CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF MONTEREY
WEATHERTECH RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA
MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING REPORT
JUNE 22, 2024
ALEXANDER ROSSI PACES FOR CHEVROLET, STARTING FIFTH IN SUNDAY’S FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF MONTEREY AT LAGUNA SECA
- Alexander Rossi, driver of the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, led Team Chevy in Saturday’s qualifying and Firestone Fast Six at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and will start Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey fifth.
- Rossi transferred from the fast 12 to the Firestone Fast Six, representing Chevrolet and battling it out for pole position at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
- Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward transferred to the fast 12 out of Group 2 in Saturday’s qualifying session.
- Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Romain Grosjean, Rossi, and Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, transferred to the fast 12 out of Group 1 in Saturday’s qualifying session.
- Power led Team Chevy in the second practice that opened Saturday, with his fastest lap of 1:08.4261. Four drivers total representing the Bowtie brand finished second practice in the top-10, including Power, Scott McLaughlin (fourth), Pato O’Ward (fifth), and Alexander Rossi (eighth).
- Sunday sees a warm-up kicking off race day at 3 p.m. ET, with the 95-lap, 212.61-mile Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey taking the green flag at 6 p.m. ET live on USA Network from WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Additional coverage is broadcast via Peacock, as well as INDYCAR Radio and SiriusXM Channel 218.
TEAM CHEVY TOP-10 QUALIFYING RESULT:
Pos. Driver
5th Alexander Rossi (1:07.3595)
7th Scott McLaughlin (1:07.3994)
8th Romain Grosjean (1:07.4286)
9th Pato O’Ward (1:07.4900)
TEAM CHEVY TOP-10 SECOND PRACTICE RESULT:
Pos. Driver
2nd Will Power (1:08.4261)
4th Scott McLaughlin (1:08.4602)
5th Pato O’Ward (1:08.4679
8th Alexander Rossi (1:08.6153)
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (QUOTES):
Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:
”I had a spin in practice two which kind of killed us the first set of tires on the primes. So, we went out on scuffed primes. We actually looked pretty good. Red tires, we kind of missed it by two tenths. It’s tough. (Will) Power missed it by two tenths as well. It’s hard to say. It looked like it’s a bit in high speed for us but I was sliding the car around. I think it was really lap one, and you know we’ll race from there.”
Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:
“It wasn’t the best of Saturday’s I would say, but we can work from P9. I was happy with the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, so we’ll see what we can make better for the longer stints and see where it takes us.”
Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:
“I didn’t really get to run on reds at all until now. That’s a big challenge. The tire is very, very different. I think that in the first session, we had a little issue that kept us running most of the session and didn’t get to do our run on reds. Learning the tire on the first run, and then on the second run, I got to push a little bit harder, but it’s just a lot of new things for me. We’re doing our best. We’re getting better every session, but you can’t really expect us to come out having just met each other and never driven the car and be up there. I think the race pace is going to be good. I think the qualifying was going to be the most difficult session of the weekend for us, and I think the race pace is going to be just fine.”
“We’re getting better every session. We’re getting to know each other better. I’m getting to know the car better. It’s just a lot of new things and it’s tough. It’s tough. IndyCar is super competitive. I feel like as long as we can continue improving at this rate every session this weekend. I think we’re gonna hit the ground rolling really well in Mid-Ohio and on to the rest of the season. I’m happy with where we’re at happy with where the trajectory is going and I think that we’re going to be competitive in the race and we’ll be competitive for the rest of the season.”
Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:
“It’s been a smooth weekend so far, and it is good to qualify where I think we should be. When you are that close and you fall short, it is a little disappointing, but ultimately the No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet has been awesome. The team has done an amazing job, and I think we’ll have a really strong package going into tomorrow.”
