacock in the U.S. and INDYCAR Live! internationally. The 108th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge is scheduled for May 26.