DETROIT – Instead of the Firestone Fast Six it was the Firestone Fast 12, but the excitement level at the end of Saturday morning’s NTT IndyCar Series qualifying session was just as intense.
Team Penske driver Will Power was on a lap that would have won him the pole, but just as he did during qualifying for the 105th Indianapolis 500 three weekends ago, he hit the wall and kept on going. In fact, Power’s No. 12 Chevrolet hit the wall and the tire barriers on his final lap.
The two incidents cost the Team Penske driver the pole for Saturday’s portion of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle. That went to Pato O’Ward, who claimed the pole with a fast time of 1:15.5776 around the 14-turn, 2.35- mile street course at Belle Isle Park. O’Ward drives the No. 5 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren SP.
“I caught some traffic, but you need to put so much faith into this place and into the car that it is going to stick, but when you nail a lap, you can tell that you nailed it,” O’Ward said. “The faster you go here, the more grip you have, but when you are not attacking, you don’t have the grip you need. I had to go for it. I think I nailed a good lap in the first group, but we really nailed it on the second lap.”
Alexander Rossi’s No. 27 Andretti Autosport Honda was second at 1:15.6584, followed by rookie Romain Grosjean’s No. 51 Honda at Dale Coyne Racing with RWR. Grosjean’s time was 1:15.7433.
Ed Jones was fourth in the No. 18 Sealmaster Honda for Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser and Sullivan at 1:15.8119. Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden was fifth at 1:15.8697 in the No. 2 Chevrolet with Colton Herta rounding out the top six at 1:16.0832 in the No. 26 Honda.
Power just missed the top six, as his speed was seventh fastest at 1:16.0877.
Alex Palou qualified 21st at 1:17.5190 in the No. 10 NTT DATA Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing, but he will start last in the field after incurring a grid penalty for changing his engine before the 105th Indianapolis 500 on May 30.
Jimmie Johnson qualified 23rd at 1:19.0944 in the No. 48 Carvana/American Legion Honda, but that was better than Scott McLaughlin’s 1:17.5569 in the No. 3 Chevrolet and Dalton Kellett’s 1:19.6697 in the No. 4 Chevrolet for A.J. Foyt Racing.
Each of those drivers will improve by one position because of the Palou penalty.
The teams and drivers have just two hours to prepare for the first race of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle with race No. 1 starting at 2 p.m. Eastern Time.