INDYCAR QUALIFYING REPORT: Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C.

Will Power

No. 26 TWG AI Honda

• With 15 wins and 19 poles on street courses, Will Power came into this afternoon’s qualifying session after adding another street course podium to his resume last weekend on the Streets of Markham.
• Power showed speed early in qualifying and briefly moved to the top of the timing charts, but rear locking and a brush with the wall kept him from advancing to Round 2.
• Power will line up 13th for tomorrow’s race as he makes his 107th career street course start on the Streets of Washington, D.C.

“We were dealing with rear locking throughout the day. Even though we made some changes, I kept having rear locking into the corners which put me a little wide. I know the TWG AI Honda is really strong, so we’ll work on it tonight and be ready for the race tomorrow.”

Kyle Kirkwood

No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda

• After topping the opening practice session and recording the second-fastest lap in Practice 2, Kyle Kirkwood entered this afternoon’s qualifying session following a strong start to the weekend on the Streets of Washington, D.C.
• Continuing his strong pace from practice, Kirkwood set a new track record in Round 1 and topped both sessions to advance to the Firestone Fast Six for the sixth time this season.
• Taking on the single-lap qualifying format, Kirkwood was the first driver to hit the track and secured second on the front row for tomorrow’s inaugural race.
• Today’s result marks Kirkwood’s seventh career front-row start and fourth on a street course.

“The No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda has been on rails all weekend. We’ve been first or second in every outing, so I’m really thrilled to drive this race car around these amazing streets with all the fans here. We topped both rounds of qualifying, and then in the one-lap dash, Alex put together a great lap. I thought I put together a really good one, but he went even quicker. Hats off to them. We have a great  car, and I think we’ll have a good shot tomorrow.”

No. 28 Acura Honda

• Following his first win of the season last weekend on the Streets of Markham, Marcus Ericsson opened the Washington, D.C. weekend fifth in Practice 1 and ninth in Practice 2 before heading into this afternoon’s qualifying session.
• Taking on Group 1 alongside his teammates, Ericsson moved throughout the leaderboard during the session and climbed as high as first. After making contact with the wall twice on his final run, he finished eighth just 0.1883 seconds off the top spot. 
• Despite not advancing to Round 2, the Swede will look to utilize his street course experience tomorrow, which includes four wins, seven podiums and 99 laps led.

“I think the No. 28 Acura has been good all day. It was a very tough group in qualifying, but we were on for a good lap that should have transferred us into the top 12. Unfortunately, I tapped the wall in the last corner and had to limp the car across the line, which was enough to bump us out. That was disappointing because I think the car was definitely faster than that. We have a bit more work to do tomorrow, but it’s a long race and we know we have the pace and the crew to move up through the field. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Good job today by all three Andretti cars. The No. 27 gave it a good run and will start on the front row tomorrow. Our other two cars didn’t quite have it in qualifying and missed the balance a little bit, but we’ve shown that we have fast cars. It’s going to be a long and interesting race tomorrow, and anything can happen. We’ll do everything we can to put all three cars on the podium.”