Pato O’Ward drove to the pole for Saturday’s NTT IndyCar Series race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Photo: Walt Kuhn
Pato O’Ward is looking to add fuel to his NTT IndyCar Series championship challenge after winning the NTT P1 Award for the Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix on Friday on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
O’Ward earned his series-leading third pole of the season in the No. 5 Arrow Chevrolet with a best lap of 1 minute, 10.7147 seconds. He is third in the series standings, 48 points behind leader Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing, with two victories this season. But his best finish in his last three starts is eighth, on July 4 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
“I wanted to make sure this was the turning point,” O’Ward said. “We’ve had a very tough last three races, and we’re ready to get back to Victory Lane. This is the first step toward that, and tomorrow we have a job to finish.
“It’s still five races to go. A lot can happen. But this is definitely on the right track.”
O’Ward’s pole capped a tight, tense Firestone Fast 12 final segment that ended with the top five drivers all in the 1:10.7 range. Will Power will join O’Ward on the front row for the 85-lap race Saturday after his top lap of 1:10.7214.
Rookies Romain Grosjean and Christian Lundgaard will start from the second row. Grosjean was third at 1:10.7418, while FIA Formula 2 Championship driver Lundgaard qualified fourth for his first career INDYCAR start at 1:10.7433.
Colton Herta was the final driver in the 1:10.7 range, qualifying fifth at 1:10.7631.
Palou will try to defend his championship lead from the sixth starting position after a best qualifying lap of 1:10.8290. He led the opening practice Friday afternoon on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course that incorporates part of the famous IMS oval.
Scott Dixon faces a tough climb toward the top of the field Saturday, as he will start a season-low 26th after spinning on his final lap of the first segment of qualifying. Dixon spun exiting turn 10 and lost his quickest lap of the session for causing a local yellow that affected another competitor.
“It’s definitely going to make for an interesting race tomorrow,” Dixon said. “Definitely a tough day. We’ll see how it plays out.”
Dixon is second in the series standings, 42 points behind Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Palou.
Among the other championship contenders, Marcus Ericsson will start 11th after a best lap of 1:11.0342. Ericsson is fifth in the standings, 79 points behind Palou.
Josef Newgarden will start 20th. He qualified 14th at 1:11.3623 after failing to reach the Firestone Fast 12 final segment, but he will move back in the starting lineup after incurring a six-position grid penalty for an unapproved engine change after the race last Sunday in Nashville, Tennessee. Newgarden is fourth in the standings, 75 points behind Palou.
NTT IndyCar Series
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course – Indianapolis, IN
Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix – August 13, 2021
Natural soaps that do not have such chemicals in them are more susceptible to hard water issues. online ordering viagra Penile implants involves placing a device in your penis that allows you to get an erection for as long as 4 to 5 hours that is all that could possibly be needed viagra price uk for a firm erection. What Are cialis viagra cheap the Symptoms? Symptoms of sacroiliac dysfunction are numerous, and include: Lower back pain or discomfort Pain radiating into the shoulder, arm, wrist, and hand or lower back pain radiating into the buttock, hip, leg, or foot is direct physical pressure. It is because he should be buy cialis davidfraymusic.com contributed to additional factors that cause his addiction. Friday’s Qualifying Results
1. (5) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 1:10.7147 (124.167 mph)
2. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 1:10.7214 (124.155)
3. (51) Romain Grosjean, Honda, 1:10.7418 (124.119)
4. (45) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 1:10.7433 (124.116)
5. (26) Colton Herta, Honda, 1:10.7631 (124.082)
6. (10) Alex Palou, Honda, 1:10.8290 (123.966)
7. (60) Jack Harvey, Honda, 1:10.8875 (123.864)
8. (20) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 1:10.9532 (123.749)
9. (21) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 1:11.0208 (123.631)
10. (27) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 1:11.0240 (123.626)
11. (8) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 1:11.0342 (123.608)
12. (22) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 1:11.1346 (123.434)
13. (28) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 1:11.5084 (122.788)
14. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 1:11.3623 (123.040)
15. (14) Sebastien Bourdais, Chevrolet, 1:11.5504 (122.716)
16. (30) Takuma Sato, Honda, 1:11.4174 (122.945)
17. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 1:11.5583 (122.703)
18. (18) Ed Jones, Honda, 1:11.4360 (122.913)
19. (59) Max Chilton, Chevrolet, 1:11.5739 (122.676)
20. (7) Felix Rosenqvist, Chevrolet, 1:11.5340 (122.744)
21. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 1:11.6676 (122.516)
22. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Honda, 1:11.8624 (122.184)
23. (06) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 1:11.7319 (122.406)
24. (29) James Hinchcliffe, Honda, 1:12.0813 (121.812)
25. (75) R.C. Enerson, Chevrolet, 1:12.3344 (121.386)
26. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 1:12.2660 (121.501)
27. (52) Cody Ware, Honda, 1:13.7572 (119.045)
28. (4) Dalton Kellett, Chevrolet, 1:12.5494 (121.027)
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.