CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
GRAND PRIX OF PORTLAND
PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
PORTLAND, OREGON
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING RECAP
SEPTEMBER. 11, 2021
FELIX ROSENQVIST LEADS TEAM CHEVY IN QUALIFYING FOR PORTLAND GRAND PRIX
PORTLAND – (September 11, 2021) Felix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, led Team Chevy in qualifying for the Grand Prix of Portland. After advancing to the Firestone Fast Six, Rosenqvist captured the fourth starting position for tomorrow’s 110-lap/216-mile Grand Prix of Portland on the 12-turn, 1.964-mile Portland International Raceway that opened in 1961.
Chevrolet-powered championship contenders Pato O’Ward, No.5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, and Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet, will start 7th and 18th respectively. O’Ward and team weren’t happy with performance on red tires, and Newgarden and team were lacking pace of this morning’s practice.
The remainder of the Team Chevy drivers qualified as follows:
11th – Max Chilton, No. 59 Gallagher Carlin
12th – Sebastien Bourdais, No. 14 ROKIT AJ Foyt Racing
14th – Will Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske
15th – Scott McLaughlin, No.3 PPG Team Penske
16th – Conor Daly, No. 20 U.S Air Force Ed Carpenter Racing
19th – Callum Ilott, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing
22nd – Rinus Veekay, No. 21 Sonax/Autogeek Ed Carpenter Racing
26th – Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 Menards Team Penske
27th – Dalton Kellett. No. 4 K-Line Insulators AJ Foyt Racing
Alex Palou won the pole. Alexander Rossi Scott Dixon, Graham Rahal and Colton Herta completed the Firestone Fast Six.
VeeKay will have a six grid position penalty for an unapproved engine change as a result of damage his engine received in an accident at Gateway.
NBC will telecast the 110-lap Grand Prix of Portland at 3 p.m. ET Sunday, Sept. 12. Sept. 11, will stream on Peacock Premium. The racewill also be broadcast live on INDYCAR Radio Network affiliates, Sirius 211, XM 205, Indycar.com, and on the INDYCAR Mobile app powered by NTT DATA.
Driver quotes:
FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 7 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 4TH:
“It’s been a good day. The car felt good all day. Every session it felt like it was solid top-five which is where you want to be. We didn’t have quite the car to win the pole in the Firestone Fast Six. When you make the Fast Six, you always want to go for pole. But overall it is satisfying to have good qualifying. To be up there to help Pato’s situation in the championship to race hard against those other guys. So happy with where we are so far!”
PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 7TH:
ON HIS QUALIFIFYING: “Honestly, its not too bad. Our pace on reds was horrendous. We made significant steps forward in Q2. But it wasn’t enough to have us go to the Firestone Fast Six. We can do a lot from here honestly. We are starting inside of row four. We need to make it clean through turn one, and then run our race with the strategy. We will work on the race car in warm-up. It is what it is I guess. We need to pass the other contenders contenders in front of us.”
JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 18TH:
ON HIS QUALIFYING EFFORT
“We just didn’t have any pace. It wasn’t a bad lap, it just wasn’t fast. So, I don’t know. I’m not sure. We’ve got a lot of fights, so we’ll fight back. I was really happy this morning, so I’m not quite sure why we didn’t have the speed there, we just didn’t. We’ll just have to figure it out. We’ll get together as a team and try and make the most of it and we’ll battle tomorrow, for sure.”
YOU HAD TO BACK OFF TO FIND ANOTHER GAP AFTER YOUR FIRST FAST LAP ON THE REDS. DID THAT IMPACT ANYTHING?
“It wasn’t ideal, but I don’t think that’s the reason. I think I was within a tenth or a tenth and a half of what I could do. So, we just didn’t have speed for some reason. It’s definitely odd.”
About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
