Qualifying report
Texas IndyCar: Top 10 quotes after qualifying
Charlie Kimball sets Texas track record to win first career pole position
Photo by: Phillip Abbott / Motorsport Images
| Cla | # | Driver | Time | Gap | Mph |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 83 |  Charlie Kimball |
46.5861 | 222.556 | |
| "I'm really excited to be on pole. The guys totally deserve it. Everyone at Chip Ganassi Racing has been working so hard and the boys have had my back all year long through the good, the bad, and the ugly. It's so nice to be able to repay them with a pole position here at Texas Motor Speedway. The No. 83 Tresiba Honda was really good right out of the box and Todd made a few adjustments that made it better during the course of practice. During qualifying we just took a swing at it and went out and got the job done." | |||||
| 2 | 9 |  Scott Dixon |
46.5944 | 0.0083 | 222.516 |
| "Obviously the weather is much different than when we tested and it's supposed to be a lot warmer tomorrow, but we learned some things and it was a good practice session this morning for the No. 9 car and the team. It really doesn't matter where you qualify here, but I think we've got a decent setup to go after it tomorrow in the NTT Data Honda. Congrats to Charlie and the No. 83 team for their first pole. Great team effort today and looking forward to tomorrow." | |||||
| 3 | 98 | Alexander Rossi |
46.6098 | 0.0237 | 222.442 |
| "The ShopAndretti Honda was good from when we rolled off (the truck) today. I knew when we got in the qualifying line that we didn't have anything for pole with how much the Ganassi cars were trimmed. But, third is good, as we saw last year, a lot can happen at this race and I feel really good in the race car as well - confidence is high at the moment." | |||||
| 4 | 10 |  Tony Kanaan |
46.7013 | 0.1152 | 222.007 |
| "I feel like we put together a really good lap and I'm happy with where we are in terms of speed right now in the NTT Data car. We still have a little work to do though. My teammates have good cars too so that will be great data to go look at when we're done tonight. The track really got better as we went on for sure. But hat's off the Charlie on his first pole. He put together a great two laps." | |||||
| 5 | 18 |  Tristan Vautier |
46.7445 | 0.1584 | 221.801 |
| "I was a bit nervous, to be honest, just to know how it was going to feel, that first lap out. On a road course maybe not, but here on an oval, it's a difficult place. I was just kind of anxious to get in the car and see how it would be, but after three of four laps, it was OK. Obviously everything goes a bit faster than when you've done it all season, but I got back in it pretty quick. The team made it easy because the car was so good from the start. It's really cool to work with these guys, Craig (Hampson, engineer), Olivier (Boisson, engineer) and obviously the rest of the team. The car has felt really nice from the start and it's really helped me out. The (qualifying run) was good, I think that they nailed the downforce quite perfect to the good level. I've had some tougher (qualifying sessions) where I didn't qualify as well, so I have to give credit to the team. Obviously the race is going to be much tougher for me. Long, obviously very long, and I've been out for a while, but we have tonight to practice and we'll see how it goes." | |||||
| 6 | 8 |  Max Chilton |
46.7756 | 0.1895 | 221.654 |
| "We're working on getting a little more speed in the Gallagher car. The new configuration to the banking in Turns 1 and 2 have been a bit tough to adjust to. We can get through Turns 3 and 4 flat, but still need some adjustments to do the same in 1 and 2 to get those good, consistent and fast speeds." | |||||
| 7 | 7 |  Mikhail Aleshin |
46.8105 | 0.2244 | 221.489 |
| "Obviously until you're P1, you're not satisfied if you're a good athlete, and that's how I am. To be honest, qualifying is just qualifying, and you're going to get the points during the race which is the most important thing. I hope that we'll be able to continue developing after practice tonight and have a good car." | |||||
| 8 | 26 |  Takuma Sato |
46.8171 | 0.2310 | 221.458 |
| "The car went high on the first lap in qualifying on the exit of Turn 2, so not as fast as should have been. But the No. 26 car again showed great speed and we carry great momentum, so I'm very happy with that." | |||||
| 9 | 12 |  Will Power |
46.8553 | 0.2692 | 221.277 |
| "We had a good run in qualifying, but we needed a little more. We'll start ninth which isn't terrible but not ideal either. We still have final practice and are ready to look for more speed. The No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet team and myself have some ideas we're ready to try. Our cars have been good in the races all season and there's no reason to think that will change." | |||||
| 10 | 3 | Helio Castroneves |
46.8716 | 0.2855 | 221.200 |
| "We're going to start 10th in tomorrow's race here at Texas. It's not what I hoped for, but the No. 3 AAA Chevrolet team and myself have some things we want to work on for final practice. The one thing about this track is that you never know what's going to happen. It always has a surprise or two. We're ready to get back on track soon." | |||||
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