Qualifying report
Watkins Glen IndyCar: Top 10 quotes after qualifying
Andretti Autosport driver Alexander Rossi scored his first-ever pole position in the IndyCar Series
Photo by: Phillip Abbott / Motorsport Images
| Cla | # | Driver | Time | Gap | Mph |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 98 |  Alexander Rossi |
1'22.4639 | 147.119 | |
| "It was a big lap we needed. The lap before was pretty good, but they came on the radio and said, 'You need at least a tenth.' So, we went for it, dug deep and the NAPA Auto Parts Andretti Honda has been so good since we rolled off. We've never been lower than fifth. It's amazing to finally accomplish this, especially on the back of the announcement on Friday and I think it's been a long time coming, so it's just nice to finally get that. The whole team has been working so hard and they deserve this. This championship, there's so much that can go on. With weather coming, that adds another variable, but we're clicking at a level that we haven't in the past and the momentum is on our side. We just have to capitalize and enjoy this for the next 30 minutes, then focus on the work we have to do tomorrow." | |||||
| 2 | 9 |  Scott Dixon |
1'22.5168 | 0.0529 | 147.025 |
| "It's hard not to be happy with a front-row start here at Watkins Glen in the NTT Data car, but the frustrating part is we had the car, and then some, to get the pole. We caught Helio (Castroneves) so quickly, I'm not exactly sure what happened or what he was thinking. We caught him with, I think, two laps to go, so I'm not sure if we should have backed off sooner or what. I think at the end we had at least another three to four tenths in the car, so we left a lot on the table, for sure, today. So it's frustrating to lose the pole that way when we had so much more. We just straight up didn't get the gap the way we needed to and it cost us. We do have a very strong car for tomorrow and I'm ready to go for sure." | |||||
| 3 | 2 | Josef Newgarden |
1'22.5169 | 0.0530 | 147.024 |
| "I'm not sure that any of us on the DeVilbiss Chevy team thought we'd be in that fight for the pole, but we certainly were. I think we had the pole car. Unfortunately, I messed it up in Turn 9. I feel awful about that and I'll beat myself up over it for a bit. I think we're in a good spot for the race tomorrow, though. If we get the weather everyone is calling for, then I'm not sure that anyone knows the best place to be. You would think it's at the front, so I hope that's right." | |||||
| 4 | 26 |  Takuma Sato |
1'22.5660 | 0.1021 | 146.937 |
| "We tested here a few weeks ago to learn a different philosophies. It seems to be working well for the team. Ryan (Hunter-Reay) and Marco (Andretti) have been very competitive this weekend and all of us feel very positive. In the end, I want to say congrats to Alexander (Rossi). He did a tremendous job to beat us all. A bit of a shame that we got beaten by a tenth (of a second). The entire Andretti Autosport team worked together and I'm very proud to be a part of it." | |||||
| 5 | 83 | Charlie Kimball |
1'22.8081 | 0.3442 | 146.507 |
| "We had some electrical issues with the engine yesterday that put us a little behind in terms of getting up to speed out there, so I think it says a lot that we were able to come back out today and qualify in the (Firestone Fast Six). The Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing guys did a great job getting the No. 83 fixed before final practice yesterday and then gave me a really good car to go out and qualify today. I'm definitely happy with our run. I think anytime you can finish within a few tenths of a second of Scott Dixon at Watkins Glen, you know you're doing well. I have a lot of faith in our race car and hopefully we can move forward in the field like we did last year when we came from 14th to sixth and get our first win of the season." | |||||
| 6 | 3 |  Helio Castroneves |
1'23.3350 | 0.8711 | 145.581 |
| "Overall, we're proud of qualifying in the top six in the Hitachi Chevy. We thought we were looking pretty good making our way through qualifying, and once we got into the Firestone Fast Six we just didn't have it, especially on the black tires. We know we have a fast car and we are definitely still in the fight there with the other championship contenders. We just need to be smart in the race tomorrow and handle whatever comes our way so we can be there fighting for the win in the end." | |||||
| 7 | 28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay |
1'22.9854 | 0.5215 | 146.194 |
| "Just two-hundredths of a second would have put us fifth - two hundredths of a second. It just shows how tight this series is. You always have to get the max out of every corner. We were just on the wrong side of it today. That was really close - really we wanted be in that Firestone Fast Six so we could continue to improve the DHL car. We'll have to go get them tomorrow - we can do that from seventh." | |||||
| 8 | 12 |  Will Power |
1'23.0987 | 0.6348 | 145.995 |
| "I got a little loose out there in some spots and I think it affected my confidence in some others on if it would stick or not. The Verizon Chevrolet really wasn't as comfortable for me today as yesterday. I don't know if it's the wind. I don't feel like the track changed at all. I can't really pinpoint it right now. I do know that we'll all go to work and take a look at everything to get us in a good place for the race tomorrow. The weather looks to be in question and we won't know the answers to that until we get there. We'll plan for everything and go from there." | |||||
| 9 | 18 |  Sébastien Bourdais |
1'23.1459 | 0.6820 | 145.912 |
| "The session is not long enough at this track to do a full run on both black (primary) and red (alternate) Firestone tires, so we decided to take the chance and go with the blacks. Yesterday, we didn't do so well in practice on the reds, and I was happy with the car on blacks, and it paid off as were able to get in the fast 12. Unfortunately, I misled the boys a little bit. I thought we would be better than that balance-wise, but the track picked up grip and we picked up understeer. It's not because of the tires or anything. I had a pretty good lap just way too much understeer. " | |||||
| 10 | 15 | Graham Rahal |
1'23.2240 | 0.7601 | 145.775 |
| "The car has been loose all weekend and we just can't seem to make any headway. I'm just hanging on. It is what it is and I will just have to go race hard tomorrow. I don't think we are close enough yet to a good race set up, but we'll see how it is over the long run." | |||||
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