INDIANAPOLIS -- On a day when speeds at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway increased to their highest levels since 1996, the Steel and Foam Energy Reduction (SAFER) wall system got another serious test Tuesday.

Indy Racing League rookie Laurent Redon of France drove a Dallara/Infiniti to a fast lap of 229.808 miles per hour, a full mph faster than CART driver Bruno Junqueira, who had a lap of 228.566 mph in a G Force/Chevrolet.

	PJ Jones loses control after hitting the new 'soft' wall in the first turn at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

But the practice session came to an early end when P.J. Jones, son of 1963 Indianapolis 500 winner Parnelli Jones, lost control of his Team Menard Dallara/Chevrolet in the first turn. The car backed into the SAFER wall, slamming hard into the barrier. It ricocheted across the short chute and crashed again into an infield guardrail.

Jones was able to climb out of the car with help from fire and safety crews. He was taken for precautionary X-rays to Methodist Hospital, where he was reported awake and alert.

The crash came with 20 minutes left in the session, and IRL officials flagged it seven minutes before the scheduled 7 p.m. EDT closing. The soft wall appears to have done its job by absorbing much of the energy from the crash.

It brought an early end to a fast day at the Brickyard as teams prepared for Saturday's qualifying session for the 86th Indianapolis 500.

Redon has been a surprise in the first three days of practice and leaped to the top of the scoring pylon Tuesday.

"It was great," he said of his lap. "I think we have to keep working. We had a little tow, but I'm pretty sure we are close to the best we can do. This team has worked so hard. It's great to work with Craig Perkins, my engineer, and Eric Bachelart, the owner.

"I'm very happy with the Infiniti engine. I was always on the rev limit. For practice, it's fine, but I'm always trying harder. Right now, I'm 95 percent, and I don't want to be at 100 percent before qualifying. I don't know if I can go faster, but I'll try. I'm sure we have to be faster to be on the pole, so it's something we have to work on."

Redon's speed is the fastest at Indianapolis Motor Speedway since the IRL went from turbo-charged to normally aspirated engines in 1997.

Scott Sharp's fastest lap last year was 226.423 mph during a four-lap qualifying run of 226.037 that captured the pole.

Arie Luyendyk holds the all-time lap record of 237.498 mph with a four-lap average of 236.986 mph in 1996. He ran an all-time practice speed record of 239.260 mph the day before qualifying that year with a turbo-charged engine.

Junqueira's lap of 228.566 mph in a G Force/Chevrolet was the second-fastest so far in practice, followed by Sharp's lap of 228.135 mph in a Dallara/Chevrolet. Defending Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves ran a lap of 227.637 mph in a Dallara/Chevrolet and was followed by Eddie Cheever's 227.413 mph in a Dallara/Infiniti.

"That was a great day for us," Junqueira said. "I was really hoping to be the fastest out there today, but I'll take second for now. As a driver, I always want to be the fastest guy out there every day. That is what motivates me.

"I'm very impressed with how well this team has done so far. The guys at Team Target are constantly trying to find ways to make the car better and better. We keep making changes to the car, and it keeps getting faster and faster. We have been working this week on making the car good for qualifying. Every change we make seems to make it better. I still think that we need to go faster to be a threat for the pole. I think that if we can find a few more miles per hour, we'll be in good shape."

Junqueira won the last CART race two weeks ago at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan.

Rain on Tuesday morning delayed the start of practice until 3:26 p.m. When it was over, Redon was the fastest of the fast.

"We're rookies here because the team is here for the first time," Redon said. "It's a first time for me, it's a first time for my engineer, so each lap we learn a lot. We're not used to that speed, so we're going to take a lot of data, and we're going to work on it and try to do it on Saturday.

"There are so many good drivers and good teams, so we have to have a low profile."