Colton Herta scored the pole for Sunday’s NTT IndyCar Series race at Road America. Photo: James Black
After stepping over the limit of adhesion more than once earlier Saturday, Colton Herta got a grip on his first NTT IndyCar Series pole in nearly a year.
Herta won the pole at Road America with a best lap of 1 minute, 40.1945 seconds in the No. 26 Honda. He led the Firestone Fast Six despite going off track twice in practice Saturday morning and during the second round of qualifying.
The top lap was nearly 4.7 seconds quicker than the 2022 pole lap of 1:44.8656 set by Alexander Rossi, as the entire 14-turn, 4.014-mile circuit was repaved last fall. But Dario Franchitti’s 23-year-old track record of 1:39.866 barely survived, set in 2000 with a different chassis and engine formula.
“We’ve been working at it the whole time,” Herta said. “This place with the repave is not easy. To have a car that was stable enough to really attack in that last Fast Six was impressive. It’s been way too long this year for us to get a pole, so it’s nice to finally get one.”
This was Herta’s 10th career pole and first since the Honda Indy Toronto in July 2022. He became the sixth different pole winner in eight races this season.
Herta will aim for his first win of the season in the 55-lap race at 1 p.m. ET Sunday.
Pato O’Ward will join Herta on the front row after a best lap of 1:40.3643. It’s O’Ward’s best starting position this season.
Championship leader Alex Palou qualified third at 1:40.4930 after a sensational salvage job by himself and the Chip Ganassi Racing crew. Palou sideswiped a tire barrier heavily in practice after spinning off track Saturday morning, but the crew rebuilt the car just in time for the start of qualifying.
Josef Newgarden qualified fourth at 1:40.9530. Alexander Rossi, who led both practice sessions leading into qualifying this weekend, qualified fifth at 1:41.1854.
Kyle Kirkwood will start sixth. He earned a spot in the Firestone Fast Six but didn’t participate after smoke trailed from his No. 27 Honda right after the Round of 12 qualifying session ended.
Two multiple series champions will face a long climb to get to the front of the field after neither advanced from the first round of qualifying.
Will Power will start a season-low 22nd. Dixon will start 23rd – also a season low.
Both Power and Dixon were set on the back foot during a collision in practice Saturday morning that resulted in heavy damage for both machines. Team Penske repaired Power’s damaged car, while Chip Ganassi Racing was forced to a backup car for Dixon.
NTT IndyCar Series
Road America – Elkhart Lake, WI
Sonsio Grand Prix – June 17, 2023
Saturday’s Qualifying Results
1. Colton Herta
2. Pato O’Ward
3. Alex Palou
4. Josef Newgarden
5. Alexander Rossi
6. Kyle Kirkwood
7. Christian Lundgaard
8. Marcus Armstrong
9. Marcus Ericsson
10. Benjamin Pedersen
11. Santino Ferrucci
12. Devlin DeFrancesco
13. David Malukas
14. Graham Rahal
15. Rinus VeeKay
16. Felix Rosenqvist
17. Callum Ilott
18. Scott McLaughlin
19. Romain Grosjean
20. Simon Pagenaud
21. Agustin Canapino
22. Will Power
23. Scott Dixon
24. Jack Harvey
25. Sting Ray Robb
26. Helio Castroneves
27. Ryan Hunter-Reay
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.