Team Penske would continue their dominance in Verizon IndyCar Series qualifying for the Grand Prix of Long Beach with Helio Castroneves topping the charts to score the Verizon P1 Award. It marks the 42nd career pole for the driver who is coming off a solid runner-up finish at NOLA Motorsports Park.
“The team worked really hard because we changed everything in the car last night, so congratulations to them,” he said. “It was not pretty last night, but it proved that we were able to keep pushing. When you get the pole position with the teammates I have, it’s actually pretty cool. The car is awesome so we have to keep pushing.”
Castroneves will be joined at the front of the field by his teammate Juan Pablo Montoya, who has started off the year with a pair of top-five finishes, highlighted by a win on the streets of St. Petersburg.
“Yesterday in the first practice we were really good,” Montoya commented. “We went one direction for the second practice and went slower, tried something this morning and went even slower, so I was like, ‘Oh, let’s put it back.’ We spent two days trying to figure it out and then just put it back the way we started and things were good. Welcome to motor racing. I really thought I had it (pole) there, but I made a mistake in the last corner, but it is what it is.”
Scott Dixon continued the trend of Chip Ganassi Racing being fast by qualifying third.
“The Target car actually rolled off really well here – better than we normally do,” he said. “We came into this weekend with a different mindset and I’m really proud of everyone on the Target Chip Ganassi Racing team for getting it going. We seemed to do really good on the black tires. We were hoping for bigger improvements and more of a time difference with the reds from the blacks, but we just didn’t find it. We were still quick enough, but hopefully we can find that time tomorrow during the race. Long Beach is always a tough one and strategy is definitely going to be top-of-mind.”
Chevrolet has dominated so far this season in speed, but Honda has continued to get stronger with their new aerodynamic kits. That was shown by Ryan Hunter-Reay in qualifying as he will start fourth on Sunday. Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud rounded out the top-five.
Josef Newgarden will start sixth, followed by Tony Kanaan. Kanaan set a new track record in the first round of qualifying, recording a lap of 1 minute, 06.7442 seconds on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn street circuit.
“It’s frustrating that we didn’t make it into the Firestone Fast 6, especially after the lap times we were running in that first round,” Kanaan reflected. “We made a change between Q1 and Q2 and that, unfortunately, cost us a few tenths in the NTT DATA Chevrolet. We were less than one-tenth from sixth, so it was definitely tight. That’s what I love about INDYCAR though- the competition is so strong and I think tomorrow’s race will definitely be exciting.”
Graham Rahal will start eighth, followed by Sebastien Bourdais and Marco Andretti. Sebastian Saavedra will start 11th in his first start of the season with CGR, followed by Carlos Munoz and NOLA Motorsports Park winner James Hinchcliffe.
The biggest surprise in qualifying, though, was the effort put in by Will Power. Power has been fast all season long and led practice on Friday, but will start the event from the 18th spot.
“I’m just kicking myself for not finishing the lap that I had a bobble on,” the defending champion said. “I turned the engine down, coasted for a bit and took off again. It’s going to be tough. You know how these INDYCAR races go. Anything can happen. We have to be positive and hope a yellow falls our way. That’s kind of our only chance to make something of it.”
Ricky Moran Jr. was scheduled to drive the No. 18 Honda for Dale Coyne Racing but sustained a broken left thumb during Friday’s practice. As a result, Connor Daly will be behind the wheel come Sunday. Daly has made one previous Verizon IndyCar Series start, finishing 22nd in the 2013 Indianapolis 500.
“It’s a shame to see Rocky break his (thumb) like he did, but this is why I bring my stuff to the track every week and this is why I’m here and this is why I’m ready,” Daly said. “I can’t thank Dale enough for the call, to be able to get out here and do some laps and get in the game. We’ll see what happens, but I’m excited for the opportunity.”
1. (3) Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet, 01:06.6294 (106.331)
2. (2) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 01:06.6587 (106.285)
3. (9) Scott Dixon, Chevrolet, 01:06.7870 (106.081)
4. (28) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 01:07.0473 (105.669)
5. (22) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 01:07.1433 (105.518)
6. (67) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 01:07.1716 (105.473)
7. (10) Tony Kanaan, Chevrolet, 01:07.1090 (105.572)
8. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 01:07.1290 (105.540)
9. (11) Sebastien Bourdais, Chevrolet, 01:07.2411 (105.364)
10. (27) Marco Andretti, Honda, 01:07.3161 (105.247)
11. (8) Sebastian Saavedra, Chevrolet, 01:07.3924 (105.128)
12. (26) Carlos Munoz, Honda, 01:07.4049 (105.108)
13. (5) James Hinchcliffe, Honda, 01:07.3976 (105.119)
14. (20) Luca Filippi, Chevrolet, 01:08.6104 (103.261)
15. (83) Charlie Kimball, Chevrolet, 01:07.4217 (105.082)
16. (41) Jack Hawksworth, Honda, 01:08.6276 (103.235)
17. (98) Gabby Chaves, Honda, 01:07.4653 (105.014)
18. (1) Will Power, Chevrolet, 01:08.8348 (102.925)
19. (7) James Jakes, Honda, 01:07.7702 (104.542)
20. (14) Takuma Sato, Honda, 01:08.8732 (102.867)
21. (18) Conor Daly, Honda, 01:08.7825 (103.003)
22. (19) Francesco Dracone, Honda, 01:09.8815 (101.383)
23. (4) Stefano Coletti, Chevrolet, 01:10.4644 (100.544)
