Information By: ASHLEY KELLER / CHEVROLET – DETROIT, MI
- Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden, driver of the No. 2 Chevrolet (third), and Scott McLaughlin, driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet (fourth), represented Team Chevy in the Firestone Fast Six and will start in the second row of Sunday’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix in downtown Detroit, Michigan.
- Théo Pourchaire, driver of the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, qualified seventh and narrowly missed the Firestone Fast Six in what is his highest NTT INDYCAR SERIES career qualifying effort so far.
- Rounding out the top-10 in qualifying, Team Penske’ s Will Power will start Sunday’s 100-lap event eighth, with AJ Foyt Racing’s Santino Ferrucci starting 10th.
- Representing the Bowtie brand, Team Penske’s McLaughlin and Newgarden transferred to the Firestone Fast Six from the second round.
- Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward transferred to the second round representing Chevrolet from Group 2.
- Group 1 of qualifying saw Arrow McLaren’s Pourchaire (first in the group), Team Penske’s McLaughlin (second in the group), Newgarden (third in the group), Power (fifth in the group), and AJ Foyt Racing’s Ferrucci (six in the group) transfer to the second round.
- Race day on the streets of Detroit kicks off with warm-up at 9:30 a.m. ET. The 100-lap, 164.5-mile Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix takes the green flag live on USA Network at 12 p.m. ET. Additional coverage can be found on Peacock, as well as INDYCAR Radio Network and SiriusXM Channel 218.
TEAM CHEVY FIRESTONE FAST SIX QUALIFYING RESULT:
Pos. Driver
3rd Josef Newgarden (1:00.9607)
4th Scott McLaughlin (1:01.3344)
7th Théo Pourchaire (1:00.7342)
8th Will Power (1:00.7612)
10th Santino Ferrucci (1:01.0351)
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (QUOTES):
Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:
“First off, I just want to say sorry for what I said, and how I acted to Kyle (Kirkwood) and towards Colton (Herta). They’re great competitors. I was definitely hot out of the car, and I love racing. It’s good now, but this is where I kind of feel the 14 Sexton Properties Chevrolet should be. I feel like we’re a top-10 car. I kind of missed it on the lap a little bit to move it a little further forward. It’s real tight. Looking forward to a good race tomorrow. Obviously, I actually had no idea it was (Romain Grosjean). I thought it was Will (Power) because that’s the last car that I passed and Larry (Foyt) just reading off gaps and trying to do a cool down and push. It’s tight here, man. It’s tough. If INDYCAR’s not calling it, it’s really not a big deal. He honestly didn’t look that close to me when checking the mirrors. It’s just a small track, short track racing on a street course.”
Sting Ray Robb, No. 41 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:
“A little disappointed with the result in qualifying. I thought we had a better car than that yet again, but good to see Santino (Ferrucci) do well. I think we had a good idea of where we need to be. Little changes here and there make a big difference around this place. We’re in the window and we weren’t too far off. A little bit here and there with the Goodheart Chevy, and we’ll be back at it tomorrow.”
Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:
“I was just trying to get out of the way. Honestly, we shouldn’t have even transferred into Q2 just because I was in Felix’s (Rosenqvist) gearbox, and everybody is trying to lap. There’s cars on fliers that come out before the sequence I guess, and you can’t back up because then you’re going to mess up their lap. You also can’t speed up because you’ll ruin your own chance to get a lap in. (Kyle) Kirkwood was coming behind me, and I knew there was still going to be stack up later on after turn five. So I decided to give him room here because that was probably the best area to kind of give him a chance and not get a penalty. Sadly, these cars don’t have rear-wheel steering. I couldn’t get the radius down and then I stalled the car whenever I tried to get it back into neutral. It’s a new week, a new race weekend. I think we had an opportunity get into the Fast Six. It’s just, it’s so tight. You can’t be playing around with gaps. You either have to give up with an extra laps and just get three clean laps, or you’re going to end up like me or (Will) Power.”
Christian Rasmussen, No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:
“That’s what this place is all about, just hustling it through! Just so close! I felt pretty maximized on my lap in terms of what we were able to do. In past qualifiyings, I always come in and say “Ok, there’s a little more to gain here” or “a bit more to gain there,” today; I felt like we got everything out of it and I am happy about that! But to miss advancing by that little, you just want it that much more!”
Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:
“That was a tough qualifying. We struggled much of Practice 2 to get tire temperature up, so we made the choice to go out on greens and stay on greens for the full session. I am pretty happy with my lap, I pushed as hard as I could. Our strategy just did not work out with the track’s evolution. It was worth a try! A lot of stuff can happen tomorrow and I am looking forward to the race to see what we can do. A tough one for us, but good job by Christian!”
Romain Grosjean, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:
“They need to do a better job of not blocking people; not crashing people. Just being aware of who is around them. He screwed me in qualifying. I don’t know what he slowed on his lap. I was seven tenths down on my lap, he was three tenths down and I lost four tenths behind. I called out INDYCAR race control. If that’s not blocking, I don’t know what is. I’m really…I know we’ve had a tough weekend, but I think the car came alive during qualifying. I just couldn’t get my lap. Too many mistakes on our end. Pressure just not right, and we’ve been suffering from lack of top speed. But that one is not on us.”
Agustin Canapino, No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:
“Every time we have the same issue. Every time we are good in practice, we are not good in qualifying. It is what it is. Last time I started 18th I think and finished ninth, so it isn’t such a bad of position, of course in the middle of the war. I am going to try to survive and do the best I can.”
Will Power, No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet:
“Some frustration because if you are the last one across the line in that situation, the track is just better. The first part of my lap is just slippery, then it was a very good last sector. I’m not just frustrated because I didn’t make it. It’s a tough field man. And I just needed the littlest bit. If you went out last, you would have had a better shot, but it is what it is. It’s fine. I’ve been good. I just know when it is that close, where you go really matters. We could have controlled that, but again, you can get caught out by a yellow as well when you are the last one to cross the line. It’s one of those things. It’s tough.”