SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Practice and qualifying are in the books for the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This weekend will feature a notable front row composed of two Indianapolis natives with names synonymous with the storied history of The Brickyard and motorsports itself.
Matthew Brabham in the No. 20 Gym Weed Ford Mustang captured his second-career Motul Pole Award in the Trans Am Series with a blazing fast time of 1:22.302. Brabham is the grandson of Sir Jack Brabham, a three-time Formula 1 champion, and the son of Geoff Brabham, a four-time IMSA champion and 24 Hours of Le Mans winner. Matthew himself is a winner at the 114-year-old facility, winning the 2014 Indianapolis Grand Prix in Indy NXT.
Adam Andretti will start side-by-side with Brabham after qualifying second in his No. 44 Top Liner Chevrolet Camaro with a time of 1:23.221. Andretti is the nephew of Indy 500 winner, Formula 1 champion and four-time IndyCar champion Mario Andretti.
Brabham and Andretti finished on the podium together in the season-opening race at Sebring International Raceway in February, with Brabham winning and Andretti finishing second.
“This is super special, especially with the history here at this track,” said Brabham. “The history of an Andretti and Brabham front row and coming to the Yard of Bricks to start the race is going to be really special tomorrow. I love this road course; I’ve had a lot of success here. It’s a fun track to race on with the long straights, and the race is going to be pretty exciting for the fans.
“This is a home track for me. I’ve lived here in Indy for nearly 10 years now, pursuing IndyCar as a driver, racing here and obviously watching IndyCar races here. It’s just unbelievable. I’m just so happy to deliver here and bring back memories. The team did such a good job putting the car together, so it’s so good to get this result for them. We know we have a really good racecar, so we’ll see what happens tomorrow. It’s such a privilege to race this track and an absolute honor to race for Chris Dyson and his team.”
“We’re going to have a Brabham-Andretti front row here tomorrow,” added Andretti. “Brabham and I being on the podium together at Sebring earlier this year is hard to beat, but I don’t think anything will be better than coming to the green flag together tomorrow.”