Power gives Team Penske 1-2 in St. Pete Qualifying

Will Power
Will Power

Will Power dominates pole position qualifying at St. Petersburg winning 8 of the last 10 poles here. Saturday was no different as Power put up a lap of 1m00.459s to win the pole in his Penske Chevy by just 0.0976s over his Penske teammate Josef Newgarden.

It earned the 2018 Indianapolis 500 winner the 55th pole position of his Indy car career, moving him within 12 of tying Mario Andretti for the most all time.

"That last run, the car felt really good," Power said. "I have to say it was a very neat lap and I didn't really leave anything on the table.

"Honestly, I didn't expect to be on pole because we had used (Firestone alternate) tires," he added about the Firestone Fast Six. "We didn't have new (alternate tires) like a couple of the other guys so, over the moon, man, over the moon to start on pole. I really am happy."

Row 2 was all Ganassi teammates rookie Felix Rosenqvist and Scott Dixon with Row 3 filled by Andretti Autosport teammates Ryan Hunter-Reay and Alexander Rossi.

But it was another rookie who may have taken pole.

What might have been for Herta
What might have been for Herta

Colton Herta lost his two fastest times for blocking Charlie Kimball and was moved out of the Fast Six round. Herta appeared headed to the Fast Six final round until he was penalized for impeding Kimball during the second round. He will start 11th in his Harding Steinbrenner Racing Honda.

"I did not know he was behind me until he passed me. The rules are the rules, I blocked him and I am out. It's too bad because I think we would have been on pole. It was a sloppy lap and we were still third," said the disappointed Harding-Steinbrenner rookie.

The first two rounds of qualifying featured incidents that shuffled which drivers advanced to succeeding rounds. A pair of red-flag stoppages in the first group of Round 1 limited green-flag time to a precious few minutes. It prevented Sebastien Bourdais from completing a timed lap so the two-time defending race champion from Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan will start 19th.

Takuma Sato of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing initially advanced from his group in the first round but was penalized for causing a local yellow flag that impeded the qualifying effort of another car. Per INDYCAR rules, Sato forfeited his fastest lap to that point, preventing the 2017 Indy 500 winner from advancing to the second round and allowing Dixon to move on instead.

Quotes

JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet), NTT P1 award winner: "It was a medium start to the weekend. We weren't bad and we got a top 10, but we weren't crazy stellar. We definitely found our footing this morning and made the car really good. Everyone really executed today. I'm only disappointed in myself. I didn't put together the best lap there when it really counted. We did a great job getting into the Firestone Fast Six as a team, so you can't be dissatisfied. It's really positive for the whole organization. Team Chevy did a really good job and worked really hard overnight for us to make sure what got what we needed for the No. 2 Hitachi Chevy. Thank you to Chevy for giving us everything we need. It's hard to not be disappointed when you're quick and we had a little better tires. We were on the preferred tire and you want to capitalize on them, but I messed up that first lap and booked it on the second. It was close, but wasn't good enough."

MATHEUS LEIST (No. 4 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet): "It's not the result we wanted in qualifying We will be starting from the back tomorrow, so we have a lot of work to do. Even so, I'm looking forward to the race because it is a place that I like, and I usually drive pretty good. We'll try to move to the front and have a good result tomorrow."

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 5 Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda): "We had a fast car, we just didn't nail it perfectly on (Firestone alternate tires) reds. I think if we had had the run in Round 1 (qualifying), we would have been able to make some adjustments and be fighting for the Firestone Fast Six. It is what it is. Pretty disappointing the way it played out, but that's qualifying here. There are red flags, there are guys holding up other guys – not a lot of respect out there in qualifying for each other – but that's racing. This place has always been pretty good to us. I think if we can play strategy a little bit, we can make some moves in the Arrow car."

MARCUS ERICSSON (No.7 Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda): "It was a disappointing qualifying session for us. On the first set of tires, the primaries (Firestone black tires), I had a big lockup on my first timed lap, so that made that whole run pretty compromised because of it. I was struggling with that to get a good reference for the (Firestone alternate tires) reds. Then on the reds, I was on a decent lap, but I brushed the wall quite hard in Turn 9, which sort of bent the car a bit and I couldn't improve from there. Disappointing to go out straight away in the first round, but it's still a new day tomorrow and we have a good chance with the Arrow cars."

