In qualifying for the second of two races this weekend in the Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit presented by Quicken Loans, Mike Conway would earn his first pole position. He will lead the field to the green of the 70-lap race on Sunday afternoon.
“We just had to hang out and see what we had and it was enough for pole,” Conway said. “Excellent job by all the guys at the team at Dale Coyne for making this happen. We couldn’t have asked for much more coming into this weekend.”
He would record a lap of one minute, 18.0977 seconds in his qualifying group.
“This is great to get our first pole,” Dale Coyne, Conway’s team owner, said. “We have had many front-row performances, but I am thankful for Mike bringing us our first pole. Maybe a yellow Sonny’s car is good luck.”
James Jakes, who led the first group, will start from the second position, driving for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. It marks his best career start.
“I think we would have had a shot at pole if our session hadn’t been cut short,” Jakes said. “In a way it’s good, but it’s still a little disappointing to miss out on pole. Going to have to find which hotel Conway is staying so I can high jack his room tonight. He keeps on spoiling the party. But no, congratulations to those guys they’ve been strong all weekend.”
Penske Racing driver Will Power qualified third, followed by last year’s champion Ryan Hunter-Reay and E.J. Viso.