Max Taylor paced the opening INDY NXT by Firestone practice session Friday morning on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Taylor vaulted to the top of the speed chart as time expired, turning a lap of 1 minute, 15.2096 seconds in the No. 28 Susan G. Komen Andretti Global entry around the 14-turn, 2.439-mile circuit.

SEE: Practice Results

"Pretty good start to the day here at Indy," Taylor said. "It's always a blast driving this place. I really like driving here. I think we still have a bit of work to do before qualifying, and it's a quick turnaround. So, our heads are going to be down, and we're going to be going for the pole."

The performance continued Andretti Global’s reign over the IMS road course. The team swept both INDY NXT by Firestone races last May at the IMS road course with rookies Lochie Hughes (Race 1) and eventual series champion Dennis Hauger (Race 2).

Points leader Nikita Johnson ended today’s session second quickest in the No. 21 Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR entry with a lap of 1:15.2210, also set in the closing seconds. The St. Petersburg, Florida, native is the only multiple winner this season, with victories at St. Petersburg and in the opening race at Barber.

Johnson carries a 23-point lead over Taylor entering today’s 35-lap race at 4 p.m. ET (FS2, FOX One, INDYCAR Radio Network powered by OnlyBulls). Qualifying takes place at noon ET today (FOX One, INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls).

Rookie Tymek Kucharczyk was third at 1:15.2582 in the No. 71 HMD Motorsports entry. Kucharczyk has finished third in three of the four races this season and enters the weekend third in points, 33 behind Johnson.

Hughes was fourth at 1:15.2634 in the No. 26 Andretti Global entry, while Enzo Fittipaldi rounded out the top five at 1:15.4937 in the No. 67 HMD Motorsports machine.

The session was briefly halted with 12 minutes remaining after Chip Ganassi Racing driver Niels Koolen stopped in Turn 9. Koolen returned to pit lane, and the session resumed without further incident.