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda): "We couldn't really find the balance I was looking for today for whatever reason in the PNC Bank car. We had some pretty patchy practice sessions and didn't get to run the car consistently. Great job by my teammate Felix (Rosenqvist) in his first race weekend here. We still have a little work to do, as I'm getting loose on entry under braking. We got lucky with (Takuma) Sato getting a penalty to advance through, but you take the breaks when you get them and just make the most of it."

FELIX ROSENQVIST (No. 10 NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing Honda): "I'm pretty happy overall with the result. I'm not even sure yet what exact feedback to give to the team in qualifying, so I didn't want to change anything on the NTT DATA car. I guess when I get comfortable enough we can have those conversations, which is something to look forward to. We are starting side by side tomorrow as teammates and the golden rule there is to always respect your teammate. Other than that, I just can't wait to get going tomorrow for the race here at St. Petersburg."

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): "I had a great nap before I qualified. I actually fell asleep, so I felt really fresh. Honestly, I didn't expect to be on pole because we had used tires. We didn't have new (tires) like a couple of the other guys so, over the moon man, over the moon to start on pole. I really am happy. It's about time a pole winner won this race, so I want to stop that trend of the last place guy winning. So, we'll do our best. That last run, the car felt really good. I have to say it was a very neat lap and I didn't really leave anything on the table."

TONY KANAAN (No. 14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet): "I can't call this qualifying. We got two red flags, so nobody ever put a fast lap in our group. The fastest lap was an out lap at a 1:03 and we were running .59s. It's a shame, but it was out of our control. We didn't cause the red flags, but we just didn't get the lap."

GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 15 United Rentals Honda): "In the first round, the United Rentals Honda was really good. I thought that with a couple of minor tweaks, we would be right there. When we went to the second round, unfortunately, we didn't really get a good out lap, and due to that, the rear tires never came in and it was just an absolute handful. I almost lost it to start my lap, so therefore we just never stood a chance of advancing. It's a shame because our time in the first round was good enough to advance us to the (Firestone) Fast Six so it's disappointing to not fulfill that."

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS (No. 18 SealMaster Honda): "I'm not quite sure what to say. I didn't even get a timed lap. I think the SealMaster Honda car is really competitive. It's just a shame. I feel that we owe it to the fans, sponsors and teams to at least show something that's representative, but the rules are there for a reason. However, the rules do not provide for something like this where you barely get any green flag time. I feel really bad for everybody. I guess we should have gone out right away, but that is easy to say now. The good news is the Dale Coyne with Vasser-Sullivan team has plenty of sticker (new) tires both the Firestone reds (alternate) and blacks (primary), so I am excited for tomorrow. Obviously, we will be playing the long game again. That's all you can do from where we'll start. We'll give it our best shot. We've done it the last two years from there (won from the back of the field), so we know it's possible."

SANTINO FERRUCCI (No. 19 David Yurman Honda): " That's definitely not how I wanted to start off the season in qualifying here in St. Petersburg aboard my No. 19 David Yurman Honda. I made a rookie mistake going into Turn 12 and ended up in the tire barrier. I feel bad because it not only ruined my qualifying, but also Sebastien's (Bourdais). It's a long race and we'll do our best to make our way forward. Sebastien has won from the back here before, so we'll see what we can do tomorrow."

ED JONES (No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Scuderia Corsa Chevrolet): "Qualifying was super frustrating. We weren't the only ones caught out by the red flags, but what hurts the most is that the team did a fantastic job over last night to improve the car. We were sixth this morning and the car felt great. Unfortunately, no one did a push lap, it was only out lap times. It's disappointing, but as Sebastien (Bourdais) has shown us the last two years, you can start at the back and still win the race."

SPENCER PIGOT (No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet): "We just kind of missed the balance there on the (Firestone alternate) red tires today. Unfortunately, the car wasn't behaving like it did yesterday in second practice. We'll go back to see where we can improve and get the car back to how it was. Hopefully, we'll have a good race tomorrow for Autogeek and have a strong start of the season for Ed Carpenter Racing."

SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet): "I didn't get to play. It was quite unfortunate. I wasn't even able to go full speed. We had two red flags in the wrong spot for us. It's really unfortunate because I felt that the No. 22 Menards Chevy was awesome. We made a huge improvement today and the car was awesome this morning. I'm just a little disappointed I didn't get to showcase what the team has been working on. Obviously, my teammates are starting one and two and had not what gone down, I would have been right there with them. That's the only frustrating part, but you can't dwell on that. That's outside factors you can't control. We're going to regroup and go hard tomorrow."

CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 23 Tresiba Carlin Chevrolet): "The Firestone alternates really have one good lap in them around here and on my best lap I was coming into Turn 10 up on my previous good lap time and came across the No. 88 in about second gear at the apex. I was able to slide by him, but I had to throw that lap out completely. My next lap, which was my best, just wasn't quite good enough to move into the top six. Honestly, I'm really proud of the Carlin team and the progress we've made in 12 months. You know to come back in the No. 23 car this weekend with Novo Nordisk and to qualify in the top 10 is pretty great. I'm just looking forward to the green flag tomorrow to see what we can do with our solid qualifying effort."

ZACH VEACH (No. 26 Gainbridge Honda): "First off, I'm just happy being here. Thankful for all the fans coming out, but I think we have something to look at. The data didn't come out just right as far as speed for us. We think that we have a lot better car than we are showing right now, but we have an issue holding us back. We just have to figure out what that is overnight. It is a long race. This is the longest (in both laps at 110 laps and distance at 198 miles) temporary street course we have of the entire year. A lot of laps and a lot of things can happen tomorrow and at the end of the day, I am just happy to be here."

ALEXANDER ROSSI (No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS Honda): "We have been struggling for two days now with some issues on the front of the car. I think (the qualifying result) was really the best we could hope for. It is unfortunate that we were aiming for sixth. At the end of the day, it was good to be able to advance to the Firestone Fast Six and at least give us a good starting spot for tomorrow, and we all know in this race how many things can happen. We will make sure we resolve our issues overnight and have a good car for tomorrow. I think we know what the issue is, but we don't know quite how to fix it yet. We have a lot of very smart people here at Andretti Autosport, so the 27 NAPA guys will work and figure it out."

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 DHL Honda): " We had the fastest lap of qualifying and unfortunately it was in the wrong session. It was in Q1, a 1:00:15, super fast. That was on new (Firestone alternate) reds. In the (Firestone) Fast Six, we had used reds. I think we just beat up our reds too much in the prior sessions – there was no grip in the car in the Fast Six. We are struggling with some balance stuff right now, but hopefully we can sort that out for tomorrow, but it's going to be tough. It seems like it is either going to be loose or understeer, we can't find the middle. But we're starting from fifth – and we can do something from there."

TAKUMA SATO (No. 30 Panasonic / Seeman Holtz Honda): "I'm disappointed with qualifying obviously. We looked good in Practice 3 so we were optimistic about qualifying. I was in the top five in our (qualifying) group. We were moving to Round, but I had a little moment in Turn 4 and went into the escape road, which caused a yellow, so INDYCAR took my fastest lap away. My second fastest was not quick enough to advance in the top six."

MAX CHILTON (No. 59 Gallagher Carlin Chevrolet): "It was a disappointing day for the No. 59 Gallagher Chevrolet. We had an issue with the clutch in the first session that cost us quite a bit of track time, which you never want to happen in the last practice before qualifying. We aren't starting where we want tomorrow, but now we have an opportunity to come from the back with an alternate strategy and get the result we know we can get."

JACK HARVEY (No. 60 AutoNation/Sirius XM MSR w/ Arrow SPM Honda): " We made some changes before the session, so it was a bit of stepping into the unknown for qualifying honestly. I didn't know what we were going to have. But the MSR guys stuck with it, and it was great to have that pace in qualifying. The Drive Pink Shasta is set up here at the track, and we've got a lot of people here from AutoNation so it is great to show this kind of potential with our pink car. Now I'm just looking forward to the race tomorrow."

BEN HANLEY (No. 81 10 Star DragonSpeed Chevrolet): "We had to work through quite a few technical problems in practice, so it was satisfying to come out of our first NTT IndyCar Series qualifying with a good result. Qualifying was our first chance to run (Firestone alternate) red tires, so we started on a set, and with the interruptions, it worked in our favor. Getting through to Q2 was a nice reward for all the crew's hard work, and it also gave us an extra 10 minutes to learn about the car. We'll try to learn some more in the morning warmup and then it's exam time in the race."

COLTON HERTA (No. 88 Harding Steinbrenner Racing Honda): "Shoulda, coulda, woulda. We had the time to get into the Firestone Fast Six, but we didn't quite make it. We didn't manage traffic right and we got caught for blocking, so it was a rough day. My last lap would have put us in the third position, and I think we had even more time to give. The Harding Steinbrenner Racing guys and I will push our Latitude Vacation Club No. 88 car tomorrow."

