LONG BEACH, Calif. — Josef Newgarden needs to run the table if he has any hope of winning his third NTT IndyCar Series championship in Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
He won the pole Saturday with an incredible lap of 1:08.2241 around the 11-turn, 1.968-mile temporary street course in the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet.
“I was a little bit demoralized the last couple of weeks,” Newgarden said. “We have accomplished our job today and have to go out and do it tomorrow. It’s very improbable to win the championship tomorrow, so we will have to go out and win the race.”
It was Newgarden’s 15th NTT IndyCar Series pole.
“I’m really proud of the team and just needed the track grip to come up,” Newgarden said. “I’m really happy for our team. We got one goal accomplished this weekend and hopefully get another one accomplished Sunday.
“I’m staying alive.”
Newgarden still needs to win the race and lead the most laps and hope that both Alex Palou and Pato O’Ward have trouble in the 85-lap contest on the streets of Long Beach. Both drivers had issues in qualifications.
Neither driver advanced into the Firestone Fast Six because Team Penske driver Will Power spun and crashed in turn nine in the closing minute, causing that portion of the track to have a local caution. IndyCar officials took over 15 minutes to review the situation and neither driver was allowed to advance.
“I think we should,” said Arrow McLaren SP President Taylor Kiel, who calls O’Ward’s race strategy. “We have some data on our team. I’m surprised Felix Rosenqvist (O’Ward’s teammate) is in there. Good for him.
“Two cars made it through a local yellow. It’s unfortunate when stakes are so high.”
Rosenqvist was one of the drivers that apparently drove through the local yellow and advanced their position.
“We should be in there,” O’Ward said. “We were up in our last lap. I saw flags. IndyCar is never consistent with their calls. They should review that. We should be fighting for pole. We had enough to get into the Fast Six.
“We have literal data that shows that. Maybe rules don’t apply. That just sucks. It sucks that we aren’t there. We definitely had a car that should advance into the Fast Six. I’m still waiting on the explanation.
“I doubt that I’ll get an explanation.”
O’Ward will start eighth and Palou 10th in Sunday’s race.
According to IndyCar officials, it was a “local yellow” in the area of the stopped car. That meant cars had to slow down in that area. However, they could still improve their times on all other areas of the race course. The only car that was found in violation of speeding in the “local yellow” was the No. 18 Honda driven by Ed Jones.
Palou needs to finish 12th or better to win the championship for Chip Ganassi Racing.
“That yellow flag didn’t help us at all, but hey, that’s racing stuff,” Palou said. “Should be a good race tomorrow.
“I knew we were 10th and even if they reviewed everything, we wouldn’t make it. We’ve had moments like that this year, but that’s the way it goes. We have potential to fight for the win tomorrow. We have a good car and will go for it. If we have a good race tomorrow, this doesn’t change much.
“If we have a good car tomorrow, we’ll take the championship home. We cannot focus on what the other cars are doing.
“It kinda sucks to get hosed by a very odd call. I’m still searching for answers.
“It won’t be easy, but I’m going to send it in, tomorrow.”
Six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon was second in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon’s time was 1:08.4422.
Dixon believes that four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves held him up on his final hot lap and that kept him from winning the pole.
“Helio totally screwed us on that last lap there,” Dixon said. “We got him on that last lap and that slowed us down.”
Castroneves was third in the No. 06 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing with a fast time of 1:08.4827. Simon Pagenaud was fourth in the No. 22 Chevrolet for Team Penske, followed by Rosenqvist.
Romain Grosjean of Dale Coyne Racing with RWR rounded out the Fast Six in the No. 51 Honda.
One big surprise, however, was that the fastest driver of the weekend did not advance out of the first segment. That was Andretti/Curb-Agajanian driver Colton Herta, the fastest driver in practice on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.
Herta ran too many laps on this Firestone Blacks (harder compound tires) before coming into the pits for Firestone Reds (softer compound, less durable). Because he did not pit in time for Firestone Reds, Herta was bounced out of advancing from the first group with 15 seconds to go in the session.
“It was my fault,” Herta said. “We’re starting 14th and with two sets of Reds. It may make for an interesting race.”