Photo Credit: IndyCar/IMS
Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud has everything going for him entering the fifth round of the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series championship. The Frenchman has placed no worse than second in the opening four events, including two victories at Long Beach, California and Birmingham, Alabama. On Friday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course layout, Pagenaud continued his current form placing his No. 22 Menards Chevrolet on pole position for Saturday afternoon’s Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis.
Pagenaud, who won the inaugural running of this event two years ago for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, posted a one minute, 8.6868 second pass of the 2.439 mile circuit in the Firestone Fast Six to secure the pole position, despite the fact that other Chevrolet-powered drivers managed to outpace the veteran on both Thursday and the pre-qualifying practice on Friday. While Pagenaud managed to flip the order in his favor, the same can also be said for Chip Ganassi Racing’s Charlie Kimball, who qualified his No. 83 Tresiba Chevrolet on the outside of the front row. The California native is looking to claim his first IndyCar Series victory since Mid-Ohio in August of 2013, yet has fared well in the first two editions of the Grand Prix of Indianapolis finishing fifth in both events. Kimball also finished third in last year’s Indianapolis 500, one of only two podiums he earned last season.
Behind the front row, post technical inspections infractions have shuffled the field. Despite making the Firestone Fast Six, the efforts of both Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Graham Rahal, and Ed Carpenter Racing’s Josef Newgarden were each erased after both teams failed to meet the minimum car weight. The entries would have started third and fifth respectively without penalty. Instead they will fall to the tail end of the order at the start, a greater penalty than usual due to the 25-car grid set for Saturday.
Following the penalty enforcements, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ James Hinchcliffe moves up to the third position on the final grid, with AJ Foyt Racing’s Jack Hawksworth now starting alongside. The opportunity could be big for the Canadian, who as reported last week on OnPitRoad.com, will donate all of his winnings in Saturday’s event to the Canadian Red Cross in support of those affected by the massive wildfires in the province of Alberta. Hawksworth, meanwhile is attempting to get his IndyCar career back on track after failing to post a top ten result in any of the opening four events so far in 2016.
The violation also moves Chip Ganassi Racing’s Tony Kanaan and Firestone Grand of St. Petersburg winner Juan Pablo Montoya up to row three. Both drivers of course, are also recent Indy 500 champions with TK winning the event in 2013 and Montoya returning as the defending champion.
While surprises fill the first three lines, the pre-qualifying favorites will have work to do to be in the mix for victory on Saturday. Last year’s Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis front row starters Scott Dixon and eventual race winner Will Power failed to advance to the Firestone Fast Six and will start seventh and tenth respectively. The result has to be frustrating for the Australian, who set the new track record during the first phase of Friday qualifying, only to suffer from an off course excursion in session number two.
Among the Sunoco Rookie of the Year Candidates, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Max Chilton was the most successful qualifying 11th. Chilton placed fourth and third in the Cooper Tires Indy Lights doubleheader races last year during the Grand Prix weekend.
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