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 98 U.S. Concrete / Curb Honda): "It was unfortunate today, the U.S. Concrete car is fast, we just didn't get a chance. It ruined the show for the fans, too. There should have never been a red (flag). I was sitting on pit lane, I wasn't blocking anyone but that's the way the cards fell today. I will be driving and seeing red tomorrow. That's the plan. So far we have had the pace and possibly had the pace to do a lap."

Lineup

Pos Car Driver Name ENGINE Time Speed Session
1 12 Power, Will CHEVY 01:00.4594 107.179 Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six
2 2 Newgarden, Josef CHEVY 01:00.5570 107.007 Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six
3 10 Rosenqvist, Felix (R) HONDA 01:00.6884 106.775 Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six
4 9 Dixon, Scott HONDA 01:00.8544 106.484 Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six
5 28 Hunter-Reay, Ryan HONDA 01:01.0784 106.093 Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six
6 27 Rossi, Alexander HONDA 01:01.7739 104.899 Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six
7 60 Harvey, Jack HONDA 01:00.9531 106.311 Elimination Round 2 / Top 12
8 23 Kimball, Charlie CHEVY 01:01.0146 106.204 Elimination Round 2 / Top 12
9 5 Hinchcliffe, James HONDA 01:01.0185 106.197 Elimination Round 2 / Top 12
10 15 Rahal, Graham HONDA 01:01.0944 106.065 Elimination Round 2 / Top 12
11 88 Herta, Colton (R) HONDA 01:01.4182 105.506 Elimination Round 2 / Top 12
12 81 Hanley, Ben (R) CHEVY 01:02.3703 103.896 Elimination Round 2 / Top 12
13 22 Pagenaud, Simon CHEVY 01:04.6298 100.263 Elimination Round 1 / Group 1
14 26 Veach, Zach HONDA 01:00.9061 106.393 Elimination Round 1 / Group 2
15 20 Jones, Ed CHEVY 01:06.1422 97.971 Elimination Round 1 / Group 1
16 21 Pigot, Spencer CHEVY 01:00.9495 106.318 Elimination Round 1 / Group 2
17 98 Andretti, Marco HONDA No Time No Speed Elimination Round 1 / Group 1
18 7 Ericsson, Marcus (R) HONDA 01:01.1345 105.996 Elimination Round 1 / Group 2
19 18 Bourdais, Sebastien HONDA No Time No Speed Elimination Round 1 / Group 1
20 30 Sato, Takuma HONDA 01:01.1511 105.967 Elimination Round 1 / Group 2
21 14 Kanaan, Tony CHEVY No Time No Speed Elimination Round 1 / Group 1
22 4 Leist, Matheus CHEVY 01:01.1579 105.955 Elimination Round 1 / Group 2
23 19 Ferrucci, Santino (R) HONDA No Time No Speed Elimination Round 1 / Group 1
24 59 Chilton, Max CHEVY 01:01.3785 105.574 Elimination Round 1 / Group 2

(R) Rookie

Pursuant to Rule 8.3.5, Cars 98 and 19 — best 2 lap times were disallowed and cars did not continue in this session. Pursuant to Rule 8.3.6.4, Car 30 – one lap time was disallowed in this session. Pursuant to Rule 8.3.6.1, Car 88 — best 2 lap times were disallowed in the session. Pursuant to Rule 8.3.8.1.1, Cars 98, 18, 14, and 19 were ranked based on qualifications order.

Fast Six

Pos No Name FTime Diff Gap FSpeed Engine Tire Team
1 12 Will Power 1:00.459 –.—- –.—- 107.179 Chevy A Team Penske
2 2 Josef Newgarden 1:00.557 0.0976 0.0976 107.007 Chevy A Team Penske
3 10 Felix Rosenqvist 1:00.688 0.2290 0.1314 106.775 Honda A Chip Ganassi Racing Teams
4 9 Scott Dixon 1:00.854 0.3950 0.1660 106.484 Honda A Chip Ganassi Racing Teams
5 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay 1:01.078 0.6190 0.2240 106.093 Honda A Andretti Autosport
6 27 Alexander Rossi 1:01.774 1.3145 0.6955 104.899 Honda A Andretti Autosport