Gavin Ward, Team Principal at Arrow McLaren:
“It was a bit of a mixed bag today. On one hand you’ve got Alexander’s (Rossi0 best qualifying of the year. He did a good job to get up there, and he really pulled out a great lap to get into the Firestone Fast 6. We just didn’t have enough to fight for pole today. Pato (O’Ward) left a bit on the table in Q2. The potential was there to get that car in the Fast 6, but it was a bit of a scrappy session. Nolan (Siegel) is getting to grips with the car. We lost run time yesterday, and not getting a proper run on the softer tire today is a steep learning curve. We’re looking forward to race day.”
Christian Rasmussen, No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:
“Obviously, we were starting on the back foot with not having much time in Practice 2. We were sitting pretty good on the blacks, but we didn’t really get the red tire to work for us today. Kind of opposite of the other day where we felt like maybe we didn’t have a great balance on blacks, but then we were pretty good on red. We’ve got to go back and figure out what happened there. I think we have a fast car, we just started on the back foot which was unfortunate. I have a good feeling in terms of the car balance, we just need to be a little bit better nailing it on the reds in qualifying. It seems like the deg is higher this year compared to last year. I feel like that kind of leans it towards a black race. But, we will see and how everything and everyone goes a little bit longer on tires in warm up. That’s when we really kind of determine on what direction it will go.”
Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:
“It’s not been a straightforward weekend. Yesterday in practice, we had a little engine issue, and then this morning, we were just really far out of the window. Got back to a very drivable car, but it’s not just quick enough in the moment. I mean, as a team, we’re struggling a lot. I mean, the only way is forward. We’re always good in race trim, so we can move forward, but looking I’m looking forward to not passing so many cars in another weekend and where we have it just a little bit easier.”
Romain Grosjean, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:
“I had a slow car at the end of my lap one, and then I had to do a slow lap on lap two, and by lap three, the tires were not there anymore. I think we had a pole car. I’m very frustrated with drivers slowing down the qualifying. I think the rules are pretty clear you can do that, and we learned in Detroit, we learned today. It’s slightly annoying and honestly, I felt we should have been on pole today. I had a ten second gap attacking the first timed lap. I thought that was enough if everyone stays on the pace. Obviously, I don’t know if it was the guy in front of him, but I started my second push lap within one second behind him, so I aborted the lap. It was never going to be good enough, and then the third timed lap, I’d say those tires were made for lap one or lap two, so that’s how we set up the car. When you get traffic, you can’t control that. Yeah, I’m frustrated. I generally think we should be fighting for pole today, which is awesome, but tomorrow it’s for points.”
Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet:
“I think it’s just me today. I think our car was really good. I just was just struggling to put together. I’ll try and make it up tomorrow. I think we got close there on reds, but just didn’t quite have enough. I think our car has been good. It’s been good right from the get-go. We’ll try and have a good race day tomorrow with a Hitachi Chevy.”
MCLAUGHLIN HAS BEEN HAVING SOME BRAKING SOME LOCKING KIND OF CONCERNS. HAS THAT BEEN IMPACTING YOUR CAR AS WELL?
“We’ve been up and down. Yes. Throughout the weekend, we’ve had different braking issues, but you’re chasing both ends of the car depending on the temperature in the day. We had same thing today. It just keeps moving around. So, you’re chasing it session to session, but our car was car was pretty good. I don’t think I don’t think that was the issue.”
Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet:
“It’s tight. I had a little slide through one of the quick corners in turn six around the back there. Just cost me going up the hill. When you lose that momentum going up the hill, it really hurts you. The Good Ranchers Chevy has been good. I think we could have easily made the Fast Six, but it’s INDYCAR. There’s a tenth (of a second) between seven cars or whatever. Just can’t make a mistake, but ultimately, great starting spot for tomorrow and we’ll see how we go.”
Will Power, No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet:
“I probably waited in the pits too long, honestly. Tried to back off. Just didn’t get enough temp and then was just off cycle. It’s always very tough. You can’t screw around. We had the pace, just didn’t put it together. We’ll have an extra set of reds, but it’s hard to say, I don’t know yet if the reds are going to be good yet. Hopefully.”
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