James Hinchcliffe emerged quickest from a strange first practice session for tomorrow’s ABC Supply Wisconsin 250, in which the majority of drivers set their best times on their fifth or sixth lap and then continued to use that set and rarely approached their fastest times.

Hinchcliffe and championship contender Ryan Hunter-Reay (third fastest) were the positive part of a very black and white session for the Andretti Autosport team. Their teammate Marco Andretti, last year’s polesitter here, was only 18th on the speed charts, while Carlos Munoz set eighth fastest time but caused the only car-induced full-course yellow when an electrical failure caused his car to grind to a halt out on track. (There was an earlier caution to clear up debris).

Chip Ganassi Racing looked very strong, with its three former Milwaukee winners Ryan Briscoe (2008), Tony Kanaan (’06 and ’07) and Scott Dixon (’09) all in the top six. Josef Newgarden, like Dixon, continued his momentum from Mid-Ohio, placing the Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing entry in fourth.

Team Penske’s championship fighters Will Power (11th) and Helio Castroneves (14th) were upstaged by their teammate Juan Montoya, the 2000 Milwaukee winner, while rookie Mikhail Aleshin edged his Schmidt Peterson Motorsports teammate Simon Pagenaud, another title contender.

Second practice begins at 1.30 p.m. Central Time, with qualifying at 5.00 p.m.

Pos Driver              Team/Engine        Time      Gap      Laps
 1. James Hinchcliffe   Andretti/Honda     22.0851s            31 
 2. Ryan Briscoe        Ganassi/Chevy      22.0987s  +0.0136s  24 
 3. Ryan Hunter-Reay    Andretti/Honda     22.1075s  +0.0224s  44 
 4. Josef Newgarden     Fisher/Honda       22.1894s  +0.1043s  50 
 5. Tony Kanaan         Ganassi/Chevy      22.1955s  +0.1104s  26 
 6. Scott Dixon         Ganassi/Chevy      22.2604s  +0.1753s  39 
 7. Juan Pablo Montoya  Penske/Chevy       22.3241s  +0.2390s  29 
 8. Carlos Munoz        Andretti/Honda     22.3336s  +0.2485s  32 
 9. Mikhail Aleshin     Schmidt/Honda      22.3484s  +0.2633s  38 
10. Simon Pagenaud      Schmidt/Honda      22.3557s  +0.2706s  36 
11. Will Power          Penske/Chevy       22.3770s  +0.2919s  43 
12. Charlie Kimball     Ganassi/Chevy      22.4153s  +0.3302s  48 
13. Graham Rahal        Rahal/Honda        22.4320s  +0.3469s  48 
14. Helio Castroneves   Penske/Chevy       22.4910s  +0.4059s  35 
15. Justin Wilson       Coyne/Honda        22.5014s  +0.4163s  40 
16. Takuma Sato         Foyt/Honda         22.5037s  +0.4186s  42 
17. Sebastien Bourdais  KV/Chevy           22.5771s  +0.4920s  39 
18. Marco Andretti      Andretti/Honda     22.5932s  +0.5081s  25 
19. Sebastian Saavedra  KV/Chevy           22.6405s  +0.5554s  43 
20. Ed Carpenter        Carpenter/Chevy    22.7251s  +0.6400s  38 
21. Carlos Huertas      Coyne/Honda        22.8352s  +0.7501s  53 
22. Jack Hawksworth     Herta/Honda        22.8909s  +0.8058s  47