The second day of practice for the 99th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race took place on the oval of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway just two days after the cars zipped down the front straight in the opposite direction for the Angie's List Grand Prix of Indianapolis. Thirty cars logged nearly 1,100 laps on a day abbreviated by an early afternoon shower that began efforts to dry the 2.5-mile oval.

When the day came to a close, Sage Karam had completed the fastest lap (225.802 mph) in the No. 8 Comfort Revolution/Big Machine Records Chevrolet.

"It's only the first day, so it's not about how fast you are today," said Karam, who finished an impressive ninth as a 19-year-old rookie in the 2014 Indianapolis 500. "It's about how fast you are on Sunday in two weeks. It definitely feels good, though. It's the first time I've ever been P1 at the (Indianapolis Motor) Speedway so it's a good feeling."

Two of Karam's Chip Ganassi Racing teammates, Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan, were second (225.293) and third (225.217) on the speed chart, respectively.

The fastest Honda was that of Marco Andretti; he was fourth overall at 225.184 mph in the No. 27 Snapple Andretti Autosport machine.

"We have a lot of work to do," Karam said. "The car's not anywhere near where we want it to be for race day or qualifying. I've got a great team. They worked really hard. They are making it a lot easier on us drivers by being as prepared as they are. We are picking this new aero kit apart and we're figuring it out every time we go out."

Also today, Stefano Coletti completed all three phases of the rookie orientation program, while Townsend Bell rolled through the veteran refresher program in his first IndyCar action since last year's running of the Indianapolis 500. 

When asked about his first-ever oval experience today on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Coletti said, "It's really fast ... and fun."

"I've been waiting for three months to be on this oval," said Coletti, 26, the first native of Monaco to drive in an Indy car race since Louis Chiron competed in the 1929 Indianapolis 500. "I've always watched (the Indy 500) since I was a kid and I've always wanted to race in the '500.' The atmosphere and all the people here look incredible on TV, and being here is a dream come true."

Practice resumes Tuesday through Friday (noon-6 p.m. ET), with two days of qualifying scheduled Saturday and Sunday to determine the 33-car field for the race. Be sure to follow the Twitter account of the VAVEL USA Racing section (@RacingOnVAVEL) for more as the 99th Running draws near.