Will Power, Scott Dixon lead final practice for Indianapolis 500

Will Power and Scott Dixon posted the fastest laps Friday in final practice for the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday.

Power turned a lap of 229.020 under clear skies at the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, followed by Dixon at 228.585 mph.

It was a reversal of the way they’ll start the 99th running of the legendary race. Dixon will start on the pole position and Power will start second.

The practice was free of the spectacular crashes that plagued earlier practice sessions this month and raised fears of a safety issue looming over the Memorial Day weekend classic.

Helio Castroneves, Josef Newgarden and Ed Carpenter all had their cars go airborne in crashes, although none of the drivers was hurt.

But on Monday, James Hinchcliffe suffered a serious leg injury when his car crashed in practice and nearly left the ground as it spun to a stop.

Ryan Briscoe was tapped to replace Hinchcliffe, and Briscoe on Friday was the 30th fastest in the 33-car field in final practice.

There is speculation that new aerodynamic body kits on the race cars are playing a role in the cars leaving the ground, but that has not been confirmed.

Dixon drives for team owner Chip Ganassi, and before practice Ganassi said “obviously we have a concern” about the cars getting airborne.

“The thing the you’ve got to remember, though, is historically there have been four or five crashes a year here, maybe more,” Ganassi said.

“Is it dangerous? Yes,” Ganassi said. But he noted that other safety features of the cars helped the drivers avoid injury.

“All three of those guys that got airborne were in their backup cars that afternoon,” he said.

Another driver, Carlos Huertas, will miss the race due to an inner-ear condition affecting the 23-year-old Colombian, the Verizon IndyCar Series said. He’ll be replaced by Tristian Vautier.