Alex Lloyd returned to action in his Ganassi/Rahal Letterman entry, now sponsored by Wii Fit. (Chris Jones/IndyCar photo) » More Photos

The 51-minute session was critical and busy because of previous and future rainouts. Regulars had just 12 hours of practice last week before pole qualifying Saturday. The following day’s qualifying session was rained out, making for a busy session on this Saturday’s card. Those already qualified are expected to make use of any and all practice time during Saturday and Sunday qualifying sessions.

Adding to the sense of anxiety is the threat of more rain Thursday. If that session is rained out, just one more practice day -- Friday -- will be available before the final weekend of qualifying.

“I’m going to guess the safety trucks have done more laps than we have this month,” said Ed Carpenter, who will start 10th in the race May 25. “We’ve missed so much track time that we’ll be using Saturday and Sunday to run.”

While some drivers fretted over track time, others worked toward last-minute possibilities. Among those trolling the garages were Jaques Lazier and Alex Barron, who was thought to be in line for the Beck Motorsports No. 98 ride that went to Roger Yasukawa.

“Every year something happens,” Barron said. “It’s unpredictable. I just need to make sure I’m around, and hopefully I’ll get a chance.”

Practice is scheduled to resume Thursday at noon ET, but a 70 percent chance of rain is in the forecast.