What's wrong with Alex Palou at Indy 500 practice?

· Yahoo Sports

INDIANAPOLIS -- A mechanical issue brought an early setback to Alex Palou’s Indianapolis 500 title defense during Tuesday's practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 

With less than an hour remaining in opening day practice, the four-time IndyCar champion remained stuck in the garage as Chip Ganassi Racing worked to diagnose an issue with the No. 10 Honda.

Visit betsport24.es for more information.

Palou reported trouble early in his run after hearing a concerning noise from the rear of the car.

“There’s something wrong,” Palou radioed to the team. “My right rear.”

Fox Sports 1's Jamie Little reported that Palou said he heard a "clunk."

The issue cut valuable track time short for the Spaniard during the six-hour session. Palou completed only 22 laps and sat 32nd on the timesheet with a top speed of 219.861 mph while crews disassembled parts of the car in search of the problem.

According to the team, mechanics went inside the car, inspecting the gearbox and springs in hopes of identifying the source of the malfunction.

The extended garage stay left uncertainty surrounding whether Palou would be able to return to the track before the end of practice at 6 p.m.

Jessica Garcete is IndyStar's sports reporter. Get IndyStar's motor sports coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Motor Sports newsletter. Subscribe to the YouTube channel IndyStar TV: IndyCar for a behind-the-scenes look at IndyCar and expert analysis.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Alex Palou is second-slowest car during first Indy 500 practice

Read full story at source