Qualifying report
Gateway IndyCar: Top 10 quotes after qualifying
Power joins elite group with career pole position No. 50
Perry Nelson / Motorsport Images
| Cla | # | Driver | Time | Gap | Mph |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 |  Will Power |
47.4579 | 189.642 | |
| "That was awesome. Reaching 50 Verizon P1 Awards is a huge accomplishment for myself and my team. They always give me a strong setup going into qualifying for the No. 12 Verizon Chevy and they just continue to do a great job. We were lucky that we went out last which was a huge advantage since we share data throughout the team. We're really excited about tomorrow's race, especially starting from the front with all of my teammates right behind me." | |||||
| 2 | 2 |  Josef Newgarden |
47.7921 | 0.3342 | 188.316 |
| "We put together a great couple of laps in the PPG Chevy. I knew it would be tough to keep Will (Power) out of that top spot. That's one of the great advantages of going last. We share all of our information. Sometimes I've been on the good side of that and sometimes I haven't. That's one of the hallmarks of Team Penske - it's all one team. Sure, I would like to have the pole position, but we're right there. I think we'll get there, so it's nothing that's super disappointing or anything. We'll start second and see what happens." | |||||
| 3 | 3 |  Helio Castroneves |
48.0109 | 0.5530 | 187.457 |
| "What a run. We had a really fast car, but not enough for the pole. Still, we had a really fast car. The No. 3 Shell Fuel Rewards Chevrolet will definitely have a great starting spot, so it's all about maintaining a good spot towards the front of tomorrow's race. The track is really smooth and it's great. I'm really excited for tomorrow night's race at Gateway." | |||||
| 4 | 1 |  Simon Pagenaud |
48.1936 | 0.7357 | 186.747 |
| "I wish we could gone out a little later, but nothing I can do about that. The Menards Chevrolet felt very comfortable. I like how the track feels. They did a great job with it. We'll start fourth, which is good, but I have my three Team Penske teammates in front of me, which will make it more difficult. And unfortunately, those aren't the only cars to be concerned with. I think the race will be very competitive. Everyone will have to have complete focus and that's not always the easiest thing. It's not like Pocono where there are some long straights to take a little break. Turning 24-second laps is pretty quick, but we're definitely looking forward to going for a win like we had at Phoenix." | |||||
| 5 | 20 | Ed Carpenter |
48.7731 | 1.3152 | 184.528 |
| "We're all still learning about this track. The first practice, that's all we were doing - just trimming and trimming, trying to go quicker. We missed on the gears in practice too, so we knew there was time left in the car coming into qualifying. Team Penske was just a little more aggressive than us when it came down to qualifying. This next practice session is going to be crucial as well. It's our last chance to really sort out our race downforce." | |||||
| 6 | 26 |  Takuma Sato |
48.8637 | 1.4058 | 184.186 |
| "This is a high-commitment racetrack... in terms of top speed here is a lot slower than at Pocono, of course, but in terms of commitment it really helps the driver at the same time. I think the track got better and better as the sun set, but I think we should be happy under the circumstances with sixth and being the top Honda." | |||||
| 7 | 9 |  Scott Dixon |
48.9536 | 1.4957 | 183.848 |
| "I think this weekend is going to be pretty tough for us from what we saw at the test. I was second at the last test and the other manufacturer was still four or five tenths up the road. The problem is that for a short oval, the straight at Gateway is so long, and so I think it will be like Phoenix (where myself and teammate Tony Kanaan finished fifth and sixth), but a lot worse. But you know, I could be wrong. There have been times when I've been surprised how competitive we've been considering what we know about the aero kit deficit. I think we're one of the teams that knows the difference between the two kits through and through, and it's a huge downforce penalty and a ton more drag, so it's going to be a challenge." | |||||
| 8 | 14 |  Carlos Munoz |
49.0144 | 1.5565 | 183.620 |
| "I'm very happy in general. I think it's our best qualifying run of the year on the ovals. Really happy to be in the top 10. I knew we had a good car from testing. We have one more practice to go so, we need to make some changes to improve it for the race tomorrow night." | |||||
| 9 | 98 | Alexander Rossi |
49.0254 | 1.5675 | 183.578 |
| "I think the car is about there, but I think we missed a couple of positions. It was just an average run for me really, I mean Takuma (Sato) was sixth, so there was probably three spots of potential left in the No. 98. We knew it was going to be difficult with the other manufacturer, so we'll have to just capitalize on anything that comes our way tomorrow and make sure we don't make any mistakes. If we do that, we'll for sure move forward a couple spots." | |||||
| 10 | 5 |  James Hinchcliffe |
49.0389 | 1.5810 | 183.528 |
| "The Arrow car feels really good - huge credit to the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports guys for finding some extra speed. We didn't get the cleanest qualifying sims in practice, so we knew there was more in the tank. I wish we had gotten one of them in because knowing what I know now, if we had that in practice, we could have maybe snuck a little bit more out of it. That was certainly a solid run for us, and we're starting in front of some good Hondas, so hopefully we can stay in the sharp end of it and have a good race tomorrow." | |||||
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