The six-time IndyCar Series champion and 2008 Indy 500 winner throttled to a flying lap of 227.206mph around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which proved the best of the two-hour session.
“Yeah, I think we rolled off pretty good,” said the Kiwi, who will start from 21st position.
“We tried to go through some sequences and changes. Some are a little bit okay, some not so much.
“I think the track conditions changed quite a bit from the start to the finish as well. It was good.
“Car seems pretty fast, pulls up well, pretty consistent.”
Dixon also provided his stance on what will be possible in trying to overcome his middling starting position.
“You have to just take the moment as it is,” Dixon said. “You don't wanna rush in too much.
“Obviously we got some positions to make up. How long and what the weather does is out of our control. So, we can't do too much about that.
Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Photo by: Josh Tons / Motorsport Images
“Hopefully, move up as quick as possible. I'd like to pass 20 on the first lap, but that's probably not going to happen.”
Four-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves was second in his Meyer Shank Racing entry, just 0.046s (226.939mph) behind fellow Honda driver Dixon. The Brazilian logged 103 laps, third-most on the day.
Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward was quickest among the Chevrolet-powered entries and sat 0.094s off the pace-setting mark.
Andretti Global’s Colton Herta, who impressed with his passing prowess in Monday’s practice, ended up fourth at 0.172s behind.
The highest rookie was found in fifth, as Castroneves's team-mate Tom Blomqvist (MSR) beat 2022 Indy winner Marcus Ericsson (Andretti Global) and Agustin Canapino (Juncos Hollinger Racing).
MSR’s Felix Rosenqvist, defending IndyCar champion Alex Palou (Ganassi) and 2014 Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay (Dreyer & Reinbold) completed the top 10.
Graham Rahal managed to complete 106 laps, the most in the session, with a best of 224.353mph that slotted him 17th overall.
Takuma Sato meanwhile survived a wild moment with 52 minutes left when he charged hard out of Turn 4 and locked up the brakes to create a brief smokescreen, but the two-time Indy 500 winner slowed down enough to not receive a penalty.
The only caution of the session came out with 16 minutes remaining when Kyle Larson (Arrow McLaren-Hendrick) ran out of fuel.
Source: Autosport