Round 2

Pos No Name FTime Diff Gap FSpeed Engine Tire Team
1 2 Josef Newgarden 1:00.200 –.—- –.—- 107.641 Chevy A Team Penske
2 12 Will Power 1:00.301 0.1008 0.1008 107.461 Chevy A Team Penske
3 88 Colton Herta* 1:00.329 0.1287 0.0279 107.411 Honda A Harding Steinbrenner Racing
4 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay 1:00.413 0.2132 0.0845 107.261 Honda A Andretti Autosport
5 9 Scott Dixon 1:00.537 0.3367 0.1235 107.042 Honda A Chip Ganassi Racing Teams
6 27 Alexander Rossi 1:00.709 0.5083 0.1716 106.739 Honda A Andretti Autosport
7 10 Felix Rosenqvist 1:00.810 0.6097 0.1014 106.561 Honda A Chip Ganassi Racing Teams
8 60 Jack Harvey 1:00.953 0.7528 0.1431 106.311 Honda A Meyer Shank Racing w/Arrow SPM
9 23 Charlie Kimball 1:01.015 0.8143 0.0615 106.204 Chevy A Carlin
10 5 James Hinchcliffe 1:01.019 0.8182 0.0039 106.197 Honda A Arrow Schmidt Peterson
11 15 Graham Rahal 1:01.094 0.8941 0.0759 106.065 Honda A Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
12 81 Ben Hanley 1:02.370 2.1700 1.2759 103.896 Chevy A DragonSpeed

Round 1 Group 1 (Only one lap of hard running due to plethora of red flags)

Pos No Name FTime Diff Gap FSpeed Engine Tire Team
1 23 Charlie Kimball 1:02.994 –.—- –.—- 102.866 Chevy P Carlin
2 5 James Hinchcliffe 1:03.173 0.1787 0.1787 102.575 Honda A Arrow Schmidt Peterson
3 27 Alexander Rossi 1:03.210 0.2156 0.0369 102.515 Honda A Andretti Autosport
4 10 Felix Rosenqvist 1:03.870 0.8752 0.6596 101.457 Honda A Chip Ganassi Racing Teams
5 81 Ben Hanley 1:04.148 1.1533 0.2781 101.017 Chevy P DragonSpeed
6 2 Josef Newgarden 1:04.286 1.2916 0.1383 100.800 Chevy A Team Penske
7 22 Simon Pagenaud 1:04.630 1.6354 0.3438 100.263 Chevy A Team Penske
8 20 Ed Jones 1:06.142 3.1478 1.5124 97.971 Chevy A Ed Carpenter Racing
9 18 Sebastien Bourdais 1:19.357 16.3629 13.2151 81.656 Honda A Dale Coyne Racing with VS
10 14 Tony Kanaan 4:55.470 3:52.4759 6.1832 21.931 Chevy Ao AJ Foyt Enterprises
9 18 Sebastien Bourdais 1:19.357 16.3629 13.2151 81.656 Honda A Dale Coyne Racing with vs
12 98 Marco Andretti No Time Honda Po Andretti Herta Autosport w/CA

Round 1 Group 2

Pos No Name FTime Diff Gap FSpeed Engine Tire Team
1 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay 1:00.155 –.—- –.—- 107.722 Honda A Andretti Autosport
2 88 Colton Herta 1:00.462 0.3070 0.3070 107.175 Honda A Harding Steinbrenner Racing
3 15 Graham Rahal 1:00.593 0.4385 0.1315 106.943 Honda A Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
4 12 Will Power 1:00.683 0.5280 0.0895 106.785 Chevy A Team Penske
5 30 Takuma Sato 1:00.706 0.5511 0.0231 106.744 Honda Ao Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
6 60 Jack Harvey 1:00.797 0.6422 0.0911 106.584 Honda Ao Meyer Shank Racing with Arrow SPM
7 9 Scott Dixon 1:00.837 0.6825 0.0403 106.514 Honda A Chip Ganassi Racing Teams
8 26 Zach Veach 1:00.906 0.7513 0.0688 106.393 Honda A Andretti Autosport
9 21 Spencer Pigot 1:00.950 0.7947 0.0434 106.318 Chevy A Ed Carpenter Racing
10 7 Marcus Ericsson 1:01.135 0.9797 0.1850 105.996 Honda A Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsport
11 4 Matheus Leist 1:01.158 1.0031 0.0234 105.955 Chevy A AJ Foyt Enterprises
12 59 Max Chilton 1:01.379 1.2237 0.2206 105.574 Chevy A Carlin

Legend
P = Primary Black Tire
A = Alternate Red Tire

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