[ad_1]
DETROIT – Josef Newgarden continued his assault on the Belle Isle Park Raceway on Sunday morning, clinching the pole position of the NTT P1 Award for the second race of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear one day after winning the first race.
At the wheel of the # 2 Hitke Team Penske Chevrolet, Newgarden clocked a 1 minute lap with 14.8607 seconds on the 14-lap, 2.35-mile temporary road course to earn the seventh pole position of his career in the NTT IndyCar series. first this season.
CHEVROLET DETROIT GRAND PRIX: Results of race 2
"It was a good lap," Newgarden said of his pole lap, once the Firestone alternative tires came into play at the end of the 12-minute group session. "I had (pole) at first (round). I could say that temperatures (tires) were rising faster than yesterday. Normally, second turn (is faster). I could see that the grip was already there, so I had to go.
"I must have been lucky. I guess it worked.
Newgarden led the final 25 laps of Saturday's timed race to win and take the lead in the championship against teammate Simon Pagenaud. With the bonus point awarded for pole position on Sunday, Newgarden is 26 points ahead of Sunday's 70-lap race on Sunday afternoon (3 pm, ET, NBC and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR radio network).
The group of 22 cars was divided into two groups for qualifying. Alexander Rossi, winner of Saturday's pole and second of Newgarden, was quick Sunday in the first qualifying group with a lap of 1: 15.1825 (112.526 mph) in the Honda NAPA AUTO PARTS No. 27. The pilot of Andretti Autosport also scored a point for leading his group and will start alongside Newgarden in row 1 for Sunday's race.
"It was out of our control with us to be in Group 1 on pole position," said Rossi, third in the standings after seven races, 33 points behind Newgarden. "I did not expect it to be the road, but we did the best course possible. Group 2 is always faster here. We will take this point of the championship, advance and try to do better in race today. "
Sunday's Group 2 qualifiers were delayed by 46 minutes when overnight rainwater accumulated in tarps covering the Turn 6 tire barrier began to sink on the runway surface. Once qualifying resumes, Newgarden sets the tone to win the pole. Andretti Autosport's Zach Veach was impressive in her qualifying effort finishing second in Group 2 (1: 15.2625, 112.407 mph) to maintain third place in her best career performance in the # 26 Gainbridge Honda.
Colton hunt rookie Herta finished second in Group 1 tied with his best starting position, fourth in the GESS Capstone Honda # 88 for Harding Steinbrenner Racing (1: 15.6478, 111.834 mph).
Pagenaud, winner of the 103rd Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on May 26, has qualified 14th in the Penske Chevrolet, No. 22 DXC technology. Graham Rahal, who in 2017 became the only driver to win both Detroit races in the same year, had gearbox problems during qualifying and will start 22nd.
[ad_2]
Source link